Today was the first day of three for this year's "Follow the Christ" District Convention.
For the first time in as many years as I can go back, the theme of this program was Jesus Christ.
Most of the program was OK. The talks considered Jesus, his life and his works. There was nothing about the talks that I considered insulting or controlling.
Could this be it? Could the Society really be going Jesus-centric?
However, the last talk was to change all of that.
They Keep Following the Lamb No Matter Where He Goes was the last talk of the Friday afternoon program.
I swear there is a malevolent intelligence about the person/s who design this talk. Up to now, there wasn't a single mention of "the faithful and discreet slave."
The speaker begins by saying that there are three powerful lines of evidence that Jehovah and Jesus have selected the anointed ones on Earth today. (Does that sound like the six powerful lines of evidence that we are living in the last days?)
He says that the number of genuine anointed are dwindling - no mention was made of the new light concerning the 1935 cut off date.
Speaker says that "through the centuries, Jesus has been cleansing the 144,000 bride class." (Really, what happened from 70AD to 1878?)
Why should we follow the faithful slave? Jesus has selected them and by "listening to the voice of the faithful slave" we show our cooperation with "Jehovah's arrangement."
Specifically, the speaker said "we should exercise faith and listen to the voice of the faithful slave" - he actually quotes the scripture where Jesus says "My sheep listen to my voice and
I know them and they follow me."
When we receive spiritual food from the faithful and discreet slave, do we find fault with what is in there? Do we find fault with their viewpoints on Bible understanding?
This would show "lack of faith" in Jehovah's arrangement.
IF JEHOVAH AND JESUS TRUST THE "FAITHFUL AND DISRCEET SLAVE" SHOULDN'T WE?
Listening to Christ means listening to the elders, the anointed etc etc.
Anointer elders are to be viewed as "spiritual governors" (What about where Jesus says "one is your leader?" - how do they account for this?)
Jesus will bless those who listen to the faithful slave.
Speaker quotes scripture where it talks about 10 men grabbing hold of the skirt of a Jew saying "we will go with you people" - likened to other sheep following the anointed class.
"Are we ashamed of the anointed class and the faithful and discreet slave?" (I can't believe he actually said that, of course we're ashamed of them.)
Speaker asks question: "If we're not of the faithful and discreet slave class, what should we do?"
Answer: Follow the anointed who follow Christ.
This last talk was a rude wake up call for any who thought that there was a hint of reform in the organization. This last talk must have been deliberately placed.
Throughout the day, one could be forgiven for thinking that the society had found their way and put Christ back on the pedestal. The last talk put that out of the
picture. It was deliberate, skillfully done.
We know that the anointed class is a myth. The real leaders of the Watchtower Society are the members of the Governing Body who have absolute control.
As for the anointed and elders being "spiritual governors", the scripture that says "It does not belong to man, even to direct his steps" comes to mind.
Jesus said that we should not have leaders among us, "for one is your leader."
A governor is defined as "a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, any man of superior rank or status"
How can the "faithful and discreet slave" occupy the same role as a "spiritual governor?"
A slave is a slave.
Jesus said, "A slave is not greater than his master." - How does the Society correlate the two?