THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ELDER ARRANGEMENT WAS A BLESSING — THE CREATION OF THE GOVERNING BODY HAS BEEN A DISASTER (PART V)

FALSE TEACHINGS AND ACTIONS INSIDE THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION IN THE FIRST CENTURY CE

Charles Taze Russell and his friends began their Bible studies in the 1870s, and within a short time, they had found the basic doctrines of the Bible. The Bible Students took the name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931, and they continued to preach most of the doctrines that the Bible Students had discovered. When I became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1961, almost one hundred percent of the doctrines, with one serious exception, were directly based on the Bible.[1] However, today, a little more than 90% of the doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses are directly based on the Bible. So, how can some false doctrines be a part of the only true religion?

In the first article in this series, I show that, contrary to the view of the present Governing Body, there was no governing body in the first century CE. Congregations were spread across the whole Middle East, and the only contact between them was traveling brothers who visited different congregations.

There was no central authority that could correct wrong matters. But the holy spirit inspired servants of God, such as Peter, John, James, and Paul, to write letters to the congregations to correct what was wrong. These letters show that, within the congregations of the true religion in the first century CE, there were false doctrines and false practices.

THE FALSE DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES IN FIVE OF THE SEVEN CONGREGATIONS IN ASIA

The best examples of false doctrines inside the true religion are the seven congregations in Asia to which Jesus, by the hand of John, sent letters. I will discuss this in detail, quoting from Revelation chapters 2 and 3:

To Ephesus: 2:2-6:

² ‘I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot bear bad men, and that you put those to the test who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them liars.  ³  You are also showing endurance, and you have borne up for my name’s+ sake and have not grown weary.  ⁴ Nevertheless, I hold [this] against you, that you have left the love you had at first. ⁵ “‘Therefore remember from what you have fallen, and repent and do the former deeds. If you do not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  ⁶  Still, you do have this, that you hate+ the deeds of the sect of Nic·o·laʹus, which I also hate.

To Smyrna: 2:8-10:

 ⁹‘I know your tribulation and poverty—but you are rich—and the blasphemy by those who say they themselves are Jews, and yet they are not but are a synagogue of Satan.  ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of YOU into prison that YOU may be fully put to the test, and that YOU may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.

To Pergamum 2:13-16:

¹³ ‘I know where you are dwelling, that is, where the throne of Satan is; and yet you keep on holding fast my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Anʹti·pas, my witness, the faithful one, who was killed by YOUR side, where Satan is dwelling. ¹⁴ “‘Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, that you have there those holding fast the teaching of Baʹlaam, who went teaching Baʹlak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. ¹⁵ So you, also, have those holding fast the teaching of the sect of Nic·o·laʹus likewise. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If you do not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will war with them with the long sword of my mouth.

To Thyatira 2:19-25:

¹⁹  ‘I know your deeds, and your loveand faith and ministry and endurance, and that your deeds of late are more than those formerly. ²⁰ “‘Nevertheless, I do hold [this] against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezʹe·bel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit fornication+ and to eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹ And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her fornication. ²² Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ²³ And her children I will kill with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am he who searches the kidneys and hearts, and I will give to YOU individually according to YOUR deeds. ²⁴ “‘However, I say to the rest of YOU who are in Thy·a·tiʹra, all those who do not have this teaching, the very ones who did not get to know the “deep things of Satan,” as they say: I am not putting upon YOU any other burden. ²⁵ Just the same, hold fast what YOU have until I come.

To Sardis 3:1-5:

¹ “And to the angel of the congregation in Sarʹdis write: These are the things that he says who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, ‘I know your deeds, that you have the name that you are alive, but you are dead. ² Become watchful, and strengthen the things remaining that were ready to die, for I have not found your deeds fully performed before my God. ³ Therefore, continue mindful of how you have received and how you heard, and go on keeping [it], and repent. Certainly unless you wake up, I shall come as a thief, and you will not know at all at what hour I shall come upon you. ⁴ “‘Nevertheless, you do have a few names in Sarʹdis that did not defile their outer garments, and they shall walk with me in white ones, because they are worthy. ⁵ He that conquers will thus be arrayed in white outer garments; and I will by no means blot out his name from the book of life, but I will make acknowledgment of his name before my Father and before his angels.

To Philadelphia 3:8-10:

⁸ ‘I know your deeds—look! I have set before you an opened door, which no one can shut—that you have a little power, and you kept my word and did not prove false to my name. ⁹ Look! I will give those from the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews, and yet they are not but are lying—look! I will make them come and do obeisance before your feet and make them know I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you kept the word about my endurance, I will also keep you from the hour of test, which is to come upon the whole inhabited earth, to put a test upon those dwelling on the earth.

To Laodicea 3:15-19:

¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or else hot. ¹⁶  So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say: “I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,” but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire that you may become rich, and white outer garments that you may become dressed and that the shame of your nakedness may not become manifested, and eyesalve to rub in your eyes that you may see. ¹⁹ “‘All those for whom I have affection I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.

The main points of the seven letters are as follows:

Ephesus: The congregation had left the love it had at first.

Smyrna: The congregation had experienced tribulation and poverty. But it was spiritually rich.

Pergamum: Some in the congregation were adhering to the false teaching of Balaam and to the sectarian teaching of Nicolaus.

Thyatira: The congregation tolerated Jezebel, who claimed to be a prophetess and who misled the congregation members to commit sexual immorality and idolatry.

Sardis: The congregation had the name of being alive, but was actually spiritually dead.

Philadelphia: The congregation had little power. Nevertheless, the members kept the words of Jesus and were faithful to his name.

Laodicea: The congregation members were lukewarm, and they were miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked.

The letters were sent to “the angel” of each congregation. The Greek word angelos means “messenger.” In many cases, it refers to spirit creatures. But in this case, angelos must refer to one messenger of each congregation, or to the bodies of elders in each congregation.

The seven congregations were a part of the only true religion. Nevertheless, bad things occurred in the congregations, and the elders who led did not take appropriate action to address them. There were false teachings in the congregations; there were sects, idolatry, and even sexual immorality. Yes, all of these bad things were committed by congregation members within the only true religion at the end of the first century CE, while those in leadership were complicit or did nothing to stop it.

Then, in the second century, some elders in the Christian congregation gave themselves more power and they became bishops. Later, a clergy of priests below the bishops was created. Gradually, more and more unscriptural teachings and practices were added to the true Christian congregations until, in time, they ceased to be the only true religion.

DISUNITY AND FALSE TEACHINGS IN THE CONGREGATION IN CORINTH

Ancient Corinth was a metropol that was typical of Satan’s world, with excessive materialism, idol temples, widespread prostitution, and even religious practices involving sacred sex. Paul had preached to the Corinthians, and a Christian congregation was formed.

The Christian Corinthians believed in the Christian doctrines. But there were also problems in the congregation. We read in 1 Corinthians 1:10:

Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions (skhisma) among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.

Christians are free people, and in their personal lives, different people will make different decisions. But because the Christian faith originates with God, in matters of faith, everyone should have the same opinion and the same view. What was the reason why there was a lack of unity in the congregation in Corinth? Corinth? We learn the reason from verses 11 and 12:

¹¹ For the disclosure was made to me about YOU, my brothers,  by those of [the house of] Chlo’e, that dissensions (eris) exist among you. ¹² What I mean is this, that each one of YOU says: “I belong to Paul,” “But I to Apollos,” “But I to Cephas,” “But I to Christ.” ¹³ The Christ exists divided.

According to Louw and Nida, the word eris, which is translated by “dissensions,” has the meaning, “to express a difference of opinion, with at least some measure of antagonism or hostility — ‘to argue, quarrel, dispute’” Were the dissensions in Corinth right or wrong? To think highly of persons as originators of the Christian faith was wrong. Those who looked up to persons were implicitly creating divisions.

If we were in the congregation of Corinth with the divisions developing there, we would have no choice but to oppose the three mentioned sects and separate ourselves, in effect causing another division, saying, “I belong to Christ.” However, in this case, we have not created a sect because, unlike the others, our purpose in causing divisions is to distance ourselves from the teachings of the real sect promoters, and stress that, in support of the original Christian teaching, we “belong to Christ”. The point is that if something is wrong, we must oppose it, even if it causes divisions. This is what Paul implies in 1 Corinthians 11:19 (NWT84):

For there must also be sects (hairesis) among YOU, that the persons approved may also become manifest among YOU.

The point here is not that it is correct to make a sect (a division) inside the Christian congregation. But when there are wrong teachings or practices within the congregation, those who want to serve God must make a distinction and distance themselves from those who support them.

In the Corinthian congregation, those who wanted to serve God had to make a division by saying, “I belong to Christ.”

ELDERS IN CORINTH WERE AGRANDIZING THEMSELVES

A typical trait of Satan’s world that is mentioned in Ecclesiastes 8:9:

⁹ All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury.

Many humans seek power for themselves, and they use this power to aggrandize themselves and suppress others. This was also the case in the Corinthian congregation regarding the superfine apostles. I quote 2 Corinthians 11:2-6 (above) and 11:12-15 (below):

² For I am jealous over YOU with a godly jealousy, for I personally promised YOU in marriage to one husband that I might present YOU as a chaste virgin to the Christ. ³ But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, YOUR minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ. ⁴ For, as it is, if someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or YOU receive a spirit other than what YOU received, or good news other than what YOU accepted, YOU easily put up [with him]. ⁵ For I consider that I have not in a single thing proved inferior to YOUR superfine apostles. ⁶ But even if I am unskilled in speech, I certainly am not in knowledge; but in every way we manifested [it] to YOU in all things.

¹² But what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to eliminate the pretext of those who are wanting a basis for being found equal to us in the things about which they boast. ¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works.

There are four areas where the “superfine apostles” deviated from the truth:

• They had elevated themselves to the position of apostles of Jesus (verses 12, 13).
• They preached another Jesus than the one Paul preached (verse 4).
• They presented another spirit than the one Paul presented (verse 4).
• They misled the members of the Corinthian congregation (verse 3).

We know nothing about the superfine apostles except what is quoted above. But it is clear from the way Pasul describes them that they had bad motives and tried to lead the congregation members away from the truth. The fact that Paul warns the congregation about the superfine apostles shows that they were still a part of the Corinthian congregation and that they exerted their wrong influence inside the congregation.

The important conclusion is that in some Christian congregations in the first century CE, there were false doctrines and practices. But despite this, these congregations belonged to the only true religion.

THE PILLAR AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE TRUTH IS NOT DESTROYED BY SOME FALSE DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES

The holy spirit supported the Christian congregations in the first century. Most of what was taught and practiced conformed to the principles and laws of Jehovah God. But in five congregations in Asia and in the congregation in Corinth, there were some doctrines and practices that contradicted the healthy doctrines of the true religion.

The important conclusion is that in some Christian congregations in the first century CE, there were false doctrines and practices. But despite this, these congregations belonged to the only true religion.

[1]. The exception was the view of the ransom sacrifice, which was different from the view of the Bible Students. See my book, God’s Plan Through the Ages for a Restoration of All Things.

FALSE TEACHINGS AND ACTIONS INSIDE THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION IN THE TIME OF THE END

What do we find if we compare the Christian congregations in the first century CE with the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 20th and 21st centuries?

The Christian congregations in the first century CE, under the guidance of holy spirit, practiced the only true religion. But there were some false doctrines and practices in some congregations.

In 1942, N.H. Knorr became the president of the Watchtower Society, and during the 30 years leading up to the elder arrangement’s implementation in 1972, the Christian Magna Carta with freedom for all was followed. And most of the doctrines were directly based on the Bible.

The congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses were similar to the congregations in the first century CE. But there was one clear difference: There were no bodies of elders in Jehovah’s Witnesses’ congregations. However, this was changed in 1972 when the elder arrangement was implemented. Part IV of this series demonstrated how this arrangement was a blessing for the Witnesses.

However, in connection with the elder arrangement, the leaders of the Watchtower Society reasoned that there should also be a body of elders for the worldwide community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. While such a body did not exist in the first century CE, the idea of one such body was not wrong. A worldwide organization must have a central leadership that can make decisions for the whole community.

What turned out to be a violation of Christian principles was not the creation of the Governing Body, but the Governing Body’s function. Almost from the beginning of the Governing Body, particularly since 1972, members have violated the Christian Magna Carta by making laws regarding the Christian faith and practices in addition to the Bible.

Part II gives examples of such laws, but it also shows that a great part of Christian freedom existed for most of the 20th century. It was only in the 21st century that the situation degenerated to the point where Christian freedom was completely removed.

History shows that the members of the Governing Body have deviated from the truth in the same four ways as the superfine apostles in Corinth deviated from the truth, according to 2 Corinthians chapter 11:

• They had elevated themselves to the position of apostles of Jesus (verses 12, 13).
• They preached another Jesus than the one Paul preached (verse 4).
• They presented another spirit than the one Paul presented (verse 4).
• They misled the members of the Corinthian congregation (verse 3).

THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING   HAVE ELEVATED THEMSELVES TO THE POSITION OF APOSTLES OF JESUS

Some of the actions of the superfine apostles are mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:12, 13 fit the members of the Governing Body:

¹² Now what I am doing I will still do, that I may cut off the pretext from those who are wanting a pretext for being found equal to us in the office of which they boast. ¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

The apostles of Christ were close to Jesus himself, and after his ascension to heaven, his apostles took the lead in the Christian congregations as teachers. Because they had known Jesus personally, their words had a particular weight. The superfine apostles pretended to be apostles of Christ and ministers of righteousness (verse 15).

It is not difficult to see that the present members of the Governing Body follow the same self-aggrandizing example as the superfine apostles. Why can we say that?

They claim that Gerrit Lösch, Samuel F. Herd, Mark S. Lett, Geoffrey W. Jackson, Kenneth E. Cook Jr., Gage Fleegle, Jeffrey Winder, Jody Jedele, and Jacob Rumph are referred to by Jesus in his great prophecy in Matthew 24:45-47:

⁴⁵ “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings.

The Watchtower of July 15, 2013, page 21, says:

10 Who, then, is the faithful and discreet slave? In keeping with Jesus’ pattern of feeding many through the hands of a few, that slave is made up of a small group of anointed brothers who are directly involved in preparing and dispensing spiritual food during Christ’s presence. (Italics in the original) Throughout the last days, the anointed brothers who make up the faithful slave have served together at headquarters. In recent decades, that slave has been closely identified with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Note, however, that the word “slave” in Jesus’ illustration is singular, indicating that this is a composite slave. The decisions of the Governing Body are thus made collectively.

Can one come closer to being an apostle of Jesus than being mentioned by Jesus in his great prophecy? The phrase “giving food at the proper time” means, according to these men, that they are the only ones who can interpret the Bible and teach Jehovah’s Witnesses Bible truth. Thus, Jesus has appointed them as the real teachers of God’s people, or we may say ‘apostles’ in the time of the end!

OVERTLY, THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY DENY THAT THEY ARE INSPIRED BY GOD — COVERTLY, THE CLAIM DIVINE INSPIRATION It is expected by all Jehovah’s Witnesses that they believe everything the members of the Governing Body say and write. The Watchtower of February 2022 has the title: “Do you trust in Jehovah’s Way of doing things?” On pages 4-6, we find the following comments: 7 We no doubt wholeheartedly agree that Jehovah always does what is right. The challenge for us, however, might be to trust in his human representatives. We might wonder whether those with a measure of authority in Jehovah’s organization really act according to Jehovah’s direction or their own. That could have been the thinking of some who lived in Bible times…The plain truth is that we cannot say that we trust in Jehovah if we do not trust in his earthly representatives​—those whom Jehovah trusts. 8 Today Jehovah leads the earthly part of his organization by means of “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Matt. 24:45) Like the first-century governing body, this slave oversees God’s people worldwide and gives direction to congregation elders. 15 As the end of this system of things draws near, we need to trust in Jehovah’s way of doing things as never before. Why? During the great tribulation, we may receive instructions that seem strange, impractical, or illogical. Of course, Jehovah will not speak to us personally. He will likely provide direction through his appointed representatives. That will hardly be the time to second-guess the direction or to view it with skepticism, wondering, ‘Is this really coming from Jehovah, or are the responsible brothers acting on their own?’ How will you fare during that crucial time in human history? The answer might be indicated by how you view theocratic direction now. If you trust the direction we receive today and readily obey, you will likely do the same during the great tribulation.​—Luke 16:10. (The word “now” is in bold script in the original) The members of the Governing Body expect that during the great tribulation, they will give instructions that “may seem strange, impractical, or illogical,” which must be accepted as truth and followed. That the members of the Governing body expect the Witnesses to believe what they do not understand is the same as claiming that these words are divinely inspired. Jeffrey Winder is one of the 11 members of the Governing Body. In January 2024, he gave a video presentation entitled “How does the light get brighter?” on JW Broadcasting. His words in this presentation show that the phrase “holy spirit helps” in The Watchtower of July 15, 2010, to which he referred, is equivalent to divine inspiration.[1] In this presentation, Winder quoted from the July 15, 2010, article and said that the Governing Body is not inspired by God and can err in doctrinal and organizational matters. Nevertheless, on several occasions, he claimed that the members of the Governing Body are inspired by God. Below I quote a few of these sayings: To whom does Jehovah reveal clarified understanding? It is very clear how Spiritual truth, new understanding, is communicated from heaven to earth by means of the holy spirit through the channel of the faithful and discreet slave. Jehovah reveals clarified understanding at his time when it is needed and when it will help us to carry out his will. With this thorough process under prayer, and when there is unanimous support, the brothers see this as Jehovah’s direction The words “does Jehovah reveal,” and “communicated from heaven” show that Winder claims divine inspiration for the Governing Body’s clarified understandings. The extreme loyalty of the majority of Witnesses to the Governing Body was expressed by Kenneth Flodin, who was the overseer of the Bethel Home at Watchtower Farms, in his presentation “Jesus’ yoke is kind” at JW Broadcasting on April 24, 2023: The Governing Body could be likened to the voice of Jesus, the head of the congregation. So, when we willingly submit to the faithful slave, we are automatically submitting to Jesus’ authority and direction. The words that the Governing Body “could be likened to the voice of Jesus,” is the same as claiming divine inspiration for the members of the Governing Body.

Based on the discussion above, we can conclude that the present members of the Governing Body have followed the pattern of the superfine apostles in Corinth and have been “transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.”

PREACHING ANOTHER JESUS THAN THE JESUS PREACHED BY PAUL

The Bible Students in the 1870s soon discovered the Bible’s teaching that Jesus died for all human descendants of Adam, and he bought them all. This means that all Adam’s descendants, except those who have sinned against the holy spirit, will receive a resurrection during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

This doctrine was rejected in 1934, and the new view was that Jesus only died for all kinds of people, those who will be saved, and that the number of those who will be resurrected is restricted. In 1965, the old view that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants and that he bought them all was revived. And the view was that most of Adam’s descendants who have lived on earth will be resurrected.

In 1988, a part of the view of 1965 was rejected: the resurrection will be restricted. But the view that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants and bought them all was not rejected. The rejection of this view occurred in 2000. The view of the 21st century has been that Jesus died for all kinds of Adam’s descendants, for those who will be saved, and not for all Adam’s descendants. And only a restricted number of Adam’s descendants will receive a resurrection.

The superfine apostles preached another Jesus than the Jesus Paul preached. Sow must ask: Who was the Jesus that Paul preached? We find the answer in 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 (above) and 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23 (below):

⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all—[this is] what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times.

²¹ For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a man. ²² For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive.

Paul shows that Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants, and that the ransom sacrifice guarantees that all Adam’s descendants who die because of inherited sin will get a resurrection with the opportunity to choose the ransom sacrifice and serve God with the prospect of everlasting life.

Those who “die in Adam” do not include the 144,000 with a heavenly hope. They have been declared righteous. Therefore, they do not die because of inherited sin but because they sacrifice their life in order to receive a heavenly resurrection. Neither does the expression “die in Adam” include those who have sinned against the holy spirit because they die because of their own unforgivable sin, for which there is no sacrifice. But the expression “die in Adam” includes all other descendants of Adam.

I am sad so see how the members of the Governing Body have tried to explain away Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:5,6 and 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22.[1]

The present members of the Governing Body do not preach the Jesus whom Paul preached. They do not preach the Jesus who died for all Adam’s descendants, and whose ransom sacrifice guarantees a resurrection for all who have died because of inherited sin.

PRESENTING ANOTHER SPIRIT THAN THE ONE PRESENTED BY PAUL

The easiest way to show that the spirit of the present members of the Governing Body differs from the spirit of Paul and from that of the leaders of the Watchtower Society during the 30 years from 1942 to 1972 is to refer to the Christian Magna Carta, as we see in The Watchtower of October 1, 1972, page 589:

Where God’s Word does not itself ‘draw the line,’ no human has the right to add to that Word by doing so.

This is a declaration of Christian freedom. But already in the same year this was published, 1972, the members of the Governing Body began making binding laws for the Witnesses that were not based on the Bible, thus violating the words in the quotation.

The spirit of Paul is seen in Galatians 5:1:

 For such freedom Christ set us free. Therefore stand fast, and do not let yourselves be confined again in a yoke of slavery.

Making laws that have no basis in the Bible is a violation of the words in the quotation from the Watchtower and of Paul’s words in Galatians 5:1. The spirit of the members of the Governing Body that they expressed in 1972 by making new laws is still prevailing. This is the reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses have not had any Christian freedom in the 21st century.

The spirit expressed by Paul was the freedom of each Christian to make decisions based on each one’s conscience. The present members of the Governing Body have made 200+ laws that are not based on the Bible, which means that they have taken away Christian freedom. Thus, the present members of the Governing Body are presenting another spirit than the spirit presented by Paul.

THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY HAVE MISLED INDIVIDUAL JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

In Part II of this series, I show how the members of the Governing Body, ashort time after the creation of the Governing Body in 1971, started to make binding laws for Jehovah’s Witnesses that were not based on the Bible. Any law that is not based on the Bible is a false law, and any requirement to keep such a law is the same as misleading the community of Christians.

The members of the Governing Body boast that Jehovah God has led them to understand parts of the Bible that no one has previously understood. In the entry “Beliefs clarified” (https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200277174) on jw.org, 94 beliefs that were clarified between 190 and 2020 are listed. I have written an article showing that most of these “clarified beliefs” are “clouded beliefs,” meaning the new understanding is wrong.[2]

I estimate that close to 10% of the present doctrines and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses are false. This means that, just as the super-apostles tried to mislead the members of the Corinthian congregation, the present members of the Governing Body have been misleading the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALSE TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES

In the previous discussion, I have shown that the present members of the Governing Body have followed the example of the superfine apostles in Corinth. They have elevated themselves to apostles for Christ, preach another Jesus than the Jesus Paul preached, present another spirit than the one Paul presented, and they have misled the worldwide community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

But there is one difference between the two groups. The way Paul describes the superfine apostles shows they had bad motives and were wicked people who wanted to create a sect with themselves as leaders.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING

During the 49 years (1971-2020) I have been part of the organization led by the members of the Governing Body, I have never seen anything indicating that any member of the Governing Body had bad motives. During the first 20 years, some members of the Governing Body were biblical scholars with a knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. And the high quality of several Watchtower publications shows that these members used their specialized knowledge to help Witnesses get an accurate knowledge of the Bible.

As far as I know, no member of the Governing Body during the 21st century was able to read the text of the Bible in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic. It is impossible to fully understand a text that cannot be read in its original language. And that may be one reason why the quality of Watchtower publications in the 21st century has been so poor in terms of accurate Bible knowledge.

It is impossible to read other people’s thoughts. However, I am trained as an examiner of exam papers and oral exams for University degrees, and  from what I have read of their literature and heard of their speeches, my view is that there are three reasons for their dictatorial position and for their false teachings:

Reason one is that, from a scholarly point of view, all the members of the Governing Body are incompetent as Bible teachers.

Reason two is that they do not realize that they are incompetent, but they view themselves as excellent Bible teachers because they are “the faithful and discreet slave.”

Reason three is that they believe that when they, as a group, discuss an issue, and there is a unanimous agreement, this conclusion is inspired by God

BIBLICAL TRADITIONS AND THE BODIES OF ELDERS COMPENSATE FOR THE INCOMPETENCE OF THE GOVERNING BODY

The difference between the superfine apostles and the present members of the Governing Body is that the former were wicked people with bad motives, whereas the latter’s false teachings stem from their incompetence as Bible scholars—they cannot even understand the original languages of the Bible.

There is also another difference: the audience of the superfine apostles was the members of the Corinthian congregation, but the audience of the members of the Governing Body is the worldwide community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians indicate that the bad behavior of the superfine apostles did not destroy the congregation in Corinth. And the bad behavior of the members of the Governing Body as dictators and false teachers has not destroyed the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I can see four different reasons why the destructive behavior of the members of the Governing Body has not seriously contaminated the only true religion:

The first reason is the Christian tradition. The organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses and its meetings, to a great extent, follow the pattern of what happened in the synagogues in Israel in the days of Jesus. The same tradition that I learned in 1961, when I became a Witness, still holds.

The second reason is the preaching of the good news of the kingdom. All Witnesses participate in this preaching, and the unity in the congregation, because Witnesses attend meetings and participate in the preaching work, is unprecedented in other worldwide organizations.

The third reason is that the false teachings and practices introduced by the members of the Governing Body do not penetrate the core of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ faith. More than 90% of the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses that existed 60 years ago remains in the organization.

The most important false practices are the steps taken in connection with disfellowshipping. Most of the system of judicial meetings and the ways different sins are treated are man-made and contradict several biblical principles. During the 21st century, 1.5 million Witnesses have been disfellowshipped. And my estimate is that if the Bible had been followed, more than 90% of these should not have been disfellowshipped.

However. The Governing Body’s iron fist in the velvet glove first appears when someone is summoned to a judicial committee meeting and/or later disfellowshipped. The unbiblical practice of disfellowshipping is not felt in the normal life of a congregation. This is why I say that the false teachings and practices have very little impact on the members of congregations in the normal life of the Witnesses.

The fourth reason is the bodies of elders. I have shown that, in 1972, the bodies of elders were to a great extent independent of the Governing Body. But from 1976 onward, the Governing Body gradually took away the power of the bodies of elders, and in the 21st century, the Governing Body has dictatorial power.

The elders have been taught to disfellowship congregation members who have violated the laws of the Governing Body. Because of this, the elders indirectly have the responsibility for tens of thousands of lives that have been ruined. But by and large, the elders have been a blessing for individual Witnesses.

The elders have upheld the synagogue traditions in the congregations. They have been serving as teachers and shepherds, and they have given personal assistance to individual Witnesses who needed it.

The conclusion is that in spite of the few false teachings and practices invented by the Governing Body, because of the work of the elders, Jehovah’s Witnesses today are a unified people who work hard to follow the principles in the Bible, and who are ready to survive the great tribulation and start the work of making the earth ready for the resurrection.

 

 

[1]. See the articles, “The members of the Governing Body do not believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2026/04/24/the-members-of-the-governing-body-do-not-believe-in-the-full-inspiration-of-the-bible-part-ii/

“Preaching another Jesus than the one we preached.” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/06/21/preaching-a-jesus-other-than-the-one-we-preached/

“The devaluation and restriction of the ransom sacrifice I Jesus died for all Adam’s descendants.”

THE DEVALUATION AND RESTRICTION OF THE RANSOM SACRIFICE I JESUS DIED FOR ALL ADAM’S DESCENDANTS

[2]. See the article, «Analysis of evidence used to show that the Governing Body is ‘on jw.org the faithful and discreet slave’.” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2026/04/09/analysis-of-evidence-used-to-show-that-the-governing-body-is-the-faithful-and-discreet-slave/

“Dette er en eksempeltekst til nettsiden. Når du skriver tekst til nettsiden så er det viktig å huske på at det både er en potensiell kunde som leser dette, men også Google skal «lese» denne teksten. Prøv å skriv innhold som er informativ for det produktet eller den tjenesten du tilbyr, der søkeord, fraser og setninger flettes inn på en naturlig og lettleselig måte. ”

OVERSKRIFT 3

Dette er en eksempeltekst til nettsiden. Når du skriver tekst til nettsiden så er det viktig å huske på at det både er en potensiell kunde som leser dette, men også Google skal «lese» denne teksten. Prøv å skriv innhold som er informativ for det produktet eller den tjenesten du tilbyr, der søkeord, fraser og setninger flettes inn på en naturlig og lettleselig måte.

CONCLUSION

Dette er en eksempeltekst til nettsiden. Når du skriver tekst til nettsiden så er det viktig å huske på at det både er en potensiell kunde som leser dette, men også Google skal «lese» denne teksten. Prøv å skriv innhold som er informativ for det produktet eller den tjenesten du tilbyr, der søkeord, fraser og setninger flettes inn på en naturlig og lettleselig måte.