Under the Spell of God’s Perceived Channel

On November 18, 1978, a total of 918  individuals died in Jonestown Guyana, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning. They were directed to do so by Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple, a cult that moved there from San-Francisco.

Although this is not the only time tragedy has resulted from persons allowing themselves to come under the spell of a cult leader, it was perhaps the most noteworthy in recent history. Yet it did not result in the largest number of deaths at one time. That distinction belongs to The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. Another in a long list of deadly cults. In that group, a total of 924 died in compounds across Uganda after the end of the world did not occur on December 31, 1999 as predicted.

In the early 1970s, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles renamed themselves Bo and Peep and took a road trip across the U.S., assembling a group they called “the crew.”

For the next 20 years, the group lived in various camps in Southern California and took on new followers. The group believed that Earth was about to be wiped clean and the only chance to survive was to leave it.

Nettles died of liver cancer in 1985, but Applewhite continued to lead the group. About 5 years later, the group isolated themselves from their friends, family and the public, and relied on the internet to recruit new members. 

In 1997, Applewhite persuaded 38 followers to kill themselves, telling them that they wouldn’t be dying, but leaving their earthly vessels behind. Applewhite plus 38 other people between the ages of 26 and 72 died in three groups over three days. Three other people connected to Heaven’s Gate later committed suicide, bringing the cult’s death toll to 42.

Could a similar situation be repeated by another high control religion or group?

The governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses constantly encourages unquestioning, child-like obedience.

Recently, there has been an increase in statements, either printed or from the platform, about the importance of being ready to obey any instructions coming from the leadership.

For example the following appeared in the November 15, 2013 issue of the Watchtower magazine in an article entitled: “Seven Shepherds Eight Dukes”:

^“Elders who are reading this article can draw some useful conclusions from the account we have just considered: (1) The most practical step that we can take to prepare for the coming attack of “the Assyrian” is that of strengthening our faith in God and helping our brothers to do the same. (2) When “the Assyrian” attacks, the elders must be absolutely convinced that Jehovah will deliver us. (3) At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not. (4) Now is the time for any who may be putting their trust in secular education, material things, or human institutions to adjust their thinking. The elders must stand ready to help any who may now be wavering in their faith. (The Watchtower November 15, 2013 pg. 20 par. 17)

The simplified version of the same article presented the wording: “all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether we agree with them or not”.

This was mentioned again at the 2021 Annual Meeting:

Similar instructions were again repeated in the February 2022 Watchtower:

“As the end of this system of things draws near, we need to trust in Jehovah’s way of doing things as never before. Why? During the great tribulation, we may receive instructions that seem strange, impractical, or illogical. Of course, Jehovah will not speak to us personally. He will likely provide direction through his appointed representatives. That will hardly be the time to second-guess the direction or to view it with skepticism, wondering, ‘Is this really coming from Jehovah, or are the responsible brothers acting on their own?’ How will you fare during that crucial time in human history? The answer might be indicated by how you view theocratic direction now. If you trust the direction we receive today and readily obey, you will likely do the same during the great tribulation.​—Luke 16:10. (The Watchtower February 2022)

One month later, this statement appeared in an article entitled: “Do You See What Zechariah Saw?” in the March issue:

Another way that Jehovah provides direction is by means of “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Matt. 24:45) At times, this slave may give direction that we do not fully understand. For example, we may receive specific instructions designed to prepare us to survive a natural disaster that we think is unlikely to occur in our area. Or we may feel that the slave is being overly cautious during a pandemic. What should we do if we feel that the instructions given are not practical? We can think about how the Israelites benefited by heeding the counsel given through Joshua and Zerubbabel. We can also think about other Bible accounts that we have read. Sometimes God’s people received direction that did not appear to be practical from a human standpoint but turned out to be lifesaving.​—Judg. 7:7; 8:10. (The Watchtower March 2022)

The organization seems obsessed with warning its members against listening to any outside information that could undermine their complete confidence in it’s governing body:

It is amazing that the same leaders that expect complete trust and unquestioning obedience as God’s channel, also admit that, when that time comes, Jehovah will not speak to them personally. In fact, they have gone on record many times in the past stating that they are not inspired and can err:

“The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction. In fact, the Watch Tower Publications Index includes the heading “Beliefs Clarified,” which lists adjustments in our Scriptural understanding since 1870. Of course, Jesus did not tell us that his faithful slave would produce perfect spiritual food. (The Watchtower February 2017 Study Edition “Who Is Leading God’s People Today?”)

So you may wonder how it could be possible for persons to put their complete trust in leaders that have a long history of having erred in giving organizational direction. The answer lies in their ability to convince their members that the organization is somehow inexplicably guided by God.

This is largely accomplished by comparing the leadership to Biblical characters that received their direction from God:

Jehovah now said to Gidʹe·on: “I will save you with the 300 men who lapped the water, and I will give Midʹi·an into your hand. But let all the other people go back home.” (Judges 7:7)

Hence, believing witnesses sincerely believe that the instructions coming from the organization are God’s way of providing protection for his people now during disasters such as the Coronavirus pandemic, even though vaccines, information and health instructions are provided by the secular governments. Having thus convinced their members of their trustworthiness, the leadership then uses this as reason to make trusting whatever direction given by them in the future as being of life-saving importance.

The organization regularly presents this imaginary scenario of witnesses coming under the attack of a coalition of nations during a soon to come great tribulation. After all other religions have been destroyed, witnesses expect to be the only religion remaining and are told that they at that time may expect to receive instruction to preach a hard hitting message of judgment upon Satan’s system.

The future instructions are said to be lifesaving, and witnesses are encouraged to be quick to obey whether they agree or not. It remains to be seen, however, just what those instructions would entail. Although the early Bible students believed they would be raptured to heaven in 1914, they were never told to drink poison in order to accomplish it. On the other hand, they didn’t believe at that time that they would come under attack by all the nations of earth. Will the perceived impending attack of Gog of Magog move leaders to direct witnesses from around the world to travel to some remote location? Will witnesses be encouraged to donate financially to make such an exodus possible? Only time will tell.

If you are at all inclined to think Jehovah’s Witnesses would refuse to obey direction from the organization that they did not understand even if it could result in their death then you need to consider that many in the past have already done so and are continuing to do so.

Loyal witnesses have an extremely sensitive martyr complex and have been willing to forego accepting, vaccinations, organ transplants, blood fractions, even though these directives were later found to be in error. The receiving of whole blood transfusions, red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma, as well as prior storage of their own blood for later use during surgery are all currently prohibited. Witnesses are currently willing to abandon their own feelings of natural affection and shun family members that leave the organization, even though this has led to suicide in some cases. Why?

Why were so many people at Jonestown willing to drink cyanide laced fruit punch or inject it into their unwilling friends and family members? Because they sincerely believed that the instructions they received came from more than a man. They came from someone who claimed to be God’s channel.