Monday, May 24
You will be able to extinguish all the wicked one’s burning arrows. —Eph. 6:16.
Satan, “the father of the lie,” uses those under his control to spread lies about Jehovah and about our brothers and sisters. (John 8:44) For instance, apostates publish lies and distort facts about Jehovah’s organization on websites and through television and other media. Those lies are among Satan’s “burning arrows.” How should we respond if someone confronts us with such lies? We reject them! Why? Because we have faith in Jehovah and we trust our brothers. In fact, we avoid all contact with apostates. We do not allow anyone or anything, including curiosity, to draw us into arguing with them nor to weaken our faith. Have you resisted the urge to listen to and argue with apostates about the lies they spread? That is commendable. But we must remain on guard because Satan has other weapons that he tries to use against us. w19.11 15 ¶8; 16 ¶11
Over the nearly 20 years that this website has been online I have invited readers to consider the information presented and refute me if I am stating something incorrectly or distorting the facts. That is why I allow readers to comment on each article. Take for example this article, 30 Questions for Jehovah’s Witnesses, based upon information I have previously published concerning Watchtower doctrine, particularly as regards 1914 and all that goes with it. The article has been online for 10 years and so far not one person has ventured so much as a single answer.
I have engaged elders and Governing Body members directly in numerous mailing campaigns. Never a word of refutation. Jesus did not duck out and avoid confrontations with the many opposers whom he faced. He faced them and answered them—often with a blunt rebuke.
Maybe trusting the “brothers” is not such a good idea. Paul said that he faced dangers from “false brothers.” How can you identify a false brother? Do they wear a name tag? Are they known as such? If they were known as false brothers why would genuine brothers be in spiritual danger? Worded differently, false brothers only present a danger to those who do not recognize them as false.
Judas was a false brother and the apostles had no clue until he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Paul identified certain outspoken and prominent men in the Corinthian congregation as agents of Satan who merely disguised themselves as ministers of righteousness. For sure they were false brothers that had deceived the Corinthian brothers. That is why Paul dubbed them the superfine apostles.
In his letter to the symbolic congregation in Ephesus Jesus said there would be men within the congregation who falsely claim to be apostles. Keep in mind the lying apostles will be present during the Lord’s day. Who might these be presently? (See article: Those Who Say They Are Apostles)
The prophecy of Micah foretells a time when it will be inadvisable to trust even our closest friends. “Do not put faith in your companion or trust a close friend. Guard what you say to the one who lies in your embrace. For a son despises his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his household. But as for me, I will keep on the lookout for Jehovah.” (7:5-7)
So, on the one hand, we have God’s word that warns us to be on our guard because of false brothers and false teachers. Then, on the other hand, we have the Governing Body saying ‘everyone is lying but us. Trust us.’ ‘Trust the brothers.’ Who are you going to believe, God or the Watchtower?
The most insidious lies are what come from the Watchtower. Remember one thing. Apostasy always comes from the top. It was the kings and priests in Israel and Judah that fomented apostasy. Solomon was the worst.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been conditioned to believe that the Governing Body always speaks for God. The clergy is believed to be the man of lawlessness. But the leaders of the Watchtower have told a whopper of a lie. “The lie” that the apostle foretold would be part of an elaborate operation of Satan implemented through the man of lawlessness. The man of lawlessness wields a “deluding influence” over those who know the truth, much like the superfine apostles presided over the deluded Corinthian congregation. Paul explained that the satanic operation would involve bold proclamations regarding the presence of Christ and that the day of Jehovah is here. This has been the core message of the Watchtower from its very inception. And that is why Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot answer something as straightforward as presented in the aforementioned 30 questions—because they are under a deluding influence, as if spellbound by Satan.
Then, referring to the day of the Lord and the parousia, Paul issued the following stern warning: “Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He stands in opposition and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things?” — 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5
The apostasy immediately precedes the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the day of Jehovah. According to the inspired apostle, the man of lawlessness stands in opposition. By the way, “satan” means opposer. By designating him as “the son of destruction” Paul evokes the infamous Judas, whom Jesus also called “the son of destruction.” Judas was at the last Passover as one of the 12 chosen apostles up until the Devil entered into him.
Sitting down in the temple of God suggests that Satan’s presence within the spiritual arrangement is not suspected or recognized, since it was in connection with the masterful disguise of the superfine apostles that Paul revealed that Satan himself is the master of disguise—transforming himself into an angel of light. Now that the Governing Body has countermanded Christ by shutting down the public ministry it has exalted itself to the place of Christ—who rules for God. Hence, the Governing Body is showing itself to be a god.
Through his earthly ministers, the Devil maintains a presence within God’s temple, otherwise known as Christ’s congregation. Satan will remain within the organization disguised as an angel of light up until Christ: “Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. That is why God lets a deluding influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”
