The Society is just trying to get out in front of a growing issue with more people partaking. Drink up but don't ask about writing articles only a few guys have control of the printing presses.
Randy Watters -- WT admits 144,000 may not be the limit
by FatFreek 2005 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Black Sheep
Apostate who spread this without seeing it in a WT publication.
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elderelite
x2 blacksheep
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Ding
Isn't it great when Jehovah gives the FDS new light?
That means you can go back to all those doors and tell them about the change -- NOT!
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Ultimate Reality
Randy's conclusion appears to be accurate.
The Society is typically passive-agressive in how they address their own sensitive 'issues'. Further, I think it's obvious we are in the midst of a transition in certain teachings, largely because of failed dates and other numbers. Questions of the anointed and the GB's authority (and credibility) are at stake, so they have been making some changes over the last few years. So, we have to read between the lines over a period of time to see what has really happened.
First, in 1984, the Society was still defending the 1935 anointed-to-great crowd cutoff / transition 'calling' date:
5 The countdown that has proceeded for some six millenniums now nears its zero hour. So close is it that people who were alive in 1914, and who are now well along in years, will not all pass off the scene before the thrilling events marking the vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty come to pass.—Mark 13:30.
6 Other loyal servants of God, too, will be on hand to witness the events of that great day. Especially beginning in 1935, when the identity of the “great multitude,” or “great crowd,” was clearly understood, large numbers of these began to manifest themselves. At first there were hundreds, then thousands, later hundreds of thousands, and now there are millions spread around the globe. God’s infallible Word depicts this group as ‘coming out of the great tribulation,’ being survivors of it, living right on into God’s New Order without ever having to die. (Revelation 7:9, 10, 14; John 11:26) The early members of this group are now in their 60’s or 70’s or older. Jehovah did not allow the ingathering of this group to begin too soon. The “great crowd,” including many of the earliest members thereof, will survive into the “new earth.” - Survival, p. 185
In 2007, they addressed the issue of the obvious 'continued' calling of new anointed members and said that the calling, evidently, did not stop in 1935. But gave the following qualification on the matter of those claiming to be anointed (note, there are also now genuine anointed):
How should a person be viewed who has determined in his heart that he is now anointed and begins to partake of the emblems at the Memorial? He should not be judged. The matter is between him and Jehovah. (Romans 14:12) However, genuine anointed Christians do not demand special attention. They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special “insights,” beyond what even some experienced members of the great crowd may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the other sheep have; nor do they expect special treatment or claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation. They humbly remember that some anointed men in the first century did not qualify to serve as elders or ministerial servants. (1 Timothy 3:1-10, 12, 13; Titus 1:5-9; James 3:1) Some anointed Christians were even spiritually weak. (1 Thessalonians 5:14) And sisters, although anointed, did not teach in the congregation.—1 Timothy 2:11, 12. - w07 5/1 p.31
A major article that gives evidence of a transition is the June 2009 study article on the Faithful Steward and its Governing Body. It seems they are transitioning from the slave/steward is a group to the slave/steward is the GB with the 'claimed' anointed as the 'domestics' and the great crowd covering everyone else. The anointed domestics and the great crowd are on the same, 'non-insightful' plane, whereas the GB is' spirit-directed':
On the other hand, how should other Christians view a person who claims to have received this anointing and begins to partake of the emblems at the Memorial? He or she should not be judged. The matter is between this person and Jehovah. (Rom. 14:12) However, Christians who have truly received this anointing do not demand special attention. They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special insights beyond what even some experienced members of the “great crowd” may have. (Rev. 7:9) They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the “other sheep” have. (John 10:16) They do not expect special treatment; nor do they claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation.
...today a limited number of anointed men have the responsibility of representing the slave class. They make up the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These spirit-anointed men oversee the Kingdom work and the spiritual feeding program. As in the first century, though, the Governing Body does not consult with each individual member of the slave class before making decisions. (Read Acts 16:4, 5.) However, all anointed Witnesses are deeply involved in the vital harvest work that is now taking place. As a class, “the faithful and discreet slave” is one body, but as individuals, they have various work assignments.—1 Cor. 12:19-26.
-w09 6/15 p24
and the final paragraph...Whether we are “domestics,” who are part of the anointed remnant, or we are members of the great crowd, let it be our determination to cooperate fully with the faithful steward and its Governing Body. May each of us “keep on the watch” and prove ourselves faithful until the end.—Matt. 24:13, 42.
-w09 6/15 p23-24
Moving forward to this year, the Governing Body gets more praise. The fact that the 'anointed' 144,000 have gone beyond this limit, no longer matters:
The apostles and the elders of the Jerusalem congregation acted as a governing body. Christ used this instrument to lead the entire group of his anointed “brothers” on earth. (Heb. 2:11; Acts 16:4, 5) In this time of the end, Christ has committed “all his belongings”— all the earthly interests of the Kingdom—to his “faithful and discreet slave” and its representative Governing Body, a group of anointed Christian men. (Matt. 24:45-47) The anointed and their other sheep companions recognize that by following the lead of the modern-day Governing Body, they are in fact following their Leader, Christ. - w2010 9/15 page 23
Notice the wording in the above paragraph. BOTH the anointed AND the other sheep follow the Governing Body. The GB is really the Faithful Steward, so being anointed (genuine or non-genuine) doesn't count for anything, they are in the same boat as the great crowd. Further, the 'genuine' distinction made earlier gets them around the number issue. Witnesses will ignore this numbering failure and trust that many are partaking that are not actually anointed. Further, they can look at anyone that claims to be anointed in local congregations as the same as everyone else. All attention goes to the GB and their authority.
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Broken Promises
No where in those articles does it indicate that the WTS believes that the literal number of 144,000 annointed has been changed.
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moshe
cooperate fully with the faithful steward and its Governing Body.
Has anyone seen a real live faithful steward lately?- this last sentence still puts the GB in a subservient position to the F&DS class, which is a real oxymoron for a thinking JW, which is still another oxymoron, isn't it?
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Ultimate Reality
Broken Promises, I agree. No where has the society changed the 144,000 from literal to figurative. If that is what Randy is claiming, I don't know of any evidence. However, the 144,000 limit does not match with history and the Society's own numbers -- and they were forced to acknowledge this in the 2007 QFR. So, they are shifting attention from the fact that the number has been and will continue to be exceeded. It no longer matters to them anymore.
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Broken Promises
UR,
then why did you say:
Randy's conclusion appears to be accurate
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Ultimate Reality
BP: What's written at the beginning of this post is technically accurate, but I see where different meanings can be reached. Language is always slippery. The WT has acknowledged that the 144,000 limit (and the calling ending in 1935) no longer applies. One can conclude this means they have changed the limit and made the 144,000 figurative. Or that what is in print leads us to the conclusion that we should not expect those who claim to be anointed are limited to 144,000. The latter being how I understood the opening post. The WT, rather than dealing with this issue directly, has changed the status of the players.
