If you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or even just someone who is studying with witnesses and who has talked about your new-found faith, you have no doubt experienced the disinterest and disapproval of others.
At times Jehovah’s Witnesses are met by angry householders who demand that we never call upon them again. It is not uncommon for a disapproving householder to telephone their neighbors to warn them when Jehovah’s Witnesses appear in their neighborhoods. Some post signs telling Jehovah’s Witnesses to stay out. Others shred unsolicited literature and tracts that have been left behind by publishers and pioneers. A few threaten violence or pursue legal action to prevent Jehovah’s Witnesses from calling on them or their neighbors.
All those Christians who persevere with their unwelcome message should be commended. And for that reason it is natural to assume that Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves would be more tolerant of receiving unsolicited messages, especially if those messages involve our very faith and the truth itself. Sadly, though, that is not always the case.
For almost 20 years I have been writing to the Watchtower Society regarding their erroneous interpretations of prophecy. For the past decade until the present I have undertaken numerous mass mailings to elders, circuit, district and branch overseers, as well as to Governing Body members and other Bethel elders. I have never received a positive response.
Back after the initial mail out in 2004, in which I contacted every single kingdom hall (not every congregation since most urban kingdom halls have multiple congregations) in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and so on, I noticed that subsequent mailings (particularly in the USA) had a much higher percentage of letters returned to the sender due to the lack of a letter receptacle on the premise. What had changed from 2004? (Return-to-sender rate on the original mail-out was about 2-3%)
Apparently, some kingdom halls began removing their mailboxes in order to stop receiving unsolicited messages! (Rough estimate, about 30% have removed their mailboxes since 2004 – a ten-fold increase!) Evidently mailboxes on kingdom hall property are going the way of windows! Instead of a mailbox the secretary or some other brother will use their home address to receive the Society’s correspondence, as well as mundane postage such as utility bills.
Whereas, kingdom hall addresses are easily obtainable, elders’ home boxes are not. For that reason I have scaled back my mail campaigns considerably, since the time and costs are the same for me even if the letter is returned undeliverable. Instead, I have focused on the branches and various Bethel departments.
However, recently with the help of a Jehovah’s Witnesses couple(The GB are not the only ones with “helpers”)I gleaned over 1,000 emails of elders who are contacts for their respective congregation’s Charity Commission Registry. The registry exists in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. (By the way, elder contacts serving in Spanish congregations received a special email and link to the new Jehovah Himself Has Become King site in Spanish, as will the French brothers in Quebec and London as soon as I knock out that revamp.)
Through trial and error I also painstakingly obtained all of the Governing Body members’ emails, along with about 40-50 “helpers” and other Bethel elders on the jw.org server.
This past weekend they all received Kingdom Bulletin #9 in their inbox.
What has been the result? A few of Jehovah’s Witnesses responded to me directly – not to discuss the timely message concerning the looming global calamity that is about to engulf the world, or with questions arising concerning the Society’s absurd interpretation of the 8th chapter of Daniel – but, rather, to complain about having received an unsolicited message from me. Laughably, a few have threatened to report me to the spam authorities for my having engaged in “illegal activity.”
So far, though, none have responded to my response to them, and my pointing out the abject hypocrisy for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to complain about receiving an unsolicited Bible message. I guess at the very least someone may acquire a little empathy for householders who do not appreciate visits or literature from Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The email program I use allows me to track how many messages have been opened and how many receivers have chosen to unsubscribe in order to avoid receiving any more Bible-based messages from e-Watchman. Although it has only been a few days more than half of the nearly 1,200 emails have been opened. Surprisingly, the percentage of unsubscribers is relatively low, running about 7-8%. (Little do they realize they are only encouraging me to blast out another Kingdom Bulletin.)
Interestingly, though, about half of the Governing Body have unsubscribed. It is rather tedious to determine if all have opened my email yet, but I can say for sure two have not. It may be that when they do they too will quickly unsubscribe. I expect they will. That would mean a 100% “not interested” response from the GB, as opposed to a much more receptive body of elders – of which more than 90% so far have not unsubscribed.
But what is even more puzzling than their response, or lack of, which was totally predictable, the three GB members who have unsubsrcibed no longer have valid email addresses. This is mystifying indeed, given the fact that I vetted virtually every email through an email validation process beforehand to ensure its validity – using two separate verification sites for jw.org emails. Now, though, the same emails are no longer valid. Have the GB resorted to closing up their own email accounts now that they have received an electronic message from e-Watchman? That sounds crazy, I know. And I hesitate to jump to that conclusion, but it is baffling. Given the disappearance of kingdom hall mailboxes and their locking the doors on Silentlambs, it certainly makes me wonder. I hate to think so, but they appear to have a Hitler-in-the-bunker mentality. Or, maybe, perhaps Bethel’s server is down? Let’s hope that is the case.
Regardless or whether or not they are shutting their inboxes, what their disinterest means is, that, the very men who determine what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe – the very ones leading the entire Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide and who mold their expectations of the things to come – are unwilling to reason upon the facts when presented. They are just as unreceptive to my message as a typical householder is to the Watchtower.
Whether they realize it or not the Governing Body are on record and have demonstrated before God’s angels that they are willfully blind. If that is not the case why is it that the Watchtower and its representatives are completely mute as regards world conditions and the near-certainty of another world war? Why do they seemingly scoff at the impending peril before us, when the fact is, events can easily develop into the very sign of Christ – a sign they repeatedly insist has already presented itself? Is it because they have made a covenant with death and feel no threat?
Is it not a case of rank hypocrisy, even as Jesus stated concerning the scribes and Pharisees, who were adept at interpreting the clouds to determine the weather tomorrow, but were unable and unwilling to interpret “the signs of the times”? – Matthew 16:1-3
In the case of the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses, they demonstrate their ability to interpret prophecy to past fulfillments, both ancient and modern, but are unable to discern the near future.
In realty we are witnessing the outworking of an extraordinary prophecy. Long ago through Isaiah Jehovah foretold that he would cause a deep sleep to fall upon his own prophets and visionaries. Here is what Jehovah has said in full: “Be stunned and amazed; blind yourselves and be blinded. They are drunk, but not with wine; they are staggering, but not from alcohol. For Jehovah has poured a spirit of deep sleep on you; he has closed your eyes, the prophets, and he has covered your heads, the visionaries.” – Isaiah 29:9-10
If you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses you ought to be concerned that those who declare themselves to be the faithful and discreet slave, even the “watchman class,” continue to demonstrate that they have virtually no interest in Jehovah’s message for them and are unreceptive to the signs of the times that indicate we are on the eve of nothing less than the second coming of Jesus Christ.
I would suggest that you contact them and voice your concern, but given my experience, that is not an easy task.
