bruceq

I have now traced all of this to 1992 when Kirill met with the Pope to eliminate Jehovah's Witnesses with Watchtower and another newspaper. as source:
The Archbishop Cannot Cope!
   LAST year, a consistory (solemn council of cardinals) was organized to discuss certain matters that are of great concern to the Catholic Church. One of these, according to the newspaper Il Sabato, is “the aggressiveness of the sects.” However, the newspaper said: “It should be no problem for the cardinals to reach agreement on this point. All are in accord that there is a need for a more in-depth study of the phenomenon of new religious movements and also a need to prevent, as far as possible, their expansion.”
Evidently, though, “the aggressiveness of the sects” is not just a problem in Italy. Il Sabato reports: “While visiting the Vatican recently, Archbishop Kirill of Smolensk [one of Russia’s oldest cities] . . . asked the pope for ecumenical aid in coping with the overwhelming growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses and similar groups in the Soviet Union.”

   In the first century, leaders of established religion had similar complaints when Christianity was spread aggressively by its adherents. On one occasion indignant Jews complained to the city rulers: “These men that have overturned the inhabited earth are present here also”! (Acts 17:6) Back then, religious leaders tried hard to stop the spread of Christianity, but they failed. Today also, any effort to stop the spread of true Christian doctrine is doomed to failure. God himself promises: “Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success, and any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me.”—Isaiah 54:17. SOURCE : 8/15/1992 WATCHTOWER
SEE UPDATED BEGINNING TO THIS THREAD

PLEASE SEE THREAD ENTTILED :
"HOW DID THIS ALL BEGIN : 1997 ANTI-CULT GROUP IN RUSSIA TARGETS: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES" The Archbishop Cannot Cope!
   LAST year, a consistory (solemn council of cardinals) was organized to discuss certain matters that are of great concern to the Catholic Church. One of these, according to the newspaper Il Sabato, is “the aggressiveness of the sects.” However, the newspaper said: “It should be no problem for the cardinals to reach agreement on this point. All are in accord that there is a need for a more in-depth study of the phenomenon of new religious movements and also a need to prevent, as far as possible, their expansion.”
Evidently, though, “the aggressiveness of the sects” is not just a problem in Italy. Il Sabato reports: “While visiting the Vatican recently, Archbishop Kirill of Smolensk [one of Russia’s oldest cities] . . . asked the pope for ecumenical aid in coping with the overwhelming growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses and similar groups in the Soviet Union.”

   In the first century, leaders of established religion had similar complaints when Christianity was spread aggressively by its adherents. On one occasion indignant Jews complained to the city rulers: “These men that have overturned the inhabited earth are present here also”! (Acts 17:6) Back then, religious leaders tried hard to stop the spread of Christianity, but they failed. Today also, any effort to stop the spread of true Christian doctrine is doomed to failure. God himself promises: “Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success, and any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me.”—Isaiah 54:17. SOURCE : 8/15/1992 WATCHTOWER
 

PLEASE SEE THREAD ENTTILED :
"HOW DID THIS ALL BEGIN : 1997 ANTI-CULT GROUP IN RUSSIA TARGETS: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES" The Archbishop Cannot Cope!
   LAST year, a consistory (solemn council of cardinals) was organized to discuss certain matters that are of great concern to the Catholic Church. One of these, according to the newspaper Il Sabato, is “the aggressiveness of the sects.” However, the newspaper said: “It should be no problem for the cardinals to reach agreement on this point. All are in accord that there is a need for a more in-depth study of the phenomenon of new religious movements and also a need to prevent, as far as possible, their expansion.”
Evidently, though, “the aggressiveness of the sects” is not just a problem in Italy. Il Sabato reports: “While visiting the Vatican recently, Archbishop Kirill of Smolensk [one of Russia’s oldest cities] . . . asked the pope for ecumenical aid in coping with the overwhelming growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses and similar groups in the Soviet Union.”

   In the first century, leaders of established religion had similar complaints when Christianity was spread aggressively by its adherents. On one occasion indignant Jews complained to the city rulers: “These men that have overturned the inhabited earth are present here also”! (Acts 17:6) Back then, religious leaders tried hard to stop the spread of Christianity, but they failed. Today also, any effort to stop the spread of true Christian doctrine is doomed to failure. God himself promises: “Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success, and any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me.”—Isaiah 54:17. SOURCE : 8/15/1992 WATCHTOWER
 

4  "Love  is patient  and kind.  Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up,  5  does not behave indecently,  does not look for its own interests,  does not become provoked.  It does not keep account of the injury. 6  It does not rejoice over unrighteousness,  but rejoices with the truth. 7  It bears all things,  believes all things,  hopes all things,  endures all things. 8  Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13

Then I will use God's Word his "thinking" : "17  No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment.This is the heritage  of the servants of Jehovah, And their righteousness is from me,” declares Jehovah.+ ISA 54:17

USCIRF Releases 2017 Annual Report
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 2017 USCIRF Releases 2017 Annual Report
USCIRF Recommends Russia be Designated a Country of Particular Concern
WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2017 Annual Report on the state of religious freedom in selected countries. “Overall,” said USCIRF Chair Thomas Reese, S.J., “The Commission has concluded that the state of affairs for international religious freedom is worsening in both the depth and breadth of violations.  In the 2017 report, the Commission calls for Congress and the administration to stress consistently the importance of religious freedom abroad, for everyone, everywhere, in public statements and public and private meetings.”
The International Religious Freedom Act requires the U.S. government to designate as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, any country whose government engages in or tolerates particularly severe religious freedom violations that are systematic, ongoing, and egregious. To fulfill USCIRF’s mandate to advise the State Department on which countries should be designated as CPC, the Commission researches and monitors religious freedom conditions abroad and issues an annual report on countries with serious violations of religious freedom.
This year’s report calls on the Secretary of State to designate Russia as a CPC partly due to its continued use of its “anti-extremism” law as a tool to repeatedly curtail religious freedoms for various faiths, most recently the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  “The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ right to religious freedom is being eliminated through a flawed application of this law," commented USCIRF’s Chair, Thomas Reese, S.J.  “The recent Russian Supreme Court ruling bans the legal existence of the group throughout Russia.”
In 2017, USCIRF recommends that the State Department again designate the following 10 countries as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. USCIRF also finds that six other countries meet the CPC standard and should be so designated: Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.
In 2017, USCIRF places the following 12 countries, where religious freedom violations are severe but do not fully meet the CPC standard, on the Commission’s Tier 2 list:  Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey.
USCIRF remains concerned about the “securitization” of religious freedom, citing Bahrain as an example where the government has cracked down on the Shi’a Muslim majority yet the U.S. administration is lifting human rights conditions on weapons sales to that country.  USCIRF Chair, Thomas Reese, S.J., said that “Religious freedom should not suffer under the guise of seeking to ensure national security.”
Some governments have made efforts to address religious freedom concerns. For example, USCIRF does not recommend Egypt and Iraq for CPC designation in 2017, as it had for Egypt since 2011 and Iraq since 2008.  In Egypt, while ISIS affiliates increasingly targeted Coptic Christians, the government took some positive steps to address religious freedom concerns, although the rest of its human rights record has been abysmal. In Iraq, while the Iraqi government has sought to curb sectarian tensions, ISIS has committed genocide, ruthlessly targeting anyone who does not espouse its extremist ideology.  
For years, USCIRF has recognized and documented how non-state actors are some of the most egregious violators of religious freedom.  The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016 requires the President to identify non-state actors engaging in particularly severe violations of religious freedom and designate each as an “entity of particular concern” (EPC).   The act defines a non-state actor as “a non-sovereign entity that exercises significant political power and territorial control; is outside the control of a sovereign government; and often employs violence in pursuit of its objectives.” 
Accordingly, for the first time, USCIRF recommends that the following three non-state actors be designated as EPCs: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria; the Taliban in Afghanistan; and al-Shabaab in Somalia.
To view the full USCIRF 2017 Annual Report visit www.USCIRF.gov.
SEE ALSO http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/russia-escalates-violations-of-religious-freedom-20170426.html?mobi=true

Website of Russian Ministry of Justice posts results of trial
DOCUMENT: FOR THE INFORMATION OF CITIZENS ADDRESSING THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE REGARDING THE RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION "ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA"
 
In connection with numerous appeals to the Russian Ministry of Justice from citizens of the Russian federation and countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States on questions of the activity of the religious organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia," the Russian Ministry of Justice reports the following.
 
In the period from 8 to 27 February 2017 the Russian Ministry of Justice conducted an unscheduled documentary inspection of the compliance of the activity of the religious organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" with the goals and task declared in its charter and with legislation of the Russian federation.
 
As a result of the inspection, it was established that the activity of the aforesaid organization is conducted with violations of the charter goals and tasks and also of current legislation of the Russian federation, including the federal law of 25 July 2002, "On combating extremist activity."
 
Thus, 95 materials of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which had been imported and distributed on the territory of the Russian federation since 2009 were found to be extremist. In the same period, 8 local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were found to be extremist and were liquidated. In connection with this, on 2 March 2016 the office of the prosecutor general of the Russian federation issued to the organization a warning in accordance with article 7 of the federal law "On combating extremist activity." Said warning was appealed by the organization in court, but it was ruled to be legal and reasonable.
 
On 15 March 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice filed in the Supreme Court of the Russian federation an administrative plaintiff's declaration for finding the organization to be extremist, banning its activity, and liquidating it and removing information from the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities.
 
On 20 April 2017, the Supreme Court of the Russian federation granted the administrative plaintiff's declaration of the Russian Ministry of Justice for finding the religious organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" to be extremist and banning its activity.
 
24 April 2017
(tr. by PDS, posted 27 April 2017)
 
Russian original posted on official website of Russian Ministry of Justice, 24 April 2017
{THIS NOW MEANS OUR BROTHERS CAN LEGALLY FILE THE APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURTS DECISION]

Ban of Jehovah's Witnesses accompanied by violence
SUPREME COURT DECISION PROVOKES VIOLENT ACT OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IN ST. PETERSBURG
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 25 April 2017
 
Several hours after the Russian Supreme Court announced the decision about liquidating the center of Jehovah's Witnesses, late in the evening of 20 April 2017 a group of men drove up in two passenger cars to the largest Jehovah's Witnesses' house of worship in St. Petersburg, located on Kolomyazhsky Prospect. They blocked the exit from the building with the vehicles. One of the visitors, shouting insults against the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and threats of physical harm, threw cobblestones previously readied against the façade of the building, including glass doors and windows. The house of worship was substantially damaged.
 
Such a development of events was predicted by lawyers speaking in court. Somewhat earlier in that day, speaking during the debates, Maksim Novakov, who represented the Jehovah's Witnesses' center, predicted that the trial may provoke a wave of violence against Witnesses: from damage to property to attacks on believers on the basis of religious hatred. These are the inevitable consequences of groundlessly ranking peaceful people along with dangerous criminals. (tr. by PDS, posted 27 April 2017)
 
[PLEASE CONTINUE OUR PRAYERS FOR OUR BROTHERS SAFETY DURING THESE CRITICAL TIMES AND FOR JEHOVAH'S WILL TO BE DONE].

Authorities are probably as corrupt as the Government.
Peaceable with all men can give a witness as well. A building is just a building a life is more important and everlasting life may result to others if we have fine conduct among the nations.

"He will not fear bad news. ]His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.  8  His heart is unshakable;* he is not afraid;  In the end he will look in triumph on his adversaries'.  PSALM 112:7,8

4  "Love  is patient  and kind.  Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up,  5  does not behave indecently,  does not look for its own interests,  does not become provoked.  It does not keep account of the injury. 6  It does not rejoice over unrighteousness,  but rejoices with the truth. 7  It bears all things,  believes all things,  hopes all things,  endures all things. 8  Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13

NO REASON TO MAKE PERSONAL INSULTS AT ME IF YOU CANNOT DEFEND YOUR ANTI-CULTISTS FROM RUSSIA.
m
6  “Do not give what is holy to dogs nor throw your pearls before swine,+ so that they may never trample them under their feet and turn around and rip you open." JESUS SAID MATT. 7:6

bruceq Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?
 James Thomas Rook Jr. Your last post presumes that Jesus can be wrong, which is FALSE. 
 bruceq  We all know Jesus was right not "False". Would you have done what Jesus said?
  Jehovah told Abraham to sacrifice, KILL his son. So was Jehovah right or wrong to say to kill someone to abuse a child in the worse way possible or would you have questioned him and say he was WRONG and INJUST to such a child?
  Obviously we do not know all that is in Jehovah's purpose and how he will carry out each individual plan in order to achieve the ultimate purpose and who are we to question that like Korah and his 250 REBELS did in questioning the imperfect people that Jehovah was using to guide his flock. Look where Korah and the Rebels ended up!!!
   There are hundreds of other examples we can argue over but what it all boils down to is - Do Jehovah's Witnesses have the True Religion? You cannot be a fence sitter the fence belongs to Satan. And Dvorkin and the anti-cultist cronies have argued the exact arguments that apostates and others critical of Jehovah's Organization have been doing. Interestingly many in the world have seen through the hypocrisy and lies of the anti-cultist apostates and actually say Jehovah's Witnesses are correct.  That is the very reason the Ministry of Justice and anti-cultist apostates give for JW.ORG being banned and now Jehovah's Witnesses both singled out to be eliminated from Russia from all other religions. That fact alone should tell you something if you meditate on it !!!
"And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations.'  MATT. 10:18

No Jesus can not be wrong. You are using the same line of reasoning Satan did with Eve. You are being critical of Jehovah's Organization by saying these things. Why not try staying on topic instead of bashing Jehovah's Witnesses and the Faithful Slave. SCROLL UP about Jesus and Moses and how people reacted in each situation. 
 

"arbitrary made-up stuff that is NOT Jesus' direction" 
is in the Bible as you and the anti-cultist apostates already know.
Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?
MY JESUS RIGHT OR WRONG
Please answer the question
 

Stuff does happen. For example Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?
The Israelites were leaving Egypt and told to turn back to Pihahiroth  instead of just leaving Egypt altogether. Moses led them up against the Red Sea it seemed this crazy guy we are following is not from God because he is leading us into a trap. Of course Moses was imperfect and made many mistakes but how do you know if that decision was made by a crazy old man or Jehovah was guiding his decision? Just the fact that what he did seems WRONG and what Jesus did seemed WRONG does it really make it WRONG to our Creator who may be testing your Loyalty to his direction. Perhaps he knows more than you do. Perhaps he has a purpose it what he did. Obviously then taking sides against this direction because it seems right to you, a human who also makes mistakes may perhaps put you in an alignment with God's adversaries like the anti-cultist apostates on the MOJ?
So it comes down to JEHOVAH RIGHT OR WRONG?

As to policies and procedures it all boils down to loyalty to Jehovah's Organization. If this is the true religion then we should follow the ones Jehovah has taking the lead.

"The reason Jehovah's were banned in the Russian Federation was because we DESERVE TO BE BANNED.
Such CRUELTY flying the false flag of righteousness the Russians know all too well."
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
This is the exact line of reasoning Dvorkin used as the anti-cult apostate who is now controlling that element of the Ministry of Injustice of the Russian Federation. And everyone not just JW know he was wrong.  Birds of a feather flock together.
Of course they want Jehovah's Witnesses to conform to everyone else and become "mainstream". Why else did they not ban any other religion. So if the Witnesses follow your suggestion and get rid of disfellowshipping what make them any different than other religions who also practice tolerance for wrongdoing in their religions. The Russian Orthodox Church and the rest of Christendom  have quite a track record over the centuries of showing love to neighbor with their clergy and  laity full of fornicators and adulterers and ...No wonder Jehovah;s way is different only Satan would say otherwise since he wants his people embedded into the mix with God' people.
The practice of disfellowshipping did not originate with the Witnesses of the 20 th century. It came from the first Century. I have hundreds of books dealing with just this topic of early Christian beliefs of how they also practiced disfellowshipping. These book can be found in my ebay store "Watchtower Historical Items and Research Publication" if you want more info. 

Then I will use God's Word his "thinking" : "17  No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment.This is the heritage  of the servants of Jehovah, And their righteousness is from me,” declares Jehovah.+ ISA 54:17

"He will not fear bad news. ]His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.  8  His heart is unshakable;* he is not afraid;  In the end he will look in triumph on his adversaries'.  PSALM 112:7,8

Authorities are probably as corrupt as the Government.
Peaceable with all men can give a witness as well. A building is just a building a life is more important and everlasting life may result to others if we have fine conduct among the nations.

As to policies and procedures it all boils down to loyalty to Jehovah's Organization. If this is the true religion then we should follow the ones Jehovah has taking the lead.

Implications of the Supreme Court's decision
175,000 PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
by Anton Chivchalov
Radio Liberty, 25 April 2017
 
On 20 April, Hitler's birthday, Russia became the first European country to prohibit the religious confession of Jehovah's Witnesses. Hitler also tried to do this, but did not succeed. A bit later Stalin tried, with similar results. According to the decision of the Supreme Court, for the first time since 1918 in Russia the property of a whole religious confession with countrywide reach will be confiscated, and this is hundreds of buildings, built on the voluntary contributions of believers themselves. The confiscation is an important point of the plaintiff's declaration of the Ministry of Justice. People do not request money from the government and they build houses of worship at their own expense, but the government confiscates them because it does not like how they pray.
 
The cynicism of the situation simply cannot be comprehended. Back before the decision of the court, the police and FSB throughout the country conducted raids on houses of worship, searched believers, copied their passports, photographed them, and issued warnings about their criminal responsibility for "extremist" activity. I stress again: this began before the court's decision. Now that it has been announced, throughout the country hunting season has been declared.
 
Police, the FSB, as well as an infinite number of vandals and goons of all stripes, all are out on the hunt for believers, women, children, and babas [elderly women]. In Cheliabinsk the police have already dispersed a meeting of deaf persons. In Taganrog believers have already received criminal sentences for reading the Bible. Vandals have already broken windows and even tossed grenades into houses of worship. All of this has already happened, and all of this now will be multiplied.
 
We stand on the brink of a widespread religious genocide with unpredictable consequences. "The siege has now begun, since the confession has been 'liquidated,' but Jehovah's Witnesses will not renounce the faith," lawyer Anatoly Pchelintsev notes justifiably. Really, it is impossible to ban faith with the stroke of the pen. As a result the country simply has gained 175 thousand prisoners of conscience. In Pchelintsev's opinion, some will emigrate and some will go underground. Those who will not be able to do either will be imprisoned.
 
It is amazing, but the majority of journalists and practically 100% of the public do not understand the reasons for this trial nor its consequences. The situation is understood thus: a) the Jehovah's Witnesses are a dangerous sect that commits actions that are dangerous to society; b) when they are banned, they will cease to do these actions.
 
"It is the end of the world for Jehovah's Witnesses," RT writes naively. In reality the situation is as follows: a) the only basis for banning Jehovah's Witnesses is their "extremist," that is the incorrect, literature. Nothing concerning any other harmful acts has been discussed in court, except for questions of blood transfusion, but even on this issue the Ministry of Justice was not able to provide any evidence.
 
The only basis for a ban is the disputable, in the plaintiff's opinion, wording in the literature and biblical interpretation. "It is not quotations from the Bible that are considered extremist but the interpretation of what is written in the Bible," the justice ministry's lawyer, Svetlana Borisova, declared frankly in court.
 
Further: b) after the ban, in the future believers will believe just as they believed earlier. History does not know cases when Jehovah's Witnesses changed their convictions on order of the authorities. If someone thinks that with the aid of the ban believers can be "re-educated," remade to order, this is an extremely naïve prediction. It does not work.
 
The only thing that will change as the result of the court's decision: it is necessary to imprison people. And it is necessary to imprison not a rock group of three persons and not a single Pokemon hunter, but almost 200 thousand citizens of the country. It is an incredible number of people who no single civilized state has imprisoned in modern history. It will be necessary to build new prisons and a whole network of prisons. But in any case, a whole new page in the history of state-confessional relations is beginning.
 
Attorney Viktor Zhenkov told in court a morality tale: "In this courtroom there is a person who was born in prison. Because his mama, who was in the third month of pregnancy, was sentenced as an enemy of the people to eight years incarceration simply because she was a Jehovah's Witness. She gave birth in prison and the infant spent two years in the prison's children's home. His father could not take him because he had been exiled to Siberia. In 1991 the government acknowledged that the mother was a victim of political repressions, apologized to her, and assigned a pension. And now here in the court this man, born in prison, approached me and asked: 'Does the Ministry of Justice really want a repetition of this horrible history?' And I did not know what to answer. Even now I do not know what is motivating the representatives of the Ministry of Justice and those who are directing this trial."
 
Today several people continue to say: there will not be any imprisonments; simply a legal entity is being banned; personal rights remain with the citizens. This is a misconception deriving from bad information. Already warnings have begun for believers simply for reading the Bible and prayers in their own home (!) under threat of criminal prosecution. The FSB has already begun warning that all adherents of Jehovah's Witnesses will be prosecuted on criminal articles. Earlier in Taganrog, 16 believers already received criminal articles for simply reading the Bible, and not all of them were members of the banned legal entities. The Ministry of Justice itself frankly acknowledged at the hearings that criminal cases may be initiated against believers. Religious discrimination (forbidden by the constitution) has been officially introduced into Russia: believers of some religions may assemble for prayer, and others may not.
 
It is encouraging that ever more believers of other confessions understand that tomorrow they will come for them. Baptists, Pentecostals, and even Orthodox have spoken out openly in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses, and they have sent their appeals to the president. For many, their eyes have been opened to what is happening. It is necessary to open them faster; it may not make it.
 
Immediately after the decision of the Supreme Court there began to be discussed in the corridors of power which religion will be next. "All organizations who exist in our country, with the exception of traditional confessions, should be examined to find protection of the interests of traditional morality, traditional values of Russia, in institutions of respect for the family, concern for neighbors, and love of the fatherland. In my view, very many organizations today do not accord with this criterion," said the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Development of Civil Society and Affairs of Public and Religious Associations, Sergei Gavrilov.
 
Has everyone gotten the signal?
(tr. by PDS, posted 26 April 2017)

“For a fact, the king to whom I am speaking so freely well knows about these things; I am convinced that not one of these things escapes his notice, for none of this has been done in a corner,” says the apostle Paul at Acts 26:26. So it is with the Russian ban on true religion. It has not been done in a corner. The Governing Body did not permit it to be done that way. Nobody who knows anything cannot have failed to hear of this.
The entire affair, which our Russian brothers always thought was a long shot, is publicized so that as few as possible can say they were unaware. Let them declare themselves on one side or the other of Christianity. Let the American Dream Church and the Independence Day Church, always intricately involved with the world, continue to pretend that they represent Jesus. All know who are truly following his command to ‘put down the sword.’ All know who are truly proclaiming ‘this good news of the Kingdom’ and living by its requirements even today.
Someone worries that other nations, far from being outraged, may take this as a template for banning Witnesses in their country, too. If it should happen, let it happen with maximum publicity, as this is receiving. How literally is Psalm 2:2 to be fulfilled? Let all publicly take their stand. Let it become clear before all who are God’s loyal ones and who are those who would fight against him. At some point the experiment of human self-rule must end. Has it not proven itself an obscene failure?
Our Russian brothers always thought it was a long shot. Rarely does the judicial branch in that country stand up to the executive branch, regardless of the evidence. It is the witness given that is most important. All have come to know that there is a nation in which every citizen cares personally about every other citizen. Our Russian brothers will forever know that their courageous stand, which they are prepared to continue, triggers massive traffic to jw.org – how could it be otherwise? as heretofore uninterested persons check to see if it is truly extremist. Of course, they will see that it is not. How will they respond to that?