Authority

Watchtower Authority

Among the things that Jehovah's Witnesses believe are the following: They alone are God's people; Jesus' second advent was in the year 1914 (invisibly); the Church, called the Christian Congregation, consists of only 144,000 people; flag saluting is idolatry; holidays are pagan and blood transfusion are unbiblical. Most importantly, they teach that God has a latter-day "prophet" on earth today to reveal His will to all Jehovah's Witnesses. The name of this special representative is the Faithful and Wise Servant (KJV) or Faithful and Discreet Slave (NWT).

Christians are generally concerned more about what Jehovah's Witnesses deny than what they believe. Witnesses deny the doctrines of the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith alone, the nature of the soul and eternal punishment. This is but a mere partial list of deviations from Christian teaching. (For a detailed look at the history and doctrines of J.W.s, as well as a biblical refutation of them, please send for a free catalog from Witness Inc.)

The question is , Where do the Watchtower Society's leaders claim
to get their authority to oversee the interests of Jehovah's Witnesses?



The answer is found in their interpretation of Matt 24:45, which reads: "Who is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over His household, to give them meat in due season?" (KJV). They interpret this passage by claiming that Jesus predicted God would establish a special "Servant" on the earth having the sole spiritual authority to represent Him. The servant would act as the sole interpreter of His word. This servant is called "The Faithful and Discreet Slave" (NWT). The following four points summarize the basis of the Watchtower Society's teaching about this Servant.

A." This servant is a class of people-144,000 anointed Ones (also called Body of Christ, Christian Congregation, Little flock, or Spirit-Begotten Ones). According to today's Watchtower leaders, the Servant (or "Slave") is not an individual, but a class. This class has been expanding to it's full number (144,000) since the days of Jesus, especially since the year 1914. Most of them have died and now reign in heaven with Jesus. In 1919, this class was appointed by Jesus over all his spiritual belongings".

JW's are told that the Servant Class will rule over them for eternity. The society declares:

          "...Their Kingdom is an indefinitely lasting kingdom, and all the rulerships will serve and obey even them." (Daniel 7:27) Jehovah's giving of the world rulership to Jesus Christ and all His other "holy ones" must now be very close. For more than nineteen hundred and forty years since Pentecost of 33 C.E., Jehovah has been picking out the 144,000 to be associated with his Holy Son Jesus the Messiah in Kingdom rule over all the earth. By now we must be living in the days of the final remnant of that select body of 144,000 "holy ones."


B. While JWs are taught that The Servant class has been serving "spiritual food" since A.D. 33, the modern Servant class conveys spiritual knowledge only through the publications (and official representatives) of the Watchtower Society, beginning with the first issue of the Watchtower magazine in 1879.


C. Naturally, the Watchtower leaders claim membership in the Faithful and Wise servant class. In this way, they can maintain control, acting as the communicator of God's will to all of the Witnesses. The Society's leadership claims to be the "governing body" for the larger Servant class and the millions of J.Ws worldwide.

The following is a chart which shows the line of authority in the J.W. organization. Notice that the "Faithful and Discreet Slave: (or "Faithful and Wise Servant") class oversees all of JW activity through this select "governing body" of approximately a dozen men.

PHOTO OF THE ORDER OF AUTHORITY
       IN THE JW ORGANIZATION

           Watchtower, 12/15/71, 9. 749

   D. Since this servant class is God's sole means of communication, Witnesses must be in total agreement with it's teachings. J.W's must submit and conform to all the instruction of the Servant class..

JW's must believe what this Servant class teaches them through The Watchtower. The Society states:


"If we have love for Jehovah and for the organization of his people we shall not be suspicious, but shall, as the Bible says, "believe all things," all things that the Watchtower brings out, inasmuch as it has been faithful in giving us a knowledge of God's purposes and guiding us in the way of peace, safety and truth from it's inception to this present day."


The Society leaders do not allow any JW to question their authority, especially regarding doctrine. As stated above, the Witness must "not be suspicious" but rather believe all things,"--all things The Watchtower brings out, When individual JW's begin to think independently, i.e., use their own judgment, they are criticized, considered apostate and removed from association with the JW's. An example is given of some Witnesses who believed in their personal freedom to choose one's beliefs.

By expressing their own personal opinions, they were challenging the most fundamental JW belief--that God operates through a "channel of communication," the "Faithful and Wise Servant" class and it's Governing Body, not through individual JW's. The Society reported:

"During 1982 a particularly virulent form of apostasy developed, mainly in the Dublin are. Some brothers began to resent the authority of the congregation and to question the body of teachings that are accepted by Jehovah's people as truth. They promoted the idea that each Christian should be able to decide for himself on various matters of doctrine... Quietly and surreptitiously they sowed seeds of doubt in the minds of others regarding doctrine. The integrity of members of the Governing Body was questioned. The dissenters who were serving as elders and ministerial servants minimized organizational instructions. From the platform, and at other times secretly, they disseminated their own ideas, undermining the confidence of others in Jehovah's organization...The real issue was whether this was, in fact, Jehovah's organization or not."

Christians who witness to Jehovah's Witnesses need to know about this Faithful and Wise Servant since the Watchtower Society claims that all true teaching comes only from this organization, the Servant class. See You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, 1982, p.193 (P1) and Watchtower, 5/1/92, p. 31 (P3). For detailed information on the authoritative claims of the organization over JW's, see the bookBible Students? (Witness Inc., 1983).

(Also, check out the book Who is The Faithful & Wise Servant?
Witness Inc. 1992)