Flipper: Thanks for the welcome. I absolutely do not think it's reasonable that these men would be appointed over those specifically chosen by Christ in person/inpsired by God directly. I actually don't think they have been appointed at all, but that's another point altogether! I was just wondering if anyone was able to explain what the position would be if this new light were in fact accurate. It also begs the question of who exactly would be appointed over all of Christ's belongings, because they have just added a new member to the GB and F&DS haven't they? Would it just apply to those who are members of the F&DS from 2012 onwards? Or to all those who are and have ever been 'annointed' and have been involved in writing the literature? I have sooo many questions, sorry!! It just doesn't make sense to me.
Think About It: Thank you. I expect I may be on here quite regularly in the future - such a great site but I've never dared to look at it before.
james_woods: Thank you. I haven't delved very deeply into the scriptures surrounding the verses this understanding is supposedly taken from. I've got a lot of reading to do. But from the small amount of reading I have done, I can't see how they have come to this conclusion. Does this mean that the rest of the 144,000, previously declared to be the F&DS, will no longer be appointed over Christ's belongings? Which would lead me to conclude that they won't be serving as kings & priests after all. Or am I being dumb?
Ding: You make a good point. Unfortunately, they seem to take an awful long time to explain anything fully, if indeed they do it at all. I don't want to waste more of my life than I already have!
FatFreek: That's what I thought!
My initial reaction to this 'new light' was - 'Well, now they can really control what is said in the literature and what the JWs do, without having to answer to anybody, as they have decided they are the only ones who are directed by HS.' Or words to that effect