B. J. Kotwall

All  Watchtower Society (WTS) references in
past showed that the "glorious ones" referred to in
2 Peter 2:10-12 and Jude 8 were of the "anointed" or
"144,000” or “remnant" of such - until the recent New
Light in Watchtower of September 1, 1997. These two Bible
references, as far as we are aware, have  never been used
by the WTS to refer to the elders.  But now the “elders”
are the “glorious ones”. (Or, as some Bibles translate the Greek 
doxa, as “celestial beings” or   “dignities”)The
two Bible references are quoted below from the WTS’s New World
Translation of the Holy Scriptures (1984)

2 Peter 2:10-11
especially, however, those who
go on after flesh with the desire to defile [it] and who look
down on lordship. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at
glorious ones but speak abusively, 11 whereas angels,
although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring
against them an accusation in abusive terms, [not doing so]
out of respect for Jehovah.

Jude 8
In like manner, notwithstanding,
these men, too, indulging in dreams, are defiling the flesh
and disregarding lordship and speaking abusively of glorious
ones.

So now all of the thousands of
elders in the WTS are “divinely constituted authority”, they represent
“Jehovah and Jesus” on earth and they are the “glorious ones”
and we are required to “tremble” at them! As is often the
case with the WTS no explanation is provided in the Watchtower
of September 1, 1997 and the statement changing their thinking
is surreptitiously made as if  no change has occurred! Following
are some of the WTS quotations prior to the September 1 1997 Watchtower
followed by the quotation from it.

Insight on the Scriptures (1988) Vol. 2 
p. 681 
The apostle Peter speaks of some who show great disrespect for
God and his anointed servants, describing them as “daring
[from Greek tol·me·tes’, “presumptuous,” KJ], self-willed, they
do not tremble at glorious ones but speak abusively.”
Such men, Peter says, “suffer destruction in their own course
of destruction.”—2Pe 2:10, 12.   Watchtower
1989 September 15 p.22 
Surely, we do not want to be like the  “ungodly men” of
Jude’s day who disregarded lordship and spoke abusively of glorious
ones, anointed Christian elders with God-given glory, or
honor, conferred upon them.—Jude 3, 4, 8. Watchtower
1991 April 15 p. 31
Unlike the archangel Michael, who would not even bring a judgment
against the Devil in abusive terms, the ungodly men spoke abusively
of “glorious ones,” evidently those with certain glory
conferred upon them by God and Christ as anointed elders.
Let us not show disrespect for God-given authority! Watchtower
1992 November 15 p. 22
(Ungodly) men were “disregarding lordship and speaking abusively
of glorious ones,” evidently maligning such individuals
as anointed Christian overseers who had certain glory
conferred upon them. (Jude 3, 4, Watchtower
1997 September 1  p. 15, 16
Peter singles out ones who are especially reserved for God’s
judgment, namely, “those who…look down on lordship.” We can
almost feel Peter’s indignation as he says:           
”Daring self-willed, they do not tremble at glorious ones but
speak abusively.” Jude writes that “these men,…indulging in
dreams…are speaking abusively of glorious ones.” (2 Peter 2:10;
Jude …In what sense, though, do  they "look down
on lordship" and speak "abusively of glorious ones"?

They do so in that they despise divinely constituted authority.
Christian elders represent the glorious Jehovah God
and his Son and, as a result, have certain glory conferred upon
them…the Scriptures urge members of the congregation to be submissive
to such glorious ones. (Hebrews 13: 17)

Some ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses I
have spoken to think that due to the dwindling ranks (by last
WTS’s count 8757 persons) of the “anointed” the WTS is now grooming
the elders of the “other sheep” class to take up the mantle of
the “anointed”.