Hebrews 10:25
Hebrews 10:2525Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The Watchtower treats as a divine command to attend all Kingdom Hall meetings. Missing meetings is presented as evidence of weak spirituality and a lack of love for Jehovah. The phrase "not forsaking our meeting together" is read as an institutional attendance requirement rather than a call to mutual encouragement. Elders use absence from meetings as a pastoral concern indicator and may schedule shepherding calls for those who miss regularly. The verse is also deployed to argue that being "taught by Jehovah" means receiving instruction at organisational meetings directed by the Governing Body, reinforcing the claim that the organisation is the necessary channel for spiritual nourishment.
The imperative in the broader sentence () is "consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works." The meeting clause in verse 25 is subordinate — it describes one way believers fulfil the command to encourage each other, not an institutional attendance mandate. The Greek word for "forsaking" (enkataleipontes) means total abandonment of the faith community, not occasional absence from a midweek meeting. The text specifies no time, place, frequency, or organisational structure. Early Christians met in homes (, , , ) with no Kingdom Halls and no centralised programme. The wider context of is about bold access to God through Christ's blood — freedom and confidence, not obligation. When attendance at a specific building becomes a requirement for God's favour, grace has been replaced by a works-based system.