After the death of the last apostle, and the disappearance of the apostolic authority, many different Christian denominations emerged and this continues to this day. Dozens, then hundreds, and thousands conflicting points of view of the nature of God, salvation and morals were co-existing. They, of course, cannot all please God. They cannot all be following the teachings of Christ.
At the same time, the Lord predicted there would be a day when he would be inspecting his temple, meaning he would examine all those who professed to be anointed by the Spirit.
This day came in 1919, the year after the first World War. That great massacre truly was the catalyst that triggered Christ to come and see what the Churches were teaching and how their members reacted during the war. Among all the denominations that were active on earth, only one caught the attention of Christ. It was not the wealthiest, it was not the most numerous, but it was the most sincere and the most watchful. Why?
The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Protestant Churches, the Oriental Churches…all have been active for centuries. They had plenty of ressources, plenty of time and plenty of opportunities to teach the fundamental truths about God and his Kingdom. But despite that, none of them was doing that in spite of their longetivity. But here was a tiny group of students of the Bible who, with their limited means and facing numerous opposition, overcame what seemed to be insurmontable obstacles and were spreading the true Gospel. Only this small fellowship of studious Christians had the courage to carefully examine the Scriptures so as to return to the original doctrines of Jesus Christ, stripping away traditions that had piled up over the centuries that dishonored Jehovah God.
The Associated Bible Students, as the congregation was called, were the only ones who taught that:
• Jehovah is the name of the only true God.
• The Kingdom of God is a heavenly realm that will soon rule over the earth.
• The dead are unconscious and awaiting a resurrection.
• Military service and political involvment must be avoided.
• Christians have to spread the Good News to their neighbors.
They have been associated for a few years and they had already understood these vital facts, while other churches who had been here longer intead taught that God is a mysterious trinity, that the souls of the damned are either in purgatory or a fiery hell, that Christians can engage with the political systems and conflicts of this world, and that the Kingdom of God is the Church.
So it is no surprise that the Lord Jesus was pleased with them, for they had the desire for truth and worship God according to his will, not according to the traditions of man. Hence, Jesus selected them specifically to feed his sheep as the prophecied ‘Faithful and Discreet Slave’, all while refining their understand and organization over the years. And that is how, today, Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to be guided by the head of the Congregation until they are gathered up into Heaven for some, and survive the Great Tribulation unto Paradise earth for others.