Gozz: “The date of 1935 is quite clearly indicated in the scriptures” I don’t see it at all. The reasoning you use: “the ingathering of the holy ones, which had begun in Pentecost 33 CE must at some time come to a conclusion, indeed, the complete number of the main ones of the 144,000 must end” This is only after making several assumptions outside of Scripture, for nowhere do the Scriptures speak of an end of the ingathering of one class of Christians and the beginning of the harvesting of another class. In fact, there is no mention of two different hopes for Christians at all in the Greek Scriptures unless one begins taking liberties with certain passages.
There is also the possibility that the number 144,000 is symbolic. There is no conclusive, Spiritual proof that it is not. Even if the number is literal there is nothing to say that this number could not be taken out of the total number of Christians AFTER the final harvesting is complete. In that case the actual choosing would not take place until AFTER the end.
Gozz: “As Jesus' words clearly indicate, the anointed ably represented by the faithful slave, must be doing the work of feeding both the domestics and the sheep at the time of his inspection. “
Again there is actually very little clarity about the matter unless one chooses to arbitrarily contrive a doctrine and exclude everything that casts doubt upon it. Let’s look at the passage to which to allude:
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“Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to YOU, He will appoint him over all his belongings.
“But if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites. There is where [his] weeping and the gnashing of [his] teeth will be.” Matt 24: 45-51
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First of all, it was a question. Upon reading the entire passage relating to this parable you may note that the entire thrust of this illustration is that this unidentified ‘slave’ is ‘faithful and discreet’ ONLY upon fulfilling a specific duty. So, to begin with, the slave’s faithfulness is a question at best. Look closely beginning with verse 48. Who is that slave? Why, he’s the same one spoken of so highly in the previous verse! Now he is evil. So, the slave’s faithfulness and his discretion is conditional upon his performance of his assigned duty. The slave is fallible and can, as the passage states, fall short of his duties and be classified as evil and as a hypocrite. So is the ‘slave’ of Matt 24, the true congregation? No. The very fact that this particular slave is subject to failure would make the true congregation subject to failure and thus God’s purpose for mankind would not be fulfilled and Isaiah 55:11 (and many other Scriptures) would be false.
Who then is the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ of which Jesus spoke? I have my opinion on the matter as I’m sure that many of you here do. I do not see it as a religion, however. If I am wrong I would be happy to change my mind.
Another point to the passage is that it speaks of an appointed ‘slave’ and of ‘domestics’. Even if we take the liberty of considering the ‘slave’ as being plural it still does not make him the ‘domestics’ as well now, does it? You still have two distinct groups here, namely the ‘domestics’ and the ‘appointed slave’. How do the two become one except by arbitrary contrivance? (I’m speaking to those who are familiar with the Society’s teaching on this matter) If the ‘slave’ and the ‘domestics’ are one and the same how is the ‘slave’ to be commended for taking care of himself? The only sensible conclusion is that they are not the same. Both belong to the household of the master. Both are slaves but one has been appointed to take care of the other. Since there is no mention of any other group we must conclude that these two groups encompass ALL of the master’s household.
As for the ‘great influx’ of 1935 there simply was no such thing. Those people present had, up until that time, been told they would be second-class citizens of heaven and now they would be inheriting the earth and were being told it was okay (even if they were slothful and less than fully enthusiastic about the preaching work) to get baptized now. Once they were baptized and felt part of the organization that very fact would be used to put pressure upon them to go preach or else that grand paradise on earth which they were promised would not be theirs. It’s the classic puppy dog sale technique.
Now, I’m interested to see how clearly the Bible points to 1975 and the end of this recently past century as being the cut off date for the preaching work, two dates that were used very effectively to goad the sheep into greater activity.
tfs: You make some very good points there.