ClaimDoctrine changesverified1960sExplicit statement

Doctrine changes · Claim record

In November 1962 The Watchtower re-identified the 'superior authorities' as 'pagan rulers like Caesar and his governors and kings of individual nations', i.e. secular governments, without mentioning the 1929 position.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-superior-authorities-1962-governmentsConcerns 15 November 1962Explicit statement

The claim and its evidence

Explicit statement · 15 November 1962 Verified

In November 1962 The Watchtower re-identified the 'superior authorities' as 'pagan rulers like Caesar and his governors and kings of individual nations', i.e. secular governments, without mentioning the 1929 position. Source: The Watchtower, 15 November 1962Source: God's Kingdom Rules! (2014), 2014

The organisation’s position or later explanation: kr p. 57 calls the 1962 articles 'landmark articles' to which 'the holy spirit guided Christ's followers'.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Subjection to “Superior Authorities”—Why?”

15 November 1962 · pp.681-690 · par. 4 (p. 682); par. 7 (p. 683) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, not about Christendom's political rulers, but about pagan rulers like Caesar and his governors and kings of individual nations. … So the “superior authorities” have their setting logically in the world outside the congregation.”

The 1962 re-identification of Romans 13:1 with secular rulers; the article does not mention the 1929 view.

Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Subjection to “Superior Authorities”—Why?

Confidence note. Opened on wol.jw.org; wording, paragraphs and pages confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-kr-2014-ch5-superior-authorities

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1962-1115-subjection-superior-authorities

Primary JW publication Verified

God's Kingdom Rules! (2014), “Chapter 5 — The King Shines Light on the Kingdom”

2014 · pp.49-57 · par. 23 (p. 56); par. 24 (p. 57) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“Beginning in 1929, however, our publications had also reasoned that the superior authorities of Romans 13:1 were not the secular rulers at all, but Jehovah and Jesus. … The holy spirit guided Christ's followers to just such a view in 1962, when landmark articles on Romans 13:1-7 were published in the November 15 and December 1 issues of The Watchtower.”

The organisation's own history of the 1929 and 1962 positions.

Provenance and verification note for God's Kingdom Rules! (2014), Chapter 5 — The King Shines Light on the Kingdom

Confidence note. Opened on wol.jw.org; wording and pages confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-w-1950-1115-subjection-higher-powers, src-w-1962-1115-subjection-superior-authorities

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-kr-2014-ch5-superior-authorities

Claim page

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