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Light Gets Brighter

Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be the only group to teach truth, as revealed by Jehovah. If this is the case, why has Watchtower doctrine experienced ongoing changes? Watchtower justifies this as the "light gets brighter." This article examines the logic behind such a claim.

A key premise of this site is that constant changes in doctrine and failed predictions are clear indication that Jehovah does not direct Watchtower. For the external observer this is the logical conclusion, yet for one of Jehovah's Witnesses it barely raises a grimace. How can this be? Because changes and failures are immediately dismissed by the thought stopping concept:


"The Bible tells us the light would get brighter."

This is based on a phrase from Proverbs.

"But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright morning light that grows brighter and brighter until full daylight." Proverbs 4:18 NWT 2013 ed.

Previous New World Translation versions used the wording

“The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” Proverbs 4:18 NWT 1981 ed.

Addressing the premise that changes lead to ever more truthful teachings is important to render the information contained within JWFacts effective. This includes examining whether teachings and practices are getting brighter or substantially changing, and raises the question "Would Jehovah direct a religion to promote falsehood prior to those changes?

This article covers the following:

Watchtower quotes regarding light getting brighter

The main justification Watchtower uses when changing doctrine is to draw on Proverbs 4:18.

“The Light Keeps Getting Brighter … Increasing light from Jehovah continues to illuminate their way organizationally, doctrinally, and morally. What are some of our beliefs that have been clarified in recent years?” 2016 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses p.25
““The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established,” states Proverbs 4:18. Yes, Jesus’ leadership is progressive, not stagnant. Another way to cooperate with Christ’s “brothers” is to have a positive attitude toward any refinements in our understanding of Scriptural truths as published by “the faithful and discreet slave.”” Watchtower 2011 May 15 p.27
“Regarding progressive spiritual enlightenment, Proverbs 4:18 has proved true. It says: “The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” How thankful we are for the progressive spiritual enlightenment we have experienced!” Watchtower 2001 Jan 15 p.18
“IT IS proof of divine wisdom that, in keeping with Proverbs 4:18, the revealing of spiritual truths has taken place gradually by means of flashes of light. In the preceding article, we saw how this text was fulfilled in apostolic times. If the large body of Scriptural truth had been revealed all at once, it would have been both blinding and confusing—much like the effect of coming out of a dark cave into brilliant sunlight. Moreover, gradually revealed truth strengthens the faith of Christians in a continuous way. It makes ever brighter their hope and ever clearer the pathway they are to tread.” Watchtower 1995 May 15 p.15

In the 2023 Annual Meeting, it was explained how and why new light is released. Jeffrey Winder: How Does the Light Get Brighter? jwb-108-9.v. Unashamedly, Winder stated "nor is an apology needed for not getting it exactly right previously."

"So the bible here uses the illustration of daylight. And what does that teach us? Well, the Watchtower said these words aptly apply to the way in which Jehovah reveals his purpose to his people gradually.

But even still, it is released and made know at a pace that we can absorb that we can handle and that we can use. …

Well, knowing this, then we are not embarrassed about adjustments that are made, nor do(sic) is an apology needed for not getting it exactly right previously." jwb-108-9.v

The actual meaning of Proverbs 4:18

The Watchtower interprets the word "light" in Proverbs 4 as referring to Watchtower "doctrinal" understanding, yet this is simply done as justification to change teachings.

For thousands of years, people have understood Proverbs chapter 4 to be discussing behaviour, as is easily identifiable when reading the entire chapter in context. The verses surrounding 18 state:

"… the wicked do not sleep unless they do badness. … The way of the wicked ones is like the gloom; they have not known at what they keep stumbling … listen to the discipline of a father … keep my commandments … safeguard your heart."

Christian writers explain:

"What is clear from Proverbs is that the reader can choose to either seek wisdom or live a life of folly. (Prov 4:14-19)" (thisischurch.com 25 Mar 2005)

Proverbs 4:18 was not intended to be prophetic indication that God gradually reveals truth to the Watchtower Society. Rather than extract a sentence, when taken in entirety the context of Proverbs chapter 4 is a comparison of behaviour between good and bad people, not the dispensing of doctrinal truth through an organization. From the outset, it can be seen that using this Scripture to discuss doctrinal errors and changes is without basis.

Whilst the Bible explains that the meaning of some truths were to be understood later, this did not allow for Jehovah directing his people with falsehood.

John 16:13 "However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide YOU into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own impulse, but what things he hears he will speak, and he will declare to YOU the things coming."

At John 16:13, Jesus was referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus did not refer to partial or incorrect truth; the Spirit would reveal truth, including "things coming". As discussed in Changed Dates, Watchtower has had a 100% failure rate in predicting things "coming".

Daniel 12:4, 10 "And as for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of [the] end. Many will rove about, and the [true] knowledge will become abundant... Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones having insight will understand."

Though Daniel did not understand what he wrote, he did not make false interpretations. The Society's interpretation of Daniel has changed constantly with explanations that were applied to the 1800's now applied to the 1900's. Despite this, the Organization insists that God only enlightens them to interpret these Scriptures accurately.

Ask yourself - does truth change?

Rather than indicate that doctrine would get brighter or change, the Bible warns against anyone that promotes false doctrine.

1 John 4:1 "Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world."

Galatians 1:8, 9 "But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed."

Brighter or Changed?

Regularly, Watchtower light is not brighter, it is vastly different than the past

Proverbs 4 is not prophetic of Watchtower teachings. However, let us entertain the idea that within this passage is the prophetic foreshadowing that God progressively reveals truth to his people during the time of the end. This concept cannot apply to Watchtower history, as Watchtower doctrine has not refined but changed. Consider whether the following change is really a matter of doctrinal light getting lighter:

Imagine being the Witness parent of a child that needed a kidney transplant in 1970. Although the Awake! 1949 Dec 22 had described transplants as "wonders of modern surgery", in 1967 God revealed that transplants were wrong in his eyes. The Watchtower 1967 Nov 15 pp.702-704 stated that being now "enlightened by God's word" God's people understood that transplants are against divine principles and cannibalistic. The parents must sincerely have believed they were putting Jehovah first when watching their child die, refusing them the opportunity of possible survival through a transplant. How would that parent feel on reading the Watchtower 1980 Mar 15 p.31 - "There is no Biblical command pointedly forbidding the taking in of other human tissue. It is a matter for personal decision. " The enlightenment of 1967 had proved to be dark, harmful and in need of later correction, a regressive doctrine that resulted in the unnecessary death of members. When a doctrine changes and then reverts back to the original position this is not evidence of light getting brighter, it is evidence of a lack of Holy Spirit directing the Governing Body.

The concept of light becoming brighter implies that previous doctrine was correct, but incomplete. Russell eloquently wrote the following truism that:

"If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us; undoubtedly one human idea would contradict another and that which was light one or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now;… But with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any knowledge or light coming from God must be like its author. A new view of truth never can contradict a former truth. "New Light" never extinguishes older "light" but adds to it…"


Zion's Watch Tower 1881 Feb p.3

Watchtower has used the illustration that their increasing understanding of truth is like a sailing boat "tacking." They make slight adjustments to their teachings, but always a step forward in promoting truth.

“Of course, such development of understanding, involving “tacking” as it were, has often served as a test of loyalty for those associated with the “faithful and discreet slave.” However, progress is being made continually toward fuller appreciation of the “good news” and all that it means. It has been the experience of those who stay close to God’s organization that questions and things hard to understand are always cleared up with the passing of time. And as the light shines forth ever more clearly, how heartwarming and satisfying the way proves to be!” Watchtower 1981 Dec 1 p.31

Image Source: Watchtower 1981 Dec 1 p.27

The point here is clear, teachings may be refined, but not contradict previous teachings. This has not been the case with Watchtower doctrine. Many Watchtower teachings were later discarded as incorrect. Others have changed back and forth numerous times, some reverting to their original position, others contradicting a former truth. It has regularly been the case that Watchtower doctrine was not illuminated but eclipsed.

It was not increasing light that dictated:

These were not clarifications - these were wrong teachings.

Even more obvious are when a change is made, then flipflps back and forth aroung the original teaching. This includes the numerous changes to the meaning of the generation, or the changes to the understanding of Daniel and Revelation prophecies.

How many wrong teachings did God allow to become part of the Bible canon? Now compare that with how many wrong teachings are contained within the Watchtower over less than 150 years. Ongoing reversal of doctrine can only indicate God is not involved in these new flashes of light that later turn out to be falsehoods. Yet the Watchtower leadership claim these changes are from Jehovah, not to be questioned.

“How do you react when Jehovah, the Source of spiritual enlightenment, sheds light on “the deep things of God” found in the Bible? (1 Cor. 2:10-13) We have an excellent example in the apostle Peter’s reaction when Jesus told His listeners the words of today’s text. Taking those words literally, many disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?” They “went off to the things behind.” But Peter said: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life.” (John 6:60, 66, 68) Peter relied on God for spiritual enlightenment. When spiritual light on some matter gets brighter, do you try to understand the underlying Scriptural reasons for the adjustment? (Prov. 4:18)” Examining the Scriptures Daily 2013 p.17

Why all the changes?

Changes are generally driven by one of two reasons.

  • Changing Governing Body members
  • Legal pressure

Changing Governing Body members

As the makeup of the Governing Body changes, so does their collective ideas regarding doctrine and practices.

Consider the changing view of "types and antitypes. During the 1900's, Fred Franz introduced hundreds of examples of "types" and "antitypes." Franz died in 1992, and by 2010, all Governing Body members that served with Franz had died.

In 2015, the number of types and antitypes was greatly reduced.

"Questions From Readers

In the past, our publications often mentioned types and antitypes, but in recent years they have seldom done so. Why is that? ...

Many years ago, our publications stated that such faithful men and women as Deborah, Elihu, Jephthah, Job, Rahab, and Rebekah, as well as many others, were really types, or shadows, of either the anointed or the “great crowd.” ...

If such interpretations seem far-fetched, you can understand the dilemma. Humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not. The clearest course is this: Where the Scriptures teach that an individual, an event, or an object is typical of something else, we accept it as such. Otherwise, we ought to be reluctant to assign an antitypical application to a certain person or account if there is no specific Scriptural basis for doing so." Watchtower Study Ed. 2015 Mar p.17

Consider the changes within just the 3 years between 2023 and 2025. The removal of one Governing Body member and addition of 4 new members coincided with a multitude of changes.

  • Jan 2023 announcement - Two new Governing Body members: Gage Fleegle and Jeffrey Winder.
  • Feb 2023 announcement - Anthony Morris III removed from the Governing Body.
  • Oct 2023 annual meeting - Reporting of hours spent preaching is no longer required.
  • Dec 2023 Governing Body Update #8 - Beards are now permitted.
  • Mar 2024 Governing Body Update #2 - Ties are no longer mandatory in meetings and preaching, and women are allowed to wear pants.
  • Mar 2024 - The term disfellowship changed to removed. Can be spoken to at the Kingdom Hall.
  • Oct 2024 annual meeting - Can repent last minute during the great tribulation.
  • Oct 2024 annual meeting - Two new Governing Body members: Jody Jedele and Jacob Rumph.
  • Jan 2025 Watchtower - oral sex allowed within marriage.
  • May 2025 Governing Body Update #3 - Committee members aged 80 and older are being asked to "voluntarily" resign.
  • Jul 2025 Governing Body Update #4 - Toasts are permitted.

Legal and Financial Pressure

Legal and financial pressure also leads to important changes.

Selling literature

In 1988, Jimmy Swaggart was taken to court regarding paying tax on profit derived from sales of religious material. With the decision going against Swaggart, Watchtower decreed that Jehovah's witnesses were to stop selling magazines when witnessing and offer them for donation.

Bulgaria and military service

In 1996, Watchtower started to allow military service in order to gain legal recognition in Bulgaria. They also no longer disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witnesses taking a blood transfusion, but considered it voluntary disassociation.

Blood transfusions

From the late 1990s onwards, due to ongoing legal pressure, most components of blood became acceptable for Jehovah's Witnesses to transfuse, despite the lack of logic, since these components come from blood, which Watchtower says must not be stored.

Norway and disfellowshipping

In 2022, Norway retracted legal recognition and state funding from Jehovah’s Witnesses due to their practice of disfellowshipping and shunning. In an attempt to regain funding through the courts, the Governing Body dropped the word disfellowship and changed it to "removed", and allowed "removed" individuals to be spoken to at the kingdom hall. See disfellowshipping and shunning article footnote 1.

When is it truth?

This concept is applicable to any Christian religion similar to the Witnesses, such as Christadelphians and Church of God. Both of these have a doctrinal structure almost identical to Jehovah's Witnesses. It has equal application to Seventh-day Adventists, who started concurrently with the Witnesses from the same basic teachings of Miller. Seventh-day Adventists preach and grow at the same rate. A person raised in any of these religions is equally convinced that the "light getting brighter" will clarify things wrong with their religion.

The Church of God uses the same "new light" reasoning, as shown in an experience of a member at ex-sda.com (May 2 2006):

"Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong still took what seemed to me a less than candid approach. He called our Divorce & Remarriage change "new light," "new truth" which God has (finally) shown us. In other words, he subtly blamed our doctrinal error on God."

So does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In an experience of a Mormon that converted to being one of Jehovah's Witnesses, it is ironic that one of his reasons was:

"I dug deeper into the teachings of my faith and also consulted with responsible Mormon Church leaders. I was told that the answers to my questions involved mysteries that one day would be solved as the light became brighter." Watchtower 2013 Feb 1 p.9

The following article about the Catholic Church is equally applicable to Jehovah's Witnesses.

""Tell me," he asked, "how can I have confidence in anything? How can I believe in the Bible, in God, or have faith? Just ten years ago we Catholics had the absolute truth, we put all our faith in this. Now the pope and our priests are telling us this is not the way to believe any more, but we are to believe 'new things.' How do I know the 'new things' will be the truth in five years?"" Awake! 1970 Apr 22 p.8

Ironically, the root of "New Light" is apostasy. A person - be it the Governing Body, someone from the writing department or a question from readers - shows disagreement with Watchtower truth and presents an alternate point of view. Regularly, the alternate point of view is not accepted, and the advocate may even become labelled an apostate. Yet at other times, what starts out as an apostate idea becomes doctrine, and is termed new light. The resultant conclusion can only be that the previous teaching was false, or potentially the new teaching is false, but either way the Watchtower was, or is, teaching apostasy.

One must also wonder, if Jehovah wants his organisation to be clean in comparison to all others, why he waited so long to reveal important truths. Watchtower holds itself and its spiritual light in high esteem.

“Jehovah is the source of spiritual light. While the world remains in dense darkness the true God continues to shed light on his people. Increasing light from Jehovah continues to illuminate the path of his people. It refines them organizationally, doctrinally, and morally." Watchtower 2006 Feb 15 Walking in the Path of Increasing Light

This article is revealing, more so in what it does not contain. For instance, whilst it claims the teaching on Superior Authorities was correctly revealed in 1962, it fails to mention that it was going back to a doctrine that was originally correct, and had been incorrectly changed by Rutherford in 1929.

Whilst the article attributes the 1945 ruling against blood transfusions on use of blood in World War II, it does not adequately address the length of time to arrive at this ruling. Since the modern technique of blood transfusions was mastered in 1916, why wait until 1945 to forbid blood transfusions? If any use of blood is wrong, why wait until 1927 to direct his people not to eat it, almost 50 years after the Watchtower started being printed.

Smoking became a disfellowshipping offence in 1973. Yet smoking has always been harmful to health. "Societies were formed to discourage smoking" from the early 1900's1 and scientists proved the connection to lung cancer in the 1930's.2 Further, smoking was introduced as wrong because it was related to spiritism,3 in which case it was wrong from the birth of the religion and would not be something God should wait 100 years to provide enlightenment on.

Most importantly, if only the Governing Body form the Faithful and Discreet Slave, why wait until 2012 to reveal this truth? Prior to 2012, it was stated that Jehovah had dispensed truth through the Slave class since Jesus time, which was comprised of the entire group of 144,000. Since then, it was only the Governing Body after the year 1919. Surely Jehovah could have correctly revealed his source of truth and light as soon as it was manifest in 1919.

It has not taken Jehovah over 100 years to get Watchtower doctrine correct. New light, particularly when it is contradictory light, is the result of new Governing Body members insisting on their own opinions.

References

1. Richard Doll (June 1998), "Uncovering the effects of smoking: historical perspective", Statistical Methods in Medical Research 7 (2): 87–117,doi:10.1191/096228098668199908,PMID 9654637, retrieved 2008-06-01, ↩

2. Oreskes N Conway EM (2010). Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. San Francisco, CA: Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 1-59691-610-9.↩

3. Watchtower 1973 Jun 1 "The Scriptural evidence points to the conclusion that they do not. As has been explained in other issues of this magazine, the Greek word phar·ma·ki´a used by Bible writers and translated "practice of spiritism" or "spiritistic practices" has the initial meaning of "druggery." (Gal. 5:20; Rev. 9:21) The term came to refer to spiritistic practices because of the close connection between the use of drugs and spiritism. Tobacco was also used initially by the American Indians in this way. It can properly be placed, therefore, in the category of addictive drugs like those that provided the source for the Greek term phar·ma·ki´a. … Do we want to have Jehovah God be a speedy witness against us as addicts to drugs or other habit-forming injurious weeds, things that expose us to the influence of the spirit demons? Jehovah’s judgment against such addicts during the oncoming "great tribulation" will mean their destruction." ↩

Written 2005. Latest update July 2025.


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