The Watchtower Society – Devoid of the Holy Spirit
| By: Lorri MacGregor; ©June 2002 |
| The Watchtower Society’s second president, Rutherford, declared in 1931 that “there was no further need for the administration of the holy spirit as a comforter or advocate.” Is the Holy Spirit now unnecessary? That is just one of the strange teachings Lorri MacGregor addresses. |
Many persons today would agree that the Watchtower Society of Jehovah’s Witnesses is devoid of the Holy Spirit. They cite their wrong doctrines, missed prophecies, and tragic quirks like refusing blood transfusions as evidence that they do not have the leading of the holy spirit. We would agree. However, we wonder how many readers know that the holy spirit was dismissed from the Organization, as no longer required, in 1918? (Their holy spirit is not God, but an active force, so is deliberately not capitalized.) Still, to dismiss the Holy Spirit is a serious matter, one would think.
Sadly, this is true. This came to light in 1930, when Rutherford, the Society’s secondpresident began to teach that God removed the holy spirit from the remnant in 1918. In his book Salvation, published in 1939, on pages 216-217, Rutherford, referring to 1918, saidthis: “…in that year the Lord Jesus came to the temple of Jehovah God. The holy spirit thathad been the guide of God’s people, having performed its functions, was taken away….”
In the 1931 Yearbook in the comments for November 2nd, he stated, “With the Lord’s coming to his temple there was no further need for the administration of the holy spirit as a comforter or advocate” (See also Watchtower, 10/01/30).
Some may wonder at the wording of Rutherford that Jesus returned to his “temple” in 1918. He explains this in the 1941 booklet, “Theocracy,” page 32: “In 1918 the Lord Jesus came to the temple of Jehovah, that is to say, to the body of consecrated Christians.”
Since the body of Christ was identified by Rutherford as this “temple of the holy spirit” that meant that the holy spirit was removed from the body of Christ! A shocking development!
Rutherford removed himself shortly thereafter by dying, and Nathan Knorr took over the Presidency in 1942. He quickly did away with Rutherford’s strange teachings by saying in the Watchtower of August 15, 1944 on page 252, “However, the holy spirit is not removed or taken away from the remnant.”
You may well wonder how Rutherford felt he could lead the organization minus the holy spirit, come 1918. It is all tied to their false prophecy that Christ returned, invisibly, in 1914 and was reigning from the heavens. Since Christ was “present,” He could lead them directly! He explained this in the book “Jehovah,” published in 1934, on page 311: “…the faithful ones receive knowledge and understanding from the Word of God revealed to them through the Head of the temple organization” [meaning Jesus].
If you read a previous article, you will know that at this same time, Rutherford was claiming that angels were running the organization in the absence of the holy spirit, as he said in the book “Preservation,” published 1932, on page 51: “After the holy spirit as an advocate or paraclete ceased to function in behalf of the consecrated, then the angels are employed in behalf of those who are being made ready for the kingdom.”
He believed angels transmitted correct interpretation of scriptures into the minds of those at headquarters, the “consecrated.”
To this day, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that their organization is under “angelic direction.” The Watchtower of April 1, 1972, page 200 said this: “….Jehovah’s witnesses today make their declaration of the good news of the Kingdom under angelic direction and support….”
It requires a lot of faith to swallow way-out doctrines and teachings, but members are required to believe this statement: “…angels are delegated by the Lord to convey his instructions to the members of his organization on earth. Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand” (Watchtower 1/1/33 p. 364).
Members are to obey, no questions asked. How is one to question God and angels? What about the major misses by the Society, like the 1925 date which was to mark the start of the millennium? Rutherford had an explanation for these boo-boos too: “…if the instructions sent out are wrong, then the responsibility is to the Lord and not to the local service committee.”
Prophecy misses? No problem. It’s all the angels’ fault, never those at headquarters! “…No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people” (Watchtower 8/8/33 p. 231).
So, there you have the hodgepodge of claims regarding the Watchtower Society. It has the holy spirit, it doesn’t have the holy spirit; it is directed by angels, it receives information directly from Jesus; it is a prophet, it is not a prophet;… and the list goes on. Who would not ask honest-hearted questions of the organization in light of this information? Asking questions is always the first step out of the Watchtower Organization. Why not step out into the fresh air?
We didn’t discuss doctrine, but the holy spirit of the Watchtower is not the Holy Spirit of the Bible. The holy spirit of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is just an “active force,” whereas the Holy Spirit of the Bible is a Person and is called God. No wonder the holy spirit of the Jehovah’s Witnesses can be dismissed and reinstated at the whim of a group of men—it is a bogus holy spirit!
Since it is the work of the true Holy Spirit that convicts us of our sin and leads us into salvation by grace through Jesus Christ, you can see why Jehovah’s Witnesses remain unsaved. Sadly they have the wrong Holy Spirit, the wrong Jesus Christ, resulting in wrong “salvation.”
Christians, we hope you will educate yourselves so you can share the true Christ with the Jehovah’s Witnesses who come to your door. Those on your doorstep are not deliberate deceivers, but are victims of an organization that has deceived them.
