The harsh and rarely satisfied "Jehovah" of the Watchtower Society is again unhappy with the conduct and mindset of many of its members who are slacking off. The latest issue of The Watchtower again browbeats those who have become apathetic and do not fully succumb to the "mental-regulating of Jehovah" and other trite concepts of parenting supported by this aging and abusive leadership.

selected quotes from THE WATCHTOWER-OCTOBER 1, 1999:

 

Here is the first page of the first study article:

""FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS AN APPOINTED TIME"

"For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens. "-ECCLESIASTES 3:1.

1 PEOPLE often say, "I should have done it sooner." Or possibly in hindsight, "I should have waited." Such reactions demonstrate the difficulty that imperfect humans have in determining the right time for certain things to be done. This limitation has caused relationships to crumble. It has led to disappointment and frustration. And worst of all, it has weakened some people's faith in Jehovah and his organization.

2 Having the wisdom and the insight that humans lack, Jehovah is capable of foreknowing, if he so desires, the outcome of every action. He can know "from the beginning the finale." (Isaiah 46:10) Hence, he can unerringly pick the most opportune time to do anything he wants to do. Rather than trusting our own faulty sense of timing, therefore, we are wise to accept Jehovah's determination of appointed times!

3 For example, mature Christians loyally wait for Jehovah's appointed time for certain Bible prophecies to be fulfilled. They stay busy in his service, all the while keeping clearly in mind the principle of Lamentations 3:26: "Good it is that one should wait, even silently, for the salvation of Jehovah." (Compare Habakkuk 3:16.) At the same time, they are convinced that Jehovah's announced execution of judgment, "even if it should delay... will without fail come true. It will not be late."-Habakkuk 2:3.

4 On the other hand, if we fail to understand fully certain Bible texts or explanations provided in Watch Tower publications, do we have reason to become impatient? Awaiting Jehovah's appointed time to clarify matters is the course of wisdom. "For the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will not do a thing unless he has revealed his confidential matter to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) What a marvelous promise! But we must realize that Jehovah reveals his confidential matters at the time he deems advisable. For that purpose God has authorized a "faithful and discreet slave" to provide his people with "their [spiritual] food at the proper time." (Matthew 24:45) There is, therefore, no reason for us to become overly concerned, or even agitated, that certain matters are not fully explained. Rather, we can be confident that if we patiently wait on Jehovah, he will provide, through the faithful slave, what is needed "at the proper time."

 

 

 

 

Below is a commentary posted on H2O, another board frequented by Witnesses and ex-Witnesses alike:

Did anyone notice the really harsh and in-your-face tone of the first study article in the October 1, 1999 issue of the Watchtower. Someone at WTS nerve central decided to slap the members in face again. Why? Worries at Bethel over what the members may be thinking about predicted events not happening and core beliefs changing as the years go by? Because of this, the boys in writing again roll out the old try and true phrases that Jehovah will reveal the truth to the slave when the slave needs to get the word out. Of course completely ignoring the fact that Jehovah got the word out long ago and doesn't need to reveal anything new to anyone. If Bethel wants to keep changing the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses because of erroneous doctrine, Jehovah has nothing to do with that. But it's so easy to say we aren't wrong, Jehovah just changed our minds for us and now we are really telling the truth.    

Is Bethel really yelling at the members, in writing, so to speak? Well in the study article, "For Everything There Is An Appointed Time," page 5; paragraph 1, the writers get right to the point. The article comments on humans not acting at the right time and says, "And worst of all, it has weakened some peoples faith in Jehovah and his organization." The writers imply that because certain prophesied events have not happened or been changed some people are disappointed and frustrated. The resultant lose of faith in the leaders of the WTS is the same as losing ones faith in God, as the writers in the paragraph link the WTS to God directly, by saying that the WTS is God's organization. They can't prove it, but they can claim it, just like any crackpot or cult anywhere on the face of the earth with no proof to the claim. Really people, do you think God would establish His new church, on earth, about the year 1870, and then let them make monumental errors? Do you think He would let Russell use pyramids for measurement purposes? Why? I don't see it. Maybe a JW can make a case for the new church to be error filled, but I can't believe that Jehovah would go to all that trouble and then let lies come forth.    

Of course the reason for being frustrated is shifted directly onto the shoulders of the brothers and sisters immediately, so as to let them know it can't be the writers at Bethel causing any of their problems. The statement in paragraph 3 shows this, "For example, mature Christians loyally wait for Jehovah's appointed time for certain Bible prophecies to be fulfilled." Yep, the old mature Christian gambit is rolled out once more. "They stay busy in his service…" The inference is of course, just shut up and God will take care of our mistakes. The boys at Bethel never say that however. They never say we are the ones pumping you up and making you think all our prophecies will happen right now, in your lifetime, and when they don't, just be quiet, Jehovah is working his magic through us, and we will print more truth, just like the truth that wasn't really the truth.    

Is someone really worried enough about WTS prophecy and it's failure to again condemn independent thought of why it failed? Of course they are. In paragraph 4 they insist that Jehovah has confidential matters and instructions not yet known by anyone else on earth. Yep, Jehovah is going to give the WTS information he didn't want Jesus and the Apostles to have. And the Watchtower wants you to believe that God has found no other way to distribute that information on the face of the earth. Like he needs some religious group of fanatics to convey his message. The article says, "But we must realize that Jehovah reveals his confidential matters at the time he deems advisable. For that purpose God has authorized a "faithful and discreet slave" to provide his people with "their [spiritual] food at the proper time." Yes, Jehovah has refused to explain all of his wishes in the thousands of years before us. He has keep something hidden from every true believer of old. He only wants to reveal those matters to a body of old guys in New York who will vote on whether it's the truth or not. Remember this, the spiritual food only gets distributed after being approved by a three-fifths majority of the governing body. So any new confidential matters from Jehovah could get voted down. In any case, the WTS makes the decision for you, so shut up.    

And there must have been some guilt, somewhere; about the fact that young married couples were told by Rutherford, Knorr, and Franz to not have children so as to have more time to go door-to-door. Paragraph 21 says, "Additionally, some married couples have refrained from having children in order to be freer to carry on their service to God. This has meant great sacrifice on their part, and Jehovah will reward them accordingly." He will? Where in the Bible does it say that God rewards believers differently if they have children or not? And who says it was a great sacrifice on their part? Some people would make the argument that families with children make the greater sacrifice because raising a family and then going out in service is even harder for them than it is for childless families. This is just another smoke screen for the leaders to hide behind is what that statement means.   

They go on to say, "Incidentally, whereas the Bible encourages singleness for the sake of the good news, it makes no direct comment on remaining childless for the same reason. Thus married couples must make their own decision on the basis of personal circumstances and their own conscientious feelings." Where is old Joe Rutherford when we need him? He would make sure these words were never written. He would make it seem that God is working through the "organization" and making it known that children only interfere in your service time and that is displeasing to God and why have them anyway since they won't grow up in this system. Someone in this group of "slaves" has finally acknowledged the truth. If the Witness youth stop having children, the WTS is finished. Case closed, lock the doors and turn out the lights. No children born and you can kiss JWs goodbye. Preaching won't do the job. So now the message is vastly different. The message from the FDS has changed again. Just as it will again, again, and again. And so this kind of article will have to be written again and again because the boys at Bethel can never trust the members. And that's really sad. What's even sadder is those simple men and women who will never understand they are treated like literal sheep in the barnyard and not like spiritual sheep as promised.

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