Annual Meeting - Dedication

JW Broadcasting Jan 2018 – Part 1

Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................... 1

2. Annual Meeting - Dedication ................................................. 1

2.1 Sanctify ............................................................................ 2

2.2 Vindicate .......................................................................... 3

2.3 Name ............................................................................... 3

2.4 Summary ......................................................................... 4

3. Dedication Program .............................................................. 5

4. Walkill .................................................................................... 6

4.1 Green Building Initiative ................................................... 7

4.2 Walkill Chiller project ....................................................... 7

5. Construction Project Committee Interview ............................ 9

6. Facilities being dedication video ......................................... 26

6.1 Mount Ebo ..................................................................... 27

6.2 Carpentry shop .............................................................. 27

6.3 Mountain View apartments ............................................ 27

6.4 Walkill expansion ........................................................... 28

6.5 Rivercrest apartment complex ....................................... 29

6.6 Congregate Living ......................................................... 29

6.7 Montgomery Warehouse ............................................... 30

6.8 Newburgh Hotels ........................................................... 30

6.9 Tuxedo Facility ............................................................... 33

6.10 Office services building ................................................ 33

7. Dedication Song – A Place that will bring you Praise .......... 36

8. Expansion That Glorifies Jehovah ...................................... 36

9. Conclusion .......................................................................... 55

9.1 Part 2 ............................................................................. 55

9.2 Part 3 ............................................................................. 55

Jan 2018 Broadcast

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1. Introduction

This is the January 2018 edition of JW Broadcasting. Welcome, one and all. As Mark Noumair explained last month, the Governing Body has approved the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Corporation to be broadcast each year as a monthly JW Broadcasting program. In this way, more translation teams around the world will have the resources to make this program available to viewers in many more languages. This annual meeting was indeed special. It was held on October 7, 2017. Since it also included the dedication of many United States branch buildings and the dedication of the world headquarters complex, it was presented from the Bethel auditorium in Warwick, New York. Brother Geoffrey Jackson of the Governing Body was the chairman.

2. Annual Meeting - Dedication

The monthly program you’re about to see consists of the dedication-related aspects of the event. I’m sure you will enjoy the program. We’re going to start off by asking you a question. In fact, the Governing Body has directed me to ask the English-speaking brothers this question: What if?

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What if during Brother Smalley’s prayer, he said, ‘And we pray for the vindication of your name?’ How would you have reacted? ‘Oh, no! I feel sorry for Gene.’ Well, it’s true that in English over the years, we have tended to be very careful, haven’t we, about saying the sanctification of Jehovah’s name and the vindication of his sovereignty? But is it necessarily wrong for us to say that Jehovah’s name could be vindicated? Well, back in 1965, the Awake! magazine answered that yes, it would be wrong. Then in 1995, The Watchtower made the point —it reemphasized— it said no one is questioning Jehovah’s name, so there’s no need to vindicate that name. But the more we look at this subject, the more we see a need to adjust our understanding, particularly in English. So let’s think about the words associated with this problem.

2.1 Sanctify

First of all, “sanctify” — what does “sanctify” mean? Well, it means “to make holy,” or to treat something as holy. And it’s very appropriate, isn’t it, that we pray for the sanctification of Jehovah’s name? That’s exactly what Jesus told us to do: “Let your name be sanctified.”

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So you can relax. There’s no change with regard to that.

2.2 Vindicate

But what about the word “vindicate”? Well, “vindicate” usually indicates exonerating or proving that someone is correct in something they’ve done. Perhaps they’re being criticized, and then they’re proved to be true, or correct.

2.3 Name

And what about the word “name”? Does it just refer to an identification or a label? Well, that’s usually not the case in the Bible, is it? It often times refers to the reputation of the person, not just their identifying name or label. For example, at Proverbs 22:1, it tells us: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great wealth.” Now in that case, “name” is referring to the reputation of the person. So let’s think for a few minutes. What really has Satan criticized down through time? Well, first of all, he has criticized Jehovah’s reputation —his name.

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And secondly, he has criticized the rightfulness of Jehovah’s sovereignty or, in other words, his way of ruling. So, really, both of these things, Jehovah’s reputation and his way of ruling, need to be vindicated. Satan has tried to besmirch the holy name of Jehovah in many ways. One way is by painting him as a vengeful, harsh God. Or in the churches of Christendom, believing that he is a God that burns people in a fiery hell. Or in the Scriptures, we see him implying that Jehovah is a liar who holds back good things from his creatures. Well, in that case, we can see that Jehovah’s name, or reputation, does need to be exonerated or, in other words, vindicated.

2.4 Summary

So in summary, Jehovah’s sovereignty certainly needs to be vindicated as we’ve always said, but also his name as a loving God —his reputation— needs to be vindicated. So it’s not wrong for us to say that these actions of vindicating Jehovah’s sovereignty and vindicating his name lead to the sanctification of his name. Now at this point, you’re trying to think: ‘What does that mean?’ Simply put, it’s not wrong to say that we pray for the vindication of Jehovah’s name because his reputation certainly needs to be exonerated. And what a privilege we have to be a part of that.

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Well, what a way to start the annual meeting right off the block —a new understanding. So this is how we’re going to start, with the chairman saying a few words. What else is on the program? Well, we are looking forward to seeing what we can enjoy.

3. Dedication Program

Well, when we think of this matter of the dedication program, I’m sure you do appreciate that it’s impossible for us to tell every story of every experience of how our brothers and sisters have seen Jehovah’s hand help them, either in their personal lives or in the actual construction work. In just a few moments time, we’re going to have an opportunity to see a specially prepared video that will tell us some of those stories. But this video is mainly designed to tell us about what happened with the construction here at Warwick. But before we start to watch the video, the Governing Body asked me to express appreciation on their behalf for a very special group of brothers and sisters. Who are we talking about? Well, those thousands of brothers and sisters who were working on all the other projects that were being either built or renovated at the same time as the Warwick project.

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So sometimes we focus on Warwick, but all these other brothers and sisters were likewise making similar sacrifices, and some of those projects were huge.

4. Walkill

For example, Wallkill: Over 1.1 million square feet (102,193 sq m) of facilities were either built or renovated or remodeled at Wallkill, and 302 residence rooms were added. This required 25,000 sheets of drywall to be hung and over 451,000 feet (137,465 m) of electrical wire cables to be installed. Additionally, new office space was made for 240 people. Now, when they added up how many brothers and sisters actually helped with just the Wallkill project, they came up with a figure of over 6,000 different individuals. Then the brothers, at one stage, started a Saturday work program that was designed to give extra help to the project. And the Bethelites, who have other assignments and who in their spare time offered to give this extra help on a Saturday, numbered 1,544 —and they put in over 10,000 hours of work. Then we had 937 outside volunteers from 20 different states here in the United States who contributed some 18,000 hours. So a lot of work went into renovating and building there at Wallkill. But what about the quality of the work there? Was it any less? No.

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4.1 Green Building Initiative

In fact, the F Residence and the Wallkill Office Building received the highest award of Four Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative —that’s the GBI. That was back in 2015. Now at that time, a project manager of GBI said: “Of the 23 buildings in the United States “that have been certified with Four Green Globes since 2006, “the Watchtower Wallkill Office Building achieved the highest point score with 94 percent.” Now, of course, since 2015, other buildings have also received these Four Green Globes. But remember, also among those buildings that have received it are all seven buildings here at Warwick. Well, we could go on and on about Jehovah’s blessings with regard to the Wallkill project.

4.2 Walkill Chiller project

But let’s just take one example: the Wallkill chiller project that started in December of 2010. It was critical, the brothers tell us, to get the new chillers operational no later than the first week of the following July. But there was a problem because they wanted to make sure the presses would continue to operate. This is how one of the brothers expressed what happened, he said: “By mid-June,” now remember by July they had to have the chillers up and running, “things started to get critical because of the lack of response “from the specialists from the chiller fabricator.

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“The Purchasing Department called repeatedly “but were unable to get a commitment from the fabricator to meet our deadlines.” So, what did the brothers do? Well, they made it a matter of fervent and urgent prayer. What happened? The brother continues: “A few days later, “I received a phone call telling me “that there was a man from the chiller fabricator “waiting for me in the main lobby. “He wanted to quickly see our start-up schedule and our installations, “and then give us a list of things we needed to complete. “We explained that everything was ready, “and we needed to begin the start-up in two weeks. “Well, he went for a visit. “As he walked through the factory, he was amazed. “He said that he has never seen an installation “in all the 20 years that he has been doing this that was ready to start on the first visit.” Then, as he was continuing to be amazed, he said to the brother: “Let me know who your insulators are. I want to hire them.” Well, the brother said —very wisely— that he didn’t tell him until later that most of the work was done by sisters, many of whom had no experience at all.

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We didn’t tell him that because we didn’t want him to steal them away to other projects. The brother then goes on to say that eventually he got enough courage to ask him, “Well, what caused you to actually come to the lobby that day?” Well, the man said that he’d received an urgent trouble call from another customer in a nearby town, so he decided he’d just stop by Watchtower on the way. He then said, “The trouble call turned out to be a false alarm.” Well, the chiller started on schedule and everything was operating according to plan. So that’s just one of many. Now believe me, they sent me reams of papers of experiences and those that I didn’t use, please forgive me. But over and over again, we see the brothers expressing how they appreciated the opportunity to work on the Wallkill project as well as the other projects, and how they saw Jehovah’s hand blessing them —as many of them sold homes, simplified their lives, or put their lives on hold so that they could be here with us. So to all those brothers and sisters who were working on all the peripheral projects, we want to say to you: “Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

5. Construction Project Committee Interview

But now we have an opportunity to watch a video that’s going to have an interview with the CPC.

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Who are the CPC? The Construction Project Committee who organized the work here at Warwick. Isaiah 40:12 gives us a glimpse into the power and the breadth of Jehovah’s hand. Remember, that’s where it says that Jehovah holds all “the waters in the hollow of his hand.” He can measure the universe “with a span of his hand.” And while this is figurative, it helps us to appreciate what Jehovah can accomplish to make sure his will takes place. Well, when we look at the beautiful Warwick project, we truly see that Jehovah’s hand was involved in what took place there. Now, last year, you remember at the annual meeting, we had the interview of the five brothers who made up the Construction Project Committee. And those brothers were the ones who oversaw and coordinated the work of that project, and they explained how the Warwick project took place. Well, this year at this special dedication program, we are again going to interview these dear brothers, and this time they’re going to tell us their experiences and other experiences that they had that convince them that Jehovah’s hand was in this project. Well, we’ve got some really touching experiences to relate about ones who really sacrificed in order to volunteer on the project and how their families supported them. They’re really going to be beautiful.

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And we also have some good experiences in regards to how the work was accomplished and seeing Jehovah’s hand in it. And lastly, we’re going to see how Jehovah’s hand was really shown even in nonbelievers and what they experienced and how the work was accomplished. Let’s get started with the aspect of how those who came to work on the project saw Jehovah’s hand. And I think, Rich, you had an overarching comment that really convinced you of this. Despite challenging weather, long commutes, difficult living situations, and hard jobs, our brothers manifested the fruitage of the spirit. You could see that at work, and you knew Jehovah was working with them and motivating their work, and it really made the project something very special. One couple had decided that with their circumstances and their finances, that for a maximum, they could come and work for three weeks on the project —which they did. But during the third week, they were asked if they could possibly extend to a fourth week. So they prayed to Jehovah: “Please just give us joy; “help us not to have anxiety about this. “Even though our finances will be at zero, we want to stay the fourth week.” They did. They went on their way home, back to the airport, and at the departure gate, there was an announcement that the flight was overbooked.

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They were looking for volunteers to take a later flight, and in compensation the airline would give a very significant amount of cash. Well, they took the cash —no longer had their finances at zero. But that’s not where they felt Jehovah’s hand. They felt it that last week —the joy while they were working and not having the anxiety over what the final outcome might be. I’ll never forget the night that Troy called our room and said that one of our volunteers that was going to be arriving— They were fixing a tire alongside the road back at their home, and the brother’s young wife was holding the flashlight. A car veered off the road, hit her, and killed her right in front of him. Yeah, he’d already been invited and already scheduled to come. But when this happened, we didn’t expect him to come, and we reassured him that it’s OK to stay back and handle matters. But he was determined to come. What was amazing was to see how Jehovah helped him during that time. His overseers that were assigned to care for him and the department he worked with, they rallied to him. And in the end, he says he felt that this experience helped him to recover emotionally, spiritually, and he saw Jehovah’s blessings in it.

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And it gave him pure evidence that Jehovah’s promises will come true. A brother came for a week, but his wife was back home with very serious health problems. The wife told her husband: “You must go. “You must go. This is the way I can make a sacrifice to the project.” So seeing Jehovah’s hand on sisters like that and their self-sacrificing spirit, it made us feel like those sisters were right there working on the project. As we got into the project, as it became evident that this project really was only going to get done as a result of Jehovah’s spirit, we saw our brothers transform themselves. They recognized that we were, first and foremost, spiritual men. We needed Jehovah’s blessing. So before a meeting started, the brothers would get together and say a prayer. It was clear to everyone that it was only going to be as a result of Jehovah’s spirit that this project was going to get done. These overseers quickly became known, not for their trade skills, but for being shepherds. They looked out for the brothers and sisters; they cared about them. So as a committee, we assigned shepherding calls to ourselves —three to four a month— and along with other shepherding within our departments.

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But you would see these dear brothers and sisters come in at the end of the day for a shepherding call —dirt or grease from head to toe, cold, gloves on, ear warmers, huge smiles. You could just feel that Jehovah was just lifting us up and moving us along for another day. It was quite an experience. It was as if Jehovah was telling us, ‘Spirituality is more important —and each other— than accomplishing the work.’ And that really helped us to see where our priorities should be. We found that as long as we looked out for the friends —spiritually and emotionally— as best we could, they did far and above anything we could have ever hoped for. It really was a wonderful example —how they responded to a spiritual atmosphere. Troy, how about the local brothers and sisters? They had a good share too. Yeah, the local brothers and sisters in the congregations surrounding the project were tremendous. Quite a few would come early in the morning to help guide the buses to their parking spots, to provide safe walkways, to direct traffic and parking. And they would get up very early —freezing cold temperatures. They would work, have breakfast, and then they would have to go off to their secular work and take care of their daily lives. It was really a good example of self-sacrifice.

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Another thing that they did, which was just outstanding, is that we had up to 700 trips to the airport on a given weekend —volunteers coming, volunteers going. And it was constant for years at a time, and yet most of those airport runs were done by our local friends, even using their own vehicles. Now, you brothers poured yourselves out on the project. You personally saw Jehovah’s hand helping you just when you needed it the most. Could you share a few of those experiences? I remember an instance where we were meeting with a Governing Body member on something else. And in the conversation, it just lent itself to the question, ‘Just what was it that made him or the rest of the Governing Body so convinced that this project was going to get done on time?’ And he explained that during the acquisition of the property, they had established terms in the acquisition that for them was sort of a coal test. And Jehovah fulfilled the test exactly as they expected. And from that point on, he mentioned that he himself and every one of the members of the Governing Body were firmly convinced that it was Jehovah’s will to move from Brooklyn to Warwick. I needed to transmit that confidence to the brothers on the project as well.

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We were getting ready to step off the bridge, so to speak, on some big decisions that we weren’t going to be able to retract; big dollars that were going to be spent for product that we weren’t going to be able to send back. We needed more faith. I can remember two instances in particular where I personally was discouraged, and you could kind of see it in our family. In both those times, a Governing Body member showed up unscheduled and visited and made personal expressions to us —expressions to the family— and it was just what we needed to keep us going. But now, let’s change thought a little bit. We also talked about how you saw Jehovah’s hand in how the work was accomplished. Jehovah caused our brothers to become not only good tradesmen but world-class, expert tradesmen. It was very common to see them take off their hard hats and say a group prayer. They realized it was a part of their worship and it facilitated Jehovah’s hand to be expressed through their work as well. Didn’t you notice, Rick, they felt a real need to have Jehovah’s spirit to be able to do what they needed to do. So they would look for an opportunity to pray before they tried to accomplish something. That feeling that they really cared and that it was part of their worship was even reflected in the prayerful attitude with which they went about the work.

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We would often inform the family of a difficult challenge or problem that we were facing, either as a committee or as a project. We would ask them to pray about it. And they would come back and tell us, “I’ve been praying about this.” And then we would hear that their families back home were praying about it. And we would regularly get cards and letters from the field, family worship projects —the kids would draw pictures and send them to us. And they put care packages —hundreds of them—together. We even got cards and letters from all over the world —Japan, Australia, and Europe. One sister from Europe sent about 65 pounds (30 kg) of Swiss chocolate for the family to enjoy. And Rick, do you remember our infamous Friday afternoon design, coordination, and construction meeting? Every time after prayer, we’d start the same way: “We don’t have what we need, brothers, to work next week. We don’t have sufficient enough drawings.” Rick would be there working; he’d be back and forth e-mailing with other ones; he’d be getting stuff sent in. We would conclude that meeting at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday every time with: “You know what?

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We have enough to work until next Friday.” And there, poor Rick, we’d go again the following Friday, and we’d start back up again. But Jehovah would give us what we needed as if he was telling us: ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got this. I’ve got it under control. Just keep working.’ You also mentioned some comments regarding the use of the construction groups and how that came about. We had the most qualified people you could ever find there —ready to go to work. We simply didn’t have enough of them. It was a matter of numbers. And so the committee charged a couple of us to look in and see what we could do to mobilize the nation in an organized way. All we had was a Saturday afternoon. And I thought, ‘This isn’t enough time; you can’t organize this effort.’ We sat down at 1:30 p.m. By 3:00 p.m., what would become known as the Warwick Construction Group effort —Jehovah built it! He laid it out in front of us how each building would be cared for. Yeah, did we adjust a few things as we went along? Absolutely!

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But that was the framework. We divided the country up into 11 different areas. We appointed three brothers in each area that would help to identify the volunteers and bring them —reach out to the volunteers, tell them we need them, explain the work ahead of time. And it really was an amazing arrangement. Of the 27,000 volunteers that we had on-site, 21,000 were organized and sent to Warwick by these 11 construction groups. So they would do any initial training that they needed to do and get organized so that they could come to Warwick and hit the ground running. Do you remember when we had the challenge with pipe insulation? How many miles of pipes do we have? Hundreds of miles of pipes to insulate. That was a trade that really didn’t exist among the brotherhood in the United States —at least not nearly the number we would need. And so our construction group brothers said: “Well, how hard can it be? We’ll put on training programs.” And so one or two, I think, came to Bethel; saw how it was done.

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The group started putting on training in the field at a Kingdom Hall or at a brother’s home. And they trained about 2,000 volunteers on how to do pipe insulation — mostly sisters. And they did all of that work, and they did a really professional job at it. I think that also speaks of the role the sisters played on our project. The ones that were assigned there. The ones in the field that were coming in. They played a tremendous role. We saw Jehovah’s spirit on them in helping us resolve problems, in accomplishing the work, and so forth. So with our training programs and orientation, the brothers quickly understood that safety and spirituality is a personal expression between them and Jehovah, first. Safety is a spiritual value. It’s something that we owe our brothers and sisters; we owe our families; we owe to Jehovah, who is the Source of life. We had many nonbelievers involved on this project. How did they even get to see Jehovah’s hand in this? We were meeting with different officials on a particular aspect of the project, and we had a bit of a difference of opinion as to what would be needed.

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But we really were not able to reach an agreement with the officials. At that point, we realized that taking the secular, technical approach wasn’t going to work. We pushed the plans aside, said a silent prayer, and then just asked the officials: “What can we do to address your concerns? What would you like to see us do?” That changed the tone of the discussion. It changed from a technical-based discussion to “We’re here to work together as neighbors, to come to a common accord.” And we eventually worked out a compromise that met their concerns. A few weeks later, we were back in front of the same officials but on a totally different subject. But before we could even present what we were there to talk about, they stopped us and they just wanted to commend us for how good the last meeting we had went. And we were looking at each other because we didn’t think it went that well. But they pointed out how they felt that they were dignified and they really appreciated the way we worked with them. And so it became clear to us that this project wasn’t entirely about technical issues, but really about manifesting Jehovah’s hand through the fruitage of the spirit as we dealt with the officials.

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We had a fuel truck that was in a local shop getting repaired. And a fuel truck is critical for our project because at four o’clock in the morning, 4:30 a.m., our brothers are out there to fuel the equipment so we can get the work done that day. They called to go pick it up and the gentleman told them: “Sorry, we’re closed. Well, what project are you on?” We said, “Well, we’re with the Warwick project here with Jehovah’s Witnesses, with Watchtower.” He goes: “Oh, Watchtower. Oh, no problem. “I’m going to leave the gate open; I’m going to show you where the keys are; I’ll have it there for you, and you can take the vehicle.” He said, “I trust you people.” One of the bus drivers, he showed up late one morning, and then he explained why he was late. He had been assigned the wrong bus that morning, and his dispatcher made him come back and switch buses. He said: “I was so mad at him. “I told him: ‘These people are working for God. “‘They’re not getting paid; they have to get to work on time; they have to do this work.’ ” He then told the friends, he said: “I know I’m going to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses one day. I’m going to serve my God, Jehovah.” And then he sat down, and he drove the friends to work. A brother was out in the ministry.

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He knocks on a gentleman’s door. The gentleman comes to the door, and he starts his presentation, and the gentleman interrupts him and says, “Have you been to Warwick?” And the brother steps back: “Well, no. No one’s allowed at Warwick. It’s under construction.” He goes: “No, I’ve been there. “I worked there, and it was very clean, organized, “and the people were the friendliest people I have ever seen. It was the best experience of my life to work on that project.” One of the jobs was to pull in this main feeder, this main electrical line into the complex —very technical piece. And so we had that scheduled for December 24, and there was a little bit of an aversion on the part of the contractors that wanted to be able to monitor when this was going in. And we said: “No, I’m sorry, this is the date we need to do this. We’re on a day-to-day schedule that we need to accomplish.” “Well, who’s going to do it?” “Well, as you know, we use women a lot on this site, and this is a crew of sisters.” “Well, I can’t believe that. “That’s a heavy line, and that can’t be striking the ground. It’s fragile until it gets into the conduit.” And he said: “Well, I wasn’t working tomorrow. I’m going to call my wife, and I’m going to come in tomorrow anyway.” Sure enough, he came in and spent a couple of hours there. Our sisters, as usual, did phenomenal work —pulled the line in, got it done.

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Do you remember how long it took them to do the work? Two hours! They had it pulled in. Two hours, yeah, it was just phenomenal. He just shook his head and went home. We hired the largest contractor in that part of New York State to perform a significant amount of work on-site. And toward the end of the project, the head of that company told us, he said: “When you first came to us and you described “what you were going to build and the size of it, “and then you told us the schedule that you were hoping to meet, and then you told us you were going to do it with volunteers,” he said, “we were happy to take your money. “But when you left, we were literally laughing at you. “We knew there was no way you could ever do “this much construction in that short of a time “—let alone with volunteers — and that this was going to be a disaster. We’re not laughing anymore.” So they could see Jehovah’s hand on that project. Well, we thank all of you for those very, very encouraging experiences. It makes us think of Isaiah 59:1 which reminds us that Jehovah’s hand is not too short to accomplish his will, and this is truly evident on this project. And I know you brothers would, as well as all of us, like to thank all who had a share in this —all those who physically

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came here to volunteer, the local brothers and sisters who supported us, all those from home, and everybody with their prayers. We truly appreciate that. And we’d also like to thank you five brothers for the sacrifices that you and your wives made during this project. And another evidence for me that Jehovah’s hand was in this project is: You five brothers are all friends. And just interacting with one another and being with you, you can see that that’s evidence of Jehovah’s spirit. But, ultimately, our thanks goes to Jehovah for what took place, because we know he ultimately was behind the success of this project. And we’re very thankful that all of us had a chance to witness Jehovah’s hand in action in what took place. Well, that certainly was a beautiful experience, wasn’t it? And for those of us that are visiting here, if you meet someone who worked on the project, make sure to ask them, “How did you see Jehovah’s hand in helping you personally and in the project?” And you may be surprised at what stories you learn by asking that question. Well, at this point, what we’re going to do is something a little different, an interactive exam, or test, to see who qualifies to remain in the auditorium.

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Now, what we’d like you to do is first of all, you have to answer the question: How many facilities are being dedicated today? Then list them in alphabetical order. Well, you know we’re not going to do that to you. But that little worry that you felt will be allayed when you watch the next video which tells you about the facilities that are going to be dedicated.

6. Facilities being dedication video

To support the Kingdom work, expansion has recently been underway within the United States. This involves the construction of the new world headquarters at Warwick along with 15 other buildings being dedicated at the 2017 annual meeting. Let’s visit each site and see how these buildings affect us in our Kingdom service and ultimately bring praise to Jehovah. Videos have become an important tool in our worship, and so the need to produce them faster and in greater quantity has risen dramatically. Five years ago, the department produced one feature film each year along with a handful of smaller videos. During 2016, that number grew to more than 350 productions. The existing facilities in Patterson consisted of three smaller studios. To produce more content simultaneously, a larger production space with multiple stages was needed.

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6.1 Mount Ebo

In early 2015, on Mount Ebo Road, a large building less than five miles away from Patterson was acquired. Originally built as a pharmaceutical warehouse, the building had more than 70,000 square feet (6,503 sq m) of open space. Work began to convert the warehouse into one large soundstage and two smaller stages. Renovations were completed in December 2016. The request for videos is certainly not slowing down; it’s increasing. So we have scheduled for 2017 around 420 videos that will be used in various aspects of the organization. So we have seen the need to have increased personnel and increased facilities to accommodate all these requests. So we can see that Jehovah has raised up brothers and sisters, or “gifts in men” and women, that have been able to help produce the beautiful music we have and the videos that are touching minds and hearts.

6.2 Carpentry shop

Just one mile away from Mount Ebo, a 12,000-square-foot (1,114 sq m) building was purchased and converted into a carpentry shop for building props and sets.

6.3 Mountain View apartments

The Mountain View Apartments were also purchased and renovated, providing housing for 100 Bethel family members.

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From the oversight of congregations and meeting arrangements to territory assignments and other aspects of the preaching work, Kingdom activities are overseen by the Branch Committee with direction provided by the Service Department.

6.4 Walkill expansion

In the United States branch, there was a need for expanded facilities to house these departments at Wallkill. The work for the Wallkill expansion project was basically completed in November of 2015. It involved new construction for residence buildings, the new F Garage, and the new office building. So between the new and the renovated facilities, it was over 1,118,000 square feet (103,865 sq m). You have to remember, too, that at the same time all the departments were still running, you know. Meanwhile, all these buildings were going up around us. I’m sure it didn’t appear this way to the workers, but to us it was like it was on a high-speed video at the rate that it went up. It was incredible! It wasn’t just their skills and expertise that they brought. It was their zeal; it was their joy; it was their positive attitude that they were able to maintain —even despite the heavy workload. And that engenders appreciation and zeal among all of those who’ve come in contact with them.

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Many are taking advantage of tools such as JW Library and the JW Language app to read, study, and teach the Bible. The increased use of technologies like these has created the need for more computer engineers and other personnel to design, develop, and test this software.

6.5 Rivercrest apartment complex

Work space and housing for these volunteers is now being provided at the Rivercrest apartment complex in Fishkill.

6.6 Congregate Living

Another important concern of the United States branch involves caring for senior members of the Bethel family. To meet that need, work was completed in 2016 on Congregate North and South. Congregate living is really home care. Home care for the most precious ones among our Bethel family. We’re surrounded by many wonderful brothers and sisters who are very hard working and care so much about us. And this has touched my heart. The blessings are being able to be with friends that we’ve known for years. It’s like a reunion that doesn’t stop. Jehovah has really taken good care of all of them. The care that our dear older ones receive is outstanding.

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And it’s true that we have people who care. But there’s a reason: It reflects Jehovah’s view of older ones. He says at Isaiah 46:4: “Until you grow old . . . I will carry you.” And that’s how those who have been trained by Jehovah treat the older ones. So it’s really a loving atmosphere that they are in.

6.7 Montgomery Warehouse

To receive and store building materials, a 220,000-square-foot (20,438 sq m) warehouse was purchased in 2014 in Montgomery, New York. At the Montgomery Warehouse, materials were staged and residential bathrooms for Warwick were prefabricated —speeding up construction on-site. The warehouse continues to be used as a storage facility for both the U.S. branch and the world headquarters.

6.8 Newburgh Hotels

In 2014, two hotels were purchased: Newburgh Center A and Newburgh Center B. Being centrally located between all three sites, these hotels have been ideal for housing temporary workers and hosting guests visiting the Bethel facilities. These hotels were a great help for the workers. They were going to be closer now to the project. Before, with that long commute from Brooklyn on the bus, it was tiring by the time they got to work.

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But now they were closer, so they could get a little more rest in the evenings and the mornings and be more productive. These workers are lovable. You have to love them. You think about all the sacrifices. They left homes, sold homes, and left jobs, businesses, family, friends, their pets. You thank them, but they thank you. They thank you for the privilege of coming, even though they’re the ones that made so many sacrifices. So they’re an encouragement to the rest of us. The plan to relocate the world headquarters to Warwick goes back more than eight years when we first purchased this 253-acre (102 ha) property 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Brooklyn. Some of the reasons that Brooklyn was so advantageous no longer have such a key role for us. And then, just the fact of living in a city that continues to get bigger and bigger created more and more complications and more costs. But I often think, even so, the real reason we moved out of Brooklyn is what the Governing Body has said from the beginning —that they are convinced Jehovah’s spirit directed them to move out of Brooklyn and to come up here to Warwick, New York.

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And we’re looking forward to— At some point in time, we’re going to look back and we’re going to see what all the other reasons are why Jehovah directed that to take place. The Warwick property included a number of abandoned buildings that needed to be demolished and removed. Once the site was cleared and plans were approved, construction began on July 29, 2013, and moved at a remarkable pace. About 4,000 a day were coming to the site. Over 27,000 of our brothers and sisters worked here. Then you had everybody in Bethel —from the Governing Body all the way down to departments— everybody was united in making this project a success. And there were challenges, but they would be settled in peace and love and all the qualities of Jehovah’s spirit. That is a modern-day miracle. Especially when you think about the world we are living in that is so fragmented and the lack of unity. And so you look at that, and it just makes you so proud to be part of this organization. I remember the first time visiting Warwick after the completion. I call it a happy/sad moment: happy because now the buildings were going to be used for the intended purpose but sad because you didn’t see the high-vis vests anymore. It was a beautiful scene with all those colorful vests, and now you didn’t see them, so it was sad.

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You get choked up. You realize that behind every vest there was a beautiful Kingdom story, and you miss them. The environment here at Warwick is just beautiful. It’s quiet; it’s refreshing. And it makes me really appreciate Jehovah’s creation around us. It’s beautiful to be here, and I thank Jehovah for the privilege. Warwick is a complex of eight buildings —more than a million and a half square feet (139,354 sq m) of construction. Bethel housing is provided in four residence buildings with 569 rooms along with another residence in nearby Sterling Forest with another 21 rooms.

6.9 Tuxedo Facility

And just a short distance away is the Tuxedo facility. Computer Department Engineering and the Broadcasting studio are located here, where the monthly broadcast is produced and now made available in over 130 languages.

6.10 Office services building

The Office/Services Building primarily serves as the hub for most world headquarters functions. The building also includes three exhibits, where visitors can take self-guided tours: “The Bible and the Divine Name,” which features rare Bibles and highlights how God’s name has been

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preserved in the Scriptures; the exhibit “A People for Jehovah’s Name,” a visual history of Jehovah’s Witnesses; and “World Headquarters—Faith in Action,” which explains how Witnesses are organized to study, teach, and live by what we learn in the Bible. When you travel anywhere in the United States branch or internationally, for that matter, there’s someone who has worked on Warwick. And the feeling that you get is that Warwick is not the world headquarters; it’s our world headquarters. I’ve heard a number say that when they go back home, they’re never going to be the same. Some have simplified, so they’ve moved from a big house to an apartment. Others have started pioneering, so that’s what they’re going to do. It’s really been a witness to the Witnesses. Jehovah looks for opportunities to bless his people. That makes him happy. And now you turn it around, and you look at all the work that’s gone into this —when he sees all those who volunteered to come on the project, all of our brothers and sisters around the world who made donations, those who included it in their prayers, those who helped others to come— how proud that must make Jehovah! And he’s just looking to bless them for that.

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I sometimes try to imagine the conversations in heaven between the angels and the kings in heaven and how they’re so proud of all these workers down here. And no doubt many of them were involved in the project. We think of the workers here on earth, but how about the workers in heaven? They may have been involved more than a few times with safety issues and with legal matters. So Jehovah was proud of everyone —his universal family— both in heaven and on earth with these projects. I feel that it’s going to build up the spirituality of our brothers and sisters as they come. And as we know, they’re coming from all over the world, and that’s only going to further advance the work. These buildings are beautiful, and it’s a beautiful setting. That brings praise to Jehovah. But what will bring the greatest praise is how these buildings, these tools, will be used —to honor his name, to bring attention to his Kingdom, to spearhead the preaching work. What these buildings will help the Governing Body accomplish will bring the greatest praise to Jehovah. So now we will be passing out those tests. No.

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No, now is the time for an interactive part of our program where we have an opportunity to raise our voices in praise to Jehovah.

7. Dedication Song – A Place that will bring you Praise

So if you’d like to stand, if you’re able, we’re going to sing our new dedication song at this time. And remember that’s entitled “A Place That Will Bring You Praise.” What a beautiful song —sung beautifully. If you’d like to take your seats, we’ve now arrived at the time for a highlight of our program —the dedication talk.

8. Expansion That Glorifies Jehovah

And this is going to be given to us by the longest-serving member of the current Governing Body, Brother Gerrit Lösch. And the title of his talk is “Expansion That Glorifies Jehovah.” Modern-day worship of Jehovah began in a small way. It calls to mind the scripture that says, according to Zechariah 4:10: “Who has despised the day of small beginnings?” What is the context of the scripture? In the year 537 before our Common Era, Jehovah moved Persian King Cyrus —who had conquered Babylon— to release the Israelites that were held captive there for 70 years, opening the way for them to return to Jerusalem and Judah. They were to restore true worship and rebuild the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed.

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How many exiles returned to Jerusalem from Babylon in 537 B. C.E.? According to Ezra 2:64, about 50,000. The footnote in the sixth edition of Isaac Leeser’s translation of the Bible suggests that including women and children, the number amounted to about 200,000. In the seventh month of the year 537 B.C.E., the altar was set up. And in the following year, 536 B.C.E., the foundation of the new temple was laid. But after laying the foundation, they neglected to rebuild the temple on that foundation. Enemies round about also discouraged them from doing so. The enemies succeeded to place a ban on the work about 15 years later in 522 before our Common Era. Two years after that, in 520 B.C.E. — stirred up by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah— Governor Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest courageously resumed the construction of the temple despite the ban. Jehovah proclaimed that: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, “and his own hands will finish it. . . . For who has despised the day of small beginnings?” —Zechariah 4:9, 10. The rebuilding of Jehovah’s temple at Jerusalem had a modest beginning, yes, but it was not to be despised. After all, it involved true worship —pure worship of Jehovah.

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The year 520 B.C.E. saw this “day of small beginnings,” but in 515 B.C.E., 22 years after the return from Babylon and 5 years after the construction project was resumed, the temple was completed. The former exiles held the inauguration, or we could say dedication of this house with joy —Ezra 6:13-16— and this resulted in Jehovah’s praise. He was glorified by the rebuilt temple. There were also small beginnings for the Christian congregation at Pentecost 33 of our Common Era. And Jesus related this illustration at Matthew 13:31, 32: “The Kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard grain “that a man took and planted in his field. “It is, in fact, the tiniest of all the seeds, “but when it has grown, “it is the largest of the vegetable plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and find lodging among its branches.” What’s the meaning of Jesus’ illustration of the mustard grain? The grain itself represents the Kingdom message as well as what results from the preaching of that message —the Christian congregation. Like the mustard grain that is “the tiniest of all the seeds,” the Christian congregation had small beginnings in 33 of our Common Era. However, within a few decades, the congregation grew rapidly. It expanded beyond all expectations. Jesus tells us that “the birds of heaven” were able to “find lodging among its branches.”

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These figurative birds picture righthearted individuals who find spiritual food, shade, and shelter within the Christian congregation. There were also small beginnings in modern times. Consider our first headquarters. In modern times, Bible Students, as we were called, had headquarters offices first at 101 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, and thereafter at 44 Federal Street, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. By the late 1880’s, they built their own structure. Completed in 1889 at Arch Street, it was known as the Bible House. Because of continued expansion, headquarters was transferred to Brooklyn, New York, in the years 1908-1909. In 1908, the old “Plymouth Bethel,” 13-17 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, was purchased. It belonged to the Plymouth Congregational Church. Also, 124 Columbia Heights, close by, was purchased from the Plymouth Church. It soon became the new home of our headquarters staff of —at that time— 30 persons, and they called it Bethel, meaning “House of God.” “Bethel” was the name the Plymouth Church had given to their building on Hicks Street. The remodeled Hicks Street building then became known as the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

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It housed offices and an auditorium. On January 31, 1909, 350 persons were present for the dedication of the new headquarters. But there were also small beginnings in a different sense in 1919 of our Common Era. The statement at Zechariah 4:10 about “small beginnings” applied after the Israelites had returned from Babylon. Was there a parallel in modern times? Yes. In our century, for Jehovah’s anointed Christians, it was a “day of small beginnings” in 1919, when they were completely freed from domination by Babylon the Great —the world conglomerate of false religion— in order to restore true worship. Already in the years before, they had progressively cleansed themselves from Babylon the Great. From 1914 to 1919, the brothers lived through a number of crises and tests, but this came to an end in 1919. The Memorial of Christ’s death was celebrated on Sunday, April 13, 1919, with 17,961 attending in many lands. This was, of course, a lot less than the number of returnees from literal Babylon. And of these 18,000, about 4,000 also reported field service. Many looked down on the brothers.

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Yes, there were again small beginnings, but still they were approved by Jehovah, and therefore he caused expansion ever since. There is expansion in the material sense. In order to meet together in worship, last year about 1,000 properties were purchased and new Kingdom Halls constructed on them. In addition, there were many more where major or minor renovations were done. Branch offices are being expanded and also newly built remote translation offices, Bible school facilities, and Assembly Halls. In the United States, we now have 47 active Assembly Halls. Also, there is expansion in numbers. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there were almost 1.2 million who attended the Memorial this year. In Mexico, without Central America, there were about 2.2 million who attended. Worldwide, about 20 million attended the Memorial of Christ’s death last year. Each weekend, an average of 5,300 new ones are getting baptized and becoming our brothers and sisters. Our worldwide family and brotherhood grows. But our numerical expansion in itself is not proof that we have the truth.

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Other religions have many more members and some grow quickly. There are about 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, second only to the number of named Christians. But numbers alone prove nothing. Truth is not measured in numbers. But the combination of true teaching, true love, high moral standards, neutrality, carrying and sanctifying God’s holy name —together with the increase— that does prove beyond a doubt that Jehovah has chosen us as his people. At Isaiah 60:22, there’s this prophecy that was foretold, and it says: “The little one will become a thousand “and the small one a mighty nation. I myself, Jehovah, will speed it up in its own time.” Who is that “mighty nation”? It’s the great crowd and the anointed together. They constitute a combined “mighty nation,” although they are relatively few when compared to the present total world population of more than 7.5 billion, as of March of this year. Many who visit us at Warwick, Wallkill, or Patterson say, “Oh, you live here like in a paradise.” And those saying this may have in mind the loving fellowship that we enjoy and also the beautiful surroundings. And the fact is that we do live in a paradise — a spiritual paradise.

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But what about you visitors and all those who are watching this program by streaming and otherwise? The good news is that you are also in the spiritual paradise. All of our worldwide brotherhood live in this spiritual paradise. Now, what is the spiritual paradise? It involves our relationship with Jehovah. It involves the spiritual food that we enjoy served by the faithful slave. It also involves the loving relationship with our brothers in the congregation and our worldwide brotherhood. It includes personal blessings from Jehovah that he bestows upon us in everyday life. The spiritual paradise is the spiritually secure, prosperous environment or realm of activity in which we worship Jehovah. No matter where we live on earth, we are in this paradise as long as we actively support the worship of Jehovah and endeavor to display the new personality. The spiritual paradise began in a limited way in 33 of our Common Era at Pentecost. It underwent changes during the centuries but was restored in 1919. The spiritual paradise relates to the divine approval of the anointed that became evident that year in 1919. In comparison with the first century, the anointed enjoy increased spiritual prosperity since that time.

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And since the 1930’s, those with an earthly hope also enter the spiritual paradise. And ultimately, the spiritual paradise will be in full existence, in perfection, in the new world. Do we appreciate that spiritual paradise? Satan will try to destroy our spiritual paradise. He thinks he can succeed because we seem vulnerable. He may try to disrupt the flow of spiritual food or break up our unity or stop us from zealously preaching —all elements of the spiritual paradise. Through political governments, he will try to efface true worshippers and true worship from the earth, but he will not succeed. He will be thrown into an abyss for a thousand years, and after that he will be crushed out of existence. What about the governments that he controls now? They will already be crushed at Armageddon —forever. The Messianic Kingdom will take control of the earth, which eventually will become a perfect, literal paradise, and then the spiritual paradise and the physical paradise will exist concurrently. The expansion of the spiritual paradise since 1919 was paralleled by material expansion. Let me take you back on history lane.

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First, let’s talk about our printing efforts. In 1920, we started with a rotary press at Myrtle Avenue, New York. In 1922, the printery was relocated to 18 Concord Street. From 1927 to 1986, additional printery buildings were bought and erected on Adams Street. But what about residence and office expansion? On October 10, 1960, there was the dedication of a new residence and office building at 107 Columbia Heights; 630 brothers attended in the ground-floor Kingdom Hall. The new building, Brother Franz said, reminds us of the psalmist’s words: that everyone in Jehovah’s temple would speak his glory. In 1969, the 119 Columbia Heights residence was built and dedicated on May 2. In the same year, the complex was bought from Squibb Pharmaceuticals, and it served as world headquarters until we moved here to Warwick. The address was 25-30 Columbia Heights, and it was dedicated on March 15, 1982. Later, buildings number 48 and 50 were also joined to the number 30 building. Close by is the 85 Jay Street lot, a whole city block that was used for parking. Then, September 18, 1995, there was another important dedication program.

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Seventeen residences had been added since the previous dedication of the Bethel residence on May 2, 1969. Among the added residences there was the Towers Hotel that we bought in 1975, the Bossert Hotel, Standish Hotel, Sliver building, the 108 Joralemon Street building, the 30-story Sands Street building, and the 97 Columbia Heights building —formerly there was the Margaret Hotel on that property. The 360 Furman Street building, which housed our shipping department and some other departments, was purchased by us on March 15, 1983, and was totally renovated. It had a million square feet (93,000 sq m) of floor space. As of this date, most of our properties —almost all of them— have already been sold, and this more than covered the expenses needed to build headquarters here. Well, what about expansion at Wallkill? In 1963, the farm at Wallkill was purchased from brothers. It is 75 miles or 120 kilometers away from New York City. New residence buildings were completed in 1968, 1971, and 1973. The large printery was eventually built in 1973 and expanded in 1975. In 2004, printing in New York was discontinued, and all printing was consolidated at Wallkill. On May 15, 2005, there was the dedication program for the expanded Wallkill complex and facilities.

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Today, we also dedicate a new residence, a new parking garage, a new office building at Wallkill, as well as the Montgomery Warehouse, and two nearby hotels and a diner that you saw before in the video. Wallkill has become the national headquarters for the United States branch, and most of the Branch Committee members live at Wallkill. Warwick is the worldwide headquarters —so that’s the difference. But there was also a complex built at Patterson in the mid-1990’s with offices, residences, and theocratic schools. And on May 19, 1999, was the dedication program. Recently, the Mount Ebo video studios on Route 22, close to Patterson, were added and also another building. Now, Patterson is also considered as part of world headquarters. Also, the Tuxedo building that we bought from the paper company and where our broadcasting studio is now, is part of world headquarters. It’s situated just about 10 minutes from here on the same country road. Finally, we also dedicate the Rivercrest complex that was bought in Fishkill, where several hundred Bethelites live. Today, we will focus on the dedication of our beautiful world headquarters complex at Warwick. Now, why was it built here? Well, we trust that it was Jehovah that wanted us to build it here.

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Well, what we learn from ancient times is that according to 2 Kings 23:27, Jehovah was the one who chose Jerusalem as a center of worship. And in our time, our world headquarters is a center that promotes true worship worldwide, and we believe it was chosen by Jehovah. All the expansion that we talked about glorifies Jehovah. The apostle Paul had the right attitude. He wrote at 1 Thessalonians 2:6: “Nor have we been seeking glory from men.” Yes, we seek Jehovah’s glory, not our own glory. He is the one that caused and blessed the construction of our complexes. I’m sure you agree. Jehovah is the one who blessed the rebuilding of the physical temple in the times of Zerubbabel. And Jehovah said back then, according to Isaiah 60:7: “I will beautify my glorious house.” Now, the prophecy about the “glorious house” in our time refers, not to the literal structures of world headquarters, but to our spiritual temple. Many would come, according to prophecy, and worship in that spiritual temple. It is a figurative ‘house of prayer for all the nations,’ according to Isaiah 56:7. Revelation 7:9 prophesies about ‘a great crowd out of all the nations.’

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Now, what is their role and position? Well, let’s look at it in the Bible in Revelation chapter 7. And in verse 9, it says: “After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, “which no man was able to number, “out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, “standing before the throne and before the Lamb, “dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands.” It says that they ‘stand before the throne of God.’ Does this mean that they go to heaven? No. The earth is called God’s “footstool” —Isaiah 66:1. So even on earth, the great crowd stands before the throne of Jehovah. The great crowd consists of Christians with the hope to live forever in Paradise on earth. Revelation 7:15 says about them: “They are rendering him sacred service day and night.” Where? In front of the temple? No, it says: “In his temple.” Where, exactly, is the great crowd serving? Yes, all of us, no matter what hope we have, serve Jehovah in the spiritual temple because we all worship Jehovah based on Jesus’ sacrifice. So, what is the spiritual temple? True or false? It’s the same as the spiritual paradise.

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False. Or it refers to anointed Christians. False, again. The temples in Bible times constituted a provision or arrangement for worshipping Jehovah. So the spiritual temple is also an arrangement of worship based on Jesus’ perfect ransom sacrifice, and all who worship Jehovah based on his sacrifice are in the spiritual temple. Now, the spiritual paradise, on the other hand, refers to a condition that allows us to serve Jehovah with his approval and in peace with our brothers. We can enhance the beauty of the spiritual paradise and extend its borders by making disciples and also by displaying the Christian personality. All in the spiritual paradise sing Jehovah’s praise without letup. It is as if they preach day and night. Isaiah 62:6 goes on to say: “Continuously, all day long and all night long, “they should not be silent. You who make mention of Jehovah, do not rest.” Yes, we are determined not to be silent, not to rest mentioning Jehovah. At chapter 60, verse 6, in Isaiah, we read: “They will proclaim the praises of Jehovah.” By preaching the good news and by our expressions in Kingdom Halls, we all contribute to Jehovah’s praise.

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Praising Jehovah is one of the primary objectives of our meeting attendance and our preaching activity. We understand that we do not primarily preach to save people’s lives. Jehovah’s praise is more important than the salvation of people. Why? Because Jehovah is more important than people. At Hebrews 13:15, it says: “Through him [Christ] let us always offer to God “a sacrifice of praise, “that is, the fruit of our lips that make public declaration to his name.” Nobody can stop the expansion. Even dictatorial governments, including communist governments, could not stop the expansion of God’s organization. Hitler could not; Stalin could not; Trujillo in the Dominican Republic could not; Mussolini in Italy could not; Ceausescu of Romania could not; Mao Tse-tung could not; Enver Hoxha, dictator of communist Albania, could not. Nobody can because Jehovah is with us. What about the former Soviet Union that included Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Russia? In 1991, there were less than 50,000 publishers in the former Soviet Union. Now they are approaching 400,000 publishers. Imagine that increase, or expansion.

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Within the period from 1991 to 1998, a total of 220,492 were baptized in the former Soviet Union. In 1990, in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, there was just one congregation. Now there are about 75. And 1993 saw the largest baptism of true Christians ever. It happened also in Kiev, Ukraine, at the convention —7,402 were baptized. Restrictions cannot stop the work. Jehovah promised: “I will oppose those who oppose you, and I will save your own sons.” —Isaiah 49:25. Shortly before Armageddon, prophecy shows that we will be attacked by a coalition of nations or governments directed by Satan and the demons. We do not need to fear, though. Jehovah will protect his people during the great tribulation, and it stands to reason that he will also protect the physical headquarters. At Zechariah 2:8, he says: “Whoever touches you touches the pupil of my eye.” Zechariah 2:5: “‘And I will become to her,’ declares Jehovah, “‘a wall of fire all around [in protection], and I will become the glory in her midst.’ ” Yes, our headquarters bring glory to Jehovah. These headquarters facilities and related buildings were built to glorify and praise Jehovah.

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Isaiah 43:21 says: “The people whom I formed for myself [What for?] so that they might declare my praise.” Isaiah 43:21 —good to remember that text. It shows that the purpose why Jehovah has formed us as his people is to glorify and praise him. And so, what is the purpose of the Christian congregation in general? Well, again, to bring praise to Jehovah. What’s the purpose of Warwick headquarters? To praise Jehovah. Ephesians 1:12 encourages us to “serve for the praise of his glory.” May this new complex and the other buildings that we dedicate today glorify and praise our dear heavenly Father, Jehovah. It is now appropriate that we say a dedication prayer to dedicate all the buildings that have not been dedicated yet. And Brother Leon Weaver, who serves on the Branch Committee in the United States, will now represent us in prayer. With this prayer and your consent, I now declare all of our new buildings as dedicated to Jehovah. And we thank all of you for your contributions in various ways —manual labor, financial contributions, and prayers. Now, what is the opposite of “the day of small beginnings”? The day of a big finish?

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Well, is the dedication of our headquarters the big finish, or ending? No ending is in sight. It is all relative. In the new world, we might even consider the dedication of Warwick as a small beginning in comparison with the huge work that will be accomplished in Paradise to teach billions, because billions will be resurrected. Isaiah 11:9 says: “The earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.” Yes, we have a glorious God, and Jehovah has a glorious name. We have the glorious good news, and we have a glorious hope for the future. When Solomon inaugurated the temple, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. Today, the spiritual temple in which millions of us find ourselves in is also filled with Jehovah’s glory. At Isaiah 26:12, it says: “O Jehovah, you will grant us peace, “because everything we have done you have accomplished for us.” Yes, we want to give credit and praise to Jehovah God. Even opposers come to realize that Jehovah’s blessing was involved in the construction, as was the case in the days of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 6:16 says: “They realized [the opposers] that it was with our God’s help that this work had been done.”

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And this is in line with 1 Peter 4:11: “So that in all things “God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. “The glory and the might are his forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 5:13 agrees with this, saying: “To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb “be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.” Hallelujah! Thank you very much, Brother Lösch, for helping us to focus on the real meaning of the dedication of these facilities. The thousands that attended in person or were tied in for that event thoroughly enjoyed the dedication program. And now millions more of you have been able to enjoy the same experience.

9. Conclusion

I know, I know, you can’t wait to see the rest of the program. So I’m happy to inform you that the spiritual portion of the annual meeting program will be posted later this month in two installments in the Video On Demand section of our site.

9.1 Part 2

Part 2 will be posted on Monday, January 15.

9.2 Part 3

Part 3 is to be posted on Monday, January 29. So by the end of the month, you will have heard talks from five members of the Governing Body. We are well-fed spiritually, that is for sure. Well, that’s all for now.

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This program is from the studio of JW Broadcasting at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses.