Acts 20:29
Acts 20:2929I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
JWs cite Paul's warning about "savage wolves" coming "from among you" () as evidence that the apostasy began within the early church, eventually producing "Christendom" — the false Christianity from which the Watchtower claims to have restored true worship. The wolves are identified as church leaders who introduced pagan doctrines after the apostles' restraining influence was removed.
Paul warns of wolves arising "from among you" () — but his remedy is significant: he does not appoint an institutional successor body or a continuing council. Instead he commits the Ephesian elders to "God and the word of his undeserved kindness" (). The safeguard against false teaching is Scripture and God's grace, not organisational authority. describes the church as "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" — a foundation laid once, not re-poured every generation. The apostolic office had specific non-transferable marks: eyewitness of the risen Christ (), signs of an apostle (), and bearer of new revelation (). The Governing Body neither possesses nor claims any of these. If wolves come from within, the answer is not a new hierarchy but a return to the apostolic word already written.