GREAT CROWD GIVEN NEW STATUS?

Hunyadi

The March 1, 2004 WT, p9 pp6 states:

"The only reasonable conclusion, then, is that Jesus was referring to a group of Chiristians as "the faithful and discreet slave." Can there be such a thing as a composite slave? Yes. Seven hundred years before Christ, Jehovah referred to the entire nation of Israel as "my witnesses" and "my servant whom I have chosen." (Isaiah 43:10) Every member of the nation of Israel from 1513 B.C.E., when the Mosaic Law was given, down to Pentecost 33 C.E. was part of the this servant class. Most Israelites did not have a direct share in administering the nation's affairs or in coorinationg its spiritual feeding program. Jehovah used the kings, judges, prophets, priests, and Levites to carry out those tasks. Still, as a nation, Israel was to represent Jehovah's sovereignty and tell his praises among the nations. Each Israelite was to be a witness of Jehovah.-Dueteronomy 26:19; Isaiah 43:21; Malachi 2:7; Romans 3:1,2.

OK, the paragraph infers that each member, annointed or not, is part of the "faithful and discreet slave class" and although it is the GB who is in control, the other sheep, the great crowd is also part of the faithful and discreet slave????

DOUBLE SPEAK!

nicolaou

now THAT'S intersting

confusedjw

No I don't think has any reference to the great crowd. The great crowd has no reference point in the nation of Israel. If you recall the interpertation of the position of the great crowd is of being one of the 10 who graps onto the skirt of a Jew.

This is just reinforcement of the FDS being a Class of humans I believe

dannyboy

Hunyadi,

Sorry, but I don't see how the quoted paragraph supports your conclusion.

The argumentation seems to me to be explaining how the Watchtower can claim a group (plural) can "fufill" or be
"pictured" (in Watchtower parlance) to a "slave" (singular). This line of thought is not a new one.

What am I missing here??

---Dan

ozziepost

I agree with confusedjw and dannyboy. There's nothing new here. Remember the WTS claim that their 144,000 are spiritual Israel and have replaced natural Israel as God's choen people.

Cheers, Ozzie

garybuss

Describing Jehovah's Witnesses is much like describing a river. My experience and the experience of other Witnesses is sometimes very different. So it goes with Witness doctrine. Right now there at least five groups inside the Watch Tower Corporation all writing to a different audience.

There is the group that wants to appear same old, same old, preserving the status quo, the old school. There is the group that is liberal and pro change. There is the group that wants to appear radicle and different and to stand out. There is the group that wants the Witnesses to appear not different from other religions. There are the attorneys and they have always had their power in the group. I think we could add to this list.

Initially Jehovah's witnesses were only the "anointed". The "people of good will" were the non-anointed. Now Jehovah's Witnesses are the people who used to be referred to as the people of good will, plus the anointed . . . homogenized.

When I was a kid, everybody who went door to door with the literature published exclusively by the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation was a Witness because they were "witnessing". All Witnesses were ministers. Women and children too. I have a card in my archive with a woman's name filled in the blank that says she is a minister of Jehovah's Witnesses.

It's all fluid. Who's a Witness? It's fluid. Who's a minister? It's fluid. Who is an apostate? It's fluid. Who do they say spiritual Israel is now?

The composite slave is old news. Maybe the Chieftain class and the Priestly class gets their own commune to manage. One class gets Brooklyn, another gets Patterson, and another gets Wallkill. That'd be cool!

Interesting post. Wish I had the whole magazine to look at. GaryB

Hunyadi

"The only reasonable conclusion, then, is that Jesus was referring to a group of Chiristians as "the faithful and discreet slave." Can there be such a thing as a composite slave? Yes. Seven hundred years before Christ, Jehovah referred to the entire nation of Israel as "my witnesses" and "my servant whom I have chosen." (Isaiah 43:10) Every member of the nation of Israel from 1513 B.C.E., when the Mosaic Law was given, down to Pentecost 33 C.E. was part of the this servant class. Most Israelites did not have a direct share in administering the nation's affairs or in coorinationg its spiritual feeding program. Jehovah used the kings, judges, prophets, priests, and Levites to carry out those tasks. Still, as a nation, Israel was to represent Jehovah's sovereignty and tell his praises among the nations. Each Israelite was to be a witness of Jehovah.-Dueteronomy 26:19; Isaiah 43:21; Malachi 2:7; Romans 3:1,2

"My Witnesses" and "my servant whom I have chosen" is here tied into the "faithful and discreet slave class", and "every member" was part of that servant class. While the GB "coordinates the spiritual feeding program", "each Israelite was to be a witness of Jehovah" . . . what is there to miss?

got my forty homey?

Damn! I was ready to put in my reinstatement papers if "the new light" tacked in the wind stated that I'm going to be anointed! I always wanted to partake of the bread and meat!

Hyghlandyr

Whats to miss Hyundai is this... the passage you quote is talking about the FDS, and all the members of the annointed being FDS, not all members of the annointed AND the other sheep being part of the slave. It makes no mention of the other sheep or great crowd at all. In pointing to the nation of israel, all members, as being the composite servant of times past, it is merely pointing out that a singular noun can be applied to a plural group. Remember, all members of the nation of israel were considered a kingdom of priests. A nation set asside and above other nations. Within that nation, there still had to be leaders. Simply because those leaders were said to be servants of god, does not mean that the nation as a whole was not also servants and a servant in a composite sense. Had they in their paragraph included the other sheep or great crowd, then we would agree with you. They did not.

Thus most jws (except a few confused ones) will see this simply as referencing the annointed. They wont see it as applying to them at all. And it doesnt apply to them. It is one of the attempts the WT makes to demonstrate that even though all the annointed are not in NYC, they are still a part of the FDS...mysteriously so since we know that in reality none of the so called annointed ever have anything to do with the decision making process...that is all done in NYC.

shotgun

They are still doomed to the earthly destiny

GREAT CROWD GIVEN NEW STATUS?

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