Watch Out for Mother!  

DVDs On the topic of Jehovah's Witnesses   See DVD catalog for prices & details.   JW's and the Real Jesus   JW's a Non-prophet Organization   Witnesses of Jehovah   The Witness at Your Door The Witness Goes Out Battling over the Children (JW Child custody cases) DVD catalog

When I was a Jehovah's Witness for 15 years we all believed that the Watchtower Organization on earth was our "mother". Jehovah God, of course, was our father. We knew our "mother organization" was headed up by the remnant of the 144,000, the elite class of Jehovah's Witnesses who were going to heaven to rule with Christ. They ran the earthly Watchtower Organization and all had to obey them.  All these decades later, we received an e-mail inquiry that read,  "While putting together some Watchtower material for witnessing to JW's, I read a most troubling quote from the Watchtower of May 1, 1957, page 275: "In this way Paul identifies Jehovah's wife as His invisible universal organization, the mother of Christ and of his joint heirs". Am I reading this correctly? Are they calling themselves "the mother of Christ"? Is the Watchtower Society calling itself Christ's mother?" Usually a ready answer pops into my mind, but I admit this question gave me pause. I had never heard the organization called "Christ's mother" in all my years as a JW, nor in my 29 years since leaving, mostly spent in full time ministry to JW's. I availed myself of the entire article and proceeded to plow through it. The explanation it gave was prior to my becoming a JW, so that explained why I had never heard it taught as a JW. Seldom have I waded through such convoluted arguments and wild speculations as in this article! Briefly, here is the Watchtower's view: They entitled their article "Show Respect for Jehovah's Organization". The lead scripture was Proverbs 6, 20:23 (RS). "My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life". The article stated, "If we are to walk in the light of truth we must recognize not only Jehovah' God as our Father but his organization as our mother". They then went on to apply the fifth commandment to themselves! "Honor your father and your mother.." as being Jehovah God and the Watchtower organization! Since they consider themselves prophets, they also misapplied the scriptures on Elisha to themselves. They concluded by saying, "Today, also, God requires and exacts from his children obedience, honor and respect. These must be rendered not only to the living God himself, but to his wifely organization as well". Now we come to the crux of the matter, under the subheading, "Identifying the Mother Organization". To my surprise, they begin by saying, "The real mother of Christians is not and can not be an earthly organization". They quoted Galations 4:26, "The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother". Jumping to Isaiah 54:5,6, (and using their ever-present dots to remove the parts that don't fit,) they said: "Thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer;....For Jehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit." In this way Paul identifies Jehovah's wife as His invisible universal organization, the mother of Christ and of his joint heirs". Pardon? They got all that from Isaiah's words to the literal nation of Israel! Somehow they blame Paul for inventing their doctrine! Nevertheless, they state their doctrine, that Jehovah's wife is their "invisible universal organization, the mother of Christ and of his joint heirs". So they do, indeed claim, to be "the mother of Christ". Shocking! They then go into a spiel I have never heard them use much, the birth of a "man-child kingdom". Briefly, they explain, their organization consists of Jehovah's heavenly "wife" who became "mother", first to Jesus Christ (a created being in their theology--an archangel named Michael), and also mother to the 144,000 spiritual elites. So, their 144,000 consists of those Jehovah's Witnesses with a heavenly hope to rule and reign with Christ, some of whom have died and gone on to their reward, and some of whom remain on earth (the remnant). The "remnant" runs the Watchtower Organization. Unbelievably, "Invisible holy angelic spirit creatures" are added to the 144,000 and Jesus Christ to make up this "universal organization of God, his wife." Trouble is, they also consider themselves to be the children, the offspring, of Jehovah and his wife, while at the same time being Jehovah's wife!! Hard to believe, isn't it? Enter the term, "man-child government" to cover this impossibility of thinking. Poor Isaiah gets misquoted to cover this ludicrous idea. Even more incredulous, followers are told that they should be "appreciating the light" and given the reminder, " Whether we shall become "sheep" or "goats" is determined by our own course of action towards Jehovah's organization". In other words, believe this nonsense or die! The spirit of deception is indeed working overtime in the ranks of Jehovah's Witnesses. Truly, the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses, no matter how duped in other ways, cannot really believe that Jehovah's wife includes the 144,000, who are also children of this same wife!! It's a perversion of what is natural, a breaking of all God's laws on marriage. The whole concept is in violation of God's plain statements on the sanctity of marriage, of the God-given rules regarding fathers, mothers, wives, and children. We recommend a speedy exit from this organization.