My question concerns the notorious "evil slave" class that Jehovah's Witnesses have created into a shadowy boogieman. Is this just a part of the Watchtower Society's way of creating in the minds of JW's fear? Who is the evil slave that JW's are in such fear of? Are they ex-JW's that speak out about the JW's and how do they supposedly "beat" their former associates? Any church can claim this of their ex-members such as ex-Mormons, ex-Jews, ex- Catholics, etc... So how do JW's know this verse applies to their religion?

Your question, 'who is the evil slave?' is really the flip side of Jesus' question: 'Who really is the faithful slave?' Jesus posed that question to his disciples on two different occasions, and each time he indicated that there is also an evil slave that resides in the same house along with the faithful slave. Together those two types of slaves represent anointed Christians. That is evident from the fact that Jesus said that he would reward his faithful slaves by appointing him over all of his belongings. In other words, Christ will ultimately share his kingdom with his faithful slaves.

As for your contention that any religion can claim that its dissidents are the evil slaves of Jesus' parable, that notion simply does not stand up to reason. For one thing, the faithful slave would be distinguished by the fact that he would live in expectation of his master's return. That cannot truthfully be said of any other religion, for the simple reason that no other Christian religion has the slightest idea what Christ's kingdom is nor do they preach about it. Yet, it is widely recognized that the very core of the Watchtower's doctrine has to do with announcing Jehovah's kingdom and that the master's return is imminent. That is what Jehovah's Witnesses are known for--our preaching that God's kingdom is at hand.

So, because that is the outlook of those recognized by us as the faithful and discreet slave, the evil slave stands in opposition to that. Remember, the evil slave only exists in relation to the faithful slave. And, because our kingdom expectations these past 100 years have so far led to disappointment, there are a few from the household that have begun to beat their brothers because the master is delaying. Whereas the evil slave may have legitimate cause for criticizing his fellow slave on certain issues, according to the prophecy, the underlying motive of the evil slave is the faithless disbelief that Christ is going to be a 'no show.'

There are now two distinct camps of opinions among Jehovah's Witnesses and ex-Jehovah's Witnesses--each under the influence of either the faithful slave or the wicked slave. The one faction maintains that the master's return is imminent--the other claiming that the Apocalypse has been postponed. It is evident, then, that the stage has now been set for the final aspect of the prophetic parable to be fulfilled; namely, that Christ should startle his household, and indeed the world, by his sudden arrival--like a thief in the night. If you read both accounts in the Scriptures, you will notice that the context of Christ's parable was the fact that Jesus was coming just like a thief in the night.

I understand that JW's feel that they are witnesses of Jehovah God, and by doing so, they are imitating Christ's example. But in speaking to the apostles at Acts 1:1-8, Jesus told them "you will be witnesses of ME both in Jerusalem . . . and to the most distant part of the earth." The reason I looked this scripture up is because in the WTBTS video "United by Divine Teaching", the narrator mentions this verse when describing the worldwide preaching work. I cross-referenced the Hebrew scripture at Isaiah 43:10, from which the Jehovah's Witnesses take their name. Basically, what I would like to know is . . . Are we suppose to witness for Jehovah, or for Jesus? Did Christ's coming to earth lead the way for us to witness for him? I'm a little confused!

We are witnesses of both--Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, because Jehovah and Jesus each bore witness to each other. For example, Jehovah bore witness to the fact that Jesus was his Son when he spoke directly from the heavens on several occasions, saying: "This is my Son." And, Jesus, by his entire ministry, bore witness to his Father. Because the Jewish nation was already considered to be Jehovah's Witnesses, when the Messiah came they needed to become his witnesses, too. And that is exactly what the Jewish converts to Christianity did. Christians indeed became witnesses of Jehovah and Christ. If you read the entire book of the Acts of the apostles, you will note that even though they primarily bore witness about Jesus, they also continued to speak about Jehovah and to quote heavily from the Hebrew Scriptures that were primarily associated in the Hebrew mind with Jehovah God.

The fact is that Jehovah and Jesus are in complete union, so that it is impossible to witness to one to the exclusion of the other. That's why Jesus said that he who honors the Son honors the Father also-- not because they are the same person as Trinitarians imagine-- but because they are united with each other. In recognition that Jesus and his Father are one in purpose, Jehovah's Witnesses are witnesses of Jehovah and Jesus Christ.

I have been inactive for years, And I truly want to be whole souled when I return. So please do not answer with an arrogant attitude. I have two questions. If many of our sisters and brothers died in Africa because of political persecution due to non-association of political association. Why was getting a political card in Mexico acceptable? Please do not say that was not true since we have a large Hispanic congregation in this area and they say it was allowed and provided me with the letters from the organization? #2 Not that I'm questioning voting, but why is the answer so flaky about voting since many were disfellowshipped and lost their lives regarding the situation? And we were always admonished to stand firm, not wavering for the faith even to death. I do not want to be viewed as apostate but truly searching for the truth. Thank you

First: The situation in Malawi and Mexico were not identical. In Malawi, the government under Dr. Banda literally declared 'open season' on Jehovah's Witnesses. They lost all privileges of citizenship. They were fired from their jobs. Their homes and possessions were confiscated. They lost police protection, and so, gangs of patriotic thugs raped our women, and the brothers were beaten and imprisoned. Ultimately, most of Jehovah's Witnesses fled into neighboring Mozambique to escape the persecution.

The situation in Mexico was nothing compared to that in Malawi. In Mexico, the brothers had to have a document stating that they served compulsory military service. There was no real penalty other than it was difficult to travel, and perhaps obtain certain employment, without that certificate. So, the brothers there were unfortunately ill-advised to avoid the inconvenience by means of the 'mordida'--- Spanish for "the bite," which is in reference to offering a bribe. By the way, bribery is the all-to-common way of conducting legal and business matters in Latin America. The mordida is so prevalent in Mexico that it is even considered as an unofficial fee that has to be paid in order to get things done.

Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have peddled the lie that the dark-skinned Africans were thrown to the wolves, while the Watchtower favored the Mexican brothers. That is simply not true. The Mexican brothers were not persecuted if they did not have that card. And given the rabid nature of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Malawi, they would have been persecuted even if they had purchased the political ID card. That is not to say that the Watchtower's advice to the Mexican brothers to pay the mordida was right, but the situation in Mexico was in no way comparable to the plight of the brothers in Malawi.

The real issue has to do with our view of the Watchtower Society. As you noted in your question, your serving God whole-souled is contingent upon what the Watchtower may or may not have done. So, because you have put stipulations on your faith in Jehovah, based upon what someone else does or doesn't do, you have set yourself up to stumble right out of the gate.

Consider the Bible's history of ancient Israel and its leaders. For a fact, virtually every king and prominent leader in Israel fell short in some area. Moses, for example, was forbidden from entering the Promised Land because he failed to honor Jehovah on one occasion. Take David as another example: He was beloved by Jehovah and the nation, yet on one occasion the scriptures say that he was over-reached by Satan and tempted into taking a census of Israel. His general, Joab, strongly objected to the whole affair, but David insisted. As a result, David's folly brought Jehovah's punishment upon the entire nation.

But, the question is: Did David's foolish mistake cause him to lose Jehovah's favor entirely? No. Likewise, did the fact that the nation was punished because of David's error mean that they were not Jehovah's own possession? Again, no, of course not. Similarly, just because men in positions of leadership in the Watchtower do stupid or even wicked things, it doesn't mean that the organization does not belong to Jehovah God. On the contrary, numerous prophecies-- many of which e-Watchman has called attention to-- clearly indicate that Jehovah is going to chastise his organization for their shortcomings.

As regards voting, it seems to me that the Watchtower has taken a step or two back from that issue in order to protect itself from the accusation that it is coercing its members into not supporting the political system. By leaving it up to each individual to follow their conscience, the Watchtower probably feels that governments will be less likely to bring sanctions against the organization. And, the fact is, such things should be viewed as matters of conscience.

Why don't kingdom halls have windows?

I'm asking you this because you say that the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 is yet in the future during the great tribulation. I'm sorry, but that is one thing that just doesn't make sense. Everyone – even the worldly people – can see that the work is being done right NOW. Could it be more obvious and crystal clear? Also note what Mark said: "in all the nations the good news has to be preached first." First: that's before the conclusion. Besides, how could a massive work like that be done during the most difficult time that the world has ever faced? How could anyone preach anything in a time like that? It will be difficult to even survive! Besides, the tribulation must be a quite short period of time (maybe 3½ years) so how could the news be preached in every nation? I don't think so. Of course Jehovah must have given his anointed ones enough time to do this important work... and now the time must be almost over.

What we need to keep in mind is that there is a difference between the conclusion and the end. There is two different Greek words for each. Telos means the absolute end, and so is simply translated as "the end." Whereas, syntelia means "conclusion," which has the connotation of a concluding period. So, syntelia is translated as "conclusion of the system." And in the book of Daniel, the Greek Septuagint uses the term syntelia, where it has been translated as the "time of the end." So, Jesus said that 'the good news will be preached in all the earth, and then the end will come.' That means the absolute end of the world. However, according to Daniel, it is only during the actual time of the end, or conclusion, when the book of Daniel is finally unsealed. That being the case, how likely is it that the preaching of good news of the kingdom is completed before the prophecies of Daniel are unsealed and the sons of the kingdom shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father?

Jesus emphasized that the sign of his presence and the conclusion was not the sign of the end. For example, Christ said that there would be wars and rumors of war, "but the end is not yet." In the next verse, Jesus further stressed that nation warring against nation and the earthquakes and food shortages were merely "a beginning of pangs of distress." That is not to say that the time of the end will go on for decades, as we presently imagine it has, but simply that the conclusion is an interval of some duration as opposed to the absolute finale.

Furthermore, it is apparent that the sign of Jesus' presence and the conclusion of the system has not begun yet. One reason is that many aspects of Jesus prophecy simply are not yet in evidence. Like the fact that Jesus said that "brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father a child, and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death." And according to Matthew, "because of the increasing in lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off." Jesus' prophecy calls for global persecution of the preachers of God's kingdom, on a scale that we simply have never experienced. While Jehovah's Witnesses have suffered limited persecution in some countries, can we point to anything that even approaches the level of intensity whereby one's own family will turn against them and has them put to death? No, we can't really say that that has occurred yet.

The problem is that it is humanly impossible to foresee the future in the precise detail that the Bible does. Because we lack such vision, we are inclined to try and line up prophecies with past and present events. That's why we cling to the idea that WWI was the fulfillment of the prophecy that calls for nation to rise against nation. It is virtually impossible for Jehovah's Witnesses to imagine that that prophecy could await a future fulfillment. Yet, there is scriptural evidence that indicates that the sign of Christ's presence and the conclusion of the system of things has not begun yet.

As for the assumption that the preaching could not be undertaken during a period of intense persecution, you are failing to take into consideration the power of Jehovah's almighty holy spirit. In the prophecy of the conclusion, Jesus said that his disciples would be hauled before kings and governors, but that when we are brought before such officials, we shouldn't be anxious beforehand as to what we are going to say because we are assured that the holy spirit will speak for us. Now, in all the court cases that Jehovah's Witnesses have been involved in during the 20th Century, that aspect of Jesus' prophecy has never been fulfilled. How can we say that? Because the Watchtower has always had legal counsel to represent us in court, In effect, we have rehearsed beforehand in making our defense. So, obviously the holy spirit did not take up our legal cause in the way that Jesus described.

The point is: the preaching of Jehovah's Witnesses has obviously not fulfilled that prophecy yet, or else the system would have come to an end. But, we have evidently established a foundation and basis for the work that Jesus will see to its completion during the concluding phase of the system of things. Presently we can only envision the preaching work being accomplished in the ordinary door-to-door work with the Watchtower, because that's all we are familiar with. But, Jehovah has the means to accomplish far more on a scale that we cannot imagine in a very short period of time.

I suspect that the fall of Jericho provided a portent for us in this respect. That's where the priests of Jehovah marched around Jericho, carrying the ark once per day for six days straight. Then, on the 7th day they marched around the city seven times. After the 7th circuit, the walls of the doomed city collapsed. With the power of Jehovah's spirit we can indeed accomplish miraculous things--things that might seem incredible. Yet, God's Word tells us that there are some things that we have not grasped yet. But, when Jehovah reveals his sacred secret to us during the revelation, then we will preach a new and dynamic message that no one has heard. God's prophet assures us of this very thing where he writes: "You have heard. Behold it all. As for you people, will you not tell it? I have made you hear new things from the present time, even things kept in reserve, that you have not known. At the present time they must be created, and not from that time, even things that before today you have not heard, that you may not say, 'Look! I have already known them'"

The context of the prophecy in the 48th chapter of Isaiah has to do with Jehovah's judgment and the final discipline of his spiritual Israel. That has not taken place yet. Neither have we 'beheld it.' But, once Christ Jesus has refined his congregation during the conclusion, then, as the prophecy says, 'will you not tell it out?' That means that the nature of our message will change. No doubt our method will too. By means of Jehovah's Word, then, we are empowered to peer into the future to get a glimpse of what is to come. And in so doing, we may come to the realization that the preaching that we have accomplished so far is not the end. No, but it is merely a preliminary to the grand work that God has purposed for those who actually endure through the next phase of the conclusion clear to the end.