QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS!

13/5/2024  Who do you think is the faithful and discreet slave? 

ANSWER : We are going to write some articles about this question as it seems that many readers, the majority of them Jehovah's Witnesses or ex Jehovah's Witnesses want to know what we think about it. So, we are going to give a rather short answer here and later we will include some articles links in this post for the readers to see. 

We believe that the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:41 are just a parable,applied to the teachers of the Christian Congregation. A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. The persons in a parable are never real. They are just figures or characters which show Him or His Church (Matthew 5:14-16,Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:45-46, Matthew 18:10-14, Matthew 20:1-16,Matthew 22:1-14,Matthew 25:1-13,Matthew 20:1-16,) or the nation of Israel(Matthew 21:28-32), or even Devil's dominion itself (Matthew 12:24-30). So the same goes with the parable of the faithful slave. Faithful slave is not a real person, he typifies,or illustrates a spiritual subject. 

It is true that some people have used that parable to illustrate themselves, like Maria Russell used it to point her husband (br. Charles Taze Russell) using the same thoughts as you. Brother Russell denied that he was the servant but he said that those taking the lead in the congregations are the slave class. Each anointed Christian elder and teacher can be illustrated like a slave of Jesus, a steward who can give his Master's food to the members of the House of God. So each congregation can have faithful and unfaithful slaves who will be proven after Jesus' coming to judge His House, that is before Armageddon.That symbolic office in not for all anointed Christians but only for the Christian Sheperds and teachers of God's flock. 

It is quite interesting that apostle John , the last from the central leadership ( ''governing body'' in Jehovah's Witness terminology) of the Church in the first century sent the last message of Jehovah (the Revelation, i. e things which were to reveal in God's people in the time of the end) to the ''angels'' of the congregations (see for example Revelation 2:1,12,18, 3:1,14) and not to a single collective group of overseers . These congregations' leadership typified what the leadership should exist in Jehovah's people after the death of the apostles, in the time of the end. These angels were the ''seven stars'' (Revelation 1:20) which Jesus holds in His hands. 

As the Watchtower also suggests, these are  the anointed elders of each congregation, or the appointed overseers. Nowhere in the Bible it is mentioned that a supreme council of  men should exist and give the spiritual food and dominate (''rule'') over others in the congregation during the time of the end. The only channel that God appointed was the Council of Jerusalem, the apostles and the elders back in the 1st century. After the death of Jesus' apostles,  these ''angels'', or messangers of God's Word, were part of the bodies of elders of each congregation who were  to collaborate together in christian fellowship and love. No autocratic rule, not a tyrrany,but faithful brothers in independent congregations who were to  provide others in the Household of God with  the Master's spiritual food 

These elders/ angels or ''stewards'' will have to teach the truth in order to be approved by Jesus in His coming (Matthew 24:45-46), otherwise they would be judged as ''evil'' slaves (Matthew 24:47-50)and will have their reward along with the unfaithful leaders of Christendom (Matthew 24: 51). ''Faithful slaves'' like Pastor C. T. Russell tried to fill this office by earnestly seeking the truth of the Bible and restoring true worship after centuries of apostasy, created by Christendom. We highly appreciate Pastor Russell's work concerning the purification of the Holy Sanctuary of God and we try to imitate his zeal(although he obviously made a lot of mistakes concerning chronology). 

The food this servant is going to serve is not his own interpretations (or claims) but His Master's food contained in the Holy Scriptures. Nowhere does the Bible say that this servant class is to publish their own false teachings as divine interpretations or that a person should claim any divine appointment or direct inspiration from God. This is what all the false teachers and false prophets have done through the centuries, starting with the Pope of Rome, "prophet" Mohamedd and others. Thus, we reject Watchtower's 1919 date of ''appointment'' in that place. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society should work merely as a publishing House of christian material (pamphlets and brochures for the preaching work as well as for the spiritual teaching) and not as an agent of doctrine. 

It is interesting how the great Bible scholars interpret the words of Jesus concerning the faithful and discreet slave - "...Because the issue of our Lord's coming will be very happy and comfortable to those that shall be found ready, but very dismal and dreadful to those that shall not, v. 45, etc. This is represented by the different state of good and bad servants, when their lord comes to reckon with them. It is likely to be well or ill with us to eternity, according as we are found ready or unready at that day; for Christ comes to render to every man according to his works. Now this parable, with which the chapter closes, is applicable to all Christians, who are in profession and obligation God's servants; but it seems especially intended as a warning to ministers; for the servant spoken of is a steward" (Matthew Henry's Commentary) Again, Jesus doesn't talk about a real person. He just gives a character, he points to nobody- he just gives warning to Christian elders and teachers who act like stewards. The will be rewarded and given authority when He comes before Armageddon and then , if He finds them faithful He will appoint them to all His belongings that is- when He takes them to heaven in rapture.

We still believe the apostate Christendom posseses the courtyards of God's House (Revelation 11:2)along with some who will be judged as ''evil'' from the professed Jehovah's people .We don't accept or even tell something against the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. We consider them as brothers in Christ, spirit begotten men. The cleansing of the spiritual sanctuary started with brother C.Russell who was used by Jehovah God to lead His people out of babylonian bondage. Other spirit begotten Christians tried to do the same.They served as members of the faithful slave's class. On the other hand, they made many mistakes because of errors in chronology and expectations. The Lord is rich in mercy and will forgive their course, since they were proven faithful.

We hope that  our today anointed brothers and sisters as well as the rest of Jehovah's Witnesses see  the truth of the Word of God and modify their own views so as to follow the Bible in a more accurate way.