"Leader" vs. "Taking the Lead"

[Jack Ryan]

Jesus is "the leader", while the Governing Body are merely "those taking the lead".. what, exactly, is the difference between a "leader" vs. "one who is taking the lead"?.

 

[Evacuated]

2 hours ago, Jay Witness said:

what, exactly, is the difference between a "leader" vs. "one who is taking the lead"?.

In terms of the Christian congregation, compare 2Cor.5:20.

Or: 

deputy (noun): a person who is appointed to undertake the duties of a superior in the superior's absence

[Guest-00]

At Heb 13: 17 The phrase "be obedient to those taking the lead" can also be rendered "Be obedient to those who are governors of you" or "your governors". There used to be a cross reference to Matthew 2: 6. "Governing one". The phrase "taking the lead" is probably to avoid confusion, since  "our leader is one, the Christ". Some friends are assuming that the removal of many of the old cross references must mean a change in thinking for those passages. There are large numbers of them now gone. However, the old cross reference to Heb 13: 17 is still valid though, since it's a translation issue not a doctrinal one. The Greek word is the same in Matthew 2: 6. The KIT also remains unchanged as "governing".

This weeks mid-week meeting mentions the "two families" in Jeremiah. There was an old cross reference to Ezekiel associating the "two families" with the "two sticks" - one for "Joseph" and the other for "Judah" - that become one. We recently adjusted our understanding of the "two sticks" but the content for the meeting is based on references from 2007... (See reference Bible Jeremiah 33: 24 cross reference Ezekiel 37: 19) However, this is clearly a doctrinal issue. (See "Questions From Readers" Pp 31-32 JULY Study WT 2016) The adjustment shows that the northern and southern parts of Israel became one nation when they returned to Jerusalem in 537 BCE. A parallel is drawn to our day, stating that from 1919 CE onward God's people have been gradually reorganised and reunited. Judah refers to the Heavenly hopers or "little flock" and Joseph refers to the Earthly hopers or "other sheep". This adjustment didn't really sit well because it had so many repercussions or ripples. One major one, being that in order for the modern Judah and Joseph to be brought together, it would mean that the "other sheep" was always a separate group that existed prior to the "Spiritual Babylonian Exile" that we also recently adjusted to run from circa 2nd century ending in 1919 CE. If true, then there were "other sheep" during the first century too, existing as a separate group with a separate hope. (See article "Called Out of Darkness" Pp 21 - 25 NOVEMBER Study WT 2016) To be clear, in order to bring the two [modern] sticks together, they both had to exist prior to being apart.

I don't necessarily think that the removal of many cross references means adjustments ahead. Some undoubtedly will, but some, I think, were just part of simplifying them down. 

 

 

[Evacuated]

4 hours ago, Reo Raifha said:

This weeks mid-week meeting mentions the "two families" in Jeremiah

and this is quite clearly explained in the Watchtower with reference to the context:

*** w07 3/15 p. 11 par. 4 Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah ***
What are “the two families” spoken of here? One is the royal family through the line of King David, and the other, the priestly family of the descendants of Aaron. With the destruction of Jerusalem and Jehovah’s temple, it appeared that Jehovah had rejected these two families and would no longer have a kingdom over the earth or have his worship revived.

Paralleling this scripture with the discussion in Ezekiel regarding the "two sticks" seems to be mostly inappropriate, save the general principle regarding the unity enjoyed by those who serve Jehovah, regardless of family, status, role in service etc.

What you have highlighted however, is the vitally important need to use the most up to date tools available to us at this time. I had noticed adjustments to these cross-references but not really considered the significance of this in a doctorinal setting. Thanks for doing this. Someone may be inclined to research the changes in cross references at some time and hopefully publish them. It won't be me, but I would definitely review a such a list of these with interest.

I am giving a positive reputation to your post for this one fact alone.

With regard to doctorinal ripples due to the adjustment in understanding the "Babylonish captivity", I am confident any adjustments to our understanding will be clarified in due time, and will make complete sense once that is done. 

 

[Guest-00]

Re: Ripples

Sure, it's just a matter of time, however, if too many big changes are made without first clarifying all it's connecting concepts, it could get quite messy. It's already quite confusing for some, since the "Faithful Slave" adjustment. We still get brothers giving talks with old material as references  some evidently not aware something has changed since that outline came out...

 

I'm working - by working I mean taking forever - on a database that will contain all major concepts and their connecting concepts, showing previous and current connections. Just purely for my personal interest hehe hence it's taking forever lol