Thursday, July 30 You must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” —Acts 20:35. Jesus Christ, through his anointed
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The watchtower will become a permanent wasteland Part 1
Thursday, July 30 2020
You must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” —
Acts 20:35.
Jesus Christ, through his anointed brothers and supportive “princes” of the other sheep, provides encouragement and guidance to despondent and discouraged ones in this time of need. That is as it should be, for these elders are not “masters” over the faith of others but “are fellow workers” for the joy of their brothers. (
Isa. 32:1, 2; 2 Cor. 1:24) The apostle Paul set an example to be imitated. He wrote to the persecuted Christians in Thessalonica: “Having tender affection for you, we were determined to impart to you, not only the good news of God but also our very selves, because you became so beloved to us.” (
1 Thess. 2:8) Showing that just a word of encouragement does not always suffice, Paul told the elders from Ephesus the words of today’s text.
w18.04 21-22 ¶6-8
“Supportive princes”? Are elders really the princes spoken of in the 32nd chapter of Isaiah? Why would the Watchtower make such a dubious claim? They are forced to because of 1914. In context, the verse states:
“Look! A king will reign for righteousness, and princes will rule for justice. And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind, a place of concealment from the rainstorm, like streams of water in a waterless land, like the shadow of a massive crag in a parched land. Then the eyes of those seeing will no longer be pasted shut, and the ears of those hearing will pay attention.”
The Watchtower claims that the righteous reign of Jesus Christ commenced in 1914. Think of it, though, in recent decades several tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused in the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Forget the fact that the reigning king of righteousness even allows pedophiles to slither around and prey upon the innocent, some of those victims went to the “princes” seeking justice and support. They received neither. Most of them were told to “wait on Jehovah.”
But wait. If Jesus began administering justice since 1914 why is it necessary for anyone to keep waiting for God to act? The Kingdom has come but we must continue to wait as though nothing has changed? Obviously, something is not right.
Did you know that the Watchtower even teaches that Jehovah became king in 1914? —through Jesus, of course. That being true, again, the question: If Jehovah became king in 1914 why is there no justice? Why are pedophiles even allowed to commit crimes against children?
Surely, nothing is as distressing to the victims and their families than sexual abuse by a member of the congregation. In what way have the ruling princes acted as a place of concealment for the afflicted?
The reason millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses believe such things, like the organization being a spiritual paradise and the establishment of pure worship and many other fictions, is because they are blind and deaf. That is why the prophecy in Isaiah states that when the king actually begins ruling “the eyes of those seeing will no longer be pasted together.” (See article:
The Eyes of the Blind Will Be Opened)
Most of the time God’s prophets spoke to the male leaders of the nation —the kings, princes, priests and prophets. However, in the same 32nd chapter of Isaiah Jehovah goes on to address the woman, saying to them:
“You complacent women, get up and listen to my voice! You carefree daughters, pay attention to what I say! In a little over a year, you who are carefree will shudder, because no fruit will have been gathered when the grape harvest ends. Tremble, you complacent women! Shudder, you who are carefree! Strip yourselves bare, and put sackcloth around your hips. Beat your breasts in lamentation over the desirable fields and the fruitful vine. For the ground of my people will be covered with thorns and briars; they will cover all the houses of rejoicing, yes, the city of exultation.”
In Bible times most people worked the land or tended to flocks —or both. The harvest was everything. A failed harvest would be disastrous. Because of that, Jesus spoke about his disciples producing fruit —as in the grape harvest. So, an end of the symbolic fruit harvest portends the end of the Christian ministry. And for a fact, there are more women ministers than there are men.
The lives of devoted Christians revolve around the ministry. That is why for the past 80 years there has been a mid-week service meeting to prepare ministers for the week’s field service activity. All of that is about to abruptly end. In fact, it apparently already has.
The prophecy goes on to say:
“For the fortified tower has been forsaken; the noisy city has been abandoned. Ophel and the watchtower have become a permanent wasteland, a delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for the flocks…”
According to the Insight on the Scriptures encyclopedia, Ophel was a prominent outcropping of rock located in Jerusalem. So, Ophel is a cryptic reference to Jerusalem. And Jerusalem itself was frequently used in a symbolic way in prophecy. Most notably, Jesus said Jerusalem would be trampled by the nations during the great tribulation. That harmonizes with the prophecy in Isaiah that reveals that God’s people would be cast down as a prelude to the king and his princes becoming a refuge during the tempest. The fortified tower and the city’s watchtower is a reference to the Watchtower. The abandonment of Ophel portends the end of the organization.
Then what?
“Until the spirit is poured out on us from above, and the wilderness becomes an orchard, and the orchard is regarded as a forest. Then justice will reside in the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard. The result of true righteousness will be peace, and the fruitage of true righteousness will be lasting tranquillity and security.”
According to the Governing Body the spirit was poured out in 1919. Except the outpouring takes place after Ophel is made into a wasteland. And according to the
Society’s commentary on Isaiah Ophel represents Christendom. So, are we to imagine that Christendom was laid waste prior to the 1919 outpouring? This is just another example of how God has covered the heads of the prophets and visionaries, as Isaiah also foretold. (See article:
He Has Closed Your Eyes, the Prophets)
Christians have always had access to God’s spirit. Jesus assured his followers that it is there for the asking. After all, what father would hand his son a scorpion if they asked for an egg? Since that is the case, the outpouring of the spirit in the aftermath of the abandonment of the once-bustling city-like organization must be something extraordinary. Indeed, it will accompany the final sealing. That is when the remaining ones will be released by ransom and become the princes who will rule with Christ during the reign of terror on the part of the last kingdom of Satan’s empire.
