Some have wondered if "Captives of a Concept" had anything to do with why the Governing Body changed their interpretation of the most important Scripture in their theology at their Annual Meeting on October 6, 2012.
This is because the book places great emphasis on the Society’s interpretation of Matthew 24:45-47 and then holds them to it while examining the organization’s history to make sure that went on in its history fits their interpretation. This comparison is essential to the Society’s claim to being “God’s organization.”
Their previous interpretation came from their former “most imminent Bible Scholar” President Frederick Franz’s in his "God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached." Their history comes from their "JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom."
When comparing their history in the Proclaimers book with their interpretation of Matthew 24:45-47 in Franz’s book it becomes evident that they are so far out of sync that there is no reason to believe that the Watchtower Society has ever been God’s organization.
Apparently the Governing Body finally noticed this problem. And so at the above meeting they threw out Franz’s interpretation and replaced it with some of their own “new light.”
For example: Their “old light “ was that Jesus was so pleased with what the Society had had been teaching down till 1919 that he then appointed them over all his “belongings.”
But a careful examination of just 48 of those pre-1919 teachings makes it impossible to believe that Jesus would have been pleased with any of them. Or as Raymond Franz expressed it…
"It would be an insult to Christ Jesus to say that he selected this organization on the basis of what it was teaching as of 1919."
Apparently the Governing Body too finally figured this out and therefore tried to fix it by turning ion the following “new light”…
"Jesus’ appointment of the “slave” over his “belongings must be a future event. He will make that appointment during the great tribulation.
They simply arbitrarily moved the date of that appointment away from 1919 to an unspecified date in the future. Why must it be a future event? Because, if the above appointment was available in 1919 the Society would not have qualified to receive it/
But now all of the sudden it doesn’t matter how much wrong food at the wrong time the Society had provided down till 1919. Now what matters is what the Society will be found teaching in the future. And the Governing assures the Witnesses that at that time they will be found providing the right spiritual food at the proper time and therefore receive Jesus’ “belongings” appointment then.
While it is easy to prove that the Society had not been faithful or discreet about so many of their pre-1919 teachings, it is impossible to disprove what the Society will or won’t be teaching in the future. The Governing Body likes it that way.
And of course if it doesn’t turn out that way there will always be plenty of “new light” to fix whatever will need to be fixed at that time.
How do people get to think like this? And how do millions of other people not see anything wrong with it? I keep going back to what the Apostle Paul explained at 2Thessalonians 2:10,11…
"Because they did not accept the love of the truth that is why God lets an operation of error go to them so that they may get to believing the lie.”
Whether or not "Captives of a Concept" helped them notice the above problem, it hasn’t helped them fix it. It would seem that the “operation of error” seems to be blocking them from being able to get the sense of what it all means. And that is that the Watchtower Society must not be “Jehovah’s organization.”
Don Cameron