Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He stands in opposition and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god. -2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4
The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions consider the Man of Lawlessness to come at the end of the world, when the katechon, the one who restrains, will be taken out. Katechon is also interpreted as the Grand Monarch or a new Orthodox Emperor, inaugurating a rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire.
Dispensationalists view this as a reference to a coming world ruler (Antichrist) who will succeed in making a peace treaty with Israel for 7 years (Daniel’s 70th week) guaranteeing some sort of Middle East peace settlement with the Arab nations. This will occur after the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of temple sacrifices. He will break his peace treaty with Israel 31⁄2 years into the plan, enter the “rebuilt Third Temple” and perform the abomination of desolation by setting up an idol of himself in the Temple and declare himself God.[1]
However, in carefully considering Paul’s words, it is important not to miss what he says in verse 7:
True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is right now acting as a restraint is out of the way. –2 Thessalonians 2:7
Even though the full revelation of this Man of Lawlessness was yet future, Paul tells us that there already exists the mystery of lawlessness. In our efforts to identify the coming future threat so as to protect ourselves from it could we be in danger of ignoring a present one? It is clear that Paul’s warning to the Thessalonians was for them at the present time. The danger was already brewing, held back only by a temporary restraint. What could this danger be?
In chapter 15 of his gospel, Matthew records how Jesus alerted the Jews of a situation that threatened in his day:
“In reply he said to them: “Why do you overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition? For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Let the one who speaks abusively of his father or mother be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother: “Whatever I have that could benefit you is a gift dedicated to God,” he need not honor his father at all.’ So you have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshipping me, for they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”-Matthew 15:3-9
The Watchtower September 1, 1996 outlines the development of this situation:
“Some of the worst damage to the Law was done by the very ones who claimed to be teaching and preserving it. This happened after the days of the faithful scribe Ezra of the fifth century B.C.E. Ezra fought hard against the corrupting influences of other nations and stressed the reading and teaching of the Law. (Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:5-8) Some teachers of the Law claimed to follow in Ezra’s footsteps and formed what came to be termed the “Great Synagogue.” Among its sayings was the directive: “Make a fence around the Law.” These teachers reasoned that the Law was like a precious garden. In order that no one should trespass in this garden by transgressing its laws, they created further laws, the “Oral Law,” to prevent the people from coming close to such error.
Some might argue that Jewish leaders were justified in feeling this way. After Ezra’s day the Jews were dominated by foreign powers, especially Greece. To combat the influence of Greek philosophy and culture, groups of religious leaders arose among the Jews.
A Box on page 10 contains the following information
The Jewish Religious Leaders
Scribes: They saw themselves as Ezra’s successors and as the explainers of the Law. According to the book A History of the Jews, “the scribes were not all lofty spirits, and their attempts to draw hidden meanings from the law often degenerated into meaningless formulas and stupid restrictions. These hardened into custom, which soon became an unrelenting tyrant.”
Hasidim: The name means “pious ones” or “saints.” First mentioned as a class around 200 B.C.E., they were politically powerful, fanatic defenders of the purity of the Law against the tyranny of Greek influence. The Hasidim split into three groups: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes.
Pharisees: Some scholars believe the name is derived from the words for “Separated Ones,” or “Separatists.” They were indeed fanatic in their drive to be separate from Gentiles, but they also saw their fraternity as separate from—and superior to—the common Jewish people, who were ignorant of the complexities of the oral law. One historian said of the Pharisees: “Viewed as a whole, they treated men like children, formalizing and defining the minutest particulars of ritual observances.” Said another scholar: “Pharisaism produced a mass of legal rules covering all situations, with the inevitable consequence that they magnified trifles and in doing so trifled with magnitudes -Matthew 23:23”
Sadducees: A group that was closely tied to the aristocracy and the priesthood. They vigorously opposed the scribes and the Pharisees, saying that the oral law did not have the validity of the written Law. That they lost this battle is demonstrated by the Mishnah itself: “Greater stringency applies to [the observance of] the words of the Scribes than to [the observance of] the words of the [written] Law.” The Talmud, which included much commentary on the oral law, later went so far as to say: “The words of the scribes are . . . more dear than the words of Torah.”
Essenes: A group of ascetics who isolated themselves in separated communities. According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, the Essenes were even more exclusive than the Pharisees and “at times could out-Pharisee the Pharisees themselves.”
In time some of these groups came to rival and even surpass the Levitical priesthood as teachers of the Law. (Compare Malachi 2:7) By 200 B.C.E., the oral law was making its way into Jewish life. At first these laws were not to be written, lest they be taken as equal to the written Law. But gradually, human thinking was put ahead of the divine, so that eventually this “fence” actually damaged the very “garden” it was supposed to protect.
The Pollution of Pharisaism
The rabbis reasoned that since the Torah, or Mosaic Law, was perfect, it must contain an answer to every question that might arise. This notion was not truly reverent. In reality, it gave the rabbis license to use clever human reasoning, making it appear that God’s Word was the basis for rules on all manner of issues—some personal, others simply trivial.
Again and again the religious leaders took Scriptural precepts and stretched them to extremes. For instance, the Mosaic Law promoted separateness from the nations, but the rabbis preached a form of unreasoning contempt for everything non-Jewish. They taught that a Jew must not leave his cattle at a Gentile inn, for Gentiles “are suspected of bestiality.” A Jewish woman was not allowed to aid a Gentile woman in labor because she would thereby “be assisting to bring to birth a child for idolatry.” Since they were properly suspicious of Greek gymnasiums, the rabbis forbade all athletic exercises. History proves that all of this did little to protect the Jews from Gentile beliefs. In fact, the Pharisees themselves came to teach the pagan Greek doctrine of the immortality of the soul! -Ezekiel 18:4
The Pharisees also distorted the laws of purification. It was said that the Pharisees would purify the sun itself if given the chance. Their law held that a delay in “answering nature’s call” would defile a man! Hand-washing became a complex ritual, with rules as to which hand should be washed first and how. Women were considered particularly impure. On the basis of the Scriptural command not to “come near” any fleshly relation (in reality a law against incest), the rabbis ruled that a husband was not to walk behind his wife; nor should he converse with her in the marketplace. -Leviticus 18:6
Especially notorious is the spiritual travesty that the oral law made of the Sabbath law. God gave Israel a simple command: Do not do any work on the seventh day of the week. -Exodus 20:8-11 However, the oral law went on to define some 39 different types of forbidden work, including tying or loosening a knot, sewing two stitches, writing down two Hebrew letters, and so on. Then each of these types required endless further rules. Which knots were forbidden and which allowed? The oral law answered with arbitrary regulations. Healing came to be seen as a forbidden work. For example, it was forbidden to set a broken limb on the Sabbath. A man with a toothache could use vinegar to season his food, but he must not suck the vinegar through his teeth. That might heal his tooth!
Thus buried under hundreds of man-made rules, the Sabbath law lost its spiritual meaning as far as most Jews were concerned. When Jesus Christ, the “Lord of the sabbath,” performed spectacular, heartwarming miracles on the Sabbath, the scribes and the Pharisees were unmoved. They cared only that he seemed to ignore their regulations. -Matthew 12:8, 10-14
Learning From the Folly of the Pharisees
In sum, we might say that these added laws and traditions became affixed to the Mosaic Law much as barnacles become attached to the hull of a ship. A shipowner goes to great lengths to scrape these pesky creatures from his ship because they slow the vessel and destroy its rustproof paint. Likewise, the oral laws and traditions encumbered the Law and exposed it to corrosive misuse. However, instead of scraping such extraneous laws away, the rabbis kept adding more. By the time the Messiah came to fulfill the Law, the “ship” was so encrusted with “barnacles” that it was barely afloat! (Compare Proverbs 16:25) Rather than protecting the Law covenant, these religious leaders committed the folly of betraying it. Why, though, did their “fence” of rules fail?
The leaders of Judaism failed to understand that the battle against corruption is fought in the heart and not on the pages of lawbooks. -Jeremiah 4:14 The key to victory is love—love for Jehovah, his law, and his righteous principles. Such love produces a corresponding hatred of what Jehovah hates. (Psalm 97:10; 119:104) Those whose hearts are thus filled with love remain faithful to Jehovah’s laws in this corrupt world. The Jewish religious leaders had the great privilege of teaching the people so as to promote and inspire such love. Why did they fail to do so? Evidently they lacked faith. -Matthew 23:23, footnote If they had had faith in the power of Jehovah’s spirit to work in the hearts of faithful humans, they would not have felt a need to take rigid control of the lives of others. -Isaiah 59:1; Ezekiel 34:4 Lacking faith, they did not impart faith; they burdened the people with man-made commandments. -Matthew 15:3, 9; 23:4
Those Jewish leaders did not promote love. Their traditions produced a religion obsessed with externals, with mechanical obedience for the sake of appearances—a fertile breeding ground for hypocrisy. -Matthew 23:25-28 Their regulations produced countless reasons for judging others. Thus the proud, authoritarian Pharisees felt justified in criticizing Jesus Christ himself. They lost sight of the main purpose of the Law and rejected the one true Messiah. In turn, he had to tell the Jewish nation: “Look! Your house is abandoned to you.—Matthew 23:38; Galatians 3:23, 24 (The Watchtower September 1, 1996 pages 11-13 paragraphs 11-20)
History has shown that after the establishment of the Christian congregation certain Jewish Christians advocating for full adherence to the law of Moses were threatening in Paul’s day:
In an article entitled: Do Not Fall Prey to Modern-Day Judaizers! The Watchtower comments:
“NINETEEN hundred years ago a group of persons tried to live in the past. By so doing they deprived themselves of great blessings. Who were they?
They were persons who claimed to be Christians, but were really trying to make an apostate fusion religion of Christianity and Judaism. They were Judaizers. They taught that Gentiles who became Christians should be circumcised “according to the custom of Moses” in order to be saved. Indeed, some such persons felt that it was necessary to teach new believers to observe the Mosaic law. -Acts 15:1-5
The Judaizers were overly conscious of the fact that for more than 1,500 years God had dealt exclusively with the Jewish people. During that time anyone from another nation who wanted to become a worshiper of Jehovah needed to become a proselyte, or convert, to Judaism. Such a person would be ‘circumcised and charged to observe the law of Moses,’ which is just what the Judaizers wanted to do with the new Christian disciples.
However, with the establishing of the Christian congregation, there was a change. It was no longer necessary to be a Jew or a Jewish proselyte in order to serve God. Nor should this change have come as a surprise. As the Christian apostle Paul pointed out, Jehovah had foretold as much through his ancient prophets. “It is as he says also in Hosea,” Paul observed: “Those not my people I will call ‘my people.’” -Romans 9:25; Hosea 2:23
It required faith for a first-century Jew to become a Christian—faith in what Jehovah’s prophecies said about his gathering people of the nations, as well as natural Jews. It required humility for Jewish Christians to acknowledge that birth as a Jew no longer automatically made one a member of God’s people. The Judaizers did not have such faith or humility. They tried to cling to the past, and so lost out on marvelous blessings. In what way?
By overestimating the importance of being a physical Jew, they failed to appreciate what is meant by being a spiritual Jew. At that time the way was open for persons to become members of “the Israel of God”—spiritual Israel. -Galatians 6:15, 16 (The Watchtower January 15, 1981 page 27)
“THE TEACHINGS OF THE JUDAIZERS
Even after the first-century governing body settled the circumcision issue, certain individuals who claimed to be Christians stubbornly kept the question alive. The apostle Paul called them “false brothers” who wanted “to pervert the good news about the Christ.” -Galatians 1:7; 2:4; Titus 1:10
The Judaizers’ objective was apparently to appease the Jews, to keep them from opposing Christianity so violently. -Galatians 6:12, 13 The Judaizers argued that righteousness was established by works of the Mosaic Law in such matters as diet, circumcision, and Jewish festivals. -Colossians 2:16
Understandably, those who held to these views felt uncomfortable in the presence of Gentile believers. Sadly, such unwholesome feelings were even manifest among a number of reputable Christians of Jewish background. For example, when representatives from the Jerusalem congregation visited Antioch, they kept separate from their Gentile brothers. Even Peter, who until then had freely socialized with the Gentiles, withdrew—not even eating with them. Yes, he went against the very principles he had earlier defended. As a result, Peter received strong counsel from Paul. -Galatians 2:11-14” (Bearing Thorough Witness About God’s Kingdom page 103)
I believe the Watchtower society has a valid interpretation of how, after the death of the apostles and due to the threat of corruption of Jesus teachings from a variety of sources, once again those that felt a need to be guardians of doctrine developed historically:
The September 15, 2003 Watchtower states the following:
The Christian Congregation Corrupted
Soon after the death of the apostles, apostate teachers from within the congregation began to take control of it. They spoke “twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” -Acts 20:29, 30 As a result, many Christians ‘fell away from the faith.’ They were “turned aside to false stories.”—1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3, 4
By the fourth century C.E., says The New Dictionary of Theology, “Catholic Christianity had become the official . . . religion of the Roman Empire.” There was a “coalescence of ecclesial and civil society”—a merging of Church and State that was diametrically opposed to the beliefs of the early Christians. -John 17:16; James 4:4 The same source states that in time, the whole structure and nature of the church, as well as many of its fundamental beliefs, was changed radically “under the influence of a curious and thoroughly unhealthy combination of O[ld] T[estament] and neoplatonic models.” As predicted by Jesus Christ, his genuine disciples were hidden from sight as counterfeit Christians flourished.
Jesus’ listeners knew how difficult it was to tell genuine wheat from weeds, such as poisonous bearded darnel, which during the growing season has an appearance much like that of wheat. So Jesus was illustrating that for a while, it would be difficult to distinguish true Christians from the counterfeit variety. This does not mean that the Christian congregation ceased to exist, for Jesus promised to continue to guide his spiritual brothers “all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” -Matthew 28:20 Jesus said that the wheat would continue to grow. Even so, through the ages, genuine Christians—individually or in groups—no doubt did their best to adhere to Christ’s teachings. But they no longer made up a clearly identifiable, visible body, or organization. They were certainly not identical with the visible apostate religious system that throughout history brought nothing but disgrace and dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 2:1, 2
“The Man of Lawlessness Gets Revealed”
The apostle Paul foretold something else that would mark this counterfeit religious system. He wrote: “Let no one seduce you in any manner, because [Jehovah’s day] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed.” -2 Thessalonians 2:2-4 This “man of lawlessness” is none other than the clergy class that exalted itself into a ruling position over the “Christian” congregation.
The apostasy started in the apostle Paul’s day. It accelerated once the apostles died and their restraining influence disappeared. It would be marked, said Paul, by “the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception.” -2 Thessalonians 2:6-12 How accurately that describes the activities of so many religious leaders throughout history!
In support of their claim that Roman Catholicism is the one true church, Catholic leaders say that their bishops have “a life-giving contact with the original apostles by a current of succession which goes back to the beginning.” In truth, this claim of apostolic succession has no historical or Scriptural basis. There is no credible evidence that the church system that arose following the death of Jesus’ apostles was ever directed by God’s holy spirit.—Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:19-21
And what of the other churches that sprang up following the so-called Reformation? Did they return to the model of the early Christian congregation? Did they restore the purity of the original Christian congregation? It is true that following the Reformation, the Bible became available to many of the common people in their own language. Yet, history shows that these churches continued to teach erroneous doctrines.—Matthew 15:7-9
Note this, however. Jesus Christ definitely foretold that his one true congregation would be restored during what he called a conclusion of a system of things. (Matthew 13:30, 39) The fulfillment of Bible prophecies shows that we are now living in that time. (Matthew 24:3-35) That being true, each of us needs to ask, ‘Where is that one true church?’ It ought to become more and more clearly identifiable.” (The Watchtower September 1, 2003 pages 4-7 One True Christian Faith—A Reality)
It is to be expected that any religion claiming to be the sole repository of truth would identify this malevolent figure, this Man of Lawlessness, as someone or something other than themselves. The Watchtower society makes the bold statement: “There is no credible evidence that the church system that arose following the death of Jesus’ apostles was ever directed by God’s holy spirit.” They also go on to eliminate other religions that formed as a result of the Protestant Reformation, claiming: “these churches continued to teach erroneous doctrines”.
Thus in two easy sentences they have effectively eliminated the competition. They now can move on to identify what it calls the “one true church”.
However, from this it should be apparent that they have created for themselves a monumental task. First, they would need to prove that, unlike the Catholic Church which they denigrate, the Watchtower organization is directed by God’s holy spirit. What evidence could they provide to substantiate such a claim? Secondly, they would need to show that they have not continued to teach erroneous doctrines.
In the above Watchtower article there is yet another statement that needs to be carefully analyzed: “Jesus Christ definitely foretold that his one true congregation would be restored during what he called a conclusion of a system of things.”
The scriptural support they claim for the statement is Matthew 13:30,39
“Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’” -Matthew 13:30
“and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. -Matthew 13:39
However, nothing is here said by Jesus about a restoration of his one true congregation. The wheat and weeds would continue until he sends forth his angels, not men, to do the separating. In fact, according to Jesus, any men attempting to separate the wheat would be working against his interests:
He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ He said, ‘No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’” -Matthew 13:28-30
From this it is apparent that instead of there being one true Christian congregation separated out from false or apostate Christendom, the true religion is Christianity, of which Jehovah’s Witnesses is a part, which similar to the Nation of Israel has become corrupt. The true anointed ones are still obscured by weeds and, if they were to attach themselves to any denomination whether Catholic, Protestant or Jehovah’s Witnesses, they would be subject to the rules and interpretation of that religious system and their guardians of doctrine. Many respect highly and even give reverence to their religious leaders. In many cases these leaders receive honor that should only be given to Christ.
Just as it was in the first century, the desires of men that feel it necessary for them to assume the position of guardians of doctrine, as well as the desires of those that are comfortable allowing men to mediate their relationship with God, become tools that Satan can use to mislead many:
But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders 10 and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. That is why God lets a deluding influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness. -2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Their hypocrisy and lawlessness will be revealed not starting in 1914 as the Watchtower presents, but as Paul says by the manifestation of his (Christ’s) presence when they are done away with by him. -2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:8,9
Then and only then will the true wheat be distinguished from the weeds. -Matthew 13:43
It may surprise many Witnesses to know that the very phrase guardians of doctrine is one that was applied to the governing body by one of its members:
“There can be any number of members on the Governing Body. In the past few decades ‐ for example, when I was appointed on the Governing Body, there were 12 of us. I believe the number has been 18 at one stage. But the qualifications of a member for the Governing Body ‐ it involves someone who is considered an anointed Witness, who has worked in scriptural, with a scriptural background, either as a missionary or a full‐time servant for many years, and is able to fulfill the role of the Governing Body, which is, may I state, a group, a spiritual group of men who are the guardians of our doctrine, and as guardians of the doctrine, look at things that need to be decided based on our doctrines, which are based on the constitution of the Bible.”
(Geoffrey Jackson – Australia Royal Commission Friday August 15, 2015)
I do believe what the apostle Paul is foretelling is just such an entity. A group of men that feel the necessity to establish themselves as guardians of doctrine. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with being a guardian or protector of established beliefs if those beliefs have a basis in truth and can be defended by scripture. The question is are those doctrines based on scripture and to what extent does one feel it is proper to go in order to protect those beliefs? I believe such an entity was already at work in the first century among the Pharisees and Sadducees who eventually accomplished having Jesus put to death because he challenged their authority.
Jesus condemned them for overstepping the commandment of God by their tradition. Basically, they went beyond what was written.
I believe the Watchtower society’s presentation to be an accurate portrayal of the scriptural and historical facts.
Regarding the development of a clergy class Philip Schaff’s History of Christianity writes:
“The idea and institution of a special priesthood, distinct from the body of the people, with the accompanying notion of sacrifice and altar, passed imperceptibly from Jewish and heathen reminiscences and analogies into the Christian church. The majority of Jewish converts adhered tenaciously to the Mosaic institutions and rites, and a considerable part never fully attained to the height of spiritual freedom proclaimed by Paul, or soon fell away from it. He opposed legalistic and ceremonial tendencies in Galatia and Corinth; and although sacerdotalism does not appear among the errors of his Judaizing opponents, the Levitical priesthood, with its three ranks of high-priest, priest, and Levite, naturally furnished an analogy for the threefold ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon, and came to be regarded as typical of it. Still less could the Gentile Christians, as a body, at once emancipate themselves from their traditional notions of priesthood, altar, and sacrifice, on which their former religion was based. Whether we regard the change as an apostasy from a higher position attained, or as a reaction of old ideas never fully abandoned, the change is undeniable, and can be traced to the second century. The church could not long occupy the ideal height of the apostolic age, and as the Pentecostal illumination passed away with the death of the apostles, the old reminiscences began to reassert themselves.”
In the apostolic church preaching and teaching were not confined to a particular class, but every convert could proclaim the gospel to unbelievers, and every Christian who had the gift could pray and teach and exhort in the congregation. The New Testament knows no spiritual aristocracy or nobility, but calls all believers “saints” though many fell far short of their vocation. Nor does it recognize a special priesthood in distinction from the people, as mediating between God and the laity. It knows only one high-priest, Jesus Christ, and clearly teaches the universal priesthood, as well as universal kingship, of believers. It does this in a far deeper and larger sense than the Old (Exodus 19:6); in a sense, too, which even to this day is not yet fully realized. The entire body of Christians are called “clergy” (κλῆροι), a peculiar people, the heritage of God.” (Vol. 2 ch. 4 sec. 42)
In the same publication, on origin of the episcopate we read:
“During the lifetime of the apostles, those eye- and ear-witnesses of the divine-human life of Jesus, and the inspired organs of the Holy Spirit, there was no room for proper bishops; and those who were so called, must have held only a subordinate place. The church, too, in the first century was as yet a strictly supernatural organization, a stranger in this world, standing with one foot in eternity, and longing for the second coming of her heavenly bridegroom. But in the episcopal constitution the church provided an extremely simple but compact and freely expansible organization, planted foot firmly upon earth, became an institution for the education of her infant people, and, as chiliastic hopes receded, fell into the path of quiet historical development; yet unquestionably she thus incurred also the danger of a secularization which reached its height just when the hierarchy became complete in the Roman church, and which finally necessitated a reformation on the basis of apostolical Christianity.”
“…was the episcopate a continuation and contraction of, and substitute for, the apostolate, or was it an expansion and elevation of the presbyterate? The later view is more natural and better sustained by facts. Most of its advocates date the change from the time of Ignatius in the first quarter of the second century, while a few carry it further back to the close of the first, when St. John still lived in Ephesus.”
“We cannot therefore assume any strict uniformity. But the whole church spirit of the age tended towards centralization; it everywhere felt a demand for compact, solid unity; and this inward bent, amidst the surrounding dangers of persecution and heresy, carried the church irresistibly towards the episcopate. In so critical and stormy a time, the principle, union is strength, division is weakness, prevailed over all. In fact, the existence of the church at that period may be said to have depended in a great measure on the preservation and promotion of unity, and that in an outward, tangible form, suited to the existing grade of culture. Such a unity was offered in the bishop, who held a monarchical, or more properly a patriarchal relation to the congregation. In the bishop was found the visible representative of Christ, the great Head of the whole church. In the bishop, therefore, all sentiments of piety found a centre. In the bishop the whole religious posture of the people towards God and towards Christ had its outward support and guide. And in proportion as every church pressed towards a single centre, this central personage must acquire a peculiar importance and subordinate the other presbyters to itself; though, at the same time, as the language of Clement and Irenaeus, the state of things in Egypt, and even in North Africa, and the testimony of Jerome and other fathers, clearly prove, the remembrance of the original equality could not be entirely blotted out, but continued to show itself in various ways.” ( Philip Schaff The History of Christianity Vol. 2 ch 4 sec 44)
The picture of the development of the Man of Lawlessness painted in the Watchtower magazine is almost identical to what Schaff presents. Where I think the society has departed from the scriptures is in how they identify the man of lawlessness in our day.
The Watchtower 1990 states:
Identifying the Lawless One
“Was Paul speaking of a single individual? No, for he states that this “man” was evident in Paul’s day and would continue in existence until Jehovah destroyed him at this system’s end. Thus, he has existed for many centuries. Obviously, no literal man has lived that long. So the expression “man of lawlessness” must stand for a body, or class, of people.
Who are they? The evidence shows that they are the body of proud, ambitious clergymen of Christendom, who over the centuries have set themselves up as a law unto themselves. This can be seen by the fact that there are thousands of different religions and sects in Christendom, each with its clergy, yet each conflicting with the others in some aspect of doctrine or practice. This divided state is a clear evidence that they do not follow God’s law. They cannot be from God. -Compare Micah 2:12; Mark 3:24; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10 What all these religions have in common is that they do not hold fast to the Bible’s teachings, having violated the rule: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.”—1 Corinthians 4:6; see also Matthew 15:3, 9, 14
Thus, this lawless one is a composite person: the religious clergy of Christendom. All of them, whether popes, priests, patriarchs, or Protestant preachers, share responsibility for the religious sins of Christendom. They have exchanged the truths of God for pagan lies, teaching such unscriptural doctrines as immortality of the human soul, hellfire, purgatory, and Trinity. They are like the religious leaders to whom Jesus said: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. . . . He is a liar and the father of the lie.” -John 8:44 Their practices also expose them as lawless, for they participate in activities that violate God’s laws. To such ones Jesus says: “Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”—Matthew 7:21-23. (The Watchtower February 1, 1990 page 11 paragraphs 7-9)
However, is the identification of the man of lawlessness only to be found in the Roman Catholic Hierarchy?
In his discourse about the conclusion of the system of things Jesus said:
“Many will come on the basis of Jesus’ name saying “I am the Christ”(Greek for anointed)
and mislead many.” Matthew 24:5, 24
By these words Jesus seems to indicate that his followers needed to be on the lookout for persons that both claim to come in his name, that is with his authority or to have been appointed by him, and that claim to be the Messiah. False Christs and false prophets. -Matthew 24:24 While there have not been many that have had the boldness to claim to be the Christ there have been many that have claimed to have been appointed by him. Including the Watchtower society:
“In the past, our publications have said the following: At Pentecost 33 C.E., Jesus appointed the faithful slave over his domestics. The slave represents all anointed Christians on earth as a group at any one time since then. The domestics refer to the same anointed ones as individuals. In 1919, Jesus appointed the faithful slave “over all his belongings”—all his earthly Kingdom interests. However, further careful study and prayerful meditation indicate that our understanding of Jesus’ words about the faithful and discreet slave needs to be clarified. (The Watchtower July 15, 2013 page 20 paragraph 3)
In 1919, a time of spiritual revival, Jesus selected capable anointed brothers from among them to be the faithful and discreet slave and appointed them over his domestics. (The Watchtower July 15, 2013 page 23).
WHO IS THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE?
The faithful slave must be made up of anointed Christians on earth. Such ones are called “a royal priesthood” and have been commissioned to “ ‘declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9 It is only fitting that members of that “royal priesthood” have a direct share in teaching fellow believers the truth.—Malachi 2:7; Revelation 12:17
Do all anointed ones on earth make up the faithful slave? No. The reality is that not all anointed ones have a role in dispensing spiritual food to fellow believers worldwide. Among the wheat are anointed brothers who may serve as ministerial servants or elders in their local congregation. They teach from house to house and in their congregation, and they loyally support the direction from headquarters. But they do not have a part in dispensing spiritual food to the worldwide brotherhood. Also among the anointed are humble sisters, who would never try to assume the role of teachers in the congregation.—1 Corinthians 11:3; 14:34
Who, then, is the faithful and discreet slave? In keeping with Jesus’ pattern of feeding many through the hands of a few, that slave is made up of a small group of anointed brothers who are directly involved in preparing and dispensing spiritual food during Christ’s presence. Throughout the last days, the anointed brothers who make up the faithful slave have served together at headquarters. In recent decades, that slave has been closely identified with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Note, however, that the word “slave” in Jesus’ illustration is singular, indicating that this is a composite slave. The decisions of the Governing Body are thus made collectively. (The Watchtower July 15, 2013 pages 21-22)
Thus we have a description of the development of the modern day Guardians of Doctrine. But this raises important questions: Are they immune to the human tendency of putting a fence of rules around God’s law, slowing down God’s ship by adding barnacles of their own interpretations, overstepping the commandment of God, making it invalid by their tradition? They may have the best of motives but does that necessarily shield them from what happened with the religious leaders of Israel? Aside from special garb, how is the governing body different from Christendom’s clergy?
These questions will be addressed in a future article.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_sin