Saturday, September 2
For the sake of his great name, Jehovah will not abandon his people.—1 Sam. 12:22.
Although God had anointed Saul to be king, Saul later became disobedient and was rejected by Jehovah. Since God did not immediately remove Saul from the throne, his misconduct tested his subjects and all who were close to him. They faced the challenge of being loyal to God while the king, who sat on “Jehovah’s throne,” followed a wayward course. Yet, Saul’s son Jonathan proved to be loyal to Jehovah. We too can prove ourselves loyal to Jehovah by being in relative subjection to the superior authorities, as God requires, even if some seem unworthy of respect. For example, a government official may be corrupt, but we still respect his position because we are in relative subjection to governmental “superior authorities.” In fact, all of us can prove loyal to Jehovah by respecting those to whom he gives authority.—
The Watchtower has become extremely hypocritical. It pretends to follow a higher path, exhorting Jehovah’s Witnesses to follow its example. But the fact is, the Watchtower sets a horrible example, just as did wicked King Saul.
Ought we be in subjection to the superior authorities? Yes. Definitely. Paul explained that the superior authorities are God’s ministers and if we take a stand against them we are placing ourselves in opposition to God. But that is exactly what the Watchtower has done.
According to the San Diego Reader more than a year ago a San Diego superior court judge ordered the Watchtower to pay $4,000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner Osbaldo Padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old. So far they have resolutely refused.
This means that the lawyers for the Watchtower are in open defiance of God’s appointed ministers and for the past 14 months the Watchtower has been fined $4,000 a day, every day, amounting to more than a million and a half dollars so far. They must consider that a small price to pay to keep their database of pedophiles from becoming public.
But surely, Jehovah does not consider the Watchtower to be exempt from submitting to the superior authorities. After all, the court is not compelling anyone to break God’s commands. It is not as though the Governing Body would be compromising Bible principles if they turned over the records that detail the crimes sexual predators have committed against thousands of innocent children. On the contrary, seeing that they represent Jehovah before millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as the general public, the leadership of the organization should set the example in cooperating with legal authorities. But their outright defiance means that the Governing Body, their helpers and lawyers have brought judgment against themselves. That is what Paul explained in the 13th chapter of Romans, where he stated: “Therefore, whoever opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will bring judgment against themselves.”
This is no trivial matter. God is no one to be mocked. Nor does God change. We may expect Jehovah to rid himself of the wicked men who run the Watchtower, just as he eventually removed Saul and Eli. There is no question that Bethel’s days are numbered. The coming collapse of the Watchtower is what I have been pointing to for the past 15 years, since coming online with e-watchman in September, 2002.
The impending global war and downfall of America will bring in a dictatorial tyrant whom Jehovah will use to bring himself into judgment with all. Against that backdrop Christ will then dispatch his angels to uproot the weeds. As Jesus said of the hypocritical pharisees in his day: Look! the axe is laying at the root! Indeed, it is.
