You Know has issued the following challenge:
The apostate charge is that the Watchtower claims to be an inspired prophet of God. By that definition, and the criteria set out in Deuteronomy, which is the basis for your charge, that requires that the Watchtower would have to make the claim that Jehovah has directly communicated with them---imparting information to them that was not accesible through any other means. That is how Jehovah inspired his prophets in the past and that is the impression that you would like to fabricate by your sophistry. Yet, so far, you have yet to present one prophecy or teaching that can hold up to the claim. Again, I challenge you to present any Watchtower teaching that is the result of this supposed inspiration from God and not based upon the Bible. I might add, it doesn't matter whether the Watchtower's interpretaions are correct or not. That's not the issue. The question is: Is the source for the Watchtower's teaching the Bible or are they inspired prophets in the sense of having a special conduit to God that is extra-biblical?Before proceeding let us note the sophistry of the challenge itself. He wants, apparently, a quote that indicates that the WTS received some teaching or other from God directly and through a conduit that is extra-biblical. He cares not whether a WTS teaching is correct or not - which is just as well since all WTS prophecies have so-far proved false. This is the case even though the WTS has itself declared that those who teach things that do not come true are false prophets. That is, the Society's very claim to being God's exclusive channel of communication with humanity hinges on the selfsame standards which You Know claims do not apply to Christians - Deut. 18 (Light II, p. 47). This raises the question: on what basis can the WTS claim to be God's sole means of communication with humanity if the veracity of a religion's teachings are immaterial?
To understand how YK (and the WTS) operates consider the following question; when the clergy proclaimed that the League of Nations was the political expression of God's Kingdom on Earth, was that a false prophecy according to Deut. 18? Well, was it new or unique information? Yes. Was it "inspired" in the sense that one is "inspired to poetry" perhaps? Yes. So, despite the prophecy being false, it was, nevertheless, based only on the clergy's interpretation of scriptute. It also tended to direct people's attention to God as backing the League. Thus the clergy were doing essentially the same thing that the WTS claims to do and so would also be exempt from condemnation based on Deut. 18 when applied using YK's standards, although perhaps they could be condemned on other grounds. However, in reality, the WTS condemned the League and those who supported it by explicitly resorting to the standards of Deut. 18. Further, in a truly circular argument it used and still uses its own unique interpretation of scripture as evidence for its exclusive status as God's spokesman. This is usually called a double-standard. The WTS is certainly a false prophet according to the standards that it applies to others.
But let's get to You Know's challenge as issued.
YK states:
.. that requires that the Watchtower would have to make the claim that Jehovah has directly communicated with them---imparting information to them that was not accesible through any other means.Essentially this is asking for two things (i) exclusive communication by God with WTS leaders and (ii) acquiring new or unique information not available through other means. The two are really one and the same since why would God communicate directly things that were not new? So, what form could that information take? Could it be a new or unique understanding of Biblical prophecy? Logically, that would seem to be the most likely option as opposed to a full blown new teaching. According to YK such an interpretation would fail his test. In fact, the WTS teaches that they have such a unique understanding - that they are God's sole channel of communication with mankind. Is that unique information and is it unique information according to Deut. 18? According to You Know it is not - not in the case of the WTS and, by extension, not for any other religion that bases its teachings, no matter how crazy, and no matter how tenuously, on the Bible. For example, if I claim that the "lamb" mentioned in Isaiah is Dolly the Sheep who, perhaps, has been forced to lie down with the savage lions of science who desecrate nature, then I'm in no way a false prophet since the basic prophecy is contained in the Bible - it's only my interpretation that's wrong.
So, the WTS being God's sole channel of communication is, according to You Know, something that can, in principle, be deduced from the Bible by anyone. But is that what the WTS really teaches? Do we have an example that meets both of You Know's criteria? We do and it relates to the teaching of them being God's channel.
On page 160 et seq. the book Light II (1930) discusses the bridegroom's "wedding supper." For background, this supper is supposed to occur in heaven and commence from the time when the remnant are resurrected to heaven. The first part applies to that time on;
The feast must be something more than what the consecrated enjoyed before the coming of the Lord to his temple. The feast is not the restoration of the ten fundamental doctrines to the church, which causes rejoicing, but the unfolding of the prophecies showing that the King is on his throne, that the kingdom has begun, and that the privilege of knowing and serving Jehovah is here. This is a feast of joy. This supper menu contains food that the `great company' class could not eat and does not eat. It contains the "things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him". (1 Cor. 2:9. R.V.)So let's look at You Know's two criteria again, in reverse order;[Now notice what is said on p. 162]
The words of the angel to John show that the angel is the servant of God and of Christ and that those on the earth who constitute the remnant class are likewise servants of God .... Because these words are so directly connected with the statement of the marriage supper they strongly indicate that the remnant would see and appreciate the meaning of the marriage supper while still in the flesh and would call one another's attention thereto and rejoice and give glory to God.
[p. 163 continues]
Those of the remnant class hear the commission of "the testimony of Jesus Christ" and must prophecy if they would be faithful. They must now take an active part in the service of the Lord in telling God and his kingdom through Christ. It is upon these that the spirit of the Lord is poured out, and those receiving the spirit "shall prophecy". (Joel 2:28,29; Acts 2:18) God has spoken, and his faithful servants must prophecy (Amos 3:8)
Note what Light II claims; This supper menu contains food that the `great company' class could not eat and does not eat. It contains the "things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him".
Clearly this information is specific to the remnant - in fact it is explicitly stated that this information, this unique understanding of Bible prophecy, is unavailable to men generally, including the members of the great crowd. This is partly because the wedding supper occurs in heaven from 1919 onwards. What is important is to note that the "meaning of this feast," i.e., this special information or unfolding of prophecy, spills over to the remnant on the earth, while some of them are still in the flesh. What good would unfolding prophecies in heaven to the resurrected ones be if those on the earth, who were supposed to preach about these things, were not made aware of them? In fact, that the author could name the prophecies whose explanation was revealed in heaven is evidence in itself what the WTS taught. How else would they know what was going on in heaven?
Thus, it is claimed that these ones would be privy to information available at the marriage supper which is an ongoing event. It is for this reason that they prophecy. It's a bit like watching a football game - only those receiving live information can appreciate what's going on. It stands to reason that a live data feed is called for. In essence, even though the basic prophecies may be in the Bible, the understanding of them comes from heaven, directly, and in real time, channelled to the remnant. However, this teaching itself cannot be found in the Bible - it is extra-biblical and is itself communicated to the remnant by God directly according to Rutherford. So, irrespective of what their understanding of the Bible prophecy is, the notion that information on how to understand Bible prophecy is somehow relayed from heaven, after 1919, has no Bible basis. This teaching, in itself, is supposed to have originated through direct communication from heaven during the 20th century. It has no basis, even a tenuous one, in scripture. In fact, the fundamental doctrine of JWs - that they speak uniquely for God during a special time - meets YK's test.
Note the following;
Thus, both of You Know's criteria are met; the remnant are said (i) to see and appreciate the meaning of an event going on in heaven which would cause them to prophecy about things which, otherwise, and by their own explicit admission, they could have no knowledge of and (ii) the means of transmission of this information is extra-biblical and so not generally available. For if the remnant appreciate the meaning of what "eye cannot see nor ear hear" (things happening in heaven since 1919) then how could they have deduced that information from the Bible? Thus, the WTS explicitly claims that since the time the resurrection of the anointed started it has been privy to unique material whose source is generally unavailable. This teaching has no Bible basis. If it does, then You Know should provide it.On page 106 Light I said:
Visible human creatures had to do with that message, [a resolution adopted at the 1922 Cedar Point, Ohio, convention] yet, in fact, it was a message of the Lord sent through his invisible angels, because without a doubt these are clothed with authority to direct the course of earthly members of God’s organization.
On page 113 Light I said:
.... it seems clear that the spirit of the Lord, operating by his invisible angels, directed his people on earth to take this action [of distributing a resolution adopted at a convention in Los Angeles in 1923].
In essence the WTS teaches that its interpretation of scripture is due to Jehovah God and Jesus revealing to them information since after 1914/1919 that was previously secret and which, since 1914/1919, remains secret except to those who accept the slave as being God's sole channel of communication. While craftily worded, Rutherford's explanation of the wedding supper reveals that the remnant (as a class) does believe that it is receiving unique information from God through a special channel that excludes all others. That this information has proved false, time and again, only demonstrates that the WTS's prophecies are exactly as sensible as are those who believe them.
LPH