The Watchtower Society has made the claim that since Jesus time there have always been people that believe what the Watchtower teaches, at least in regards to the major doctrine. They also claim there has always been a F&D slave. From time to time the Watchtower has mentioned religious groups that were possibly part of the Slave. I have done research into the groups mentioned in the Watchtower to show whether this claim can be verified.
Historically there are very few groups similar to the JWs and the ones the Watchtower mentions were around for only a fraction of the last 1900 years. Looking at the teachings of each of these groups shows that there has never been any Christians similar to the Witnesses or that it can be claimed made up the F&D slave. Anyone aware of the history of the beginning of the Watchtower Society would also know that prior to 1930 the Bible Students bore little resemblance to the Witnesses teachings today.
Watchtower 1981 March 1 p.24 “Beginning with Pentecost, 33 C.E., and continuing through the 19 centuries since then, this slavelike congregation has been feeding its members spiritually, doing so faithfully and discreetly.”
pe chap. 23 p. 192 God’s Visible Organization “ 4 The Bible shows that Jehovah has always guided his servants in an organized way…”
For a group to be classified as part of the Slave class it is not necessary for them to have understood and taught every current Witness doctrine, such as the Great Crowd and end time prophecies. However there are several key teachings that they must have held to. These groups must not believe in the Trinity or immortality of the soul. They must show love and preach. Certainly they could not advocate immorality, spiritism, Egyptology or idolatry of the cross. Currently a Witness would say that for the last 2000 years this ongoing group of Jehovah’s people was;
Anti-Trinitarian
Using God’s name Jehovah or it’s equivalent translation
Not believing in hellfire or immortality of the soul
Not participating in war
Preaching
Until 1500 A.D. few people had access to the bible, apart from the Catholic clergy, so it seems few groups developed a belief system even vaguely similar to what the Slave says is essential to be considered righteous in Gods eyes.
During the 150 year period from Henry VIII to Charles I (1500 and 1600’s) anti-Trinitarianism was pursued consistently and vigorously by ‘heretics’. Many of these ‘heretics’ such as the Unitarian Bishop of Transylvania (Hungary) had such radical views in other areas they can not be considered acceptable to a Jehovah’s Witness.
The closest known groups that have been mentioned in the Watchtower to be like Witnesses are the Waldenses, Cathari, Albigenses and Huguenots. These were all basically Protestants and adhered to many Protestant teachings considered wrong by the Watchtower Society. The Minor Brethern (Socianians) was the group most similar to Jehovah’s Witnesses today. A brief look shows none of these would be acceptable to be called a Jehovah’s Witness.
Albigenses or Cathari
Regularly these groups are made to sound like Jehovah’s Witnesses but the Watchtower is forced to admit they also held to key teachings that contradicted the bible.
Mankind’s Search for God chap. 11 pp. 281-282 “36 Yet another movement got started in the 12th century in the south of
Watchtower 1995 September 1 p.29 The Cathari—Were They Christian Martyrs? “Although the Cathari quoted the Bible extensively, they viewed it primarily as a source of allegories and fables….Many Cathar teachings were in direct contradiction to the Bible. For instance, they believed in the immortality of the soul and in reincarnation.”
Waldenses
Watchtower 2002 March 15 pp.20-21 The Waldenses—From Heresy to Protestantism. “Most historians agree that the movement had its start about the year 1170. … Poverty, preaching, and the Bible were at the heart of Vaudès’ life….Among other things, the early Waldenses rejected lying, purgatory, Masses for the dead, papal pardons and indulgences, and the worship of Mary and the “saints.” They also held annual observances of the Lord’s Evening Meal, or Last Supper. According to Lambert, their form of worship “was, in effect, the religion of the ordinary layman….Over the centuries, Waldensian churches have been established in countries as far away from as and the . However, most historians agree with Audisio, who says that “Waldensianism came to an end at the time of the Reformation,” when it was “swallowed up” by Protestantism.”
The Catholic Encyclopeadia says the Waldenses were so similar to Cathari that they are assumed to be an offshoot of them. They were Protestants and held to many unscriptural and strange teachings, such as encouraging members to dissolve their marriages in order to live nomadic lives of poverty. They also continued to take sacrament in the Catholic Church.
Huguenots
Another group that the Watchtower has mentioned is Huguenots, but these were just another group of Protestants.
Awake 1997 April 22 p.5 Wars of Religion in “Tired of waiting for changes, many members of the movement for reform within the Catholic Church sided with Protestantism. About 1560, numerous French aristocrats and their supporters joined the Huguenots, as Protestants had come to be called.”
Anabaptists, Socinians & the Brethren Minor Party
The Anabaptists, Socinians and Brethern of the Minor Party were all closely related and lasted for around 100 years during the late 1500’s. This group seems to be the closest to current Watchtower teaching. The following Watchtower article from 2003 gives the distinct impression that they were just like Witnesses and shows a number of similarities. However in 1988 it had been shown that these too “were guilty of many errors”.
Watchtower 2003 December 15 p.12 They Searched for the What the Brethren of the Minor Party Believed
“The following quotes from the 15th- and 16th-century Acta Unitatis Fratrum show some of the beliefs held by the Minor Party. The statements, written by leaders of the Minor Party, are primarily directed to the Major Party………Trinity: “If you glance throughout the entire Bible, you will not find that God is divided into a kind of Trinity, three persons by names, as people fabricated in their fancies.”…….Holy spirit: “The holy spirit is God’s finger and a gift of God, or a comforter, or God’s Power, which the Father gives to believers on the basis of Christ’s merits. We do not find in the Holy Scriptures that the holy spirit should be called a God or a Person; nor do the apostolic teachings show that.”……..Baptism: “The Lord Christ told his apostles: Go into all the world, preach the Gospel to all creation, to those who would believe. (Mark, chapter 16) And only after these words: and being baptized, they will be saved. And you teach to baptize little children who lack their own faith.”……..Neutrality: “What your early brothers viewed as bad and unclean, to join the army and murder or to walk the very roads clothed with weapons, all that you consider to be good . . . So we feel that you, along with other teachers, look only with your left eye at the prophetic words that point out: Thus he broke the power of the bow, the shields and the sword and the battle. (Psalm 75) And again: They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the Lord’s earth shall be full of the divine knowledge, and so forth. (Isaiah, chapter 11).” …….Preaching: “We well know that, initially, females have brought more people to repentance than all the priests along with a bishop. And now the priests settled at their places and their apportioned rectories. What a mistake! Go into the entire world. Preach . . . to all creation.”
Awake 1988 November 22 pp.19-20 The Socinians—Why Did They Reject the Trinity? “Like the religions around them, they were guilty of many errors. Still, of all the religions of the Reformation, this rivulet of Socinianism adhered to the Bible more than most. …. The Minor Reformed Church (as Socinians were officially called) flourished in for nearly a hundred years. At their peak they numbered up to 300 congregations.