The Watch Tower Society once proclaimed that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and other prominent Old Testament figures would be resurrected and return to Earth in 1925. In anticipation of their arrival, Judge Joseph Rutherford, the second president of the organization, commissioned the construction of a mansion in San Diego, named Beth Sarim, meaning "House of the Princes" in Hebrew. This was not merely symbolic; the deed explicitly stated that the property was held in trust for the resurrected saints, including King David, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel.
When questioned about how he would verify the identities of the resurrected figures, Rutherford responded to the San Diego Sun in 1930:
“I realized the possibility of some old codger turning up bright and early some morning and declaring he was David. The men whom I have designated to test the identity of these men are officers of my societies... they will be divinely authorized to know impostors from the real princes.”
In a Time magazine article published on March 31, 1930, it was reported:
“Judge Joseph Frederick Rutherford... deeded No. 4440 Braeburn Road, and adjacent two-car garage and a pair of automobiles to King David, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, Samuel and sundry other mighties of ancient Palestine. Positive is he that they are shortly to reappear on earth... ‘I have purposely landscaped the place with palm and olive trees so these princes of the universe will feel at home.’”
But the resurrected "princes" never arrived.
Instead, Rutherford himself moved into the mansion. In 1931, the San Diego Sun reported that the only claimant to the property was a “gaunt, unshaven tramp” who declared himself to be King David. Rutherford dismissed this claim, insisting that he was still awaiting divine confirmation from his appointed officials.
After Rutherford’s death in 1942, the Watch Tower Society quietly sold the property, its embarrassment too great to bear. Today, most Jehovah’s Witnesses are unaware of the existence of Beth Sarim, as it has been removed from official teachings.
Despite this, the evidence remains. I still possess the publication Millions Now Living Will Never Die, which, on page 88, boldly claims that the "faithful men of old" would return in 1925. This was not presented as a vague hope but as a definitive prophecy, "definitely settled" based on scripture.
Beth Sarim stands as a physical reminder of a failed prophecy, a sobering monument to the dangers of placing trust in self-appointed prophets who claim divine insight.I
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