How does the Watchtower maintain such tight control over the lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide?

It convinces them that Jesus gave them that authority in 1919.

It treats Jesus’ statements in Matthew 24:45-47, not as a parable about the importance of faithfulness, but as a prophecy about the Watchtower organization.

Let’s look at that passage.

Matthew 24:45-47: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so! Truly I say to you, he will appoint him over all his belongings.” (Watchtower translation)

The Watchtower teaches that Jesus received kingly power in 1914 and began an inspection of all the world’s religions to see if he could find any that were faithfully dispensing spiritual truth at the proper time.

It says that the Watchtower passed the test and that in 1919 he declared it to be “the faithful and discreet slave” organization, giving it sole worldwide authority to dispense spiritual truth and “preach the good news.” (God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, pp. 350-355)

How important is this claim to Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The Watchtower declares, “That faithful slave is the channel through which Jesus is feeding his true followers in this time of the end. It is vital that we recognize the faithful slave. Our spiritual health and our relationship with God depend on this channel.” (The Watchtower, “Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?”, 7/2013, p. 20)

Unlike with 1914, it doesn’t arrive at the 1919 date by combining Bible numbers with Babylonian history.

Rather, it bases its claim on what supposedly happened in Watchtower history in that year:

  • The World War I sedition conviction of Watchtower president Joseph Rutherford was overturned and he was released from prison.
  • At a large convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, Rutherford announced that the Watchtower’s mission was to proclaim the 1914 arrival of the incoming kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as its king.
  • The Watchtower began a worldwide preaching campaign which still continues.
  • “Thunderous storm warnings from the Bible pealed forth. Like flashes of lightning, brilliant beams of truth shone from Jehovah’s prophetic Word, and, as if by a mighty earthquake, the religious realm was shaken to its foundations.” (Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!, p. 131)

Ways to challenge these claims

 How can we get Jehovah’s Witnesses to re-examine these beliefs?

Here are several approaches.

 Place the burden of proof on the Watchtower

Point out to the Witnesses that anyone can make claims about something Jesus supposedly did invisibly in 1919 or any other year.

If it didn’t happen as claimed, how could anyone ever prove it?

Shouldn’t the burden of proof be on those who claim that Jesus gave them his blessing and fantastic worldwide authority in 1919 or any other year?

The Witnesses will cite the phenomenal growth and success of the Watchtower organization.

You can point out that other organizations—such as the Mormon church—have had an even greater growth rate.

In fact, Islam is growing much faster than the Watchtower religion.

Does that prove it is Jehovah’s organization?

Jehovah’s Witnesses will try to shift the discussion to their doctrines in order to show that they are the most consistent with the Bible.

Even if we were to concede that for the sake of argument, how does that prove that in 1919 Jesus appointed the Watchtower to be his “faithful and discreet slave”?

Invite the Witnesses to do a 1919 inspection with you

Former Jehovah’s Witness elder Don Cameron has written an entire book entitled Captives of a Concept, explaining how to disprove the Watchtower’s claim through its own literature.

The book is available on Amazon, and I recommend it highly.

He points out:

It is evident that Jesus would not base his decision in 1919 on what the Society would be teaching today… Jesus would make his decision in 1919 based upon what they had been teaching “down till 1919.” He would check the quality of those teachings to make sure they were the right things to be teaching and the right time to be teaching them “the right sort of food at the proper time.” (Captives of a Concept, p. 19)

He proposes asking Jehovah’s Witnesses to help you do a history test—an examination of the Watchtower’s teaching from 1914-1919: “There is only one way to know what decision Jesus made in 1919… By examining the same teachings they say Jesus examined in 1918-1919 to see if they could have passed such an exam. Jehovah’s Witnesses have never done this.” (Captives of a Concept, p. 20, boldface original)

Cameron goes on to say:

It doesn’t register with Jehovah’s Witnesses that if the Society could pass a “food-at-the-proper-time” examination by Jesus Christ today it means that they would have failed the same exam in 1919 because so much of what they had been teaching then was not what they are teaching now… Even if the Society understands everything correctly today, it is too late. The time to pass an examination is when it is given, not years or decades after it is over. And according to the way they interpret Matthew 24: 45-47, Jesus’ examination was over in the spring of 1919. (Captives of a Concept, p. 46, italics and underlining original)

His book goes through 48 teachings the Watchtower taught as spiritual truth during the supposed inspection period (1914-1919) which it has now abandoned. He includes references to specific Watchtower literature and sometimes photocopies of the quotations themselves.

Examples involving the “faithful and discreet slave” teaching itself

When did Jesus give them this authority?

 The Watchtower now states, “Jesus began to inspect the spiritual temple in 1914. That inspection and cleansing work involved a period of time—from 1914 to the early part of 1919.’ But a footnote says, “This is an adjustment in understanding. Previously, we thought that Jesus’ inspection took place in 1918.” (The Watchtower, “Look, I Am With You All the Days,” 7/2013 (paragraph 6).

Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?

From 1897 to February 15, 1927, the Watchtower taught that its founder, Charles Taze Russell, individually held the office of faithful and discreet slave. (Captives of a Concept, p. 26)

Cameron comments:

What this is saying is very important. It is saying that from about 1897 to February 1927 (30 years) the Society was teaching that Russell was “the faithful and discreet slave” and therefore that the Society was not that slave.

It also means that according to their interpretation of Matthew 24:45-47, in the spring of 1919 Jesus was saying to those associated with the Society, “You are my faithful and discreet slave.” But according to their history, they were saying, “We are not your faithful and discreet slave!”… If Jesus did in fact try to appoint them in 1919, they rejected it. And they continued to reject his offer every day for the next eight years until February of 1927.

If in 1919 Jesus had asked the question in Matthew 24:45, “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?” they would have answered according to what they believed—“Charles Taze Russell.” There wasn’t anyone on earth or in heaven who could change Rutherford’s mind until he himself changed it in 1927. But that was too late.” (Captives of a Concept, p. 27-28, emphasis original)

When does the slave receive that authority?

In addition to being wrong about who the faithful slave was, the Watchtower was also wrong when it claimed that in 1919 Jesus give it authority over all his earthly belongings.

The Watchtower used to say, “What are the belongings over which the newly crowned Master appointed his faithful slave? All the spiritual things that belong to Him here on earth.” (The Watchtower, “A ‘Slave’ Who Is Both Faithful and Discreet,” 3/1/2004, p. 12)

But now it teaches that Jesus has given it authority over his people but that he hasn’t yet appointed it over his belongings. He will only give that authority after the resurrection, and the authority will not be given only to the faithful slave (the Governing Body), but to all 144,000 “anointed Christians.” Moreover, his belongings will include all his belongings, both in heaven and on earth. (The Watchtower, “Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?” 7/15/2013, p. 25)

In short, this means:

  • The faithful and discreet slave was wrong about when Jesus did his inspection.
  • The faithful and discreet slave was wrong about whom he appointed to be the faithful and discreet slave.
  • The faithful and discreet slave thought Jesus gave it authority in 1919 which will only be given after the resurrection, and then to a much larger group.

Conclusion

After examining the evidence, long-time Watchtower elder Peter Gregerson disassociated from the organization, saying, “There is no possible way that Christ Jesus, as a Judge, could have looked at this information [from 1876 to 1919] and have given the authority that [is] claimed by the Watchtower Society.” (Captives of a Concept, p. 45)

Former Watchtower Governing Body member Raymond Franz went even further: “It would be an insult to Jesus Christ to say that he selected this organization on the basis of what it was teaching as of 1919.” (In Search of Christian Freedom, p. 145)