There are now some eight billion human souls on this planet. Jehovah God knows each and every one. He also knows those who are spiritually inclined and groping for the truth. They are most precious to him. Jesus said the Kingdom of God belongs to them.
Over the years, the Watchtower has related many experiences where householders had been praying for answers, and in a short while, Jehovah’s Witnesses showed up with an open Bible. I know; years ago, I was one such truth seeker who was brought into contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
There is no question in my mind that Christ has used the Watchtower Bible Society to accomplish the foretold preaching of the good news of the Kingdom before the conclusion of the system. Also, God has entrusted his dear sheep to qualified men appointed to serve as shepherds. Appointed shepherds are expected to look after those under their charge. Jesus impressed upon us how precious his sheep are when he related a story of the shepherd who leaves the 99 behind to search for one lost lamb.
I received an email some weeks ago from a sister, Ruth Underwood. Ruth related to me how she had shared some information with a sister in her congregation—unsanctioned information from the Internet, specifically from my website and YouTube videos.
The sister dutifully informed an elder that sister Underwood was sharing “apostate” material. Soon enough, two elders investigated the charge. During the conversation, sister Underwood stated that there was an evil presence in the leadership of the Watchtower. The two elders assured sister Underwood that Jehovah would never allow that to happen. Of course, no biblical support was offered in support of their opinion. It is just widely believed—at least among Jehovah’s Witnesses—that the Watchtower can do no wrong. Jehovah will not allow it.
In the course of the conversation, Ruth stated that she did not believe that Christ returned in 1914. You can only imagine the thoughts that ran through the minds of those two elders. Mind you, sister Underwood—who is a mature woman, a mother of grown children—not a new convert, did not confess to disbelieving the Bible. On the contrary, she wholeheartedly believes Jehovah is God. She has faith in Jesus and the power of his shed blood. She believes in the coming of Christ’s Kingdom and hopes to be numbered among that great crowd who will survive the end of Satan’s world. However, after considering the evidence that I presented to the public, she no longer believes that Jesus began ruling the world in 1914. She is not alone.
A few days after that investigative meeting, an elder called Ruth and requested another meeting, this time with the judicial tribunal. She declined to meet with them. So, sister Underwood was disfellowshipped in absentia. An elder simply rang her up and told her she was out. He neglected to specify what the scriptural grounds were for her expulsion. Apostasy, perhaps? Maybe the Service Department could clarify that for us. In any case, that means that questioning or doubting the organization’s specious interpretation of arcane chronology that has gone through dozens of revisions and adjustments is tantamount to turning one’s back on Jehovah.
The real issue, though, is not 1914. The unspoken reason Ruth Underwood was summarily disfellowshipped is because she expressed doubt in the infallibility of the Governing Body. Of course, the Governing Body does not claim to be infallible. That would be absurd. However, when one of Jehovah’s Witnesses calls into question the truthfulness of some interpretation or the righteousness of some organizational policy, then there are repercussions because, for all intents and purposes, the so-called faithful slave is assumed to be infallible. The Watchtower cannot be wrong. Not on something as important as 1914. Not on anything of importance. Question the faithful and discreet slave, doubt him, and be prepared to be punished by those appointed by him.
Whatever happened to snatching a doubter out of the fire? Isn’t that what elders are supposed to do? In Ruth’s case, the elders did not bother themselves with that. Rejecting 1914 is the same as doubting Jehovah’s existence. There can be no discussion. The Watchtower has made its policy known: Unity over truth. All Jehovah’s Witnesses must be united in their beliefs, even if some of what they believe is a lie. A few individuals who believe unsanctioned truth are not allowed.
I appreciate that the Governing Body did not concoct the 1914 doctrine. They inherited it. The invisible parousia, Kingdom-has-come dogma, has been embedded in the Watchtower since day one. The Governing Body is just committed to zealously maintaining it. What a dirty job that must be. Of course, they cannot defend it in an open debate. 1914 is only true in the closed system guarded by elders committed to disfellowshipping anyone who does not believe what the apostle presciently described as an artfully contrived false story.
Sadly, Ruth Underwood is not the only one to have been thrown under the grinding wheels of the theocratic juggernaut. There have been many. Perhaps even more, Jehovah’s Witnesses are quietly walking away and want nothing to do with the Watchtower. Still, the organization is not concerned about their grievances.
There is a growing number of injured, lost, and straying sheep. And that brings to mind what is stated in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds should feed? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bandaged the injured or brought back the strays or looked for the lost; rather, you have ruled them with harshness and tyranny. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; they were scattered and became food for every wild beast of the field. My sheep were straying on all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the surface of the earth, with no one searching for them or seeking to find them.” (Ez 34:2-6)
Some years ago, the Watchtower made the utterly bizarre claim that the negligent shepherds were the “political shepherds” of Christendom. Why Jehovah would expect the tyrants of the world to feed and care for his sheep was never explained. How can you explain nonsense? What would be the benefit if a “political shepherd” actually sought and found one of Jehovah’s lost sheep? The more recent Pure Worship commentary does not mention the self-feeding “political shepherds.” Only that the prophecy was fulfilled in 1914 when Jehovah installed “David” as king, and now Jehovah’s sheep are all well cared for. So much for the denunciation of the self-feeding shepherds.
Realistically, we cannot expect those who sit in their granite castle by the lake, governing the lives of millions of people, to acknowledge themselves as tyrannical shepherds. But Ruth was right. There is an evil presence in the Watchtower’s leadership. What else ought he call it but evil when Bethel callously evicts congregants from a thousand Kingdom Halls—places of worship that they built and dedicated to Jehovah? And why has this been done? Simple. For profit. The inconvenience that this has caused the tens of thousands of Christians who have been dispossessed is no concern of the men who run Watchtower Inc. Sheep are meant to be shorn and slaughtered, even as Jehovah has said: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock.”
I don’t know where Jehovah’s Witnesses came up with the idea that Jehovah would not allow wicked men to run his organization. I have also heard that opinion voiced. God has allowed every organization he has ever used to be dominated by evil men. Why is the Watchtower unique? The fact is, it is not.
Judas was right there with the Son of God when Jesus reclined at the Passover table with his apostles. Later that evening, in prayer, Christ referred to his treacherous betrayer as “the son of destruction.” Years later, an inspired prophet foretold that a man of lawlessness would be the point man for an operation of Satan that would be backed by powerful, deceptive works and lying signs and every unrighteous deception. God would allow this deception to go to those who know the truth in order to test their love of the truth when the time comes.
Over the years, the Watchtower has related many experiences where householders had been praying for answers, and in a short while, Jehovah’s Witnesses showed up with an open Bible. I know; years ago, I was one such truth seeker who was brought into contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
There is no question in my mind that Christ has used the Watchtower Bible Society to accomplish the foretold preaching of the good news of the Kingdom before the conclusion of the system. Also, God has entrusted his dear sheep to qualified men appointed to serve as shepherds. Appointed shepherds are expected to look after those under their charge. Jesus impressed upon us how precious his sheep are when he related a story of the shepherd who leaves the 99 behind to search for one lost lamb.
I received an email some weeks ago from a sister, Ruth Underwood. Ruth related to me how she had shared some information with a sister in her congregation—unsanctioned information from the Internet, specifically from my website and YouTube videos.
The sister dutifully informed an elder that sister Underwood was sharing “apostate” material. Soon enough, two elders investigated the charge. During the conversation, sister Underwood stated that there was an evil presence in the leadership of the Watchtower. The two elders assured sister Underwood that Jehovah would never allow that to happen. Of course, no biblical support was offered in support of their opinion. It is just widely believed—at least among Jehovah’s Witnesses—that the Watchtower can do no wrong. Jehovah will not allow it.
In the course of the conversation, Ruth stated that she did not believe that Christ returned in 1914. You can only imagine the thoughts that ran through the minds of those two elders. Mind you, sister Underwood—who is a mature woman, a mother of grown children—not a new convert, did not confess to disbelieving the Bible. On the contrary, she wholeheartedly believes Jehovah is God. She has faith in Jesus and the power of his shed blood. She believes in the coming of Christ’s Kingdom and hopes to be numbered among that great crowd who will survive the end of Satan’s world. However, after considering the evidence that I presented to the public, she no longer believes that Jesus began ruling the world in 1914. She is not alone.
A few days after that investigative meeting, an elder called Ruth and requested another meeting, this time with the judicial tribunal. She declined to meet with them. So, sister Underwood was disfellowshipped in absentia. An elder simply rang her up and told her she was out. He neglected to specify what the scriptural grounds were for her expulsion. Apostasy, perhaps? Maybe the Service Department could clarify that for us. In any case, that means that questioning or doubting the organization’s specious interpretation of arcane chronology that has gone through dozens of revisions and adjustments is tantamount to turning one’s back on Jehovah.
The real issue, though, is not 1914. The unspoken reason Ruth Underwood was summarily disfellowshipped is because she expressed doubt in the infallibility of the Governing Body. Of course, the Governing Body does not claim to be infallible. That would be absurd. However, when one of Jehovah’s Witnesses calls into question the truthfulness of some interpretation or the righteousness of some organizational policy, then there are repercussions because, for all intents and purposes, the so-called faithful slave is assumed to be infallible. The Watchtower cannot be wrong. Not on something as important as 1914. Not on anything of importance. Question the faithful and discreet slave, doubt him, and be prepared to be punished by those appointed by him.
Whatever happened to snatching a doubter out of the fire? Isn’t that what elders are supposed to do? In Ruth’s case, the elders did not bother themselves with that. Rejecting 1914 is the same as doubting Jehovah’s existence. There can be no discussion. The Watchtower has made its policy known: Unity over truth. All Jehovah’s Witnesses must be united in their beliefs, even if some of what they believe is a lie. A few individuals who believe unsanctioned truth are not allowed.
I appreciate that the Governing Body did not concoct the 1914 doctrine. They inherited it. The invisible parousia, Kingdom-has-come dogma, has been embedded in the Watchtower since day one. The Governing Body is just committed to zealously maintaining it. What a dirty job that must be. Of course, they cannot defend it in an open debate. 1914 is only true in the closed system guarded by elders committed to disfellowshipping anyone who does not believe what the apostle presciently described as an artfully contrived false story.
Sadly, Ruth Underwood is not the only one to have been thrown under the grinding wheels of the theocratic juggernaut. There have been many. Perhaps even more, Jehovah’s Witnesses are quietly walking away and want nothing to do with the Watchtower. Still, the organization is not concerned about their grievances.
There is a growing number of injured, lost, and straying sheep. And that brings to mind what is stated in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds should feed? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bandaged the injured or brought back the strays or looked for the lost; rather, you have ruled them with harshness and tyranny. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; they were scattered and became food for every wild beast of the field. My sheep were straying on all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the surface of the earth, with no one searching for them or seeking to find them.” (Ez 34:2-6)
Some years ago, the Watchtower made the utterly bizarre claim that the negligent shepherds were the “political shepherds” of Christendom. Why Jehovah would expect the tyrants of the world to feed and care for his sheep was never explained. How can you explain nonsense? What would be the benefit if a “political shepherd” actually sought and found one of Jehovah’s lost sheep? The more recent Pure Worship commentary does not mention the self-feeding “political shepherds.” Only that the prophecy was fulfilled in 1914 when Jehovah installed “David” as king, and now Jehovah’s sheep are all well cared for. So much for the denunciation of the self-feeding shepherds.
Realistically, we cannot expect those who sit in their granite castle by the lake, governing the lives of millions of people, to acknowledge themselves as tyrannical shepherds. But Ruth was right. There is an evil presence in the Watchtower’s leadership. What else ought he call it but evil when Bethel callously evicts congregants from a thousand Kingdom Halls—places of worship that they built and dedicated to Jehovah? And why has this been done? Simple. For profit. The inconvenience that this has caused the tens of thousands of Christians who have been dispossessed is no concern of the men who run Watchtower Inc. Sheep are meant to be shorn and slaughtered, even as Jehovah has said: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock.”
I don’t know where Jehovah’s Witnesses came up with the idea that Jehovah would not allow wicked men to run his organization. I have also heard that opinion voiced. God has allowed every organization he has ever used to be dominated by evil men. Why is the Watchtower unique? The fact is, it is not.
Judas was right there with the Son of God when Jesus reclined at the Passover table with his apostles. Later that evening, in prayer, Christ referred to his treacherous betrayer as “the son of destruction.” Years later, an inspired prophet foretold that a man of lawlessness would be the point man for an operation of Satan that would be backed by powerful, deceptive works and lying signs and every unrighteous deception. God would allow this deception to go to those who know the truth in order to test their love of the truth when the time comes.