The Heavenly Mother - Who is "She" according to the Watchtower ?
The Watchtower insists that Jehovah’s
Witnesses are guided by the
inspired Word of God in everything they believe and do.
So we read in their book, Reasoning from the Scriptures: ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses … hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs’ and, that they ‘strictly adhere to the Bible’ (pp. 199 emphasis theirs, 202). This sounds very commendable. But, in practice, Watchtower leaders repeatedly contradict this claim when it comes to establishing what the ‘rank and file’ Jehovah’s Witness must believe. When examined, the Watchtower organisation is found to promulgate many beliefs that are so far from the truth of Scripture that they totally nullify their claim to ‘strictly adhere to the Bible’ as ‘the standard for all their beliefs.’ Their teaching concerning their ‘heavenly mother’ is just one of many clear examples of this.
Many of the Watchtower Society’s teachings are unbelievably convoluted, based on reasoning with subsequent conclusions that leave even the most open-minded shaking their heads in confusion! An example of this is found in The Watchtower magazine of May 1, 1957. The main article therein was entitled: ‘Show Respect for Jehovah’s Organisation.’
The information that is presented in The Watchtower article is a typical example of the Watchtower leaders’ ability to throw a string of unrelated Biblical texts together and arrive at ‘new light’. This ‘new light’ is then presented to the Witnesses, not as the teaching of infallible men, but as ‘the light of truth’ that streams from the throne of God, through Jesus Christ, to them as God’s true channel on earth. In this article, the ‘new light’ presented is so ‘bright’ that it’s blinding! Here it is in a nutshell (if you would like the full version, ask us for a copy of the article from The Watchtower May 1, 1957).
The article was based on Proverbs 6:20-23 (RSV):
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
The first few paragraphs highlight the fact that, while Jehovah God is the ‘father’ whose commandments are to be kept, there is also a mother’s teaching that must not be forsaken by Christians today.
Turning then to Isaiah 54:5-6, the Witnesses are informed that Jehovah God has a wife and this ‘wife’ is the ‘mother’ of Proverbs 6:20-23. The article then informs the Witnesses that:
It is through his organisation that God provides this light that the proverb says is the teaching or law of the mother. If we are to walk in the light of truth we must recognise not only Jehovah God as our Father but his organisation as our mother. (par.3)
and therefore:
obedience, honour and respect ... must be rendered not only to the living God himself, but to his wifely organisation as well. (par. 4)
But who (or what) exactly is this ‘organisation’? Under the sub-heading ‘Identifying the Mother Organisation’ the Witnesses are told that, according to Galatians 4:26, Jehovah’s wife-like organisation is not an ‘earthly organisation’ nor is ‘she’ an individual divine consort. Rather, Jehovah’s ’wife’ is his invisible, heavenly ‘universal organisation’ made up of Jesus (who is really Michael the Archangel) the 144,000 joint heirs with Christ and all the angelic creatures. The article continues:
In this way Paul identifies Jehovah’s wife as His invisible universal organisation, the mother of Christ and of his joint heirs. (par. 5)
And, in a more recent publication, Revelation. It’s Grand Climax At Hand! this ‘wife’ and ‘mother’ is explained as being:
Jehovah’s universal organisation of spirit creatures that acts as his wife, both in serving him and in producing offspring. (p. 178)
Up to this point, the article, although of somewhat convoluted reasoning, has not been all that difficult to follow.
However, things begin to take a baffling twist from here-on. As we have already seen, according to the article:
the 144,000 spirit-begotten children of God, together with Christ Jesus their Head and all the invisible holy angelic spirit creatures, make up the universal organisation of God, his wife. (par. 6)
But then The Watchtower goes on to explain that, although ‘God’s woman … is his universal organisation’
one hundred forty-four thousand and one of her members or children [constitute] the principal part of the same universal organisation … 144,000 spiritual children are brought forth to become a part of the universal organisation and at the same time its capital with Jesus Christ. (par. 6)
From this paragraph on, logical reasoning flies out the window and the article spirals into typical Watchtower confusion! What are they saying? Firstly, they teach that Jehovah’s wife-like universal organisation consists of all the created spirit beings (including the pre-human Jesus who is Michael the Archangel). This universal woman produces children or ‘offspring’ for Jehovah God, her husband. These spiritual ‘offspring’ are the 144,000 spirit-begotten humans and Jesus Christ (=144,000+1 who have been ‘born again’). The universal wife-like organisation is therefore, their spiritual mother or ‘the Mother Organisation’. But then, they go on to teach that the 144,000 + Jesus constitute the principal part of Jehovah’s wife-like universal organisation or ‘mother organisation’. The only conclusion that this reasoning can lead to is that Jehovah’s children by his universal organisation—which is both his ‘wife’ and ‘mother’ of these offspring (ie: 144,000 + Jesus)—are also the principal part of Jehovah’s wife! Worse still, as such this makes the 144,000—not only Christ’s joint heirs but also, the principal part of his mother! How do the writers address this blatantly ridiculous contradiction? They simply ignore it by glossing it over as a mother/daughter ‘resemblance.’ (par. 7) It’s confusing, to say the least! So it begs the question: Why would the Watchtower Society resort to such absurd reasoning? I believe the answer to this lies within the paragraphs that conclude the article.
Under the sub-heading ‘Appreciating the Light’ the Witnesses are admonished to receive this teaching as coming to them directly from Jehovah God through his visible organisation, the Watchtower Society’s Governing Body:
The teaching or law of our mother, then, is not light from an earthly organisation that comes forth as "infallible interpretation" (par. 10)
Therefore, the Witnesses are told that ‘it is essential that the governing body be recognised and respected for the position that it occupies among God’s people today’ (par.15). And what is that position? They claim to be the visible representatives on earth, the remnant of that principal part of God’s wife-like, universal organisation in heaven—the Jehovah’s Witnesses heavenly ‘Mother Organisation’! As a consequence the Witnesses are told:
With what deep respect, then, must we view not only God’s woman in heaven, but her children on earth as well, who represent her! Our fate is in our own hands. Whether we shall become "sheep" or "goats" is determined by our own course of action toward Jehovah’s organisation. (par. 12)
Since the only visible, earthly representative of Jehovah’s ‘wifely organisation’ is the Watchtower organisation, to the Jehovah’s Witnesses the two equate to one and the same thing. Consequently, they believe that salvation is dependent on obeying everything the Watchtower leaders teach—whether or not these things ‘strictly adhere to the Bible’! Will you join us in praying for their deliverance?