The Watchtower, February 1, 1985, page 6
It is a serious matter to represent God and Christ in one way, then find that our understanding of the major teachings and fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures was in error, and then after that, to go back to the very doctrines that, by years of study, we had thoroughly determined to be in error. Christians cannot be vacillating - 'wishy-washy' - about such fundamental teachings. What confidence can one put in the sincerity or judgment of such persons? –The Watchtower, May 15, 1976, page 298.

Every Wind of Doctrine

It can be said that Watchtower Society doctrine exists in a constant state of flux. Watchtower doctrine is fluid, but more than that, Watchtower doctrine often changes in a way such that new Watchtower doctrine actually contradicts previous Watchtower doctrine. In other words, what is taught and believed and held as absolute truth from God today, may be viewed as complete falsehood - complete "darkness" - tomorrow. Indeed, the wonderful "truths" brought to your doorstep by Jehovah's Witnesses today may in fact be in complete opposition to "truth" the next time the Witnesses show up at your door.

The sheer extent of this peculiarity of the Jehovah's Witness faith is for the most part lost on the individual Jehovah's Witness; but the leaders of the faith, on the other hand, are very much aware of their history of doctrinal aberrancy. In an attempt to shore up the faith of the rank-and-file, Watchtower leaders have compared their repeated doctrinal back-and-forth to a ship "tacking in the wind." Consider the following statements from The Watchtower magazine:

However, it may have seemed to some as though that path has not always gone straight forward. At times explanations given by Jehovah's visible organization [i.e. the Watchtower Society] have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view. But this has not actually been the case. This might be compared to what is known in navigational circles as 'tacking.' By maneuvering the sails the sailors can cause a ship to go from right to left, back and forth, but all the time making progress toward their destination in spite of contrary winds.The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, page 27-28.

The degree of fluidity in Watchtower doctrine is such that all but the newest Jehovah's Witnesses are aware of its presence. As a general rule, Jehovah's Witnesses look forward to these doctrinal changes, which they view as an "increase of light" - an increase of knowledge - from God, and evidence of their chosen status as "God's organization". It is evidence indeed of the power this organization wields over its membership that it can take something that so obviously shows the absence of any divine guidance and instead offer it as proof of the exact opposite. What is very clearly perceived by the objective observer as doctrinal error heaped upon doctrinal error is truly believed by individual Jehovah's Witnesses to be an evidence of God's direction of the Watchtower Society!

The Watchtower Society's façade is effective only to a point, however. Doctrinal changes that do not contradict previously held "truths" are quickly embraced by the average believer; but those that supplant previously held beliefs run a higher risk of prompting some level of dissention among even the more fervent of the rank-and-file. And what about "new light" that is actually a reversion to what is held to be doctrinal error - 'darkness', or 'old light'? Those doctrinal changes that actually revert to a previously held but discarded belief have the potential to disenchant all but the most ardent of supporters. It is this threat that the Watchtower Society addresses with their "tacking in the wind" analogy in the December 1, 1981 Watchtower magazine quoted above, and it is this that will be considered in the balance of this essay. The view presented in the December 1 Watchtower  is most certainly the commonly held view of individual Jehovah's Witnesses; the belief that while Watchtower doctrine has at times "shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view...this has NOT ACTUALLY BEEN THE CASE." This essay will test this notion, and in so doing, will once again place the honesty of the Watchtower Society on trial.1

The first of the doctrines, or "explanations given by Jehovah's visible organization", to be considered is the Society's teaching on the 13th chapter of Romans. More specifically, the identity of the "higher powers" ("superior authorities", NWT) of Romans 13.

Consider the following rhetoric offered by the Watchtower Society:

For some years, until 1962, Jehovah's Witnesses held that the superior authorities were Jehovah God and Christ Jesus. However, in line with Proverbs 4:18 light increased, and this view was adjusted which may raise questions in the minds of some. Are we now correct in saying that these authorities are the kings, presidents, prime ministers, mayors, magistrates, and others who wield secular, political power in the world and that we owe them subjection in a relative way? Irenaeus...viewed the superior authorities as "actual human authorities." The context of Paul's words shows that Irenaeus was correct.The Watchtower, November 1, 1990, page 11.

From this, the Watchtower Society would have its members believe that "new light" flashed forth brilliantly in 1962, as God revealed to the leaders of the Watchtower Society that the "superior authorities" or "higher powers" of Romans 13 are actually secular, "worldly" authorities (i.e. earthly governments), rather than being "Jehovah God and Christ Jesus" as the Society had taught prior to 1962. It is noteworthy that this so-called increase of light merely brought the Society's view in line with the position of the mainstream Christian churches (viewed as false religion by Jehovah's Witnesses). Prior to 1962, the Christian clergy was for decades the subject of derision at the hands of Watchtower writers for taking the very view of Romans 13 that the Watchtower Society here adopts.2 The irony is no doubt lost on the Witnesses. The article goes on to quote from several Bible translations of "Christendom" to support the doctrinal change.

What is even more noteworthy for the purposes of this essay is the introduction of the above quotation: "For some years," so says the Society, "until 1962," Watchtower doctrine held that the "superior authorities were Jehovah God and Christ Jesus." The reader is left with the deliberate impression that this was a consistent belief prior to 1962. And this impression accords with the assertion in the December 1, 1981 issue of The Watchtower  that even though adjustments have been made "seemingly to previous points of view...this has NOT ACTUALLY BEEN THE CASE."

But is what the Watchtower Society implies true? Is it true that Watchtower doctrine on Romans 13 was consistent prior to 1962? Clearly, the new explanation of Romans 13 contradicts the pre-1962 explanation. (This in itself is significant,3 since beginning in 1962, Jehovah's Witnesses were required to make an about-face on an issue they had carried to the doors as God's truth, in some cases for many years.) Examining the record shows that not only does the 1962 "adjustment" contradict the previous view, but that it is also a reversion to a previously held and previously discarded view. The view that the higher powers of Romans chapter 13 were "Jehovah and Christ Jesus" had been held only since 1929; prior to that time, Watchtower doctrine held the higher powers of Romans 13 to be earthly governments.

The very position the Society abandoned and deemed to be doctrinal error in 1929, they heralded as an increase of "light" in 1962!   Consider the following statements made by the Watchtower Society in the 1950s:

Timely was the new light of truth on the subject of the "higher powers" published in The Watch Tower for June 1 and June 15, 1929, showing clearly that Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are the true "superior authorities" that must be obeyed.The Watchtower, June 15, 1955, page 367-368.
When God's witnesses perceived that Jehovah and Christ Jesus were the true "higher powers" to whom Christians must be subject, another heavy and grievous weight was lifted from the shoulders of his people. (Rom 13:1) No longer did corrupt politicians wrongly occupy that position in the minds of God's servants...The Watchtower, January 1, 1951, page 21.

Despite the fact that the 1929 doctrinal shift was presented as "new light of TRUTH", "showing CLEARLY" that the superior authorities were "Jehovah God and Christ Jesus," this is now necessarily considered darkness. Despite the fact that worldly governments - "corrupt politicians" - were said to have "WRONGLY [occupied] that position in the minds of God's servants", the Watchtower Society now says this is the right position for those "corrupt politicians."

The Society's stance on Romans 13, then, can be summarized as follows:

Prior to 1929:  Higher powers are earthly governments.
1929-1962:  Higher powers are Jehovah God and Christ Jesus.
1962-current:  Higher powers are earthly governments.

It should not be overlooked that both the 1929 and 1962 doctrinal changes were said by the Watchtower Society to be resultant of an increasing of "light" - this being the descriptive terminology used by the Watchtower Society to attribute a doctrinal shift to God. What are the ramifications of such a claim? Did Jehovah God reveal error to "His organization" under the guise of "new light of truth"? How absurd; yet the Watchtower Society is on record as claiming just that! "Timely was the new light of truth on the subject of the 'higher powers'...showing clearly that Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are the true 'superior authorities'..."

Are not the words of Jesus at Luke 11:35 apropos? "Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness." (NLT)

The next doctrine to be considered is the Society's position on the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt 25:31-46); specifically, the separating of the sheep and the goats. Prior to 1995, the Society had taught that this separating of sheep and goats depicted in Matthew 25 was currently taking place, and in fact the basis for Christ's judgement was the reaction of persons to the message of the Jehovah's Witnesses. This doctrine obviously gave tremendous impetus to the proselytizing efforts of individual Jehovah's Witnesses who were told that their work was RIGHT NOW being used as the measuring stick by which the enthroned Christ was eternally judging the nations. However, in 1995, we again see an "adjustment" in Watchtower doctrine that brings the Society's position in line with mainstream Christianity - once again, the Watchtower's "increasing light" serves only to conform the Jehovah's Witness view to that of Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and the other mainstream Christian denominations - all of which are deemed as "pagan", and part of the Devil's false religious empire by the Jehovah's Witnesses.4

As of 1995, the Watchtower position on the separating of the sheep and the goats is that this is a future event that will take place after the tribulation:

We have long felt that the parable depicted Jesus' sitting down as King in 1914 and since then making judgements - everlasting life for people proving to be like sheep, permanent death for the goats. But a reconsideration of the parable points to an adjusted understanding of its timing and what it illustrates.The Watchtower, October 15, 1995, page 19.view
Does this parable apply when Jesus sat down in kingly power in 1914, as we have long understood?...nothing indicates that at that time, or for that matter since, Jesus sat to judge people of all the nations finally as sheep or goats.5The Watchtower, October 15, 1995, page 22.view
...the rendering of judgement on the sheep and the goats is future. It will take place after "the tribulation" mentioned at Matthew 24:29,30... The Watchtower, October 15, 1995, page 23.view

As with the Society's explanation of the "higher powers" of Romans 13, examining the doctrinal history of the organization shows that the supposed enlightenment of 1995 is only a reversion to a position that had already been debunked and discarded as doctrinal error. Consider the following pre-1995 statements from the Society on Matthew 25:31-46:

As light kept increasing, they appreciated more and more the importance of publishing Jehovah's name, and his kingdom as mankind's only hope. ... More accurate understanding of Jesus' parables also resulted. An outstanding example involved the parable of the sheep and the goats, as recorded at Matthew 25:31-46. It had long been thought that this parable would be fulfilled during Christ's 1,000-year reign. But then Jehovah's Witnesses saw that it simply could not apply at that time. ... So it must be fulfilled now, as the enthroned Jesus in heaven gathers the nations for judgment, and this is borne out by the observable facts in fulfillment.The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, page 23-25.
In the year 1905 it was thought that that parable would apply during the Millennial Reign of Christ after "the war of the great day of God the Almighty" at the battlefield of Har-Magedon. (Revelation 16:14-16) However, we must bear in mind that the parable of the sheep and the goats was the final part of Jesus' answer to his disciples' question as to what would be the sign of his "presence and of the conclusion of the system of things." (Matthew 24:3) So the fulfillment of this parable must be realized during this conclusion of the system of things that started in the year 1914.The Watchtower, February 15, 1984, page 17.

This view that the judgement of Matthew 25 depicted a future event was rejected as a false teaching in 1923, and as is the norm when Watchtower leaders make doctrinal "adjustments", the new view (which is now the old view; i.e., that the parable was currently taking place) was hailed as "illumination" from God:

For the anointed remnant [i.e. Watchtower leaders] who had begun to enter into the modern antitype of the festival of booths, spiritual illumination from Jehovah's heavenly temple beamed forth. It was during the gathering in of the spiritual class prefigured by Ruth and Esther that Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats, as recorded in Matthew 25:31-46, was given special illumination for the enlightenment of their understanding. At the 1923 general convention that was held in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., the president of the Watch Tower Society, now free for four years from imprisonment in the Atlanta (Ga.) penitentiary, discussed the illustration of the sheep and the goats. It did not have to wait until the millennial reign of Jesus Christ for fulfillment to begin. The sheeplike class was already then forming.The Watchtower, February 15, 1980, page 19.
Since they have produced the fruits of God's Kingdom, Jehovah has blessed them richly by bringing them up to date in "the greatly diversified wisdom of God."-Ephesians 3:10. Thus, in 1923 Jesus' great prophecy about the sheep and the goats was properly understood, and it was discerned that the whole world was under judgment. (Matthew 25:31-46)The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, page 14.
The Lord revealed to his people the meaning of the parable of the sheep and the goats, showing how the "sheep" only would be spared by Jehovah when his wrath is expressed at Armageddon. All this information came not from or by man, but by the Lord God...The Watchtower, February 1, 1938, page 35.view
Stirring up increasing interest in them, Jehovah caused to be preached from 1918 onward the startling public message "Millions Now Living Will Never Die," and in 1923 he provided the interpretation of "the parable of the sheep and the goats." (Matt. 25:31-46)The Watchtower, November 15, 1955, page 698.

Watchtower leaders laid direct responsibility for the doctrinal change of 1923 on Jehovah God: "Jehovah...provided the interpretation of 'the parable of the sheep and the goats.'" Yet in 1995 they said this interpretation which God had provided was a false teaching for which there was no scriptural support. They debunked and discarded Jehovah's interpretation of the parable of the sheep and the goats, and instead adopted the contemporary Christian view of Matthew 25:31-46, as held by Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, etc. And lest we forget, they reverted back to the very doctrine they themselves had already rejected and abandoned  in 1923; this, of course, flying in the face of their claim in the December 1, 1981 Watchtower magazine: "At times explanations given by [the Watchtower Society] have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view. But this has NOT ACTUALLY BEEN THE CASE."

The Society's view of Matthew 25:31-46, then, may be summarized thusly:

Prior to 1923:  Parable of the sheep and the goats refers to a future event, occurring after the tribulation.
1923-1995:  Parable of the sheep and the goats refers to the present time (post-1914).
1995-current:  Parable of the sheep and the goats refers to a future event, occurring after the tribulation.

These are but two of numerous examples that may be pointed to; but these two are enough to draw a conclusion. Clearly, "explanations given by Jehovah's visible organization" have indeed shown adjustments "to previous points of view", despite the Society's claim to the contrary in the December 1, 1981 issue of The Watchtower magazine. For a Jehovah's Witness, there is no assurance that what is taught today will be considered truth tomorrow, nor indeed is there even assurance that old refuted, discarded doctrines will not be resurrected at some point in the future, dusted off, and heralded as "new light" from God.

Ephesians 4:14 reads: So then, we may no longer be children, tossed like ships to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, the prey of the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, gamblers engaged in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead. (AMP)

The Watchtower Society likens their ever-shifting doctrine to a ship, "tacking in the wind". But I can't help but think that Paul had already hit the nail squarely on the head.

Footnotes

1. For previous looks at the honesty of the Watchtower Society, look here and here.

2. Consider the following as representative of the Watchtower view of the Christian "clergy" for holding the very view of Romans 13 that the Society would later adopt:

The above quotations from Paul's letter to the Romans could never have applied to the political powers of Caesar's world as wrongly claimed by the clergy of Christendom.The Watchtower, June 15, 1952, page 376.
Their followers, through clergy influence, treat these leaders as the "higher powers" or "superior authorities". (Rom. 13:1, NW) But the Bible clearly brands this as a fraud and shows the people have thus been made "slaves to those who by nature are not gods" and thus restrained from obtaining God's true provision for everlasting life, "the salvation that is in union with Christ Jesus."The Watchtower, November 15, 1952, page 676.
As in former times, so now the most fervent apostles and high priests of this shackle-binding dogma have been and are the clergy of both the Eastern and Western blocs of Christendom. These lettered men of theology try to prove their point by citing certain texts from the Bible. For example, they point to the ancient pagan rulers, Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, saying Jehovah made them kings over Babylon and Persia. (Dan. 2:37, 38; 5:18, 19; Jer. 27:5-13, 17; 2 Chron. 36:22, 23, AS; Ezra 1:1, 2) 'Render to Caesar what is Caesar's,' the clergy chirp parrotlike, and 'let everyone be subject to the higher powers'. (Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1) But, lacking understanding, these modern-day Pharisees have misapplied the Scriptures. ... Make no mistake about this, the true "higher powers" or "superior authorities" to whom Christians are commanded to subject themselves in worship are Jehovah God and Christ Jesus!The Watchtower, May 1, 1951, page 275.

3. It would likely come as a surprise to individual Jehovah's Witnesses that first president of the Watchtower Society, Charles T. Russell, who originated the concept of "new light" had this to say:

If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us; undoubtedly one human idea would contradict another and that which was light one or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now: But with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any knowledge or light coming from God must be like its author. A new view of truth never can contradict a former truth. "New light" never extinguishes older "light" but adds to it. ... So it is with the light of truth; the true increase is by adding to, not by substituting one for another.Zion's Watch Tower, February 1881, page 188.

View a scan of the February 1881 Zion's Watch Tower  here.

4. Note the following:

Christendom is really a disguised form of pagan religion, clothing itself with Christian garments but underneath holding fast to pagan religious beliefs and practices.The Watchtower, November 1, 1968, page 647.
Part of Satan's world is the earth-wide system of false religion he has built up for centuries, including Christendom and her clergy.The Watchtower, February 1, 1990, page 17

5. It appears to this commentator as a tremendous slap in the face to those Jehovah's Witnesses who for years - even decades - accepted without question the Watchtower Society's doctrine on the timing of the parable of the sheep and the goats to now be told by their Watchtower leaders that there is in fact "NOTHING" to indicate such a judging was going on. And if indeed there is "nothing" indicating support for the pre-1995 Watchtower doctrine on Matthew 25:31-46, then what of the "support" offered by the Watchtower Society prior to 1995 as evidence of the correctness of their pre-1995 view? Truly, how can trust be extended an organization that spends decades proffering "proof" of its rightness, only to do a doctrinal about-face and then claim there is nothing indicating the rightness of its previous view? What of the reams of other "proofs" currently being waved about as support for various other Watchtower doctrines? Are they too only waiting to be disregarded as "nothing" and swept under the theological mat?

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