Has your congregation recently been evicted from the Kingdom Hall? You have likely experienced a range of emotions, from anger and sadness and prolonged discouragement. No doubt many have shed tears that their well-built Kingdom Halls have been sold like common real estate and repurposed for things such as marijuana dispensaries, yoga studios, quick marts selling beer and lotto, as well as churches. And worse, some Kingdom Halls just sit empty, even after years, as the Kingdom realtors await a buyer. If you are one who has been dispossessed from your local house of worship it is probably little comfort to know that you are not alone. The Watchtower Inc. has evicted tens of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses from about 1,000 Kingdom Halls. And it is still ongoing.Keep encouraging one another and building one another up.—1 Thess. 5:11.
Has your congregation ever built or renovated a Kingdom Hall? If so, no doubt you remember your first meeting in the new facility. You were so grateful to Jehovah. In fact, you may have been so choked up with emotion that you could hardly sing the opening song. Our well-built Kingdom Halls bring praise to Jehovah. But we bring even greater praise to him when we engage in another kind of building work. That work involves something more valuable than literal buildings. It involves building up the people who come to those places of worship. The apostle Paul had in mind this type of figurative building program when he wrote the words found in today’s text. The apostle Paul is an excellent example of someone who knew how to build up his fellow believers. He had empathy for them. We can imitate him and thus build up our brothers and sisters today.—1 Cor. 11:1. w22.08 20 ¶1-2
Watchtower Inc. has never explained why they have booted so many true Christians out of facilities that had been devoted to pure worship and all that. True, they said in some WT magazine that it was to make better use of facilities. But that's nonsensical. Aren't Jehovah's Witnesses supposed to be building for the future? And hasn't the Governing Body just recently issued new light speculating that maybe many unbelievers will come into the truth even after God destroys Babylon the Great? And didn't someone advance the idea that the prophetic "interior rooms" where JWs will ride out the tribulation are local Kingdom Halls? How is getting rid of a well-built facility and turning it into an ashram or chiropractor's office, or a mini-mart, making better use of a Kingdom Hall?
Just face it: The princes of Bethel do not have to explain their actions to you. True, you are a dearly loved sheep. But the way it works on the farm is when the time comes some sheep get sheared and some are slaughtered. Just be happy that you are not the latter. So, if your congregation is served with an eviction notice and the shepherds tell you to pack up and get out you must subject yourselves to your masters. Besides, you knew when you built and paid for your Kingdom Hall that Watchtower Inc. would own it. Just because you assumed they would never sell it for profit, that's on you. You don't know how the world works. The real estate market has been red hot in recent years and Wall Street consultants know a lot about how to maximize profits and utilize space and Watchtower Inc. paid a lot of money for their sage advice. After all, these guys have MBAs from Harvard.
So, if you wish to be loyal to the faithful and discreet slave, just get over it. Jehovah's fast-paced organizational chariot is on the move and you had better keep up or you will get crushed under the massive, churning wheelworks of Watchtower Inc.
But what if you have Bible studies who have just started attending meetings and are not able to drive an extra 20 miles to the place where you have been assigned? That's not Bethel's problem. You have to figure out how to be a better servant. Do more.
While the nameless, faceless board of directors and their Governing Body frontmen do not answer to any JW, anointed or otherwise, they will have to render an account before Christ. Amazingly, many hundreds of years ago Jehovah foresaw the crimes Watchtower Inc. has committed. Speaking through Isaiah Jehovah has laid out the charges: "Your princes are stubborn and partners with thieves. Every one of them loves a bribe and chases after gifts. They do not grant justice to the fatherless, and the legal case of the widow never reaches them." (1:23)
No doubt the many thousands of elders and brothers and sisters, and yes, fatherless boys and widows, who have been dispossessed by Watchtower Inc. cannot completely suppress their resentment. But take comfort in knowing that you were not the only victims of Bethel's thievery. Because every Kingdom Hall has been dedicated to God the theocratic princes have in reality stolen what belongs to Jehovah. Adam and Eve stole something that belonged to God. Achan took something that belonged to Jehovah too. Judas was a thief and stole from Jesus. In each instance, the thieves paid for their theft with their lives. And now look where we are.
Massacre of Jehovah’s Witnesses – Why did it happen?
KINGDOM BULLETIN #24 As everyone surely knows by now, on Thursday evening, March the 9th, a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was meeting together in a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany. Toward the conclusion of the program, perhaps during prayer when the congregation stood with eyes closed and
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Bethel’s princes become partners with thieves
As everyone is aware, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been outlawed in Russia. Some witnesses have been arrested and imprisoned as dangerous extremists. The Watchtower branch office outside of Saint Petersburg was seized by the government in December 2017. Back in 2018, the Watchtower produced a...
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Lately my own people have risen up as an enemy
The first edition of Jehovah Himself Has Become King (2005) considered some of the so-called minor prophets, which included Micah. It was apparent to me that the prophecy of Micah, although set in ancient times, actually contains
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