WHY I’M ONE OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH? Hello, how are you today? Have you ever taken a moment to consider what God requires of those worshiping Him? After all who is it that determines what is required for true worship; is it man? Or is it God? Let’s take a look at what God’s Word the Holy Bible shows about what sort of worship is acceptable to Almighty God Jehovah. We will examine the Scriptures and see what God’s Word the Bible really teaches. Time is fast running out for this system of things. Many people think that Jehovah’s Witnesses are just a bunch of fanatical doomsday prophets because that’s what their clergy tells them. Jehovah God has always had his witnesses who would not go along with the conventional way of life. They often faced hardships and persecution for boldly witnessing about Jehovah God and bearing witness about Jesus Christ. At Hebrews chapter 11 you can read about these ancient witnesses of God. Our history goes further back than any religion since as Hebrews 11:4-7 reads: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than that of Cain, and through that faith he received the witness that he was righteous, for God approved his gifts, and although he died, he still speaks through his faith. By faith E′noch was transferred so as not to see death, and he was nowhere to be found because God had transferred him; for before he was transferred he received the witness that he had pleased God well. Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please God well, for whoever approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him. By faith Noah, after receiving divine warning of things not yet seen, showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; and through this faith he condemned the world, and he became an heir of the righteousness that results from faith.” Yes, Jehovah’s Witnesses are an ancient religion. The apostle Paul continues in Hebrews 11:32-40 “And what more will I say? For time will fail me if I go on to relate about Gid′e•on, Ba′rak, Samson, Jeph′thah, David, as well as Samuel and the other prophets. Through faith they defeated kingdoms, brought about righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from a weak state were made powerful, became mighty in war, routed invading armies. Women received their dead by resurrection, but other men were tortured because they would not accept release by some ransom, in order that they might attain a better resurrection. Yes, others received their trial by mockings and scourgings, indeed, more than that, by chains and prisons. They were stoned, they were tried, they were sawn in two, they were slaughtered by the sword, they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, while they were in need, in tribulation, mistreated; AND THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY OF THEM. They wandered about in deserts and mountains and caves and dens of the earth. And yet all of these, although they received a favorable witness because of their faith, did not obtain the fulfillment of the promise, because God had foreseen something better for us, so that they might not be made perfect apart from us.” Is all this misguided ramblings by a religious fanatic; well think about this for a moment I’m not only a historian and chronologist and an avid student of the Bible. I know what the Bible teaches and I know what Jehovah’s Witnesses teach I have spent my entire life studying all religions; not just Jehovah’s Witnesses. • Jehovah’s Witnesses use the Bible as the only source of Knowledge of truth. They do not depend on “human philosophy” for truth or man-made doctrines. • Bible Education & Bible reading are encouraged. • Before baptism a person must know why he is being baptized and what God requires of him/her, he/she must be qualified to accurately defend from the Bible the reason for his/her faith. • Everyone that becomes one of Jehovah’s Witnesses must actually participate in declaring the good news about God’s Kingdom; he must be a qualified teacher. Upon baptism each Jehovah’s Witness becomes an ORDAINED MINISTER OF THE GOOD NEWS, we are not MINDLESS DRONES like adherents of other religions that parrot what their Clergymen have told them; pagan rites and rituals that have no basis in Scripture. • As the Bible shows Jehovah’s original purpose for this earth & for obedient mankind has never changed. Jehovah God still intends to have his Will & His purpose fulfilled; that was the reason that Jesus paid the Ransom for our sins so that mankind could be reconciled to God and have the opportunity for everlasting life right here on earth. Other religions ignore this & preach that good people are rewarded with heavenly life & wicked people are forever tormented in Hellfire. This is a false teaching; as the Bible clearly shows that only 144,000, (Rev. 7:4-8) anointed Christians will be rewarded with heavenly life and they make up the administration along with the resurrected Christ Jesus they serve as joint heirs in God’s Kingdom to rule this earth for 1,000 years which will break up all the works of the Devil Satan. Under God’s Kingdom the earth will be restored to Paradise, and mankind will be restored to perfection. All things will be made new; (Rev. 21:1-5). • To be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses you are required to obtain accurate knowledge of what the Bible really teaches. (John 17:3). Other religions try to persuade their adherents that we are a cult; you have read what I have written, have you checked the Scriptures? Tell me; does this sound like the ramblings of someone that can’t think for myself? • Every Jehovah’s Witness is required to uphold the Bible’s high moral standards, if a person commits a serious sin such as fornication and does not display a truly repentant attitude, or if the sin has become scandalous regardless of the person’s repentance, he/she is disfellowshipped or removed from any privileges and association until such time has passed & the person understands the gravity of their sin and repents. This is a major difference between Jehovah’s Witnesses & religions that claim to serve God, e.g. “COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANS” or “WEEDLIKE CHRISTIANS.” • The Kingdom Halls are modest buildings for congregation activity, not elaborate structures. • The congregations are patterned after the first century Christian congregation established by Jesus Christ. They do not have a paid clergy class rather they have elders and ministerial servants as set in the Scriptures at 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Ministerial Servant qualifications at 1 Timothy 3:8-13; these humble men are not paid for their service. • They are the only religion that recognizes the importance of God’s Name; Jehovah. • We do NOT teach the Trinity Doctrine; (Philippians 2:5-7).We do NOT teach Immortality of the soul; (Ezek. 18:20; Rom. 5:12; Eccl. 9:5, 10). We do NOT teach everlasting torment in some non-Biblical Hellfire; (Eccl. 9:5, 10). To put it simply if the Bible doesn’t teach it neither do Jehovah’s Witnesses. I chose to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses early in my life always scrutinizing the teachings I was receiving with the Bible’s teachings always carefully analyzing, meditating, praying, and thinking along with Jehovah’s holy spirit. I’m aware that the modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses got their start in the middle to late 1870’s. If you understand the Bible you will see that this is in fulfillment of Jesus’ parable about the weeds and the wheat; let me take this time to show you the parallels of how this parable is relevant to understanding what has happened with religion; it is important that everyone desiring to please God understand this. One of Jesus’ Kingdom illustrations describes a farmer who sows fine seed of wheat and an enemy who sows weeds among the fine seed. The weeds overgrow the wheat, but the farmer orders his slaves to “let both grow together until the harvest.” During harvest season, the weeds are destroyed and the wheat is gathered. Jesus himself explained the illustration. (Read Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43.) WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE REVEAL? The events taking place in that farmer’s field illustrate how and when Jesus would gather out of mankind the entire wheat class—anointed Christians who will rule with him in his Kingdom. The sowing began at Pentecost 33 C.E. The gathering will be complete when the anointed who are alive at the end of this system of things receive their final sealing and then are taken to heaven. (Matt. 24:31; Rev. 7:1-4) Just as a lookout point on a mountain provides a person with a sweeping view of his surroundings, so this parable gives us a panoramic view of developments that would occur during a period of some 2,000 years. From our vantage point, what developments related to the Kingdom do we discern? The parable describes a time of sowing, growth, and harvesting. At the dawn of the second century C.E., “the weeds appeared” when IMITATION CHRISTIANS became visible in the world field. (Matt. 13:26) BY THE FOURTH CENTURY, WEEDLIKE CHRISTIANS HAD GREATLY OUTNUMBERED ANOINTED CHRISTIANS. Recall that in the parable, the slaves asked their master for permission to uproot the weeds. (Matt. 13:28) How did the master respond? Speaking about the wheat and the weeds, Jesus said: “Let both grow together until the harvest.” This command reveals that from the first century until today, THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SOME ANOINTED WHEATLIKE CHRISTIANS ON EARTH. That conclusion is confirmed by what Jesus later told his disciples: “I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) So anointed Christians would be protected by Jesus all the days leading up to the time of the end. However, since they were overgrown by weedlike Christians, we do not know for certain who belonged to the wheat class during that long period of time. However, some decades before the start of the harvest season, the wheat class became discernible. How did that come about? Centuries before Jesus gave the illustration of the wheat and the weeds, Jehovah inspired his prophet Malachi to foretell events that are reflected in Jesus’ illustration. (Read Malachi 3:1-4.) John the Baptizer was the ‘messenger who cleared up the way.’ (Matt. 11:10, 11) When he came in 29 C.E., a time of judgment for the nation of Israel had drawn close. Jesus was the second messenger. He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem twice—first at the start of his ministry and second toward the end. (Matt. 21:12, 13; John 2:14-17) Hence, Jesus’ cleansing work involved a period of time. What is the larger fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy? During the decades leading up to 1914, C. T. Russell and his close associates did a work like that of John the Baptizer. That vital work involved restoring Bible truths. The Bible Students taught the true meaning of Christ’s ransom sacrifice, exposed the hellfire lie, and proclaimed the coming end of the Gentile Times. Still, there were numerous religious groups who claimed to be Christ’s followers. So a crucial question needed to be answered: Who among those groups were the wheat? To settle that question, Jesus began to inspect the spiritual temple in 1914. That inspection and cleansing work involved a period of time—from 1914 to the early part of 1919. When Jesus began his inspection, what did he find? A small group of zealous Bible Students who for well over 30 years had given their strength and fortunes to pursue a vigorous preaching campaign. What a joy it must have been for Jesus and the angels to find that those relatively few but sturdy wheat stalks had not been choked by Satan’s weeds! Still, there arose a need to “cleanse the sons of Levi,” the anointed ones. (Mal. 3:2, 3; 1 Pet. 4:17) WHY SO? In late 1914, some Bible Students were disheartened because they had not gone to heaven. During 1915 and 1916, opposition from outside the organization slowed down the preaching work. Worse, after Brother Russell’s death in October 1916, opposition arose from inside the organization. Four of the seven directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society rebelled against the decision to have Brother Rutherford take the lead. They tried to cause division among the brothers, but in August 1917, they left Bethel—a cleansing indeed! Also, some Bible Students gave in to the fear of man. Still, as a whole they willingly responded to Jesus’ cleansing work and made the needed changes. Hence, Jesus judged them to be true Christian wheat, but he rejected all imitation Christians, including all of those found within the churches of Christendom. (Mal. 3:5; 2 Tim. 2:19) What happened next? To find out, let us return to our consideration of the parable of the wheat and the weeds. “The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things,” said Jesus. (Matt. 13:39) That harvest season began in 1914. We will consider five developments that Jesus foretold for that time. FIRST, collecting the weeds. Jesus says: “In the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles.” After 1914, the angels began to “collect” weedlike Christians by separating them from the anointed “sons of the kingdom.”—Matt. 13:30, 38, 41. As the collecting work progressed, the distinction between the two groups became ever clearer. (Rev. 18:1, 4) By 1919, it became evident that BABYLON THE GREAT; the world Empire of False Religion; HAD FALLEN. What especially set true Christians apart from imitation ones? The preaching work. Those taking the lead among the Bible Students began to stress the importance of sharing personally in the Kingdom preaching work. For instance, TO WHOM THE WORK IS ENTRUSTED, a pamphlet published in 1919, urged all anointed Christians to preach from house to house. It stated: “The work appears stupendous, but it is the Lord’s, and in his strength we will perform it. You have the privilege of sharing in it.” What was the response? From that time onward, reported The Watch Tower in 1922, the Bible Students stepped up their preaching activities. Before long, preaching from house to house became a hallmark of those faithful Christians—as it is till this day. SECOND, gathering the wheat. Jesus commands his angels: “Go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.” (Matt. 13:30) Since 1919, anointed ones have been gathered into the restored Christian congregation. For those anointed Christians who will be alive at the end of this system of things, the final gathering will take place when they receive their heavenly reward.—Dan. 7:18, 22, 27. THIRD, weeping and gnashing. After the angels bundle the weeds, what happens? Speaking about the condition of the weed class, Jesus states: “There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.” (Matt. 13:42) Is that happening right now? No. Today, CHRISTENDOM, AS PART OF THE HARLOT, still says about herself: “I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.” (Rev. 18:7) Indeed, Christendom feels very much in charge, even presuming to ‘sit as a queen’ atop the class of political leaders. Presently, those represented by the weeds are boasting, not weeping. But that is about to change. During the great tribulation, after all organized false religion has been destroyed, former adherents will run for cover but will find no secure place to hide. (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:15-17) Then, realizing that there is no escape from destruction, they will weep in desperation and ‘gnash their teeth’ in anger. As Jesus foretells in his prophecy about the great tribulation, at that dark moment, they “will beat themselves in lamentation.”—Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7. FOURTH, pitched into the furnace. What will happen to the bundles of weeds? The angels “will pitch them into the fiery furnace.” (Matt. 13:42) That means complete destruction. Hence, those former adherents of false religious organizations will be destroyed during the final part of the great tribulation, Armageddon.—Mal. 4:1. FIFTH, shining brightly. Jesus ends his prophecy by saying: “At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43) When and where will that be? The fulfillment of these words still lies ahead. Jesus foretold, not an activity currently taking place on earth, but a future event occurring in heaven. Consider two reasons for this conclusion. First, the “WHEN” question. Jesus said: “At that time the righteous ones will shine.” The phrase “at that time” evidently refers to the event that Jesus had just mentioned, namely, the ‘pitching of the weeds into the fiery furnace.’ That occurs during the final part of the great tribulation. Thus, the ‘shining brightly’ of the anointed must occur at that future time as well. Second, the “where” question. Jesus said that the righteous ones will ‘shine in the kingdom.’ What does that mean? All faithful anointed ones who are still on earth after the initial part of the great tribulation has passed will already have received their final sealing. Then, as indicated in Jesus’ prophecy about the great tribulation, they will be gathered to heaven. (Matt. 24:31) There they will shine “in the kingdom of their Father,” and shortly after the battle of Armageddon, they will share as Jesus’ joyous bride in “the marriage of the Lamb.”—Rev. 19:6-9. How do we personally benefit from the panoramic view that this parable provides? Consider three ways. First, it deepens our insight. The parable reveals an important reason why Jehovah permits wickedness. He “tolerated. . . vessels of wrath” to prepare the “vessels of mercy”—the wheat class. (Rom. 9:22-24) Second, it strengthens our confidence. As the end draws near, our enemies will intensify their fight against us, “but they will not prevail.” (Read Jeremiah 1:19.) Just as Jehovah through the ages protected the wheat class, so our heavenly Father by means of Jesus and the angels will be with us “all the days” to come.—Matt. 28:20. Third, the parable enables us to identify the wheat class. Why is that of vital importance? Knowing who the wheatlike Christians are is essential to finding the answer to a question raised by Jesus in his extensive prophecy about the last days. He asked: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?” (Matt. 24:45) Write to me at: (rogersnook61@gmail); or (maximumtexas@yahoo). Click on this link: jw.org/ you can find answers to your Bible questions and you can download anything that appeals to you at no cost or obligation in 600 languages; what other religion does that at no cost? Other religions take in billions of dollars in their collections yet none of them give any spiritual assistance in return. The CATHOLIC CHURCH has the NEW ADVENT ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA which is not interactive nor does it offer any assistance to anyone. As a matter of fact they even try to sell their CD for $20.00 from this website. The Watchtower Society not only has the most interactive website anywhere, but if you’re one of Jehovah’s Witnesses you receive a NEW WATCHTOWER LIBRARY CD in your own language every year free. It is not only THE BEST SOFTWARE THAT YOU EVER EXPERIENCED it is free to all Jehovah’s Witnesses. ANY COMPUTER SOFTWARE THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY PRODUCES TO AID IN YOUR BIBLE COMPREHENSION AND UNDERSTANDING IS BETTER THAN ANY SOFTWARE THAT ANY SOFTWARE MANUFACTURER PRODUCES HANDS DOWN, in addition, we don’t charge anything to anybody for this. All our work is supported entirely by voluntary contributions, in other words all Jehovah’s Witnesses in 239 countries SUPPORT VOLUNTARILY WITH OUR OWN MONEY TO HELP PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO KNOW JEHOVAH GOD. What other religion does that at no cost? We are interested in your Bible education as well, so other people are not left out because from the jw.org/ YOU CAN EXPERIENCE the high quality research capabilities from this website, where you can download anything you want absolutely free and do your own Bible research from the interactive library. This in itself shows the remarkable difference between Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religions that profess that they serve God. Jehovah’s Witnesses have always been involved in Bible education. We do not promote anything that isn’t from God’s Word. We do extensive research to understand the original language meaning of what the Bible really teaches. (Example: At Genesis 2:7: “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Notice that this does not say that man was given a soul but that he became a soul, a living person.) (The part of the Hebrew word here rendered “soul” is ne′phesh. KJ, AS, and Dy agree with that rendering. RS, JB, NAB read “being.” NE says “creature.” Kx reads “person.”) Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses go to such lengths to insure accuracy when other religions continue to produce nothing but false doctrine? It is because when you really take the time to think about it; logic dictates that there can only be ONE true religion; whereas there can be thousands of false religions, there can be ONLY ONE true religion. Either God is a TRINITY or he is not. (Philippians 2:5-7; Mark 13:32) Either God accepts worship though IMAGES or he does not. (Exodus 20:4-5; Lev. 26:1; Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 44:13-19) Either man has an IMMORTAL SOUL that survives death or he doesn’t. (Eccl. 9:5, 10) Either God accepts a person’s worship REGARDLESS OF THEIR LIFESTYLES or he doesn’t. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Leviticus 18:6; Romans 1:26-27) Either it doesn’t matter to God whether we get involved with politics; get involved in wars and kill our fellow man or it does matter. (John 17:16; John 6:15; Jas. 4:4) MAKE NO MISTAKE; if you follow the teachings of the Bible you will see for yourself that the entire clergy body of Christendom is “THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS.” You will also discover that the churches of Christendom are the most reprehensible part of the WORLD EMPIRE OF FALSE RELIGION known in the Bible as “BABYLON THE GREAT the Mother of the Harlots and of the Disgusting things of the earth.”—Revelation chapters 17 & 18. Jehovah’s Witnesses want you to have a good relationship with God. It is vital that you know what the Bible teaches about what God requires from people worshiping him. You can also read the Bible online through this website and do your own Bible research using the online library. The Bible tells us at John 17:3 “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” Think about that for a moment; our hope of everlasting life is contingent on our taking in ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE of the true nature of Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Whether you believe it or not we are living at the conclusion of this system of things, or what the Bible calls the “LAST DAYS.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Peter 3:1-4) Jehovah’s Witnesses are interested in saving YOUR LIFE, NOT your MONEY. There has never been a collection taken for our meetings; there never has been and there never will be. All our meetings are free and open to the public. You may also ask any of Jehovah’s Witnesses for a free home Bible study at no cost or obligation to you or you may go to any of our Kingdom Halls where you will receive a friendly greeting from the happiest people on earth and listen to a free and informative Bible discussion. Take care. Agape, Roger & Nelly Snook
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 22:50:00 +0000
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