|
Myth of the "Faithful Slave" B J Kotwall and B Stett (Investigator
78,
2001 May) WHO IS THE FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT? Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings. (Matthew 24:45-47 New World Translation 1984) The
Watchtower Society
(WTS) – the legal and
publishing agent of Jehovah's Witnesses – uses these verses in an
unjustified
prophetic sense. It claims that Jesus inspected all churches in 1918
and
chose the WTS as the best and made its supporters his "slave class".
The
"slave class" prepares "spiritual food", i.e. doctrine, for everyone
else
including the majority of JWs – the "great crowd" – who are not members
of the "slave".
Bible
commentators
outside the WTS understand
the passage as encouragement by Jesus to every individual disciple to
be
faithful and wise. In support we note Jesus stating that the "faithful
slave" could also become an "evil" slave – see Matthew 24:48-51.
THE BIBLE MISUSED From 1881 to 1895 the WTS taught that the Slave or Servant is: …the body of Christ…the whole body individually and collectively, giving the meat in due season to the household of faith – the great company of believers. (Zion's Watch Tower Reprints 1881 Oct-Nov pp. 290-291) However, in 1895
it
became
an open secret that
the "servant" referred to only one individual, Charles T Russell, the
founder
of the WTS:
Then you believe that Brother Russell is that servant? Yes I believed that for eighteen years… (IBSA Convention Report 1913 p.102 – Speech by E D Sexton) In 1923
Rutherford, the
second president of
the WTS, distinguished the "office" from the person holding it. He
argued
that Russell filled the "office" of "that servant" until 1916 but
thereafter
the WTS plus everyone cooperating with it filled that office. (The
Watch
Tower 1923 March 1 pp. 67-69)
In 1927 Rutherford returned to the interpretation of 1881– that the servant was the entire "body of Christ". This demotion
of
Russell
was a logical necessity.
If Russell was the servant who provided "meat in due season" then there
could be no more "meat" because Russell was dead. Yet Rutherford was
continually
issuing new "meat" in the form of prophecies and new interpretations.
The
initial solution in the book The Finished Mystery (1917 p.144)
was
that Russell was in heaven and supervising the work from there!
FALSE DENIAL After Russell was demoted, the WTS pretended Russell had never claimed to be "that servant": …the editor and publisher of Zion's Watch Tower disavowed any claim to being individually, in his person, that "faithful and wise servant". He never did claim to be such. (God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached 1973 p. 346)That this is false we see from: His modesty and humility precluded him from openly claiming this title, but he admitted as much in private conversation.In 1993 the WTS admitted: The view that she [Russell's wife Maria] voiced concerning the identity of the ‘faithful servant' came to be generally held by the Bible Students for some thirty years. (Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom 1993 p. 143) This admission
blames the
error on Russell's
wife. Yet, twenty years after Maria Russell left the cult and had no
influence
over it we read:
THE
WATCH
TOWER
unhesitatingly proclaims
brother Russell as "that faithful and wise servant." (The Watch Tower
1917 March 1 p. 67)
SERVANT APPOINTED – WHEN AND WHY? When was "that
servant"
i.e. the alleged
"class" appointed? Rutherford taught that the lives of various Old
Testament
characters were symbolic dramas with 20th century
fulfilments.
Referring to the Bible story of Ruth and Naomi he claimed:
The part played by Naomi at this point in the drama particularly pictures those found faithful in 1918, and whom the Lord then constituted "the faithful and wise servant" class… (The Watchtower1932 November 1 p. 340)So, apparently the "servant" got assigned in 1918/1919. Later the WTS clarified that the "slave class" started in 33 AD: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that this parable pertains to the one true congregation of Jesus Christ's anointed followers. Beginning with Pentecost, 33 C.E., and continuing through the 19 centuries since then, this slavelike congregation has been feeding its members spiritually, doing so faithfully and discreetly. (The Watchtower 1981 March 1 p. 24) So the "slave"
has been
"feeding its members…faithfully"
"through the 19 centuries" – which would include Russell's lifetime
1852
to 1916.
Let's examine this. Firstly, the
claim
that
a "Slave" had operated
"faithfully" for "19 centuries" is inconsistent with another WTS claim
– that Russell:
…revived the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles.If the "slave" had been "faithful" and "careful" what was there to revive? Secondly, the
WTS has
never identified any
19-century-old congregation or its location and Russell never contacted
it! To survive the centuries and supply "progressive spiritual food"
implies
an organization. But Russell was against the notion of "organization"
other
than his own:
We belong to NO earthly organization…All the saints now living, or that have lived during this age, belonged to OUR CHURCH ORGANIZATION: such are all ONE Church, and there is NO OTHER recognized by the Lord. Hence any earthly organization which in the least interferes with this union of saints is contrary to the teachings of Scripture and opposed to the Lord's will. (Zion's Watch Tower Reprints 1884 p. 584) Thirdly, the WTS
teaches
that Christ returned
invisibly in 1914 and inspected all churches in 1918 and chose the WTS
to represent him:
Without a question of doubt, it [1918] was a real time of inspection of the Master's "slave" class. All the facts of the case argue that the Master came for the work of inspection at the time… Of, course the sectarian churches of Christendom had made a wartime record for themselves, an open record that had a heavy bearing on their claim to be disciples and slaves of Jesus Christ. Could they, by even their latest record down till 1919, prove that they themselves were the composite "faithful and discreet slave" class…?" It seems strange
that
Jesus
needed to do an
inspection – for surely he would have known about any "faithful" slave
of "19 centuries"! Jesus would also have remembered that Russell was
"God's
mouthpiece":
The truths I present, as God's mouthpiece, were not revealed in visions or dreams, nor by God's audible voice, nor all at once, but gradually… And if the
"wartime
record"
was relevant why
didn't Jesus pick the Quakers or Adventists as his "slave class"? By
1915
some 380 Russellites served in the German armed forces! C C Binckele,
the
Russellite representative for Central Europe from 1915 to 1925,
reported:
There are at present 380 brothers in the field and others subject to orders any time.Furthermore, the WTS religion was also "unclean": The Scriptures describe them as having unclean garments because of their long association with Christian apostasy… They had many practices, characteristics and beliefs similar to the weedlike sects of Christendom. (The Watchtower 1960 July 15 pp. 435-436) Anyway, Jesus
chose the
WTS
and its supporters
in 1919 despite it not being 1900 years old and despite it being
unclean
and its people involved in World War I:
So the Lord showed his favor by regathering them into a well-organized body of "domestics" in his house. The eight-day general convention held at Cedar point, Ohio, on September 1-8, 1919…indicated to all the world who it was that the returned Lord Jesus had found to be his "faithful and discreet slave" class. (God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached 1973 p. 253) What, then, did
Jesus
look
for in making his
decision? The main criterion was the "right sort of food":
The
serving
of
food, the right sort
of food, at the proper time was the issue. It had to be according to
this
that a decision must be rendered by the returned master. (God's Kingdom of
a Thousand Years Has Approached
1973 p. 350).
THE RIGHT SORT OF FOOD The "right sort of food" of the WTS that Jesus would have considered included: The "time of the end," a period of one hundred and fifteen (115) years, from A.D 1799 to A.D. 1914, is particularly marked in the Scriptures. During the 1918
inspection
Jesus would have
read the WTS's textbook – The Finished Mystery. This book
contained
the greatest nonsense the WTS ever concentrated into one book. It's
been
estimated that its 600 pages contain about 1,500 points that the WTS
later
discarded! (Jehovah's Witnesses: A Statistical Survey 1992 p. 204)
These
1,500 errors include false prophecies for at least five dates – 1918,
1920,
1921/1922, 1925 and 1932.
So Jesus chose
as
"faithful and discreet"
the cult with 1,500 errors in one book and rejected as "false" the
churches
that rejected those 1,500 errors!
Was Jesus perhaps biased? Consider: The Lord assumes an interest in and responsibility for the complete series of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, the last one of which especially represents the winepress feature (Rev. 14:18-20) (The Finished Mystery 1917 p. 295) For Jesus to be
responsible
for The Finished
Mystery and hence its 1,500 errors and then favor the cult using it
because it had the "right sort of food" suggests his "inspection" in
1918
was indeed biased!
The inspection of 1918 was a sham for another reason – Jesus made up his mind 34 years earlier! 8:3. And another angel. - Not the "voice of the Lord," mentioned in the preceding chapter, but the corporate body - the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which Pastor Russell formed to finish his work. This verse shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the Harvest work. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is the greatest corporation in the world, because from the time of its organization until now the Lord has used it as His channel through which to make known the Glad Tidings.Russell started the WTS in 1881 and incorporated it in 1884. Obviously, any inspection by Jesus in 1918 was prejudged i.e. biased! Recall again
the
sensational claim in The
Finished Mystery that Pastor Russell continued to manage the
"harvest
work" after his death! Contact with the dead is spiritualism –
something
that JWs now claim to abhor! Jesus must have missed that point although
he was responsible for it!
Anyway, in
1919 –
so the teaching goes – Jesus organized
the
WTS and its supporters as his sole collective representative and
rejected
all other churches.
NO INPUT FROM OVER 99% The "faithful and discreet slave" is supposed to number 144,000 when totalled up from the 1st century to the 20th. The "remnant" of these numbered 8661 in 2000 AD. (The Watchtower 2001 January 1 p. 21) This so-called
"anointed
remnant" of the
"slave class" is mainly American but includes other nationalities.
Supposedly
all of them – the "class" –
share in providing and dispensing of "food":
The "slave" class continues to be identifiable both by its activity of providing spiritual food and by the existence of a spiritually well-fed congregation. (The Watchtower 1981 March 1 p. 30) From 1921 to 1941
almost
every WTS book and
booklet, and almost everything in The Watch Tower was written
by
one man – J F Rutherford!
Since the 1940s a "Governing Body" which is selected from the "remnant" has ruled the JWs. Ray Franz is a former Governing Body member who defected in 1981. He writes:
The
fact is
that not even 1 percent
of the number of "anointed" ones have the slightest part in determining
what Jehovah's Witnesses receive in the way of Biblical material or in
the forming of policy or the directing of the activities of that
people…
By far the majority of the articles published in The Watchtower
magazine
were written by persons not of the "anointed class". (In Search of
Christian Freedom 1991 p.
154)
CHRONOLOGICALLY THE "SLAVE" DOES NOT EXIST! The 1914 date for the arrival of Jesus is calculated by adding 2520 years to the date when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. The WTS says this was in 607 BC but this has no support outside the WTS. Modern textbooks and encyclopedias say Jerusalem fell in 586 BC. (Jonsson, C O 1998 The Gentile Times Reconsidered)
The JW
identification
of
the "Slave class"
therefore rests on false chronology.
SUMMARY Five reasons why the "faithful and discreet slave" class is imaginary: 1 The WTS has been inconsistent about who the Slave is. Until 1895 it taught that the Slave is the whole body of Christ. Then it held that the Slave is an individual – Russell. In 1927 the WTS again claimed the Slave was the whole body of Christ – this in their theology being 144,000 persons. 2 The "slave class" has supposedly existed since 33 A.D. but the WTS has not identified any individuals, groups or locations of this "slave class" after the 1st century until C T Russell appeared. 3 The alleged "slave class" is admitted to have been spiritually "unclean" in 1918. Analysis of WTS publications of that period reveal errors by thousands – "food" so poisoned that the WTS now opposes its use. Yet Jesus supposedly inspected all churches in 1918 and confirmed the promoters of this poison as his sole "faithful slave". 4 The entire "slave" class, now comprised of the "remnant", supposedly produces the "food". In reality most are never consulted in any decisions, publications or doctrinal revisions.
5 The
chronology
behind
the "return" of Jesus
in 1914 and hence his inspection of all churches in 1918 is false.
Investigator Magazine
specializes in getting at the truth:
https://ed5015.tripod.com/ https://investigatormagazine.net Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses at: https://ed5015.tripod.com/jwdictionary/ |