Thursday, April 15 We are [not] the masters over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for it is by your faith that you are standing. —2 Cor. 1:24. Jehovah has not given us authority to make personal decisions for others. Someone who makes needless rules is not protecting his brother’s safety—he is trying to become the master of his brother’s faith. Satan the Devil will not stop trying to persecute Jehovah’s faithful servants. (1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 2:10) Satan and his agents will try to ban our worship of Jehovah. However, there is no reason for us to be paralyzed by fear! (Deut. 7:21) Jehovah is on our side, and he will continue to support us even if our work is banned. (2 Chron. 32:7, 8) May we have the same resolve as did our first-century brothers, who told the rulers of their day: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.”—Acts 4:19, 20. w19.07 13 ¶18-20
It's not a switcheroo for the comment to move through the initial take on the subject, congregational matters, to general obstruction and banning of preaching by government authorities. The original circumstances of the epistle writter include both issues in proximity. As the Bethel commentator notes satan will not stop trying to persecute Jehovah's servants. Interestingly the commentator notes this directly after having made mention of pointless bureaucracy. Much of bethel's dirty laundry is not washed in public although as time has moved on it seems inevitable that the well meaning Bethelites will have been obstructed, strong armed and many times out manouvered for their inclinations by some of the less spiritualy inclined company men. The commentary does conclude with the issue of banning of preaching work by introducing a scripture from Acts. Whatever the internal issues at Bethel it is not really credible to imagine the effects would remain internal. Does the literature unduely encourage Jehovah's witnesses to think highly of themselves ? Does Jesus warning to be wary of leaven imply some kind of danger ?