OBEDIENCE AND AUTHORITY – The Driving Purpose of the Organization

[Witness]

How do we define the common phrase, “power trip”?

“A sustained and often aggressive exercise of power over others in order to boost one's stature or feeling of self-worth”

I want to share the following perspective of privileges and entitlement in the organization, made by an exjw on reddit. He described the progressive reality of power and authority, harboring in the hearts of the governing leaders. (Prov 25:6; Rom 2:8; Gal 6:3) 

These leaders presently ‘exercise all authority’ over the organization’s operations, yet the elder body is also given great authority over the anointed, replacing God’s chosen priests as the organization’s counterfeit priesthood. (Rev 13:1,2,5-7,11,12,15-17) (Matt 24:15,16; Mark 13:14; 2 Thess 2:3,4; Dan 11:36) (1 Pet 2:5,9; 1 Cor 3:16,17; Ezek 44:6-9)

This person relates the pervasive drive for men especially, to "reach out", be recognized and respected on all levels of the organization. The demands and expectations for select JWs to succeed in supporting the organization, are sourced with the men at the top. Although this progressive learning tool of control is exercised upon all JWs, it is an especially blasphemous act against God’s holy anointed priesthood. (Matt 24:24,25; 48-51; Rev 13:5-7; 11:1,2) 

“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:5,6

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Did you ever “serve” as an attendant at conventions? What about working the parking lot at assemblies or memorial? Did you or your dad routinely travel to other halls to give a Sunday talks? Did you ever work safety at quickbuilds? Did you ever have a part on the stage at an assembly or convention? Were you ever in a drama? Did you ever get to pass the emblems (or even partake)? If you got baptized, do you remember sitting in the special section that morning? Did you ever get announced as an MS, elder or pioneer?

If you can answer yes to any of the above questions, you may recall the sense of pride you felt. Even if you’re a lowly teenager running mics or controlling the sound, any position of responsibility comes with a small (but noteworthy) power trip. Imagine, for a brief moment, an elder, the COBE, the circuit overseer or even a visiting bethelite pulls into the parking lot at memorial or circuit assembly and for one small moment, it is you who has all the power and control. You have the orange vest, the orange cone, the straw hat and the honorable Attendant badge. They must drive and park where you tell them to. They will obey your command. For a small snapshot in time, even they must follow your leadership and direction—even tho they represent god on earth. But for that moment, they heed your direction when parking a car. They need your microphone to share their wisdom. The anointed cannot partake unless you hand them the emblems. They cannot speak while you’re on the platform, even if you’re simply reading the WT. YOU have all the power and control. YOU command everyone’s attention. The day you got baptized, it was YOU everyone looked at in the special section. It was you they sang and applauded for. When you (or your dad) visited another hall to deliver a Sunday talk, you already felt special. They lined up to meet you. You met new friends. You were automatically trusted as “exemplary” and even given “hospitality.”

And even tho you may have only been a teenager at the time, or if you were an adult MS or elder, you were likely nothing special outside of the empowering moments those titles brought with them—but for those brief moments, even YOU, an uneducated window washer, enjoyed the taste of control and power. The highest ranking JW had to park where you told them. They couldn’t enter a quickbuild without safety gear and you had the power to stop them. They couldn’t interrupt your talk or take your spotlight the moment your appointment was announced. Yet, outside those windowless walls, you were nobody.

IMAGINE the sense of power and control the GB feels all the time, everywhere they go. They brag about their humble lifestyles (and it’s true, their lodgings at HQ are ok at best—nothing spectacular, in fact most of our homes are probably nicer than their rooms are), but they never lose that feeling of ultimate authority. Everywhere they go, they’re met with reverence. Everything they say is spoken as god’s mouthpiece. Every visit they make, every broadcast they host, they are revered.

What’s their motivation, you ask? Just try to remember those brief moments when you had title, rank and authority over others and ask yourself what you’d do if that was the way you lived 24/7.

 

https://4womaninthewilderness.blogspot.com/

“Should We Obey Men?”  

Why Jesus came to earth / Last World Power over the Chosen Ones / "Iron" and "Clay"  

“Who Really is?” 

 

 

 

[Srecko Sostar]

Yes, in the hierarchy it is important to give everyone (primarily male members) their share of power participation. A very well-touched topic about our “dark” side of character and how that need for power develops in controlled conditions. Of course, anything that is tried to be controlled can always become uncontrollable.  

[ApostaBabe Linda James]

On 6/8/2021 at 10:55 AM, Witness said:

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:5,6

So my question is, Who in their right mind gave the devil "all the Kingdoms of the world?" Who would even have the authority to give "all the Kingdoms of the world" to the devil? Who thought this through and came up with this grand plan to give "all the Kingdoms of the world to the devil? Who's Infinite Wisdom was behind this decision of giving the devil "all the Kingdoms of the world? Were there some form of conditions that must be followed when having all their authority and splendor?

I don't know about you, but for me, this authority that is presented in the realm of Christianity regarding the devil claiming to have this authority, seems to be a misplaced authority at best. Might the devil be lying about having this authority over "all the Kingdoms of the world?" I've never read anywhere or heard anyone in a leadership position within Jehovah's organization present this story as though the devil was lying or that the devil having this authority over "all the Kingdoms of the world," not be the case.

hmmmmm, what if....

What if this refusal of Jesus to worship the devil, was in fact an act ( possibly even a revolutionary act ) of refusing to acknowledge the devil's authority over "all the kingdoms of the world," Jesus showing his followers how to walk in his footsteps, ( hence "footstep followers." ) and we too can refuse to acknowledge the devil's authority over "all the Kingdoms of the world," and act in the same manner? Okay, that makes more sense. Jesus did say that he was no part of the world when he was here on earth right? Right.

But if Jehovah is the one who granted this authority to the devil over "all the Kingdoms of the earth," ( as senseless as that may appear ) would not Jehovah want those who reside within all of the Kingdoms of the world to worship the one whom he has given this authority to?

But then again if this authority was given to the devil by Jehovah, then I probably have no business questioning it, now do I?

 

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

On 6/27/2021 at 10:17 AM, ApostaBabe Linda James said:

I don't know about you, but for me, this authority that is presented in the realm of Christianity regarding the devil claiming to have this authority, seems to be a misplaced authority at best.

1 John 5 :199

Berean Study Bible
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

NWT

¹⁹  We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.

This seems to confirm that the Devil has that authority. And that is why true Christians are, as you say, 'no part of this world'. Unfortunately the Watchtower / CCJW / JW Org ARE part of that wicked world and they prove it regularly. 

The Org are very materialistic and 'physical' in their thinking and actions. Large building complexes, the writing of many books, asking for donations, falsely predicting 'the time of the end', and deep involvement in Child Sexual Abuse, prove that they are indeed 'part of this world'. So who has authority over them ?  

 

 

[Srecko Sostar]

15 hours ago, ApostaBabe Linda James said:

So my question is

The questions make sense. If God did not participate in the creation of human governments, which should be logical, because why would he create competition for himself, then these "kingdoms" are not his, but from those who established them.
We should establish historical events that show the emergence of “human rule”. It should then bring to light the possible moment when it was God who became the “owner” of all these past kingdoms (and today’s legal successors). What biblical account confirms such a conclusion? The appearance of Nemrod? But nothing speaks in favor of God appropriating or producing that kingdom. JWs only deal with the term - "God allows it to exist".
According to the development of events visible from the Bible, God was in some way involved in the creation of the Jewish Kingdom. The Jewish Kingdom was ultimately still (became and remained) human rule, thus part of the “political” picture at the time, and through the state of Israel it still exists today.

If God was ever the owner (I won’t say the creator of human kingdoms), at what point and why would He hand over all control and ownership to Satan? Let us not forget that God greatly regretted creating man. Would he then, and yet, contribute to the creation of competition in the form of “kingdoms” that he voluntarily gives to Satan? Or is it perhaps a matter of creating a seemingly invincible system on the opposite side, which God would destroy in the future to prove himself the greatest?

15 hours ago, ApostaBabe Linda James said:

What if this refusal of Jesus to worship the devil, was in fact an act ( possibly even a revolutionary act ) of refusing to acknowledge the devil's authority over "all the kingdoms of the world," Jesus showing his followers how to walk in his footsteps, ( hence "footstep followers." ) and we too can refuse to acknowledge the devil's authority over "all the Kingdoms of the world," and act in the same manner?

We can deny/refuse whatever we want, but we can still be reached by "someone else's reality". In the past, before becoming president of the new Yugoslavia after World War II, Tito was arrested and brought before a court in 1928. At the process of the trial he said that, he consider this court incompetent and recognize only the court of the Communist Party. But he was still sentenced to 5 years in prison.

16 hours ago, ApostaBabe Linda James said:

But then again if this authority was given to the devil by Jehovah, then I probably have no business questioning it, now do I?

No authority is happy when questioned  
 

[Witness]

On 6/27/2021 at 3:17 PM, ApostaBabe Linda James said:

So my question is, Who in their right mind gave the devil "all the Kingdoms of the world?" Who would even have the authority to give "all the Kingdoms of the world" to the devil? Who thought this through and came up with this grand plan to give "all the Kingdoms of the world to the devil? Who's Infinite Wisdom was behind this decision of giving the devil "all the Kingdoms of the world? Were there some form of conditions that must be followed when having all their authority and splendor?

 

That’s a good question, I can only offer my meager thoughts.  Jesus is light and life. (John 8:12) Satan is darkness and death. 

God gave not only Adam and Eve a choice of either life or death, but Satan also was given a choice.  Both Jesus as the Logos, and Satan were the “trees” in Adam and Eve’s inhabited sphere. (Gen 2:9) God, through the Logos, warned them of Satan’s “fruit” or teachings. (John 1:10-12,14; Matt 7:15-20) He told them not to “eat” of his tree; not to take in his lies.  Jesus is the “tree of life”, but they chose to listen to the father of the lie.  (Rev 22:14; John 8:44)

 ^“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned."  Rom 5:12

Satan gained authority over the “world” of humankind, because darkness and death reigned.  As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, war broke out between “seeds” (Gen 3:15) We know the war culminates when “death is destroyed”. (1 Cor 15:26)   This means, Satan’s reign comes to an end – not a literal thousand years later during the reign of the Kingdom of God where “death will be no more”, as the Wt. has convinced millions to believe. (Isa 33:1; Rev 20:10; 21:4)

When Jesus came he said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”  John 16:33

Rom 5:14-21 -  Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One.  (1 Cor 15:22,45)

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.^[e] 17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. ¹⁹ For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more ²¹ so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

But, although this offer by Satan of power and riches in Luke 4:5,6  can be taken up by anyone, it is specifically a gift of authority not over the “kosmos”/world, but over the “inhabited earth” – see Greek meaning for "world".  Whenever we find “inhabited earth” in the scriptures, it refers to God’s homeland, His people.  Each anointed one is the “dwelling” of His Spirit. (1 Cor 3:16)  Since the first century when Jesus established the foundation of the Temple/dwelling “land” in the anointed, it refers to “Israel”, the holy priesthood.  (Ps 26:8; John 14:23; 1 Pet 2:5,9; 1 Cor 3:16,17; 1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:20-22; 1 Cor 3:9)

“Kingdoms” have kings, the anointed are “kings” within God’s “land”. Satan has asked to “sift” them as wheat.

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired (“demand”) to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31)

He has been given authority to do so, just as God gave him authority to “test” Job.  (Luke 22:31; Job 1:8-12) The early anointed ones conquered him through their faith in Christ and truth. (Luke 10:19; Rev 12:10) Yes, in those days, he had them physically killed, yet they gained eternal life.   But, for the final anointed in the last days, this means deception and a trap, a new plan to eternally destroy those in Christ. (Rev 12:1-4,15)  He’s very close to losing his own kingdom/rule of sin and death.  (Col 2:8; Rev 13:10)  What better way to deceive them, than by first winning over a few to do his bidding, to be his “ministers of light”.  (2 Cor 11:3,4,13-15; 1 Tim 4:1; Heb 12:15; Rev 8:10,11)  There is no doubt that these ones have riches, power and authority over the unsealed “kings of the earth”, which we see played out in the organization.  (Rev 1:5; 5:9,10) (Rev 13:1,2,5-7,11,12,14,15; 16:13-16)  They too, have a choice, to either remain under the rule of men, or turn to Jesus Christ their Head, and chief cornerstone of the Temple of God.  (Acts 4:11; Eph 2:19-22) (Rev 18:4-8)  But we know how tough it is to just walk away. (Rev 13:15; 11:1-3,7)

Gal 1:3,4 –  ^“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”

Rom 8:18-22 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

 

Is God's foreknowledge to blame for the consequences of sin?