Good work, Sauerkraut. This complements that article on xjw.com that is a synopsis of the booklet "Where Is The Great Crowd Serving God" by the late Jon Mitchell (former secretary to the GB--rip) in collusion with his close friend, the late Ray Franz. In the booklet and article, it is revealed that Frederick Franz lied in one WT article about interpretation of naos (the temple's inner sanctuary, Holy of Holies). The following is quoted from that article:
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Reports of "apostate" teachings reached the ears of the Governing Body in 1980 and Bethel workers were cautioned not to give ear to these. Nevertheless, the leadership realized they faced a dilemma and they sought to smooth things over by promising that answers would be forthcoming in the Society's literature and in special, televised comments presented by members of the writing staff and others at the morning breakfast table. The August 15, 1980 issue of The Watchtower addressed the questions concerning the Society's two-class interpretation of Scripture in an article entitled "The 'Great Crowd' Renders Sacred Service Where?" The author was presumed to be Frederick Franz. The article attempted to make a case that the word naos was sometimes used in the Bible to mean the entire temple complex, not just the inner sanctuary. (This is a crucial point since the inner sanctuary pictures heaven.) The following chart appeared on page 15 claiming scriptural examples of naos referring to the "entire temple," including the Court of the Gentiles.
The Greek word na·os' refers often to the inner sanctuary representing heaven itself
• BUT it was the entire temple (na·os') that had been 46 years in the building
• It was the entire temple (na·os') that was destroyed as a judgment from God
• It was from the courts of the outer temple (na·os') that Jesus drove the money changers
• It was in the outer temple (na·os') that Judas threw back the 30 pieces of silver
• HENCE it is consistent that the "great crowd" serve God in the earthly court of the spiritual temple
---The Watchtower - August 15, 1980, page 15Normally, Jehovah's Witnesses are content to accept information presented in The Watchtower without question. But, in this case, some highly respected and admired members of the Watchtower headquarters staff had been disfellowshiped on charges of "apostasy." This prompted other members to verify the points made, and what they discovered was shocking. The Watchtower article had refrained from citing the scripture references for the above statements. However, contrary to the clear implications of the summary chart, a search of the Society's own Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures revealed that the word naos did not even appear in two of the Biblical accounts to which the statements alluded. Specifically, it is hieron, not naos, which appears in all of the verses which describe the following events:
It was from the court of the outer temple (hieron--not naos) that Jesus drove the money changers. (See Matt. 21:12, Mark 11:15,
Luke 19:45 and John 2:14,15 in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.)It was the entire temple (hieron--not naos) that was destroyed as a judgment from God. (See Matt. 24:1,2, Mark 13:1-3 and
Luke 21:5,6 in the Kingdom Interlinear.)Additionally, research showed that the other two Biblical accounts referred to (Matt. 27:5 and John 2:19,20) were by no means indisputable examples of texts in which the term naos is used to describe the whole temple area.
This blatant misrepresentation of scripture (and now evident mistreatment of sincere Christians, in the spirit of Matt.24:48,49 and 3John 9,10) in an effort to uphold the Society's doctrine greatly troubled those who were seeking to validate the information presented in the Watchtower article.
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Btw Hi, Sauerkraut . . .
~Binadub (aka Ros)