Jehovah’s Witnesses contend that the men (currently 8) making up their governing body constitute a fulfillment of what they consider to be the prophecy of the faithful and discreet slave referred to at Matthew 24:45-47. Is this accurate or merely a self-serving interpretation? If the latter, then what or who is the faithful and discreet slave, and what of the other three slaves that Jesus refers to in Luke’s parallel account?
This video will attempt to answer all these questions using Scriptural context and reasoning.
The Governing Body is, by its own admission, the “highest ecclesiastical authority for the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses” worldwide. (See point 7 of the Declaration of Gerrit Losch.[i]) Nevertheless, there is no foundation in Scripture for a governing authority made up...
[This post was contributed by Alex Rover] Some leaders are exceptional human beings, with a powerful presence, one inspiring of confidence. We are naturally drawn to exceptional people: tall, successful, well spoken, good looking. Recently, a visiting Jehovah’s...
When we have doubts about some teaching in our publications, we have been encouraged to remember from whom we have learned all the wonderful truths from the Bible that have come to distinguish us. For example, God’s name and purpose and the truth about death and the...
[We now come to the final article in our four-part series. The previous three were merely the build-up, laying the groundwork for this astonishingly presumptuous interpretation. - MV] This is what the contributing members of this forum believe is the scriptural...
[First appearing on April 28 of this year, I've republished (with updates) this post because this is the week we actually study this particular Watchtower article. - MV] It appears that the sole purpose of this, the third study article in the July 15, 2013 The...
[This post was originally published on April 12, 2013, but given that this weekend we will be studying this first article of a series comprising one of our most controversial issues in some time, it seems appropriate to re-release it now. - Meleti Vivlon] The...
[Click here to view Part 3] “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave…?” (Mt. 24:45) Imagine you are reading this verse for the first time. You come across it without prejudice, without bias, and without an agenda. You are curious, naturally. The slave Jesus...
The November Study Edition of The Watchtower just came out. One of our alert readers drew our attention to page 20, paragraph 17 which reads in part, “When “the Assyrian” attacks…the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear...
[Click here to view Part 2] In Part 2 of this series, we established that there is no scriptural evidence for the existence of a first century governing body. This begs the question, Is there scriptural evidence for the existence of the current one? This is critical...
[Click here to view Part 1 of this series] Our modern-day Governing Body takes as divine backing for its existence the teaching that the first century congregation was also ruled by a governing body comprised of the Apostles and older men in Jerusalem. Is this true? ...
[I had originally decided to write a post on this topic in response to a comment made by a sincere, but concerned, reader concerning the advisability of the public nature of our forum. However, as I researched it, I became increasingly aware of how complex and...
This is a follow up to the post Look! I Am With You All the Days. In that post we made reference to the fact that memorial attendance declined dramatically from 1925 to 1928--something on the astonishing order of 80%. This was due to the failure of Judge Rutherford's...
This post is a review of the second study article in the July 15 issue of The Watchtower which explains our new understanding of Jesus’ parable of the wheat and weeds. Before continuing, please open the article to page 10 and take a good look at the illustration at...
(Jude 9) . . .But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said: “May Jehovah rebuke you.” This Scripture has always fascinated me. If anyone...
This past week’s Watchtower study went to great lengths to show from Scripture that we, men and women both, are steward for the Lord. Par. 3 “…the Scriptures show that all who serve God have a stewardship.” Par. 6 “…the apostle Paul wrote that Christian overseers were...
John speaking under inspiration says: (1 John 4:1) . . .Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. This isn't a...
This week's bible reading caused me to think of a recent post. From the outline for this circuit assembly part on maintaining "oneness of mind", we had this line of reasoning: “Meditate on the fact that all the truths that we have learned and that have united God’s...
One of our commenters brought an interesting court case to our attention. It involves a libel case brought against brother Rutherford and the Watch Tower Society in 1940 by one Olin Moyle, former Bethelite and legal counsel to the Society. Without taking sides, the...
I don’t know how I missed this at our 2012 district convention, but a friend in Latin America—where they are now having their district conventions for the year—brought it to my attention. The first part of the Saturday morning sessions showed us how to use the new...
“We need to guard against developing a spirit of independence. By word or action, may we never challenge the channel of communication that Jehovah is using today. “ (w09 11/15 p. 14 par. 5 Treasure Your Place in the Congregation) Sobering words, to be sure! None of...
The circuit assembly for this service year includes a four-part symposium. The third part is entitled “Keep This Mental Attitude—Oneness of Mind”. It explains what oneness of mind is in the Christian Congregation. Under that second heading, “How Christ Displayed...
Well, we finally have an official pronouncement in writing on the new position the organization has taken vis-à-vis the “faithful and discreet slave”, now available on www.jw.org. Since we’ve already dealt with this new understanding elsewhere in this forum, we won’t...
A new understanding of Matthew 24:45-47 was released at this year’s annual meeting. It should be understood that what we discuss here is based on hearsay accounts of what was said by the various speakers at the meeting on the subject of “the faithful and discreet...
We had a visiting speaker from an overseas branch office give our public talk this past weekend. He made a point I'd never heard before regarding Jesus' words, "Who really is the faithful and discreet slave..." He asked the audience to consider whom Jesus was...
“Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?” (Mt. 24:45-47) In a previous post, several of the forum members provided valuable insights on this subject. Before moving on to other subjects, it would seem beneficial to summarize the key elements of this discussion....
Preface When I set this blog/forum up, it was for the intention of getting a group of like-minded individuals together to deepen our understanding of the Bible. I had no intention to use it in any way that would disparage the official teachings of Jehovah’s...
Inertia n. - a physical characteristic of all matter to preserve its state of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. The more massive the body, the more force is required to make it change its direction. This is true of physical bodies; it is true of...