British Courts Are Urged against Us by Apostates . . .

. . . but will they win the argument against us in courts? (Some individuals in Great Britain who have apostatized from the faith make the baseless assertion that The Watchtower has slandered them individually, and caused them hurt by its statement that apostates should be avoided because they are mentally diseased and are a threat to any of us who might unwisely choose to give ear to their teachings. That description of apostates, however, is found in the Bible at 1 Timothy 6:3, 4.)

Brilliant lawyers can help to expose to honest-hearted onlookers the wickedness of those jurists who oppose; however, that brilliance in our lawyers will not carry any weight with how wicked jurists, who are bent on persecuting us, will necessarily respond if left to their own devices. The trump card, however, as respects that response is Jehovah's, for He can confuse the counsels of the wicked (Psalm 55:9; 57:3; 2 Samuel 15:31), and that just at the moment when they are poised to render judgment against us. We may compare here (see Acts 23:6-11) Paul's God-inspired brilliance against a murderous Sanhedrin in defending himself, which had little to do with countering the "evidence" that wicked witnesses were poised to urge against Paul before that kangaroo court. No, but the brilliance of Paul's maneuver lay in his perceiving how the Sanhedrin could be divided for its collapsing into chaos, collapsing into a riot from which Paul was rescued by military intervention.

But then again it may not be Jehovah's will to intervene, this no matter how brilliant our arguments. In that case, who among us would presume to counsel Jehovah as to what He should have done (cf. Romans 11:34)? Nor need we ever to second guess the wisdom and righteousness of our arguments against wicked opposers. It may well be Jehovah's will not to intervene, this so that wicked men go from wickedness to more wickedness, which may serve not only to show that the wicked jurists are themselves worthy of judgment, but serve also to increase thanksgiving to Jehovah's name on the part of honest-hearted onlookers who are moved to take sides with Jehovah.

If Jehovah allows the issue to come to a boil in a British court of law, then He may allow a verdict against us. On the other hand, He may choose not to allow the case to go against us; He could make a court case to go in our favor. Either way, it would boil down to what Jehovah is pleased to allow or to disallow, which need have very little or nothing to do with how most unbelievers perceive the arguments of our attorneys. Our prayer is that regardless of the weapons that men unjustly (immorally) form against us, Jehovah allow us and empower us to keep speaking His word with all boldness.

We trust that no servant of God wished that he could have been in Stephen's place before the Sanhedrin, thinking to himself, "I have figured out a sure-fire way that would have resulted in my exoneration had I been in Stephen's place, because I know how I would have exposed my accusers as liars -- as the murderous slanderers -- that they are, this to the chagrin both of them and of the court who would have been giving ear to them against me." No, no man could have had a better way to lay open to view the wickedness of Stephen's murderous accusers and judges than the way Stephen did it, for his was a God-given defense. But the wisdom and righteousness of his defense was, from merely an unenlightened human point of view, seemingly to no avail, for Jehovah chose not to intervene in Stephen's case. In Paul's case, however, Jehovah was not willing to leave to wicked judges and conspirators the future of the work that Paul ought not to be thwarted in accomplishing, for indeed Jehovah had already purposed that Paul should survive the machinations of his wicked opposers who had, at that time, determined to do away with him (see Acts 23:11).

Let us, then, not become anxious and excited in the face of what apostates allege against us, thinking to ourselves that our lawyers must, by their own educated wits, play the determinative role as to the extent of what may or may not befall the organization should responsible brothers be made liable to answer in court baseless, God-condemned charges levied against them. Jehovah will help them with their defense so that it will not be lacking for its wisdom and righteousness (Mark 13:11). Still, it may be Jehovah's will to allow wicked men to pronounce judgment against them. So what? We will continue to pray for them, and that Jehovah keep on granting His earthly organization opportunity and power to keep speaking His word with all boldness. We want Jehovah to read in our own heart what is our chief concern. And He will. And He will also act in harmony with our prayers, for it is already in Bible prophecy as to what will befall Jehovah's earthly organization in the near future, and it will not please our enemies when they are forced to see it, when they are forced to realize just how decisively and finally Jehovah defends His people against them, against the ones persecuting (see Revelation 6:15-17).