At Paul’s final meeting with the elders in Ephesus, he told them.

“Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:28-30)

Despite their paying attention (or did they not do it enough?) it did happen with the “oppressive wolves” who would “draw away the disciples.” How did matters go from elders shepherding the congregation of God, a group in which all were evangelizers, to a paid clergy preaching to a non-evangelizing audience in pews?

One can only speculate—but it makes sense—that, in time, evangelizers tired of preaching to the public, many of whom didn’t want to hear it. It’s hard. Everyone wants something easier. An arrangement gradually arose, as a win-win, in which the “wolves” who did not want to preach to one-and-all wrangled instead to just preach to the congregation. Preaching to the choir is always easier than to the non-choir. Why would the “choir” go along with the “deal,” effectively demoting themselves to “laypeople?” Because they too were tiring of evangelizing. Easier to go along with this arrangement of showing up once a week and agreeing to “hire” this clergyman to preach to them.

It was probably to counter this gradual development that the Letter to the Hebrews was written. Time had passed since the early explosion of interest in Jerusalem described in Acts 2. People took sides. Positions hardened. Those who didn’t want to hear it had dug in. The determination to preach to all was fading. Paul starts the letter with discussion of the Jewish forefathers—God speaking to them through angels—and then said those Hebrew Christians had something better: God speaking through a Son. “That is why it is necessary for us to pay more than the usual attention to the things we have heard, so that we never drift away.” (Hebrews 2:1) Not only they shouldn’t “drift away,” but “Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by ‘drawing away’ from the living.” (3:12)

“For we actually become partakers of the Christ only if we hold firmly down to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.” (3:14)

and

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest [foreshadowed by the Jewish arrangement] who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold on to our public declaration of him.” (4:14)

They put in a fine fight, but such is the power of “oppressive wolves” amidst increasing apathy born of opposition. In time, the dominant model became clergy and laypeople. It is part of the great apostasy that took form in the early centuries and it would take many more centuries to undo it. Adding to the problem is that the wolves would bring in slick teachings unknown to Jews or Christians but popular with the Greek philosophers, such as the immortality of the soul, which makes bodily resurrection nonsensical.

At the end of the Paul’s meeting with the elders in Ephesus, “quite a bit of weeping broke out among them all, and they embraced Paul and affectionately kissed him, for they were especially pained at the word he had spoken that they would not see his face anymore.” (Acts 20:37-38) So it was that, many decades ago, just before the circuit overseer was to have his final meeting with the elders before moving on, I asked him if this was the occasion where they all break down weeping because they won’t see him anymore. But he told me that if any weeping took place it would not be for that reason.

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Q: Why do you say the distinction between clerics and laymen is the beginning of Apostasy? 2 Thessalonians says the cause is a loss of love for the truth. Laymen are capable of loving the truth and studying the Scriptures as well as clerics. In the Lord’s message to Ephesus in Revelation, he says they’ve done a good job keeping the true doctrine, but lack in charity (fervor?).

A: Not necessarily the beginning of apostasy, but just a part of it. Agreed that layman can love the scriptures as well as clerics. Witnesses just do their best to organize themselves as that Ephesian congregation—with ‘overseers’ paying attention to the flock of God, and still with all members recognizing a need to evangelize. Good point raised about Ephesus as one of the seven congregations of Revelation.

“I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot tolerate bad men, and that you put to the test those who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them to be liars.” (Rev 2:2) It would seem to indicate they DID take Paul’s remarks to heart and stayed vigilant at screening out “bad men” who “say they are apostles,” the “oppressive wolves” that Paul warned of.

It’s healthy to focus on evangelizing. It is keeping the focus on the real hope for solving earth’s woes. It is accordingly unhealthy not to do it. In our view, the clergy/laity division cements in place inertia on both sides. In JW-land, overseers take the lead in evangelizing. In clergy/laity, the clergy tend not to, nor does the laity. The clergy focuses on teaching their congregation and usually start pushing human solutions, often becoming intensely political. It is not always the case. I don’t want to diss every group that has a pastor. But it an inherent spiritual weakness of organizing oneself along clergy/laity lines.

Q: Is there a scripture that says apostasy was total? Or has there always been a remnant?

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A: No scripture that I know of says apostasy was total. The parable Jehovah’s Witnesses apply is that of the sower who plants wheat but the weeds grow up to almost choke it out. Sown by “an enemy,”, those weeds were. The course decided upon is to let both grow “until the harvest,” when separation will take place. That is why (to answer a prior question of yours that inspired this post) it does indeed take until the time of the harvest for the work of separation to begin. So, yes, apparently there has always been a “remnant” but one unidentifiable, thoroughly obscured by the “weeds.”

“He presented another illustration to them, saying: “The Kingdom of the heavens may be likened to a man who sowed fine seed in his field. 25 While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat and left. When the stalk sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ He said, ‘No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’” (Matthew 13: 24-30)

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