In their emphasis upon knowledge (gnosis) as the key to eternal life (note the translation of John 17:3 in the Watchtower’s New World Translation as compared with other Bibles), rather than a relationship with Jesus (John 5:39-40), the Watchtower Organisation resembles the early heretical group known as Gnostics.
The Gnostic concept involved an over-valuing of knowledge with respect to faith. The idea of a simple message like the "the death, burial and resurrection of Christ" (1Cor. 15:1-4) that can be preached by anyone is offensive; Gnostics feel that a proper religion must offer something more, an intellectual challenge. The simplicity of the gospel message (that Jesus saves) is what stumbled the Jews, and it seemed foolish to the Greeks (1Cor. 1:22-23). The late Fred Franz, the last president of the Watchtower Society, said in 1979 regarding the simple gospel of 1Cor. 15:3-4 that, "Baby food is not the message of the hour today."
The ancient Gnostic belief divided mankind into various classes, and reserved its secret wisdom for those who were recognised as belonging to its upper class, a religious elite, i.e., the "anointed" ones. Thus the Gnostic concept naturally appealed to those in the church who felt they were above mingling with the common herd of ordinary Christians who were content with a simple message.
In The Watchtower of Dec. 1, 1972 (p.718), we note this same Gnostic attitude. Note the mention of the "special knowledge" of the "anointed remnant" of Jehovah’s Witnesses:
From this stand-point, the Holy of the temple pictured or typified the spirit-begotten condition of God’s spiritual priesthood even while the members of this are still in the earthly body, in the flesh. It is a special spiritual relationship to God that is SCREENED OFF from outsiders as if by a curtain so that these cannot discern it or appreciate it. The priestly court where the copper altar was located pictures their special human standing with God. (emphasis added)
Similarly, The Watchtower of April 15, 1974 (p.252) exposes the Watchtower’s Gnostic ‘spirituality’ in its reference to the unique spiritual enlightenment that is enjoyed only by the "anointed remnant" of Jehovah’s Witnesses (these number c. 8000). Like the ancient Gnostics, these alone enjoy a privileged position whereby they impart enlightenment to the millions of other Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In their denying the bodily resurrection of Christ, the Watchtower Society aligns itself more closely to Gnostic teaching than that of Biblical Christianity. The Gnostic concept of salvation (i.e., the liberation of embodied human spirits from their prisons of flesh and their return to God) differs sharply from the Bible’s teaching of the resurrection of the body as well as the survival of the soul (read 1Cor. chapter 15). Note their statement on page 479 of the August 1, 1975 issue of The Watchtower:
True, for the benefit of doubting Thomas, Jesus did appear with the physical evidence of nail prints in his hands and a spear wound in his side. (John 20:24-29) Yet, even in connection with that MANIFESTATION, there is proof that Jesus must have MOMENTARILY MATERIALIZED A PHYSICAL BODY OF FLESH. (emphasis added)
The Watchtower Society maintains that, at his resurrection, Jesus laid aside his body of flesh (which was then, in some way, disposed of by Jehovah God) and rose as a bodiless spirit being. To support their false teaching, we read in their NWT that Christ was ‘put to death in the flesh, but . . . made alive in the spirit. In this [state] also he went his way and preached to the spirits in prison.’ (1Peter 3:18-19 note their insertion of the bracketed word ‘state’)
Like early Christians who embraced Gnostic heresies, the Watchtower Society has
rejected the ‘faith once delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3) and, as a result,
misleads millions of honest hearted people who have never come to know Bible truth
accurately and hence, do not yet know the risen Lord Jesus.