The WT Erases Another False Date
For
more than 70 years, the Watchtower Society has taught its followers that the
‘sealing’ of the 144,000 anointed Christians
who will go to heaven was completed in
1935 (with the exception of replacements for the few who may have lost
their anointing through disobedience to Watchtower teaching). However, in the May 1,
2007
Watchtower
(p. 31), this teaching was changed with the date 1935 subtly erased in an article in the
‘Questions from Readers’ section. According
to this article, the Watchtower leaders now state:
‘we
can not set a specific date for
when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends.’
This
was
repeated
in the August 15,
2007
Watchtower.
When
does the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope end? The
bible does not supply a precise answer.
That calling began in 33 CE and continued into modern times. After 1935 the thrust of the
disciple-making work turned to the gathering in of the great crowd. Some who were baptised
after 1935 have had witness borne to them by holy spirit that they have the heavenly hope,
so we
cannot set a specific date
for the end of that calling.
How
different this is to the leaders’ claims in the February 15, 1995 Watchtower
(p.19): ‘the
evidence is that
the general gathering of these specially blessed ones ended
in 1935’
and
again in answer
to ‘Questions From Readers’ in the August 15, 1996 Watchtower
they
state:
There
is good
reason to believe that
the number of 144,000 anointed Christians was complete
decades ago ...
it seems that in
the mid-1930’s,
the full number of the 144,000 was basically completed ... The
facts over the decades
reflect both the completion of the calling of the anointed and Jehovah’s blessing on
the growing "great crowd”.
(emphasis
ours)
For
70 years, the Watchtower has yet again been publishing falsehood as ‘reasonable’
and ‘factual’
truth. Undoubtedly, the Governing Body will
explain away
this
change as ‘new light’ and a refining in their understanding. However, as with
all their past
As with their changed teaching on the ‘1914 Generation’, the Governing Body’s change to their teaching on 1935 comes in the face of two dilemmas: On the one hand, the number of anointed ones (who alone partake of the emblems at the annual memorial of Christ’s death) has remained much the same for almost two decades.
On
the other hand, the number of ‘anointed’ men on the Governing Body is fast dying
out due to their old age (even if one was baptised in 1935 at the age of 15, he would now
be 87 years of age).**
In a response to this latter dilemma, in 1990 the Watchtower
Society
invited non-‘anointed’ Witnesses to serve as ‘helpers’
to the Governing Body. However, in this recent change, with 1935 now done away with and
the door to the heavenly calling re-opened, the
way is now paved
for any of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (even newly baptised ones) to claim to be of the
144,000 anointed class.
Consequently,
the Watchtower leaders now make it clear that anyone claiming to be ‘anointed’
may do so without challenge.
Perhaps the next change to the 144,000 will be from a literal number to a symbolic number.
Time will tell.