OUT OF THE WATCHTOWERINTO WHAT?

epending on how long you were in the Watchtower organization, coming out can put you face-to-face
with some really tough decisions. I know, because I came out after thirteen yearsmost of my adult
lifeas an active Witness. The big question for those coming out is: Where do we go from here?

Some jump out of the frying pan into the fire, getting involved with drugs, immorality, drunkenness, etc. The
Watchtower Society loves to point to these ones as examples of what happens when you leave the Truth.
Some others who leave suffer nervous breakdownsthe strain is so great. Some start out on a new search for
God's true organization, going from one church to another, and being continually disappointed. Some
find an organization or denomination that seems to have the real truth. Many are disillusioned with all
religion and try to live a normal life by giving attention to family, home and job, while leaving God out of the
picture.
All of these responses are common and typical for individuals suddenly set free from an organization that has
tightly controlled their lives. If you find yourself described here, you are not alone.
Or, perhaps you are one who is still in the organization of Jehovahs Witnesses, dissatisfied, but afraid to leave
because you are thinking, Whom shall we go away to? The Watchtower Society alone has the sayings of
everlasting life. The Society itself has led you to this conclusion by painting a negative picture of all other
religious groups and then saying:
Rather, the record that the faithful and discreet slave organization has made for the past more
than 100 years forces us to the conclusion that Peter expressed when Jesus asked if his apostles
wanted to leave him, namely, Whom shall we go away to? (John 6:66-69) No question about
it. We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need
outside the faithful and discreet slave organization. The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 19
It is this view of things that makes it so difficult for Jehovahs Witnesses to leave the organizationand so
confusing and even frightening for those who do leave. Whom shall we go away to? No one!, is the
Societys answer, drilled into each Witness through constant repetition. Our organization is the only way, the
only truth, the only life.
But, in making such claims about itself, the Watchtower Society is actually giving us a clue as to whom we can
go away to. The Scriptural thoughts that they apply to themselves, actually apply to Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. Jesus is the One the disciples were talking to when they said, Lord, whom shall we go away to? You
have sayings of everlasting life; and we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.
(John 6:68-69 New World Translation) They were not speaking of an organization. And the Truth is not an
organization, either. Scripture identifies Jesus Himself as the Way and the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6
Modern Language Bible)
As Witnesses we were taught that people had to come to Jehovahs organization for salvation (The
Watchtower, November 15, 1981, p. 21) but Jesus actually said, No one comes to the Father except through
me. (John 14:6) The Society taught us that accurate knowledge was the key, but Jesus told the Pharisees,
You are searching the Scriptures, because you think that by means of them you will have everlasting life; and
1
1998 David A. Reed. - www.cftf.com - Comments from the Friends
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OUT OF THE WATCHTOWERINTO WHAT?

these are the very ones that bear witness about me. And yet you do not want to come to me that you may have
life. (John 5:39-40 NWT)
So, what is the point? The point is this: The way of salvation that Jesus proclaimed was not through
organizational membership or accurate knowledge of the Scripturesalthough both of these enter into it. In
order to gain life, people had to come to Jesus personally. Under the new covenant arrangement there would
be no other way to the Father, except through Jesus.
Compare the old Jewish system of things with the Watchtower Society of today. Jews were in a special
relationship with Jehovah (or, more correctly, Yahweh) by virtue of being members of the nation of Israel,
studying the Scriptures, and keeping Gods laws. Likewise, Jehovahs Witnesses of today are taught that they
have a special relationship with God by virtue of association with the Watchtower Society, studying its
publications, and keeping Gods laws (as interpreted by the Society). The Watchtower continues to mirror the
Jewish arrangement, ignoring the new way of approach to God opened up through Jesus Christ.
God sent His Son to earth to fulfill the new covenant prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 31. Under this new
covenant they will all of them know me, from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them, is the
utterance of Jehovah. For I shall forgive their error, and their sin I shall remember no more. (verse 34 NW)
All sorts of sinful peopleeven prostitutes and corrupt tax collectorscame to Jesus and received forgiveness
of their sins. The forgiveness was a free gift, not earned by good works. This angered the Jewish religious
leaders who wanted people to seek righteousness through the works program they had outlined to them. But
those who accepted Jesus as their Savior rejoiced and were overjoyed to feel the burden of sin lifted off their
shoulders.
Besides promising forgiveness of sins, the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:34 also said, they will all of them know
me, from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them, is the utterance of Jehovah. This did not
mean just additional details of knowledge or information about God, but actually knowing God personally.
How? By personally living with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, on a day-to-day basis. When Philip asked to see
the Father, Jesus answered, Have I been with you men so long a time, and yet, Philip, you have not come to
know me? He that has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9 NW)
Those who actually lived with Jesus (who is the exact representation of the FatherHeb. 1:3) could get to
know God in this new intimate way that was not possible for people who just searched the Scriptures as the
Pharisees did. (John 5:39) It was like the difference between a man who has studied everything ever written
about the President of the United States, and another man who has read nothing but who plays golf with the
President every Saturday and knows him as a friend. The knowing Jehovah that Jeremiah prophesied about is
this sort of close, personal relationship with God through His Son.
And Jeremiah was not offering a new covenant for just a handful of men in the First Century. Rather, it would
be Gods way of dealing with men from that time onward. When Jesus was killed, the disciples feared that that
marked the end of their intimate relationship with God through His Son. But they were wrong. Jesus rose to
2
1998 David A. Reed. - www.cftf.com - Comments from the Friends
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OUT OF THE WATCHTOWERINTO WHAT?

life again on the third day, renewed His close friendship with those disciples, and began expanding that
relationship to include others.
For example, Pauls relationship with God through His Son began when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to
Damascus. And that was not the end of Pauls contact with the Son of Godit was only the beginning. Later
on, Paul told of occasions when the Lord stood near me and infused power into me (2 Tim. 4: 17 NW), and
when Paul spoke to the Lord about his thorn in the flesh. (2 Cor. 12:8-9) As a zealous Jew, Paul had had a
relationship with God before, but only from a distance. Now, as a Christian, he really knew God.
Stephen saw Jesus in a vision during his trial. Some time later, after his trial broke up and he was brought
outside the city, Stephen called out to Jesus. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit. And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
(Acts 7:59-60 RSV) There is no indication that the earlier vision was repeated then. Rather, Stephen had an ongoing relationship with Jesus and felt free to call upon Him.
Were Paul and Stephen unique in having a personal relationship with the Son of God, calling upon Jesus in time
of need? Evidently not, as Paul described Christians as those who everywhere are calling upon the name of
our Lord, Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 1:2 New World Translation)
Jesus promised this continuing relationship with His disciples: For where there are two or three gathered
together in my name, there I am in their midst. (Matt. 18:20 NW) In fact, we have Jesus promise that he that
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will plainly show myself to himand my Father
will love him, and we shall come to him and make our abode with him. (John 14:21-23 NW) The Living Bible
paraphrases it this way: When I come back to life againI will only reveal myself to those who love and obey
me. The Father will love them too, and we will come to them and live with them. (verses 20-23)
Jesus does not usually reveal himself to people today in a blinding light, as he appeared to Paul on the road to
Damascus. Rather, it is more as described at Galatians 4:6God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, Abba! Father! (Revised Standard Version)
At first I was afraid to approach God in prayer to confess my sin and ask Jesus into my heart as my Savior and
Lord. Due to my Watchtower training, I was afraid of receiving a demonic spirit. But then I read Jesus words
at Luke 11: 10-13For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or it he
asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (RSV) So, I
prayed and received Jesus into my heart. I experienced a personal fulfillment of Galatians 4:6 and came to
know God as my Father in a way that I had never known before.
So, the Gospel of the Christian Scriptures, the new covenant that Jeremiah 31 foretold, is not a new set of
doctrines to learn or new facts about God (although many Watchtower doctrines need to be unlearned). Rather,
it is a salvation that includes a new life right now, as a new creature by virtue of being born again and living a
new Spirit-filled life.
3
1998 David A. Reed. - www.cftf.com - Comments from the Friends
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WITNESSES FOR JESUS, INC.

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OUT OF THE WATCHTOWERINTO WHAT?

Jesus introduced this new life when He told Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the Kingdom of GodExcept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:3-7 KJV)
All of those who come into the new covenant undergo this change: You, however, are controlled not by your
sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a
slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit who makes you sons. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The
Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Romans 8:9-11, 14-16 NIV)
When you are born again, you are a babe in Christ at first. And just as toddlers tend to fall while learning to
walk, so it is with learning to walk in the Spirit. But the Father will help you grow as His child. You will form
a longing for the Word, and the Holy Spirit will teach you as you read. You will see more and more clearly that
Jesus could not be merely the first angelic creation, as the Watchtower teaches, but that He is, as doubting
Thomas finally came to believe, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28 New World Translation)
Besides learning more about God and growing in love for Him, you will also come to see yourself as part of the
body of Christ. This is the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. (Heb. 12:23 NIV) The
true church, Christs body, crosses denominational lines and includes individuals both in and out of the various
religious organizations that men have set up. It is composed of all those who look to Christ as Head, who have
been baptized by one Spirit into one body. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot
should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part
of the body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. (1 Cor. 12: 12-21 NIV) So we need our
brothers and sisters in Christ, even if we see ourselves as quite different from them.
After years in the Watchtower organization where independent thinkingquestioning the counsel that is
provided by [the] organization is not tolerated (Watchtower, January 15, 1983, p. 22), it may be difficult at first
to adopt this scriptural view of our brothers in Christ: If a persons faith is not strong enough, welcome him all
the same without starting an argument. People range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat to
those whose faith is so weak they dare not eat anything except vegetables. Meat eaters must not despise the
scrupulous. On the other hand, the scrupulous must not condemn those who feel free to eat anything they
choose, since God has welcomed them. It is not for you to condemn someone elses servant. If one man
keeps certain days as holier than others, and another considers all days to be equally holy, each must be left free
to hold his own opinion. (Rom. 14: 1-5 Jerusalem Bible) If you have this view of the brotherhood, then as you
fellowship with other Christiansboth strong and weakyou will find that you are mutually encouraged by
each others faith. (Rom. 1:12 NIV)

4
1998 David A. Reed. - www.cftf.com - Comments from the Friends
Reprinted and posted on our website by permission.
WITNESSES FOR JESUS, INC.

PO BOX 50911
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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80949 USA

OUT OF THE WATCHTOWERINTO WHAT?

Ask the Lord to guide you into the fellowship He wants you to be in. He will answer your prayer. Of course,
He may put you into a local congregation like the one in Corinth, where the gifts of the Spirit were being
misused and where the Lords Supper was not being celebrated properly. (1 Cor. 14:23, 11:20) Or, He may
send you into a church like the one in Pergamum, where corrupt practices and false teachings prevailed among
some members. (Rev. 2:14, 15) Or, you may find yourself in a congregation like the one in Sardis that had a
reputation of being alive but was actually dead. (Rev. 3: 1 NIV) Such experiences can help you to grow and
to deepen your personal relationship with Jesus as Lord. Bear what you have to bear as chasteningas
Gods dealing with you as sons, part of your training from the Father. (Heb. 12:7 J.B. Phillips)
We all should admit, as Paul the Apostle did, that we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if
we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness,
face to face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as
God sees into my heart right now. (1 Cor. 13: 12 Living Bible) So, while accurate knowledge of every detail
is not yet available, it is the Christians privilege to know God through a close, personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. If you have not yet done so, tell God right now that you need Jesus as your Savior, and receive
Him as your Lord. He invites you: Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will
give you rest. (Matt. 11:28 TEV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:20 KJV) In turn he that loves
me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will plainly show myself to him. (John 14:21 NW)

5
1998 David A. Reed. - www.cftf.com - Comments from the Friends
Reprinted and posted on our website by permission.
WITNESSES FOR JESUS, INC.

PO BOX 50911
4Jehovah.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80949 USA