HAS GOD EVER ORDAINED A WOMAN WITNESS?

Women, according to the Scriptures, played important roles both among the Israelites and the early Christians but never was any woman ordained by God to hold the office of a prophet, priest, teacher, apostle or witness. This indisputable fact further exposes the fallacy of the Watchtower Society.

The witnesses of God are His faithful servants who are specifically chosen and anointed by Him for the purpose of imparting His knowledge to mankind. They must be wholly devoted to the Lord’s service. No woman has ever been ordained by God to occupy such an office. When God said, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10) He was not referring to any woman. In fact, among His prophets and priests in ancient Israel there was not woman.

Diligent and understanding students of the Bible know that references to some few women such as Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Anna and so on, as prophetesses were made in error by translators. None of them was ordained and sent by God as a prophetess to accomplish a specific mission.

What Miriam did was that she led the women of Israel in a victory dance after the Egyptians were drowned in the Red sea. (Exodus 15:20) There was no time God ordained her. And when she purported to make herself equal to Moses the prophet and claimed that she too was God’s mouthpiece, she was denounced by God outright and was punished with leprosy. – Numbers 12:1-10

Deborah too was not ordained by God and she herself never made such a claim. It was when the Israelites had fallen out of God’s favour because of the transgressions that they in their confusion went to her as an elderly and experienced woman for advice. She was not presumptuous and so she urged Barak to lead until they were delivered from their enemies. – Judges 4:1-4, 14:16, 5:12

That Israel allowed a woman to be its judge was very shameful. It showed how sin could bring men low. And God said: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” – Isaiah 3:12

Space will not permit more explanations of other instances. The place of women in God’s order of things is so well defined in the Holy Bible that there should be no room for confusion or doubt for those who have the understanding. God has always ordained men to take the lead as His prophets or witnesses. Although the Watchtower Society knows this fact yet in practice it continues, obstinately, to do the very opposite.

Let us consider the following excerpts from the book Life Everlasting In Freedom of The Sons of God Punishment by the Watchtower Society: “The first one whom God raised up to prophesy as a witness of Jehovah was a man, whose name was Enoch… The one whom Jehovah God raised up to liberate the twelve tribes of Israel from Egyptian slavery was a man, Moses the son of Amram. (Exodus 2:1 to 3:22, Hebrews 11:23-28) The ones whom God chose to do priestly service to him in behalf of the nation of Israel were men, the man Aaron and his sons… God made no arrangement for priestesses… It was also this man Moses whom God designated to write the first five books of the Holy Bible, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. (Exodus 17:14-16; Deuteronomy 31:24) Thereafter, without exception, all the rest of the writers of the other sixty-one books of the inspired Bible were men…” – Pages 246-248

“The one who was raised up to serve as a forerunner of Jesus and to announce his coming and to baptize him in water was a man of priestly family, John the Baptist. (Matthew 3:1-17, John 1:6-8, 19-36) Then the time came for Jesus to pick out twelve workers to be with him all the rest of his earthly ministry. Whom did he pick? Men, twelve of them, and he sent them forth as apostles. (Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-5) Likewise, when he sent out seventy additional evangelizers, it was men that he selected for this privilege of service. (Luke 10:1-17) In such choosing Jesus was following God’s pattern.” – Pages 249-250

Some women, in proper circumstances, enjoyed some privileges in connection with Jesus, but not those of the twelve apostles and the seventy evangelizers.” – Page 250

“It becomes plain that the Most High God, Jehovah followed the same way of dealing with regard to the Christian ‘congregation of God’ or spiritual Israel, as He did with regard to the Jewish congregation of pre-Christian times, or natural, circumcised Israel. That is to say, God gave the preference to males, the men, as regards official responsibilities within the theocratic organization. This fact is emphasized for us in Ephesians 4:7-13. In that quotation from Paul’s letter the words ‘apostles,’ ‘prophets,’ ‘evangelizers,’ ‘shepherds’ and ‘teachers’ are all in the masculine gender…” – Pages 225-256

“In full accord with this, when the apostle Paul writes to Timothy about the qualification for the service positions of ‘overseers’ (episkopoi) and of ministerial servants’ (diakonoi) in the congregation, he specifically states that they must be men…” – Page 256

It is amazing that in spite of these scriptural facts known to the Watchtower Society they still send out their women to preach believing that some are anointed and all of them are witnesses of God. This, obviously, is a case of delusion.          It is a rule that in a Christian congregation women should remain silent – not even to ask question. As it is written: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” – 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35

But in complete disregard of this rule the Watchtower Society still permits women to address their assemblies. For instance women addressed an international assembly of “Jehovah’s Witnesses” at the Yankee Stadium in New York as published in the Report of New World Society of Jehovah’s Witnesses,July 19-26, 1953.

What is more, St. Paul wrote: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”  – 1 Timothy 2:11-14

If women are anointed by God they ought to exercise equal privileges with men of the same status in leading and teaching His flock. Why should they be forbidden to speak in the church or to teach?        The truth, we reiterate, is that God has never ordained a woman to any office of leadership as a prophetess, priestess, apostle, bishop or witness. It is therefore wrong according to the Scriptures for women to be called “Jehovah’s Witnesses”.