The FDS and the 144,000

by Doug Mason 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  bud2114

  As proof that the WT Society has thoroughly duped the majority on this line of insane reasoning, I must relate a recent incident. After our bookstudy a few weeks ago, three or four of us were discussing the role of the FDS in light of the May 07 QFR "sealing" question. One brother, a regular auxilliary pioneer and Ministerial Servant (baptized 2001) suddenly realized for the 1st time that the remaining annointed ones were not all in Brooklyn producing the literature. He had never met an annointed person and he was shocked to find out that they are spread out around the world in different congregations and 99.9% of them have nothing to do with the "feeding" of the domestics. When I asked him where he got the idea that they were all in Brooklyn overseeing the worldwide work he said correctly "isn't that what our literature says over and over, that Jesus appointed the FDS over all his belongings to dispense food at the proper time, and aren't all the remaining annointed ones on earth the FDS?" I could barley contain myself from laughing in his face - but then it occurred to me how sad it is that a man of his intelligence and spirtitual qualifications like so many others could be so easily fooled.

  To me this is one of the biggest ruses that the WT leaders have promulgated. Especially when you consider that other than a census taken once a year of the partakers, the WT leaders don't even acknowledge that they exist. The congregation puts a check in the "annointed" box on the publisher record card and includes them in a separate count when filing periodic congregation reports to the Society that the C.O. signs, but the leaders in Brooklyn have absolutely no idea even who these people are and they certainly do not include them in the "feeding" or ask for their input when electing new GB members.

  Even more interesting is that according the the May 07 QFR, curiously the WT leaders admit that annointed ones do not have any "extra" holy spirit and certain annointed ones may have even less spiritual insight than even some of the "other sheep" - huh? I know that in my Mom's cong. until just recently there an annointed brother who regularly pioneered but the elder body apparently felt that he did not qualify to serve as a MS or Elder, so he was not used. He was a kind elderly black brother who recently decided to leave the congregation after being treated badly by some of the white friends. I guess it is woe to those friends on judgement day for treating Jesus "brother" badly.
• 

  Vernon Williams

  Bud,

  Welcome aboard.

  Good post.

  The May WT is so dynamic: it is the foundation for some HEAVY mutations. This had to come about (as I have mentioned on this board a few times) because the numbers were not working.

  The mutaion, I believe, will end up with the "tribes" of Revalation being "all of Jehovah's people." The 144,000 will be either symbolic or literal and, still, represent the heavenly class. The FDS will be those in positions of leadership. All, earthly and heavenly, will be in the New Covenant. All will partake of the bread and wine at the bastardized Lord's Meal the JWs hold annually.

  I will be stunned if the above does not happen.....

  Some thoughts,

  V PS: keep posting...
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  How does this arrangement relate to the 144k? Presumably the 144,000 are not part of the FDS. In WT theocracy, does the 144,000 have any active role?
  
  How does Jesus Christ manage the GB? Is it by some direct mechanism?

  The majority of the 144k are supposed to have been resurrected in 1914, with members of the "remnant" joining them
  immediately upon their death after 1914. So the dead members of the 144k are not part of the FDS, since they are
  no longer involved in the 'dispensing' work. The WT has tried to hint that the 144k in heaven are contacting the
  organization, but are afraid to just say so, as they have said in print that Jesus uses the organization and they have
  said in print that Jehovah uses the organization. They would have to be careful doing anymore than hinting.

  As far as how Jesus manages the GB, most every website I look at about JW's doesn't even hint at where the GB
  says how Christ does so. You would have to look it up in the WT Library, and even there, it is only really hinted at.
  The best I could say is that they claim spirit-anointing and spirit-direction. Leaving it vague allows them to not look
  like some mystical mysterious occult organization. If they taught that the GB members heard a voice, that would
  look crazy. Plus, it would be difficult to get new GB members to go along, when they don't hear the voice.

  Once a new member gets in, (perhaps beforehand, but it is not in writing) they learn that Holy Spirit directs the
  2/3rds majority. Each member is free to pray and research as much or as little as they want to, then try to make
  their point before the other members or remain silent if they want. After their discussion, the holy spirit guides
  at least 2/3rds of them to vote the way Christ would like it to go. Actually, Christ distracts from their authority, so
  they say that Jehovah guides them, since the Holy Spirit is His active force and not from Jesus directly. If 2/3rds
  do not vote to approve a change, then no change is made. Simple.

  Also, there must be much politics in play even getting a proposed change to come to a vote, and there would be
  lobbying by the member who proposes the change. He would want to get everyone to side with him when Ted Jaracz
  says he favors "no change."
• 

  M.J.

  "The majority of the 144k are supposed to have been resurrected in 1914"
  
  Actually, that was 1918, after Christ came to the "spiritual temple".
  
  *** w70 6/1 p. 331 par. 22 Do You Have “Faith to the Preserving Alive of the Soul”? ***
  
  The resurrection of the anointed Christians, who number 144,000, is to spirit life in heaven and it began to occur in 1918 C.E., after the establishment of the heavenly Kingdom in 1914. (Rev. 12:1-5; 14:1, 4; 20:4-6; 1 Cor. 15:50-55)
• 

  JCanon

  Interesting, Doug.

  There is no way the WTS clearly understands how this works. But just let me give you what is really happening. Basically a "slave" would refer to the leaders or "prophets" in charge of some movement or mission of Christ; like when Christ sent out ten slaves to do business and all but one slave showed an increase. Those they are increasing are those who would belong to Christ, so those would be the ones under their charge. In passing, note that Paul notes that various members have differnt "gifts", so all contribute but not all in the same manner. Just like with any society, some take the lead in organizing, etc.

  Having said that, the functioning would be "slave" would constitute those directly in charge of the WTS, those dispensing spiritual food, much like Paul traveled to the congregations.

  BUT... in this case, who is designated as the "faithful and discreet slave" is only determined after they have performed their assigned tasks. They are to work until Christ arrives and when Christ arrives he pays all the slaves according to their work. That's why Matthew gives the option of "But if that slave..." is found beating his fellow servants and feels his master has delayed, then Christ kicks him out into the darkness. So the title of "faithful and discreet slave" should have been a goal, not an automatically assumed title for JWs, especially since there was the potential of them proving unfaithful. And in fact, they have. In the Bible, therefore, they are not the FDS but the "evil slave", the "sluggish slave" and the "man of lawlessness." Thus they have proven unfaithful and presumptiously assumed the title of FDS before Christ inspected and designated that they were the FDS.

  So it turns out, with most things in the Bible, Christ himself fulfills the prophesy of being the FDS. That is, when Christ comes and inspects and finds out the WTS is the "evil slave", he then takes his sheep out of the organization and brings them to where he has "other sheep not of this fold" where they become one flock and one shepherd. So since Christ is back in the earth now and the evil slave has been kicked out, turns out the ultimate FDS is Christ himself.

  Finally, a technical note on the 144K. Remember the parable of the vineyard workers? The anointed of the WTS are represented by the first and second-hour workers only. They know in advance they have the heavenly hope, the promised "penny." Other workers coming into the work from the third-hour through the 11th-hour think they will get something less, thus the earthly hope. This is the basis of the two-class system among JWs. But as we see in the end, ALL the workers are essentially then invited into the kingdom. So all the "other sheep" find out after 1992 that they could get anointed into the kingdom too, which they do, if they are paying more attention to the Bible than to the Watchtower. The first-hour workers, the older anointed ones, are shocked and upset by this, but not biggee. This proves they themselves were not part of this arrangement and those who are faithful among the first get paid last. So the concept of the 144,000 is distorted. The actuality is that the 144,000 are simply one-tenth of the entire number in the kingdom, that 10% being natural Jews, the other 1,296,000 are made up of gentiles. So while the WTS seeing the numbers of the original anointed dwindling presume that the 144,000 have been filled, in fact, the anointing was simply stopped after about 14 years from 1914 and those coming in were simply not told they were of the anointed, but they get to be at the very end. Thus there are many seats to fill and they all don't get filled, that is Christ doesn't seal in everyone until the day before the "great tribulation". So the "great tribulation" which leads into the end of the world is only being postponed until that last chosen anointed one is sealed into the kingdom.

  SUMMARY: So on summary, there are really 1,440,000 members in the Kingdom. The WTS is not the FDS but the "evil slave" and is now abandoned by Jehovah and Christ and will be destroyed as the "false prophet" along with Christendom when BTG is destroyed by the UN, and ultimately the person who fulfills being the true FDS is Jesus himself when he returns: me.

  Know this.

  Thanks for the post!

  JC
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  "The majority of the 144k are supposed to have been resurrected in 1914"
  
  Actually, that was 1918, after Christ came to the "spiritual temple".

  See, even us former gung-ho elders get it mixed up.

  I hadn't realized while I was active that the date isn't in the Reasoning book
  probably because they don't want us reasoning on such a ridiculous doctrine.
  It also is rarely mentioned in the literature, as virtually everything in the past is
  just heaped upon 1914 so that we didn't have to think, calculate, wonder how they
  come up with that. The exceptions are Christ's examination of those who claim to
  do his will, as this had to take place after 1914, and the sealing of the 144,000 which
  they picked 1935 for, as that's when they addressed the problem of too many
  JW's to fit into that number.
• 

  M.J.

  Elder?
  
  Ha! And I'm an Unbelieving Mate!
  
  ***beats chest***
• 

  beginnersmind

  My take is that they try to explain the domestics and the slave class as the same group but individually to explains to the rank & file and any annointed who arent in the governing body the reason why they can have a governing body with only a few of the slave class on it. You only have to read the questions from readers from the may 1st 2007 watchtower to see how one of the annointed who's not a governing body member should view themselves.

  "However, genuine Christians do not demand special attention. They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special "insights" beyond what even some experienced members of the great crowd may have; nor do they expect special treatment or claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation."

  I guess that puts all the annoined in their place huh?