ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE USED TO SHOW THAT THE GOVERNING BODY IS “THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE”

“RELIANCE ON GOD’S WORD”

Of the three points of evidence presented in The Watchtower of February 2017, the most important point is the claim that the members of the Governing Body rely on God’s Word. This claim is patently false, and therefore, I have put it in quotation marks.

To a great extent, the members of the Governing Body refer to the Bible, and the Watchtower literature of the 21st century is full of Bible quotations. At the mid-week meeting, the whole Bible is read over a couple of years, and comments on parts of the text are made at each meeting.

However, while the congregation members are encouraged to read the Bible, they are not taught how to engage in an interactive study of it. Regarding the members of the Governing Body themselves, there are two tenets they have practiced, showing that they do not fully rely on the Word of God.

First: They read their own viewpoints into the Bible and claim that this proves that they rely on the Bible. This is exemplified by their claim, discussed in the Excursus below, that their law of disfellowshipping Witnesses who use tobacco proves that they rely on the Bible. This is a false claim!

Second: They have rejected the full inspiration of the Bible, and they claim that large portions of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us today, such as Song of Solomon.

I will now discuss the claim in The Watchtower of February 2017 that the Governing Body’s “reliance on God’s Word” shows that they are “the faithful and discreet slave.”

EXCURSUS: “THEIR GLORY CONSISTS IN THEIR SHAME” PHILIPPIANS 3:19 Paul refers to some who are “enemies of the torture stake of the Christ” (Philippians 3:18). What they view as their glory is, in reality, their shame. One piece of evidence presented in The Watchtower of February 2017, page 23, that the members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave” is as follows: Reliance on God’s Word.(ReadJohn 17:17.)…The strictness really proceeds from God, who expresses himself through his written Word. After citing several relevant scriptures, The Watchtower explained why an unrepentant smoker should be disfellowshipped. (1 Cor. 5:7; 2 Cor. 7:1) It said: “This represents no effort to act in an arbitrary, dictatorial manner. The strictness really proceeds from God, who expresses himself through his written Word.” Has any other religious organization been willing to rely fully on God’s Word, even when doing so presents a real challenge to some of its members? But we read in The Watchtower of 1969, page 129: The Bible does not comment directly on the view that God’s servants should have concerning the use of tobacco. When the present members of the Governing Body argue that they are the only denomination that follows the Bible, which is proven by their disfellowshipping of persons who use tobacco, even as The Watchtower admits that the Bible does not, in fact, say anything about the use of tobacco—then “their glory consists in their shame.” The first two quotations below are from The Watchtower of March 2017, pages 26, 27, §§ 12 and 15, and the third quotation is from The Watchtower of February 15, 1969, page 126: 12 So how can we answer Jesus’ question: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?” (Matt. 24:45) What evidence is there that the Governing Body is filling that role? Let us consider the same three factors that directed the governing body in the first century. 15 Reliance on God’s Word. (Read John 17:17.) Consider what occurred in 1973. The June 1 issue of The Watchtower asked the question: “Do . . . persons who have not broken their addiction to tobacco qualify for baptism?” The answer was: “The Scriptural evidence points to the conclusion that they do not.” After citing several relevant scriptures, The Watchtower explained why an unrepentant smoker should be disfellowshipped. (1 Cor. 5:7; 2 Cor. 7:1) It said: “This represents no effort to act in an arbitrary, dictatorial manner. The strictness really proceeds from God, who expresses himself through his written Word.” Has any other religious organization been willing to rely fully on God’s Word, even when doing so presents a real challenge to some of its members? The Bible does not comment directly on the view that God’s servants should have concerning the use of tobacco. This is understandable, since, according to one encyclopedia, tobacco was not used in Biblical lands until more than fifteen centuries after the Bible was completed. Yet, from what we read in God’s Word, it is easy to see that the use of tobacco, whether one is smoking, chewing or snuffing it, is an unclean habit that goes contrary to Bible principles. So Jehovah’s witnesses strongly discourage its use, and they view as spiritually immature any Christians who continue to use tobacco. THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY USE THE FACT THAT THEY DISFELLOWSHIP WITNESSES WHO USE TOBACCO AS EVIDENCE THAT THEY “RELY FULLY ON GOD’S WORD.” YET, THEY ADMIT THAT GOD’S WORD DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT TOBACCO. “THEIR GLORY CONSISTS IN THEIR SHAME” When we look more closely at the issue, reviewing what The Watchtower has said about tobacco, we realize that the shame of the Governing Body is even greater than it appears to be at first glance: The Watchtower of July 1, 1942, page 207, said that even though the use of tobacco was an extremely filthy habit, the Watchtower Society had no right to ask persons to stop using tobacco. We read: To be sure, the Society has no power or authority or desire to say that a person who wishes to use tobacco may not do so. Nor can it say, “You may not witness for the Kingdom.” The booklet Questions in Connection With the Service of the Kingdom of 1961 showed that there was one exception to the rule that men who used tobacco could not be appointed as servants. We read: There may be exceptions to this rule. But one who is using tobacco can only be appointed as a ministerial servant or an overseer if there is no other baptized person in the congregation who can serve as a servant. The Watchtower of 1969, page 477, strongly discourages the use of tobacco. But Witnesses who use tobacco will not be disfellowshipped. We read: So Jehovah’s Witnesses strongly discourage its use… Consequently, in addition to the aforementioned reasons for overcoming the unclean habit, one should strive to conquer the habit so as to be available for special privileges in the congregation, such as being an appointed servant or a full-time pioneer minister. The Watchtower of 1 June 1973, page 340, shows that persons who use tobacco should be disfellowshipped if they do not quit within six months: If persons already baptized are not willing to abandon their addiction to damaging and enslaving products, what then? Then they show that, like Esau, they do not ‘appreciate sacred things,’ preferring such habits to the privilege of being part of Jehovah’s clean people. They should therefore be removed from the congregation due to such conduct unbecoming a Christian.​—1 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 12:15, 16.[1] Can we now see how misleading the argument is that their reliance on God’s word—exemplified by disfellowshipping Witnesses who use tobacco—proves that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave”? All the Watchtower literature published during the 30 years from 1942 to 1972 shows that the use of tobacco is not mentioned in the Bible, and therefore, no sanctions can be placed against those who use it. But then, in 1973, the minds of the members of the Governing Body—not the Bible—decided that those who use tobacco should be disfellowshipped. And then, in 2017, the members of the Governing Body use this shameful, unscriptural decision from 1973, of disfellowshipping persons who use tobacco, as proof, ironically, of their reliance on God’s word. And this is evidence of “their glory” and that they are appointed by God as “the faithful and discreet slave.” The glory of the members of the Governing Body certainly “consists in their shame”!

THE REJECTION OF THE FULL INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE

How would we view a person who says that he believes that the whole Bible is the word of God, but also says that the creation account in Genesis chapter 1 is not a literal historical account? It is only an illustration of the fact that God is the creator of all things. Or, how would we view a person who says that he believes that everything in the Bible is true; but when we show him the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam in Luke 3:23-38, he says that the first part is mythological because Adam and Eve stand for the human family and do not refer to two persons who were the ancestors of the whole human family?

Those who believe that every word in the Bible is inspired by God would say that both viewpoints presented above are false teachings and a rejection of the full inspiration of the Bible. Yet, the members of the Governing Body are guilty of several similar false teachings.

Large portions of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us, according to the Governing Body

For 130 years, the Bible students and Jehovah’s Witnesses have believed that every word in the Bible is inspired by God, that all the nuances and subtleties in the original text are important, and that every account in the Bible is included by holy spirit with a particular purpose. If you ask each of them, the current members of the Governing Body will say they believe the whole Bible is inspired by God. However, their writings and actions say something different.

The present view of the members of the Governing Body is that large portions of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us today. We can only gather some moral principles or general lessons from these accounts. We can illustrate this situation with the Song of Solomon. The only purpose of this book, according to the Governing Body, is to teach some moral principles regarding marriage, faithfulness, and dating. This means that the dramatic account with the Shulamite, the shepherd, and Solomon, and with all the persons speaking and acting have no meaning—the account is not included with a particular purpose. This simply is a false teaching!  A large number of other accounts are viewed similarly. A detailed discussion of this situation is found in the article “The members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible,”[2] and in “The Governing Body’s new view of the Bible” (chapter 6) in my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body.

The new and unbiblical explanation of prophecies by the members of the Governing Body

All the books discussing prophecies published by the Watchtower Society between 1870 and 2018 have followed the same method of explanation. The Hebrew text has been analyzed, and the fulfillment of what this text says has been explained. The method of explanation in the book Pure Worship of Jehovah — Restored At Last! (2018), discussing the prophecy of Ezekiel is completely different from the method that was previously used.

The Hebrew text of Ezekiel, for the most part, is not analyzed and its meaning is not presented. But what the text of Ezekiel reminds the members of the GB of is presented. So, what is presented as “food at the proper time” is not the prophetic and antitypical meaning of Ezekiel’s text, but what comes to the minds of the members of the Governing Body when they read it.

Some of these reminders are allegorical, and others are simply trivialities. This new method is based on the Governing Body’s new view of the Bible—the literal meaning of its text is not always important. “The Governing Body’s new view of the Bible” (Chapter 6) in my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body has a detailed discussion of this situation.

The details and subtleties of the Bible text are not important, according to the members of the Governing Body

One of the basic features of the original NWT is that the translators did their utmost to convey all the details and nuances of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts to the readers. The members of the present Governing Body do not agree that this is important, and therefore, this principle was not followed by the translators of the revised NWT13.

The consequence of this is that this revised translation is not an accurate rendering of the original text. A great number of nuances of the original text are not conveyed to readers, and nuances not in the original text are often added. The members of the Governing Body and the translators also demonstrate a lack of understanding of the grammar of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek verbs. They have rejected the basic translation principles of the original NWT, resulting in the nuances of Hebrew and Greek verbs not being conveyed to English readers.

A discussion of the many problems with the NWT13 is found in my book, My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body, pages 311-327.

The view that details and nuances are not important in Bible translation is also evident in the Watchtower literature over the past 20 years or more. There is an enormous difference between this literature and the Watchtower literature that was published in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The characteristics of this old literature are detailed analyses of the original text of the Bible. The recent Watchtower literature takes a superficial approach to the Bible’s original text, and there are no deep analyses of it.

In this section, the claim in The Watchtower of February 2017 that their reliance on the Bible proves that the members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave” has been proven to be false.

The members of the Governing Body falsely claim that actions they have taken, but that are not mentioned in the Bible, prove that they rely on the Bible. They do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible, nor do they view the nuances and subtleties of the original text as important.

[1]. A detailed discussion of the whole issue of tobacco is found in the article, “The use of tobacco— a disfellowshipping offense not based on the Bible.” (https://mybelovedreligion.no/2020/09/25/the-use-of-tobacco/)

[2]. https://mybelovedreligion.no/2023/05/20/the-members-of-the-governing-body-do-not-believe-in-the-full-inspiration-of-the-bible-2/

“EVIDENCE OF HOLY SPIRIT”

The claim of the Governing Body in The Watchtower of February 2017 that I will discuss below is the following:

¹³ Evidence of holy spirit.  The holy spirit has helped the Governing Body to grasp Scriptural truths not previously understood. For example, reflect on the list of beliefs clarified that was referred to in the preceding paragraph. Surely, no human deserves credit for discovering and explaining these “deep things of God”! (Read 1 Corinthians 2:10.) 

“CLOUDING BELIEFS” RATHER THAN “CLARIFYING BELIEFS”

The list referred to is “Beliefs clarified” in The Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY. I will now test the claim that holy spirit has helped the members of the Governing Body to understand “Scriptural truths not previously understood.”

The list shows that during the 30 years from 1990 to 2020, 94 different beliefs were “clarified,” while 107 different beliefs were “clarified” during the 119 years from 1870 to 1989. The Governing Body has been particularly busy over the eight years from 2013 to 2020, as I count 46 “clarified” beliefs during that period. In order to test the claim, we need not discuss every belief that has been “clarified,” but first, we need to differentiate what kinds of truths have been “clarified” during the last 30 years.

I have divided the “clarified beliefs” into three groups:

• Trivial matters: 22
• Important matters: 15
• Prophecies: 57

The Governing Body uses all these “clarified beliefs” as evidence that the Holy Spirit helped them gain an understanding of truths not previously understood. However, there are problems with all three groups that cannot have been caused by holy spirit. And the truth is that many beliefs have been clouded rather than clarified. I will give a few examples.

Trivial matters

1) One entry of 2009 is: “head covering for female interpreters for the deaf at meetings.” The Watchtower of November 2009, pages 12 and 13, presented a new view of head covering. It describes situations when a sister who interprets Bible talks into sign language must wear a head covering and when she does not need to do that. This is a trivial matter that is based on human reasoning rather than on the holy spirit.

2) One entry of 2015 is: “head covering for sister conducting Bible study.” The Watchtower of February 15, 2015, page 30, had instructions regarding when a sister who conducts a Bible study in the presence of a man should use a head covering and when it is not necessary. This is again a trivial matter.

3) One entry of 2016 is: “congregational expression of joy over the reinstatement of someone.” The Watchtower of May 2016, page 32, says that spontaneous, dignified applause in connection with an announcement of reinstatement was appropriate. This was forbidden previously. I cannot believe that the Holy Spirit, for several decades, prevented the congregation from applauding when someone was reinstated. But in 2016, the holy spirit helped the Governing Body discover a truth that had not previously been understood: that applause was appropriate in such a situation. This new view is simply a manmade decision.

4) One entry of 2017 is: “vindication of Jehovah’s name.”  The comments of The Watchtower of June 2017, page 31, are:

On occasion our publications have taught that Jehovah’s name does not need to be vindicated because no one has called into question his right to bear that name. However, a clarified understanding was presented at the 2017 annual meeting. The chairman stated: “Simply put, it’s not wrong to say that we pray for the vindication of Jehovah’s name because his reputation certainly needs to be exonerated.”​—See the January 2018 program on jw.org^®. Look under LIBRARY > JW BROADCASTING^®.

This is not a spiritual issue but rather a linguistic one, because the “clarified belief” is simply a new definition of the word “vindicate.” All four examples are based on decisions made by the Governing Body, and I cannot imagine that holy spirit helped them to make any of these adjustments to previous practices.

Important beliefs that are clouded instead of being clarified

1) One entry in 1996 is: “Civilian service in lieu of military service.” After World War II, Jehovah’s Witnesses rightly claimed to be ambassadors for God’s Kingdom. Because of this, when they were called to do military service, they refused to do so. Then they were offered the option of performing civil service instead of military service. But they also refused this service because, as ambassadors, they did not accept that the state had the right to demand any kind of compulsory service from them. Because of this standpoint, many young Witnesses had to serve jail sentences of 18 months, two years, or more.

For 46 years, the Watchtower literature had shown that Jehovah’s Witnesses are ambassadors and, therefore, could not accept civil service. But now, there was a complete reversal, and the members of the Governing Body had decided that civil service, rather than military service, was acceptable if each young brother’s conscience accepted it. But we must ask: Where is the evidence of the help of holy spirit?

The new view was a compromise, which meant that Jehovah’s Witnesses could no longer rightly claim to be ambassadors for God’s Kingdom—they now accepted that the state had the right to demand compulsory service from them.

A natural question would be: Why did the holy spirit not help the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses to realize that their original standpoint regarding civil service was wrong? And if this original view to refuse civil service was wrong, why did the holy spirit allow all the suffering of thousands of young Witnesses who got long jail sentences because they followed the biblical view of compulsory service? And if the holy spirit helps the Governing Body to arrive at these clarifications, why did it allow the previous Governing Body to make this “wrong” decision in the first place? And even more important: 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NWT13) says that Christians “are ambassadors substituting for Christ.” How could the holy spirit be behind the current Governing Body’s decision to go against these words and, in fact, to annul them?

My answer is that the recent “clarification” of the view on civil service is no clarification at all. It seems to have been a “political compromise” to avoid problems with certain governments. But it is a clouding of the issue that, prior to this change, had a clear scriptural basis. The Governing Body’s recent “clarification” on this matter is merely a human standpoint that goes against the words of Paul, which are inspired by holy spirit.[1]

2) One entry in 2000 is: “the use of one’s own blood.” The Watchtower of October 15, 2000, pages 30, 31, forbids storing one’s own blood before an operation, so it can be transfused back into its owner if necessary during the operation. This is another human commandment made up by the members of the Governing Body, with no basis in the Bible.[2] 

This law may have consequences. The Watchtower of September 15, 2006, page 30, discussed whether a Witness who killed another person with his car had bloodguilt. The following examples were given:

To illustrate: If weather conditions were bad at the time of the accident, the driver should have exercised greater care. If he was drowsy, he should have stopped and rested until he was no longer sleepy, or he should have had someone else drive.

Suppose the driver was speeding. If any Christian exceeds the speed limit, this is a failure to render “Caesar’s things to Caesar.” It also betrays a disregard for the sacredness of life, for there is the possibility of fatal consequences.

The issue in the discussion is whether the driver had any responsibility for the death of the person. This also illustrates that when the members of the Governing Body make a human law that is not based on the Bible, they are responsible for the consequences of that law, just as a careless car driver.

As a member of the Hospital Liaison Committee for almost 30 years, I know that the death of a surgical patient because of his refusal of blood is extremely rare. But it can happen. And if it happens in a situation of a major surgery where the Witness was asked to deposit some of his own blood before the operation, the members of the Governing Body have blood on their hands; they have bloodguilt.

There are other situations in which this law of the Governing Body may shorten a Witness’s life. My experience is that most doctors respect that the Witnesses refuse a blood transfusion. At the same time, they want to be faithful to their promise to save lives and to practice medicine correctly. This means that, in many situations—and I mean “many”—patients who refuse blood will not receive as good medical treatment as those who accept blood.

For example, a Witness has a large cancerous tumor. The surgeon wants to give the patient the best possible treatment. But already before the operation, the surgeon realizes that he may not be able to remove all the outgrowths of the tumor without the use of blood transfusions. Therefore, the doctor asks the Witness to deposit some of his own blood before the operation. When the Witness refuses to do that, the doctor will not be able to remove all the cancerous tissue, and so the doctor decides to modify the surgery by leaving some of the cancerous tissue in the patient to ensure the patient survives the surgery without the required blood. Consequently, the remaining cancerous tissue inside the Witness may start to grow again. Because of this, the life of the Witness will be shortened.

There is no question that this unbiblical law against storing one’s own blood may have serious consequences for some Witnesses. And each member of the Governing Body has a great responsibility for the difficult situations that may arise.” It is impossible to believe that the holy spirit can be behind this law, which has no support in the Bible, and that can shorten the lives of many Witnesses.

On March 20, 2026, Gerrit Lösch, a member of the Governing Body, gave a talk on JW Broadcasting, stating that the members of the Governing Body had now allowed Witnesses to store their own blood and reinfuse it in connection with a future operation.

If the claim of the Governing Body that holy spirit has caused the clarification of beliefs is true, either the holy spirit made a wrong decision in 2000 when the Governing Body prohibited storing one’s own blood, or it made a wrong decision in 2026 when it annulled the prohibition against storing one’s own blood

But the fact is that in both situations it was the members of the Governing Body who erred. And the holy spirit was not behind either of the decisions.

3) One entry in 2013 is: “meaning of name Jehovah.” The reference is to the Appendix of NWT13. The way this Appendix is written shows that those who have written it had limited knowledge of Hebrew. Several main points of the Appendix have no linguistic basis, including that the meaning of yhwh as “He Causes to Become.” My book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body, pages 328-330, has a detailed analysis and discusses several errors in the NWT13 Appendix.

4) One entry in 2014 is: “no basis first-century Jews had for being ‘in expectation’ of Messiah.” The conclusion is that the Jews in the first century probably could not calculate the 69 weeks mentioned by Daniel, and such a calculation was not the reason why some persons waited for the Messiah in the first part of the first century. The arguments in this article are weak indeed.

Believing that the Bible is inspired by God means that we also believe that every account is included with a particular purpose. If the exact time for the Messiah to arrive, according to Daniel 9:25, 26, could not be calculated in the first century CE, there would be no purpose in having this prophecy in the Bible. But Daniel writes in 9:25, “You should know and understand.” This new view of the members of the Governing Body is, in reality, an attack on Bible inspiration—this account is not included with a purpose. And when the prophecy says it should be known and understood, the members of the Governing Body do not take this at face value and accept that the prophecy had to be known and understood at the time it was fulfilled in the first century CE.

A detailed analysis of Daniel’s text, concluding that ordinary Jews in the first century CE could calculate the 70 weeks, is found in my book, My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body, pages 63-65.

In this section, I have discussed four important beliefs that have been clouded by the supposed new insights of the members of the Governing Body, and I cannot believe that the holy spirit is behind these so-called “clarified beliefs.”

The acceptance of civil service is a compromise that rejects the Christian position of being ambassadors for Christ. The unbiblical commandment against storing one’s own blood may create serious and unnecessary life crises for Jehovah’s Witnesses. The explanation of the “meaning of the name Jehovah” is amateurish and betrays a lack of knowledge of Classical Hebrew, and the argument that Daniel’s 70 weeks probably could not be understood in the days of Jesus is an attack on the belief in the full inspiration of the Bible.

These points are not the work of the holy spirit; they are the work of imperfect humans who are neither inspired nor infallible! And these wrong “clarifications” refute the claim that the “clarifications” prove that the eight members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.”

The members of the Governing Body have hidden their errors

Of all the sides of the Christian faith that really have been clarified since World War II, the most important clarification is undoubtedly the clarification of the earthly resurrection in the year 1965.

The Bible students believed that all Adam’s descendants would receive a resurrection during Jesus’ thousand-year reign, except the few who had been incorrigibly wicked, like Judas. In 1924, this belief changed, and the view was now that far fewer people would be resurrected than the Bible students had believed. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah would, for example, not be resurrected.

In 1965, the Watchtower published 12 articles discussing different aspects of the earthly resurrection, and most of the Bible students’ views were restored. The conclusion of the articles was that most of Adam’s descendants would get a resurrection.[3]  The present members of the Governing Body have rejected most of the conclusions of the 12 articles mentioned, and they believe that far fewer people will receive a resurrection than the 12 articles advocated for.

These 12 articles include references to the Bible and comments that contradict the present members of the  Governing Body’s views of the earthly resurrection. Therefore, they do not want Witnesses to read these 12 articles, and they have taken measures to hide them.

In the Watchtower Publication Index 1930-1985, the clarified view of the earthly resurrection from 1965 is not mentioned. The Watchtower Publication Index 1985-2026 has the entry, “1965, earthly resurrection: w86 5/15 14.”

We note that there is no reference to any of the 12 articles from 1965. The reference is to The Watchtower of May 15, 1986, in which we read:

And in 1965 there came a clearer understanding of the earthly resurrection and who might benefit from it.​—John 5:28, 29.

The usual procedure in “Beliefs Clarified” is to mention what was clarified with a reference to the source where the clarification can be found. But in the entry “earthly resurrection,” there is no reference to any of the 12 articles. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is a planned attempt to hide the viewpoints of the 12 articles.

EXCURSUS THE PEOPLE OF SODOM AS PROOF THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES THE LEADERS OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Jesus said, according to Matthew 10:15 (above) and 11: 23, 24 (below): 15 Truly I say to YOU, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah on Judgment Day than for that city. 23 And you, Ca·perʹna·um, will you perhaps be exalted to heaven? Down to Haʹdes you will come; because if the powerful works that took place in you had taken place in Sodʹom, it would have remained until this very day. 24 Consequently I say to YOU people, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodʹom on Judgment Day than for you.” The words of Jesus clearly show that the people of Sodom will be present on Judgment Day, which requires a resurrection. Let us now assume that the holy spirit has guided the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses every time they clarified a belief (presented a new understanding of a belief) and see how this has worked in practice: 1952: The holy spirit led the leaders to believe that the people of Sodom will not receive a resurrection. (The Watchtower of June 1, 1952) 1965: The holy spirit led the leaders to believe that the people of Sodom will receive a resurrection. (The Watchtower of January 1, 1965) 1988: The holy spirit led the leaders to believe that the words of Jesus did not mean what they linguistically mean. These words represent a hyperbole (an exaggeration), and the people of Sodom will not get a resurrection. (The Watchtower of November 15, 1988) 2024: The holy spirit led the leaders to believe that the words of Jesus were no hyperbole. However, these words do not say that the people of Sodom will get a resurrection. But we do not know whether some individuals from Sodom will receive a resurrection. (The Watchtower of May 2024) On the basis of these data, the claim of the members of the Governing Body that their clarification of beliefs (rather clouding of beliefs) proves that they are “the faithful and discreet slave” are shown to be erroneous. However, my article, “The difference between inspiration and direction,” presents my belief that Jehovah’s people are the only true religion, and that God has directed the leaders to understand Bible truths. I argue that the 12 articles on the resurrection from 1965 are an example of how God has led his people to have a correct faith. The data presented in this section show that the members of the Governing Body in the last part of the 20th century and in the 21st century have elevated themselves and have introduced several false teachings. They have deviated from the guidance of the holy spirit and have introduced “commands of men” (Matthew 15:9)

Prophecies that are clouded instead of being clarified

About 60% of all “clarified beliefs” are prophecies, and in most of these cases, there are almost no hard data that are used to support the new views. Some arguments are used in connection with a new view. But in many, or most, cases, I find the arguments for the old views more convincing than those for the new views. I will give a few examples.

1) One entry for 1995 is: “‘sheep’ and ‘goats’ (Mt 25).” The new view is that the separation of the “sheep” and the “goats” does not occur during Christ’s presence but refers to the judgment of the persons who live when the great tribulation starts.

Understanding the illustrations of Jesus, including when they are fulfilled, is not an easy task. The book Jehovah’s Witnesses —Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, page 111, says:

A truly significant step in understanding Jehovah’s purpose centered around Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, at Matthew 25:31-46. In that parable Jesus said: “When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.” As the parable goes on to show, the “sheep” are those who help Christ’s “brothers,” even seeking to bring them relief when they are persecuted and in prison.

It had long been thought that this parable applied during the millennial era, in the time of restitution, and that the final judgment referred to in the parable was the one that would take place at the end of the Millennium. But in 1923, reasons for another view of matters were set forth by J. F. Rutherford, the president of the Watch Tower Society, in an enlightening discourse in Los Angeles, California. This was published later that year in the October 15 issue of The Watch Tower.

For 72 years, the understanding was that the separation of people who are like sheep and goats would occur during Christ’s presence. But now, it was applied to the great tribulation. I remember that when the new explanation was published in 1995, I felt uncomfortable and did not find the reasons given for the new view convincing.  Matthew 25:31-33 (NWT13) says:

³¹ “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. ³²  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.³³  And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.” ³⁴  “Then the King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.

The new view of the parable is expressed in The Watchtower of October 15, 1995, pages 18-24. The basis for the new view is that the words “he will sit down on his glorious throne” are supposed to refer to his sitting as judge and not as king, and therefore, the parable will be fulfilled in the great tribulation. But the article provides no evidence for this, so it is just a claim.

The basis for the new view is that the words “he will sit down on his glorious throne” refer to Jesus as judge and not as king. No evidence for this view is given in the article.

My book, God’s Plan Through the Ages for the Restoration of all Things, pages 112-135, has a detailed analysis of the illustration of the sheep and the goats. The conclusion is that the separation of the sheep and the goats occurs during the presence of Jesus, not in the great tribulation. The book can be downloaded from www.mybeloved religion.no.

2) One entry for 2014 is: “Marriage and resurrection” (Lu 20:34-36). My article “Resurrection and marriage — Luke 20:34-38.”[4] has a discussion of this issue.

The conclusions of this study are that the two arguments used in favor of an application of Jesus’ words to a heavenly resurrection have little or no basis. According to Jesus, the resurrection will occur in “the coming system of things,” and this expression is applied only to paradise earth, not to heaven. The references to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also support an earthly resurrection, since that is the kind of resurrection they will receive.

The doctrine of the heavenly resurrection was not known at the time the Sadducees asked about the resurrection and marriage. Therefore, if the listeners understood Jesus’ words as not referring to an earthly resurrection, they would probably think that Jesus referred to one of the mythical views of life after death that were extant.

3) One entry for 2015 is: “Gog of Magog (Eze 38, 39).” The old view was that Gog was Satan, the Devil. The following arguments against this view are presented in The Watchtower of May 15, 2015, page 29:

However, that explanation raised some important questions. Why so? Consider this: When referring to the time that Gog is defeated, Jehovah says regarding Gog: “I will give you as food to all kinds of birds of prey and the wild beasts of the field.” (Ezek. 39:4) Then Jehovah adds: “On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel . . . That is where they will bury Gog and all his hordes.” (Ezek. 39:11) But how could a spirit creature be eaten by “birds of prey and the wild beasts of the field”? How could Satan be given “a burial place” on earth? The Bible clearly shows that Satan will be abyssed for 1,000 years, not eaten or buried.​—Rev. 20:1, 2…

When we compare all these Scriptural references about the final attack on God’s people, it becomes evident that the name Gog of Magog refers, not to Satan, but to a coalition of nations.

When I read these arguments for the first time, I raised my eyebrows because they intermingle literal and symbolic language. The whole setting in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 is symbolic. Gog is portrayed as a commander for many nations who will attack the symbolic land of Israel. And from the illustrative point of view of a commander of an army, he will be given as food for birds and beasts, and he will be given a burial place. It is wrong to take one part of the symbolic tableau as symbols and then arbitrarily claim that another part is strictly literal.

It is true that a spirit creature cannot be eaten by animals and be given a burial place. But neither can a spirit creature be thrown out of heaven and down to the earth, and a spirit creature cannot be chained and at last be thrown into a lake of fire. In my view, the old explanation is much better than the “clarified belief.”

4) One entry for 2015 is: “Types and antitypes.” The new view is expressed in The Watchtower of March 15, 2015, pages 9-11, 17-18, and June 15, 2015, page 32.  For 120 years, the Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses held the view that every word in the Bible is inspired by God and that every account in the Bible is included with a particular purpose.

The new view of types and antitypes is, in reality, a rejection of the full inspiration of the Bible, that every account is included with a particular purpose.

This means that large portions of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us today; we can only gather some moral principles or general lessons from these accounts. Chapter 6 in my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body is entitled “The Governing Body’s New View of the Bible,” and it gives a detailed analysis of this erroneous viewpoint.

The article “The members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible” also contains a detailed discussion of this new view.[5] It lists 38 books published by the Watchtower Society that, in whole or in part, are pure fiction if this new view is correct. Hundreds of articles in The Watchtower must also be branded as bogus if this new view is correct. The brothers who wrote the mentioned books and articles had a solid biblical basis for their view on types and antitypes. But the present members of the Governing Body lack such a solid basis for their new view.

It is a bold step to claim that all the previous leaders of God’s people, who also prayed to be guided by God’s spirit and were also considered bona fide members of “the faithful and discreet slave,” were wrong in connection with their view of the Bible, and then claim in the next breath that we can nevertheless be confident that the current members of the Governing Body are unquestionably correct. Or rather, I would say it is a brazen step because the members of the present Governing Body cannot point to any biblical reason for their new view. In effect, they assert: “We say so, and because we are the faithful and discreet slave, you have to accept it.”

5) One entry for 2016 is: “man with a secretary’s inkhorn (Eze 9).” The new understanding was presented in The Watchtower of June 2016, pages 16, 17:

In the past, we have explained that in the modern-day fulfillment of this vision, the man with the secretary’s inkhorn represented the anointed remnant. It was thought that those who respond favorably to the message being preached are now marked for survival. In recent years, however, it has become clear that an adjustment needs to be made to this explanation. According to what is stated at Matthew 25:31-33, Jesus is the one who judges people. He makes his final judgment during the time of the great tribulation, separating the sheeplike ones, who will survive, from the goatlike ones, who will be destroyed.

In the modern-day fulfillment, the man with the secretary’s inkhorn represents Jesus Christ, the one behind the scenes who marks those who will survive. The great crowd will receive their mark when they are judged as sheep during the great tribulation. This will put them in line to receive everlasting life here on earth.​—Matt. 25:34, 46.

The old view was that “the man with the secretary’s inkhorn” was a picture of the anointed Christians who preached the good news of the Kingdom during Christ’s presence, and those who accepted the message during this time got a symbolic mark on their foreheads. The new view is that the man represents Jesus, and in the great tribulation, he marks those who will survive.

We note the words: “In recent years, however, it has become clear that an adjustment needs to be made to this explanation.” How this “has become clear” is not stated. And the five points used as evidence for the new view do not present any such evidence.

We have the typical situation that we see in so many of the “beliefs clarified”:

It has become clear to the members of the Governing Body that a change of view is necessary. We say so, and because we are the faithful and discreet slave, every Witness must believe it. This new view was presented in The Watchtower, and the readers must accept this new view because the Governing Body is the “faithful and discreet slave,” and what they write is “food at the proper time” from Jehovah. To be sure, no clear reason is given showing that “the man” is Jesus Christ, and the setting for the marking is the great tribulation.

In the past 35 years, there has been a shift in view regarding many prophecies that were previously applied to Christ’s presence but are now applied to the great tribulation. It began with the article “How Will You Stand Before the Judgment Seat” in The Watchtower, October 15, 1995, pages 18-28. This article argued that the separation of the sheep and the goats did not occur during Christ’s presence but will occur in the great tribulation, as I have discussed above. A number of other prophecies, including the prophecy about “the man with a secretary’s inkhorn,” have also been applied to the great tribulation instead of being fulfilled during Christ’s presence.

Since 1995, I have been uncomfortable with all these “clarified beliefs,” and honestly speaking, I cannot see any good reason to apply all these prophecies to the great tribulation. The consequence of these changes is that the focus has wrongly been moved away from Christ’s presence and onto more dubious out-of-reach applications during the future great tribulation.

We should, however, note that with one account, the reverse is true. The illustration of the “faithful and discreet slave” clearly refers to the great tribulation, as I demonstrate in chapter 2 of my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body. But this illustration is erroneously applied to Christ’s presence.

6) One entry for 2020 is: “locust plague (Joe 1, 2).” The Watchtower of April 2020, pages 2-7, discusses Joel’s prophecy. This article is an example of the new view of types and antitypes—the prophetic element in the book of Joel is, to a great extent, removed. For example, the words in Joel 2:30, 31 about the outpouring of the holy spirit were finally fulfilled in the year 33 CE. But there is no fulfillment of this in the time of the end, even though God’s people at that time also are led by the holy spirit. The article abounds with questionable conclusions. A detailed analysis of this article is found in my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body, pages 276-281.

7) One entry for 2020 is: “kings of north and south” (Dan 11, 12).” The Watchtower of May 2020 discusses prophecies in the book of Daniel. But sad to say, I find several errors in this article, and I will discuss one of the serious errors that is found on page 13:

¹⁰ Daniel then points forward to what would happen to the German Empire and the military force that it had built. The prophecy states that the king of the north “will not stand.” Why not? “Because they will plot schemes against him. And those eating his delicacies will bring his downfall.” (Dan. 11:25b, 26a) Back in Daniel’s day, those eating “the king’s delicacies” included royal officials in “the king’s service.” (Dan. 1:5) To whom does the prophecy here refer? It refers to high-ranking officials of the German Empire​—including the emperor’s generals and military advisers—​who eventually helped bring down the monarchy.* The prophecy not only foretold the fall of the empire but also mentioned the outcome of the war with the king of the south. Speaking of the king of the north, it states: “As for his army, it will be swept away, and many will fall down slain.” (Dan. 11:26b) In the first world war, just as foretold, the German army was “swept away” and many did “fall down slain.” That war proved to be the deadliest in human history up until that time.

Verse 11:26 speaks about “the king of the north,” which is applied to the German Empire in World War I. The quotation says that, as a fulfillment of 11:26, “the German army” was “swept away”— the German Empire was defeated in World War I.

The problem, however, is that the prophecy in 11:26 says the very opposite of what the members of the Governing Body claim that it says. The conclusion of the members of the Governing Body, which is stated in the article, is based on a wrong translation of the verse. But because the members of the Governing Body do not understand Hebrew and so cannot base their interpretation on an analysis of the Hebrew text, they have made this grave error.

Here is my literal translation of Daniel 11:26 above and the translation of NWT13 below:

Those eating his delicate food will bring his downfall, and his army will overflow and many will fall down slain.

Those eating his delicacies will crush him. “As for his army, it will be swept away,  and many will fall down slain.

The important differences in the translations concern the fate of the king of the north’s army. My translation shows that this army will be victorious, whereas NWT13 indicates that it will be defeated. Why do I say that the rendering of NWT13 is wrong? This is because the Hebrew verb shatap (“overflow”) is Qal imperfect 3rd person singular masculine. The Qal stem is active and not passive, and this is the crucial point. To translate this active verb with an English passive verb is indisputably wrong! I will illustrate that.

A clause can be analyzed in two ways: either grammatically as predicate, subject, object, and adverbial, or semantically as agent (the actor) and patient (the one who is acted upon). I will apply this to the two clauses below:

Napoleon defeated the British-led coalition at Waterloo.

Napoleon was defeated by the British-led coalition at Waterloo.

In the active clause above, “defeated” is the predicate, “Napoleon” is the subject, and “the British-led coalition” is the object. The subject is the agent, and the object is that patient.

In the clause below, the passive expression “was defeated” is the predicate and “Napoleon” is the subject. There is no object, but “the British-led coalition” is the adverbial.  The adverbial is the agent, and the subject is the patient.

We cannot translate an active clause into a passive clause because the agent and patient switch positions.  In other words, the one who is acted upon is different in an active and a passive clause.

In the NWT13 rendering of Daniel 11:26, the king of the north (supposed to be the German Empire) is acted upon and defeated. In my translation, the king of the north (supposed to be the German Empire) acts upon someone who is not identified and defeats this unidentified patient.

But why do the NIV and other translations have a passive rendering like NWT13 in 11:26, if such a rendering is wrong? As for the NIV, the reason for the passive rendering evidently is the belief that Daniel contains history in prophetic disguise and that a large portion of Daniel chapter 11 describes the history of the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. According to this view, 11:26 refers to the Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor. His army was defeated, and a passive translation was needed to express this defeat.[6]

The members of the Governing Body, who oversaw the translation of NWT13, and the translators believe that the book of Daniel contains real prophecies. So, this could not be the reason for their translation. Whether the members of the Governing Body chose the passive rendering to fit their new interpretation of Daniel 11:26, I do not know. But in any case, their translation is erroneous.

The members of the Governing Body have expanded this error by applying the “king of the north” in 11:26 to the German Empire during World War I. If this application is correct, it is a false prophecy, because, correctly translated, verse 26 would mean that the German Empire would be the victor in World War I.

The members of the Governing Body claim that “evidence of holy spirit” is proof that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.” “The holy spirit has helped the Governing Body to grasp Scriptural truths not previously understood.” All the “clarified beliefs” that are listed in the Publications Index prove this, they claim.

I have now discussed 15 of the “clarified beliefs,” and my conclusion is that most of these “clarified beliefs” definitely are “clouded beliefs”; they are wrong or at least questionable. So, it is quite ironic that the list of “clarified beliefs” proves the very opposite of what the members of the Governing Body claim it does. This list of “clarified beliefs” shows that, in many, if not most, cases, the members of the Governing Body have been led by their imperfect human reasoning rather than by the spirit of God.

[1]. A detailed discussion of this issue is found in the article “Disassociation because of the violation of Christian Neutrality.” (https://mybelovedreligion.no/2025/01/17/17107/)

[2]. A detailed discussion of this issue is found in the article “The Governing Body’s view of blood contradicts the Bible I” (https://mybelovedreligion.no/2026/03/20/the-governing-bodys-view-of-blood-contradicts-the-bible/) and “The Governing Body’s view of blood contradicts the Bible II” (https://mybelovedreligion.no/2026/03/24/the-governing-bodys-view-of-blood-contradicts-the-bible-ii-blood-components/).

[3]. The Watchtower of 1965: “Worship the God of Resurrection”; “Death and Hades to Give Up the Dead,” “Part II”; “The Dead Who Are in Line for Resurrection,” Part II”; “For Whom There Are Resurrection Hopes,” Part II”; “Who Will be Resurrected from the Dead?”, “Part II”; “Who Will be Resurrected—Why?”; “Our Own Twentieth-Century Generation and the Resurrection”; Earthly Opportunity Opened Up by Resurrection.” in The Watchtower of  January 1, January 15, February 1, February 15,  March 1, and March 15, 1965.

[4].  https://mybelovedreligion.no/2021/03/11/resurrection-and-marriage-luke-20-28-38/

[5]. https://mybelovedreligion.no/2023/05/20/the-members-of-the-governing-body-do-not-believe-in-the-full-inspiration-of-the-bible-2/

[6]. A discussion of how the NIV manipulated the text of Daniel 11:26 is found in my book When Was the Book of Daniel Written? A Philological, Linguistic, and Historical Approach, pages 214-216.

“EVIDENCE OF ANGELIC ASSISTANCE”

We note that the question is not whether “the faithful and discreet slave” exists among Jehovah’s Witnesses. But the question is, “What evidence is there that the Governing Body is filling this role, of being this ‘slave’?” The third line used as evidence is the assistance of angels:

¹⁴Evidence of angelic assistance.  The Governing Body today has the colossal task of overseeing an international preaching work involving over eight million evangelizers. Why has that work been so successful? For one, angels are involved. (Read Revelation 14:6, 7.) In many cases, publishers have called on individuals who had just been praying for help! The overall growth of the preaching and disciple-making work despite fierce opposition in some lands has likewise been possible only with superhuman assistance.

According to Revelation 14:6.7, the angels play an important role in the preaching work, and Jesus said: “No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” (John 6:44). So, both the spirit of God and angels are supporting the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom worldwide. As a result, thousands of people who seek God have dedicated their lives to Jehovah each year.

Different religions and denominations in the world send missionaries to other countries, and they get new members. However, there is no other organization than Jehovah’s Witnesses in which all members are preachers, and in which all basic doctrines are based solely on the Bible. Each year, people from different countries all over the world become Jehovah’s Witnesses. But how do the members of the Governing Body apply this information?

That some persons have prayed to God to learn the truth before some Witnesses have visited them, and the growth in numbers, in spite of opposition, are taken as proof that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.” This argument is strange and completely untenable. I will compare Jehovah’s Witnesses with the Latter-Day Saints. This organization has 67,000 full-time missionaries, and Table 1.1 compares the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses with the growth of the LDS.

Table 1.1 Latter Day Saints compared with Jehovah’s Witnesses[1]

	Membership	New converts	Baptized	Increase over 2018
LDS 2019	16.5 million	251,000	248,835	1,54%[2]
JW 2019	12 million[3]	103,208	304,643	1,3%[4]

The table shows that 55,000 more new members were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses compared with those who were baptized as LDS. But the increase in new JW members was less than half that of the LDS. However, the percentage of increase of 1.54% among the LDS includes small children, while the increase of 1.3% among JW only includes persons who start out to be JW preachers.

The only figure that shows a real comparison is the number of newly baptized ones, where the JW number is higher than the LDS number. But the number of newly baptized LDS is also quite high. So how can we know that the increase in the number of JW is evidence of superhuman assistance, whereas the LDS numbers are not an indication of such assistance? Looking at these figures alone, it is impossible to draw any conclusion.

To distinguish between the two denominations, we need to examine each closely. The following two quotes illustrate the governing structure of the LDS Church:

Under the doctrine of continuing revelation, Latter-day Saints believe that the church president is a modern-day “prophet, seer, and revelator” and that Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, leads the church by revealing his will to its president. Individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives.^[15] The president heads a hierarchical structure with various levels reaching down to local congregations, known as wards. Bishops, drawn from the laity, lead the wards. Male members, beginning in January of the year they reach age 12, may be ordained to the priesthood, provided they are living the standards of the church. Women are not ordained to the priesthood, but occupy leadership roles in some church organizations.[5]

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the second-highest governing body in the Church (the First Presidency being the highest). Apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ, called to teach and testify of Him throughout the world. They travel frequently, addressing and encouraging large congregations of members and interested nonmembers, as well as meeting with local leaders.

When they are not traveling, members of the Quorum of the Twelve counsel together and with other general Church leaders on matters affecting the worldwide Church, such as missionary work, temple building, spiritual and temporal welfare, and much more.[6]

In addition to having one president, who is a prophet who receives messages from God, and 12 apostles as the second-highest Governing Body, the LDS church also has a scriptural canon of four books: the Bible (King James Version), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. My experience with the LDS missionaries is that when it comes to the Bible, they accept its text, with the disclaimer that it is ‘correctly translated’. And only the LDS leadership can decide when its translation is correct. Because the Bible plays a limited role in the faith of the LDS, I cannot believe that the increase of new converts is guided by the angels.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe only in the Bible, and all its basic doctrines are based on the Bible. Because of the worldwide preaching of the Kingdom of God by more than 9 million preachers, I believe that the angels of God and his holy spirit direct this enormous preaching work. However, in the last part of the 20th century and in the 21st century, the development within Jehovah’s Witnesses has proceeded in a direction opposed to the angels of God and his holy spirit, as I have illustrated above.

This is particularly evident in changes to the power structure. The organization has become autocratic, mirroring the LDS power structure. There is no prophet and 12 apostles among Jehovah’s Witnesses. But there are 11 “apostles” who have all power over the doctrines, the Kingdom Halls, and the money. These 11 persons claim to have been appointed by God as “the faithful and discreet slave,” and everything they say or write is “food at the proper time” that all Jehovah’s Witnesses must accept, or else be disfellowshipped.

The difference between these men and the LDS leadership is that these 11 men do not claim to receive messages directly from God or be inspired by him. But because everything that they communicate is believed to come from God, for all practical purposes, they function as if they were inspired by God. This new power structure clearly contradicts Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:8-10.

⁸  But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your Teacher, and all of you are brothers. ⁹  Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One. ¹⁰  Neither be called leaders, for your Leader is one, the Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest one among you must be your minister. ¹²  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

A new view of the Bible that takes a part of its authority away from it has also been introduced, as I have shown above. The members of the Governing Body claim that large portions of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us today, thereby rejecting the Bible’s full inspiration. Moreover, the book Pure Worship of Jehovah — Restored At Last! (2018) is not based on an analysis of the original text of the Bible, with the meaning of this text exposed and applied. But it is based on what the Bible’s text reminds the members of the Governing Body, and this is presented as “food at the proper time.”

I will now return to the claim that angelic assistance is evidence that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.” This new view was presented in 2013. But what about the preaching work over the past 60 years since World War II? Was there no angelic assistance behind the increase in new Witnesses during these years when the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses did not claim to be “the faithful and discreet slave”? For example, the increase in baptized Witnesses in Norway in the early 1950s was around 20% each year. A similar increase was observed in other countries.

The conclusion to this section is that the three lines of evidence claimed to prove that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave” do not prove this at all. The members of the Governing Body do not fully rely on the Bible. Much of what is claimed as evidence in support of the spirit of God indicates the very opposite. A significant number of what are called “beliefs clarified” are instead “clouded beliefs,” and they are erroneous. The increase in new members of Jehovah’s Witnesses is evidence of angelic support. But this was also the case for many years before the Governing Body decided that they were “the faithful and discreet slave.”

CONCLUSION

Chapter 2 of my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body shows that the view that there should be an elite group called “the faithful and discreet slave” during Christ’s presence is pure fiction.

However, the Governing Body has strongly advocated the belief that such a slave exists, and in 2013, the members of the Governing Body decided that they were “the faithful and discreet slave.” This is now their very power base. An article in The Watchtower in 2017 presented three lines of supposed evidence that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.”

At the beginning of this 2017 article, there is a disclaimer saying that the members of the Governing Body are imperfect and can make errors. The purpose of this disclaimer is the opposite of what we might expect. Because most Witnesses blindly accept everything the Governing Body says and writes, the disclaimer does not prompt reasonable, constructive questions seeking evidence for the conclusions the members of the Governing Body have reached. But the disclaimer serves as an alibi for the Governing Body. When they introduce a new view, everyone believes it to be true. When this view is changed into another view, everyone believes this new view to be true. Because the members of the Governing Body have expressed that they may commit errors, this new and corrected view must be true.

The first line of evidence that the members of the Governing Body is “the faithful and discreet slave” is said to be “reliance on God’s Word.” As evidence for this reliance, the disfellowshipping of Witnesses who use tobacco is referred to. However, The Watchtower says correctly that the Bible does not say anything about tobacco. So, the reader is misled when this disfellowshipping is used as evidence for reliance on God’s Word. It is also shown that the members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible. Therefore, they cannot claim reliance on the Bible as evidence.

The second line is “evidence of holy spirit.” The supposed evidence consists of a long list of “clarified beliefs.” The members of the Governing Body could not have corrected these beliefs without the support of the holy spirit, the argument goes. There is a detailed discussion of 15 of these “clarified beliefs,” which are shown to be “clouded beliefs” rather than “clarified beliefs.” In addition to these 15 examples, a significant number of the other “clarified beliefs” are wrong as well. The conclusion is that all these wrong beliefs cannot be the product of the holy spirit’s direction and support. Rather, they are based on human reasonings of persons who do not know the original languages of the Bible and who have created systems of Bible interpretation that are different from the system used by the Bible Students and Jehovah’s witnesses for the last 120 years.

The third line of evidence is “angelic assistance,” and the evidence for this is the increase in new Witnesses worldwide. This increase alone is not evidence of the work of the angels because the Church of the Latter-Day Saints has similar increases as well.

But when we consider that Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only denomination that bases its doctrines solely on the Bible, the increase in Witnesses can be taken as evidence of angelic assistance. However, the increase in Witnesses had occurred since World War II, long before 2013, when the members of the Governing Body decided that they were “the faithful and discreet slave”. This means that the increase since 2013 cannot be taken as evidence that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave.”

The conclusion is that there is absolutely no evidence showing that the 11 members of the Governing Body are “the faithful and discreet slave mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:45-48.

 

 

[1]. The first draft of this article was written in 2020. This is the reason why the comparison between JW and LSD relates to the year 2019. In the year 2025, 304,643 people were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

[2]. https://www.fullerconsideration.com/membership.php.

[3]. The number of publishers was 8,683,117. In the LSD number are included children and non-active members. If we add children and non-active Witnesses, we need to increase the number to 140%, which is about 12 million.

[4]. In 2020, there was no increase in new members, but there was a decrease of 0,6%. If we take into consideration that there is a death rate in the normal population of 1 %, there was an increase of 0,4% among JW. To the numbers of increase among the LDS we must also add 1%.

[5]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints.

[6]. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/leaders/quorum-of-the-twelve-apostles?lang=eng.