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Who is Your Mediator? |
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How often have you prayed to Jehovah God in the Name of Jesus Christ? Most Witnesses would say hundreds of times. Certainly, this is biblical since Jesus Himself told His disciples to pray to the Father in His Name. But what if you were told that Jesus is not your Savior, that you cannot approach God through Him, or, that, unlike Christians, someday you must stand before Jehovah without Jesus interceding on your behalf? Unless you are one of the 144,000 listening to this message, this is exactly your spiritual predicament according to Watchtower teachings. What do I mean by this? Hidden from many Jehovah’s Witnesses is the Society’s teaching that Jesus is the mediator for only a select few, those the Organization regards as Spiritual Israel, that is, the 144,000 anointed ones. The Watchtower, April 1, 1979, p.31, states, “Christ....is the “mediator of a new covenant” between Jehovah and spiritual Israel, the “Israel of God” that will serve as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus....So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the “mediator” only for anointed Christians....The “great crowd” of “other sheep” that is forming today is not in that new covenant.” (See also: The Watchtower, February 15, 1991, p. 18) There you have it. According to the Watchtower, Jesus is the mediator only for the 144,000! By the stroke of a pen, the Society has stripped away Jesus’ unique role as mediator from over 6 million faithful followers worldwide. However, the Watchtower hasn’t left millions of people out in the cold, but has created a substitute mediator in place of Jesus. This substitute is not one person, but a Christ class, an anointed remnant still alive on the earth. These men and women, mostly in their 80s by now, make up an elite group that now act as the go-between, on behalf of God and man. Similar to the Catholic Church, the Watchtower has created a class of popes to intercede for the rank and file members. They have been given special power by the Watchtower to act not only as the mediator, but as a secondary Savior for mankind. The Watchtower, November 15, 1979, p.27, says, “To keep in relationship with “our Savior, God,” the “great crowd” needs to remain united with the remnant of spiritual Israelites”. Did you hear that? Your relationship with Jehovah is dependent upon your continued attachment to the anointed brethren. So important is this union with the anointed, that The Watchtower, August 1, 1981, p.26, says, “Your attitude toward the wheatlike anointed “brothers” of Christ and the treatment you accord them will be the determining factor as to whether you go into “everlasting cutting-off” or receive “everlasting life”. Wow! Just your attitude alone toward the 144,000 has the power to either save you or damn you for all eternity! Jesus, Our Only Mediator What does the bible have to say about all this. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a corresponding ransom for all”. The Word of God is very clear. The mediator between God and all humanity is one person, Jesus Christ. Not a class, not a privileged group, but the man Jesus Christ. Jesus is available as the mediator for all mankind- not just a select group. He is willing and able to intercede on behalf of all men and women who ever lived. The Society disagrees with this. It has even gone as far as adding words to 1 Timothy 2:5, citing it as, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men [not, all men]....”. The Watchtower, November 15, 1979, p.22. Again, the bible is clear. We don’t have to be affiliated or in unity with any earthly man or slave class to have a relationship with God. 1 John 5:1 says that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God. Jesus warned us that in the end, “Many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:5). Jesus knew 2000 years ago that conniving men would rise up in the last days claiming to be the way to God. He knew that these men would try to steal away your allegiance to Him, rob you of a relationship with God and deprive you of eternal salvation. Isn’t this exactly what the Watchtower has done- setting itself up as the messiah whereby all men must come to gain access to God? Tower To Truth |