Reasoning18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18) (ASV)
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Friday, November 20, 2009

God Bless America?

 

America NYC

 

Most Americans and many people around the world
regard the USA as a fine country, even “The Land of
Opportunity”. Logically, it would seem as if God favors
the USA by the way the country has apparently been
blessed in the past by so many good fortunes. Historically,
the country went from being an unimportant colony of
Great Britain in the early 1500’s to becoming a world power
less than 500 years later due mostly to an abundance of
natural resources and “Yankee ingenuity”. God is widely
worshiped by the citizens of this country, so it makes sense
that God must have given His blessing to this land a long
time ago. The citizens of this country seriously consider
America to be truly blessed by God.

Is it true that God favors the USA over all of the others?
Does God favor any country?

What does the Bible say?

16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in
Hebrew is called Armageddon. 17 The seventh angel poured
out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud
voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 Then there
came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a
severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred
since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
19 The great city split into three parts, and
the
cities of the
nations collapsed
. God remembered Babylon the Great and
gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be
found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred
pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account
of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
(Revelation 16:16-21) (New International Version)

This does not appear good for our country
or for any other country.

What will happen next?

 

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a
white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With
justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing
fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written
on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in
a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white
horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his
mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the
nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads
the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On
his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF
KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel
standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds
flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper
of God, 18 so that you may
eat the flesh of kings, generals,
and mighty men
,
of horses and their riders, and the flesh of
all people, free and slave, small and great." 19 Then I saw the
beast and the
kings of the earth and their armies
gathered
together to make war against the rider on the horse and his
army.

(Revelation 19:11-19) (NIV)

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples:
let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all
things that come forth from it.
2 For Jehovah hath
indignation against
all the nations, and wrath against all
their host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered
them to the slaughter. 3 Their slain also shall be cast out,
and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the
mountains shall be melted with their blood.

(Isaiah 34:1-8) (American Standard Version)

21 And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the
nations
shall see my judgment that I have executed, and
my hand that I have laid upon them.
(Ezekiel 39:21-24) (ASV)

44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set
up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be
left to another people.
It will crush all those kingdoms
and bring them to an end
, but it will itself endure forever.
(Daniel 2:44) (NIV)

1 Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain
thing? 2
The kings of the earth set themselves, And the
rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah
,
and against
his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bonds asunder, And
cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens
will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. 8 Ask of me,
and
I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance
, And
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel. 10
Now therefore be wise, O ye
kings
: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve Jehovah
with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the son, lest he
be angry, and ye perish in the way, For his wrath will soon be
kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him.
(Psalm 2:1-4, 8-12) (ASV)

26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers
gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.
(Acts 4:26) (NIV)

2 Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 4 Jehovah hath sworn,
and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever After the order
of Melchizedek. 5 The Lord at thy right hand
will strike
through kings
in the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge among
the nations, He will fill the places with dead bodies; He will
strike through the head in many countries.

(Psalm 110:2-6) (ASV)

26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with
another; and
all the kingdoms of the world
, which are
upon the face of the earth… 29 For, lo, I begin to work
evil at the city which is called by my name; and should
ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished;
for
I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of
the earth
, saith Jehovah of hosts. 31 A noise shall come
even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy
with
the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh:
as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith
Jehovah. 32 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall
go forth
from nation to nation
, and a great tempest shall be
raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 33 And
the
slain
of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the
earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be
lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung
upon the face of the ground.
(Jeremiah 25:26,29,31,32,33) (ASV)

This does not look good for the USA either. These prophecies
indicate that all of the countries of the world – every “kingdom”
will be utterly destroyed. The rulers, the armies, the political
elements and the people in office will all be annihilated.

 

Why?

 

After centuries of inept, apathetic and corrupt rule by kings,
dictators, and other assorted rulers, Jehovah intends to take
over rulership of the earth with His Son as our King!

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been
given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the
beast or his image and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and
reigned
with Christ a thousand years.

(Revelation 20:4) (NIV)

 

This was prophesied long before Christ was even born:

17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered, nor will they
come to mind.
(Isaiah 65:17) (NIV)

 

So what would be the wise thing for us to do now?

2 Serve Jehovah with gladness: Come before his presence
with singing. 3 Know ye that Jehovah, he is God: It is he that
hath made us, and we are his; We are his people, and the sheep
of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into
his courts with praise: Give thanks unto him, and bless his name.
5 For Jehovah is good; his lovingkindness endureth for ever,
And his faithfulness unto all generations
.
(Psalms 100:2-6) (ASV

Bible Gateway 24


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Christ Is Ready
for the Harvest

Harvest 2   

The world is a shambles and getting worse every day.
People all over the world are asking:

Why were our homes destroyed by earthquakes,
fires and flooding?

Why is there so much violence and warfare?
Why is the economy so bad?
Why is my job gone?

What will happen next?

Why is the world a shambles?

Mankind was allowed to run amuck in this world
for many thousands of years. Just look at what
we have accomplished!

What does the world have?

Poverty and famines.
Widespread hatred.
Oppression, wars, pollution, disease, squalor, unrest and despair.

Not only that, but the problems are growing!

Not once have the governmental leaders of this world,
in their wisdom, ever solved any of these problems in
any country.

They never have and never will. Because of widespread
corruption and incompetence, the world’s leaders solely
look out for their own interests and disregard the problems
of the people they supposedly serve.

Who can save the world from certain disaster?

"...for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors,
and he will send them a saviour, and a defender, and he
will deliver them."
(Isaiah 19:20) (ASV)

"...At the time that God has already decided,
he will send Christ back again."
(1Timothy 6:15) (CEV)

That is wonderful news! Jehovah and His son
are about to do something about the havoc
and chaos in the world soon.

But what must occur first?

A small thing – and yet – a large accomplishment!

Before God’s son takes over, all of his true followers
must stop calling him "Jesus".

Why?

"The Hebrews called their coming Savior, the Messiah,
Jahshuawah (Jehoshua). The disciples of the Savior
accepted Him as such, and to them He was known as
Jahshuwah the Messiah. The Greeks, however, rejected
the Hebrew name, and called Him (IESOUS-Jesus) instead."
- The Origin of Christianity
by A.B. Traina

"It is interesting to note - that throughout his life - the
one now known as Jesus Christ never did hear himself
called by that name."
- "Man’s Great Adventure,"
by Edwin W. Pharlow, professor of history,
Ohio State University.

"It is known that the Greek name endings with sus,
seus and sous were attached by the Greeks to names
and geographical areas as means to give honour to
their supreme deity, Zeus."
-Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend
Professor J. C. J. Metford

That is why. God’s son is not Jesus! Just as the Bible
translators substituted "GOD" and "LORD" for God’s
actual name, Jehovah, they also painstakingly traded
"Jesus" for "Jehoshua" in place of Christ’s true name.

Has it always been that way?

"In the 1611 KJ New Testatment the name Yahshua
(Yehoshua) appeared originally wherever the Messiah
was spoken of. Yehoshua means Yehovah's (Jehovah's)
Salvation. Later the Messiah's name was replaced with
Iesus (Greek) which later in the 1600's it became Jesus
starting with the new English letter 'J' which was
introduced at that time. Further, the Greek 'Iesus'
comes from the name Zeus, the ruling God in the
Greek pantheon."
-Gospel of The Kingdom
True Names and Title
Dr. Henry Clifford Kinley
1931 - Ohio USA

Instead, true Christians will let go of Christendom’s
three-headed trinity god named Jesus and call our
savior by his correct name.

Jehoshua

Christ's name (Jehoshua) is of Hebrew origin and
is taken from the name Yehoshua, which in English
is often translated as Joshua. Yehoshua, in Hebrew
means "Yehovah Saves".
-Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Jehoshua was the name given to Christ by his
heavenly Father, Jehovah God. Many years
after his death - Rome changed his name to
suit their pagan heritage and to please their
pagan converts. "Ieous" was Greek for "Hail
Zeus", which was translated later into English
as "Jesus". And this error has continued to the
present. "The name Joshua (Jehoshua) derives
its greatest importance and highest sanctity
from the fact that it was sacredly chosen as the
name to be borne by the Messiah. This name was
corrupted and altered in time into the name Jesus."
--Personal Names in the Bible
by Dr. W.F. Wilkinson, M.A.
Joint Editor of Webster and Wilkinson's
Greek Testament: pages 342-343.

"Jesus. That was a name given to him many years after
His death. Rome wanted to remove any Jewishness from
the new church. They eliminated His Jewish name and
blended the name of Zeus in order to make it comfortable
for all those who had previously worshipped the Greek
and Roman gods. Since Zeus was the top god of their
experience, attaching the name Ioesus (hail Zeus) to
Yahshua - gave Him top priority in the worship hierarchy."
-Winds of Praise Broadcasting
Believer or Follower?
The Sound of the Shofar
By Jon Thompson

CHRIST DECLARED :

"I have come in My Father's name and with His power..."
(John 5:43) (AMP)

And as we can plainly see, that name is not "Jesus"!

Christ will not take action on behalf of his true followers
until they give up their "J-zeus" error. Only when Jehovah's
people begin to call upon "Jehoshua" - will they obtain the
Salvation that Jehovah has promised to them.

But some will balk against such a change!

They will resist this request from God's Chosen King.
For whatever reason, there are some that will rather
leave Jehovah's earthly organization rather than
call Christ "Jehoshua".

That would be "the weeds".

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't
you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the
weeds come from?' 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The
servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them
up?' 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the
weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both
grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the
harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles
to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
(Matthew 13:27-30) (NIV)

All over the world weeds have been sown in with the faithful.
They have served Jehovah side by side for some time now
just as Jehoshua Christ said they would. The time has finally
come to sort the weeds from the wheat.

"Be patient like those farmers and don't give up.
The Lord will soon be here!"
(James 5:8) (CEV)

"...I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed
out apostolic pretenders..."
(Revelation 2:2) (MSG)

"...limp souls. Useless as weeds, fragile as grass,
insubstantial as wind-blown chaff."
(2Kings 19:26) (MSG)

"...Soon, oh very soon, her harvest will come
and then the chaff will fly!'"
(Jeremiah 51:29) (MSG)

"I know your deeds... You have kept My word,
and have not denied My name."
(Revelation 3:8) (NASB)

And it was for this very reason that Christ waited so
long to reveal this truth to his followers. The Harvest
wasn't ready and he didn't want to uproot the wheat
with the weeds. But now that will not be a problem
anymore because the Harvest is ready.

The First Command directed to Jehovah's people by
God's chosen King, Jehoshua, is to begin calling
Christ by his rightful name. It is not a difficult thing
to do but it will mean putting God and Christ first
in our lives and it may also mean a loss of favor with
the rest of the Jesus-worshiping world.

A similar but tremendous dividing work happened
when Jehovah God began to take out of the nations
A People For His name. When the International Bible
Students made the decision to become "Jehovah’s
Witnesses" - to fulfil Bible Prophecy and identify
themselves as His people, some fell away - as they
were weed-like and refused to be called by Jehovah's
Divine Name.

This same dividing or separating - is happening again
today - at this time of "The End". But now, instead of
Jehovah’s name separating true followers from the
unfaithful, this time it will be the name of God's Son,
"Jehoshua" Christ that will uproot the weeds that were
sown by Satan.

A choice has to be made. A choice will be made.
One way or the other - each of us will choose the
side on which we will stand. From such a small
change will come a tremendous accomplisment.

THE HARVEST IS ON!

The wheat and weeds are about to be sorted and gathered.

Which side will we choose?
"Jesus" or "Jehoshua"?

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too
difficult for you or beyond your reach. No, the word
is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart
so you may obey it."
(Deuteronomy 30:11,14) (NIV)

"...YOU will by no means see me until YOU say,
‘Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name.’"
(Luke 13:35) (NWT)

"There is salvation in no one else! God has given no
other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12) (NLT)

"Blessed is he who is coming In the name of Jehovah..."
(Psalm 118:26) (YLT)

And while we are at it…

ARE YOU SAYING "AMEN" – IN IGNORANCE ?

"By ending our prayers in 'amen'... one could very
well ask, "Have we been misled to invoke the name
of the Egyptian 'Sun-god' at the end of our prayers?"
-United Hebrew Congregation
Charles J. Voss

It is common to end a discourse on spiritual matters,
(or end a prayer) with (the word) "Amen". Few of us
realize that the word 'Amen' is an Egyptian word. It
refers to the Egyptian god of Thebes. The Hebrews
adopted the word and it passed into Christian use as
"Amen". It is a petition for (the god - Amen) to fulfill
our words.
- MYSTIC GIFTS FROM ANCIENT EGYPT
By Dr John Palo ; 1999

The Israelite exiles from Egypt knew that Jehovah was not
the same as the Egyptian god Aten, and so they presumed
he must be the equivalent of the great State God of Egypt.
It was decided, therefore, to add the name of that State-god
of Egypt to all prayers thereafter, and the name of that Egyptian
god was "Amen". To this day, the name of Amen is still recited
at the end of prayers in both Jewish and Christian religions.
- Genesis of the Grail Kings
by Sir Laurence Gardner; pg. 6

Finally, we may note that the word "Amen" occurs in gnostic
spells… especially of Egyptian origin, and a sort of magical
efficacy seems to have been attributed to this word.. The
practice of answering "Amen" at the end of prayers appears
in the Canons of Hippolytus (No. 146) and in the Egyptian
Church Order (p. 101).
- New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
Thurston, Herbert. "Amen."
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Vol. 1. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1907.

When we did it in ignorance, maybe God looked past that.
But now that you know the truth, what will you do? Will you
continue to use the name of a pagan god to close your prayers?
Is it too hard to change that now? Because you’ve been using
the ‘amen’ tradition for a long time - will you rationalize and
justify why you keep on invoking the name of the Egyptian
god, Amen? Will you find a pastor or teacher to reassure you
that "it’s okay to say ‘amen’ - Or will you give thanks to God for
revealing His truth and stop using the name of a pagan god?"
-And they all Said, "AMEN"
by J.D. Roberts

The true followers of Jehovah and
His son will know what to do.

Bible Gateway 24


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Jehovah's People - Then and Now

Present-day Israel has many problems, just like the rest of
the world but at one time, the ancient Israelites were the most
prosperous and well-protected people in the whole world.

What separated the ancient Jews from the rest of the whole world?

 

The ancient Jewish people not only worshipped Jehovah
exclusively, but
they were the only people who did! As
time went by, they gradually fell away and began worshiping
other gods. Every time that occurred, bad things happened
to the Jews.

 

Was this God’s punishment?

 

Not always! But it would seem like a punishment when
Jehovah withdrew His protection and favor
.

 

It is perfectly true that Jehovah has punished people before.

 

For example:

 

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he made man on
the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I
will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;
both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the
air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

(Genesis 6:5-7) (King James Version)

 

Jehovah created all of us with a free will. We think and do whatever
we want to do! We have the freedom to choose to do good things or
bad things with our life. Most of Noah’s relatives chose to do evil.
Therefore, Jehovah had decided, at first, to destroy all of the evil
people in existence on the earth. If it were not for the righteous
Noah, all of mankind would have been exterminated.

 

“And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah,
The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

(Genesis 6:12-13) (KJV)

 

As we know from reading the Bible account, the earth was
flooded and every living thing drowned, except for every
living thing on the ark. This was punishment indeed.

 

So mankind was given a second chance. The earth was brought
back to peace and harmony, for the people who survived the flood
respected Jehovah.
Noah, his sons Ham, Shem, Japheth and their
wives had children and mankind began to flourish again.

 

Then what happened?

8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in
Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become
much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them
or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join
our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." 
11 So they put slave
masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built
Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
(Exodus 19:4-5) (New International Version)

When Jehovah decided the time had come for the Israelites to
leave Egypt, the Pharaoh would not allow them to leave. Jehovah
bestowed ten plagues upon all of Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh
to change his mind. Every Israelite and Egyptian experienced the
plagues first hand and knew where they came from.
When the
Israelites came to the Red Sea, Jehovah parted the waters so they
could cross. The Egyptians met with disaster! All of the Israelites
experienced these miracles first hand. The whole fifteenth chapter
of Exodus is a victory song the Israelites sang in celebration.

Jehovah provided His freed people with food and water
in the wilderness for forty years. Jehovah even made a
new covenant
with his chosen people:

 

“YOU yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, that
I might carry you on the wings of eagles and bring YOU to
myself. And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will
indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become
my special property out of all the [other] peoples, because
the whole earth belongs to me."

(Exodus 19:4-5) (New World Translation) www.watchtower.org

 

So what happened soon after Moses went up the mountain
to receive the Ten Commandments from Jehovah?

 

“Jehovah now said to Moses: ’Go, descend because your people whom
you have led out of the land of Egypt have acted ruinously. They have
turned aside in a hurry from the way I have commanded them to go.
They have made a molten statue of a calf for themselves and keep
bowing down to it and sacrificing to it and saying: “This is your God,
O Israel, who led you up out of the land of Egypt.”’”

(Exodus 32:7-8) (New World Translation) www.watchtower.org

 

The people who experienced a long string of miracles actually
made an idol to worship right under the nose of Jehovah.

 

Why a calf?

 

Pagans commonly worshiped a golden calf as a tribute
to the god of nature named Baal (BAY-al). In fact, the
Israelites repeatedly turned to idol worship and away
from Jehovah many times over the centuries!

 

While visiting Jerusalem, once the pride of Jehovah,
with his disciples; Christ once lamented:

 

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of
those sent forth to her, - how often I wanted to gather your
children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together
under her wings! But YOU people did not want it.”

(Matthew 23:37) (NWT) www.watchtower.org

 

So what was to be the fate of the city of Jerusalem?

 

“Departing now, Jesus was on his way from the temple, but his
disciples approached to show him the buildings of the temple.
In response, he said to them ‘Do YOU not behold all these things?
Truly I say unto YOU, By no means will a stone be left here upon
a stone and not be thrown down.’”

(Matthew 24:1-2) (NWT) www.watchtower.org

 

Sure enough, by 70 A.D., only 37 years after Christ died,
Jehovah withdrew His protection for His beloved city and
the city of Jerusalem fell to the Romans. The destruction
of the temple was so thorough that there was not a stone
left upon another stone when they were finished.

 

The Jewish nation of Israel was rebuilt many times. The
Israelites of today are no longer the chosen people of
Jehovah because they chose to reject Him and His son
a long time ago. In turn, Jehovah withdrew His blessings
and protection - and it shows!

 

To this day, most Jewish people around the world are
waiting for the Messiah to appear, not realizing that Christ
has already fulfilled his role as the Messiah and is ready to
return to the earth again soon to take over rule of the world,
just as he was prophesied to do many centuries ago. Messianic
Jews at least recognize Jesus as our savior but they are no better
off than their mainstream Christian brethren since they worship
the same nameless lord.

 

Who are Jehovah’s people now?

 

According to the World Book Encyclopedia:

 

"Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who use the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society as their governing body. They took their name from
the American Standard version of the Bible, Isaiah 43:12: Ye are my
witnesses
, saith Jehovah, and I am God.” Jehovah’s Witnesses are
a religious society of ministers who give exclusive devotion to
Jehovah
, and keep His command to preach “this good news of the
Kingdom” (Matthew 24:14).
They believe that God’s war of Armageddon
will rid the earth of all wickedness in this generation.
The modern
organization was started in Pennsylvania in the 1870’s by Charles Taze
Russell. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was incorporated in
1884 with Russell as president."

From: World Book Encyclopedia 1963

 

Of all of the religions in the world, only Jehovah’s Witnesses are
named after the God of our universe, Jehovah. There is no other
religion on the face of the earth at any time in the earth’s history
that can make that claim. Only the ancient Hebrews and later,
the Christians led by Christ acknowledged Jehovah as being the
one true God. This knowledge is being proclaimed worldwide by 
over seven million of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

As the only true religion on earth, the members take their
responsibilities seriously.

 

Their responsibilities include:

·        Representing Jehovah in a respectable way

·        Conduct that is pleasing to Jehovah

·        Teaching Bible Truth

·        Ongoing learning experience

·        Meaningful missionary work in every country around the world

 

The missionary work is the means for acquainting people
with the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to fulfill the
Biblical prophecy and orders from Jesus Christ himself
to preach “this good news of the Kingdom”:

14 When the good news about the kingdom has been
preached all over the world and told to all nations,
the end will come.
(Matthew 24:14) (CEV)

Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only people who relentlessly
pursue the truth and make it widely available by many
publications to anyone who is interested in learning it.

 

Jehovah’s Witnesses pride themselves on using the Bible and other
reputable and reliable sources for finding the truth. The amount of
accurate knowledge available by publication is tremendous.

 

Do people prefer the truth?

 

Not always. Many people blindly and willingly cling to false
beliefs because they like them better. Jehovah’s Witnesses
do not force the truth on anyone. The truth is offered at no
charge to anyone who wants to learn it.

 

Why should anyone want to learn the truth?

 

The false religions teach false ideas such as:

  • “Everyone who dies either goes to Heaven or Hell.”
  • “Everyone who dies is reincarnated.”
  • “Everyone who dies goes to Nirvana, or oblivion.”
  • "God is a triune being"
  • “God loves everyone no matter what." 
  • "God's name is Allah."

These ideas are promoted by false religions and not supported
by the Bible. Knowing the truth can be a comfort for everyone
who is uncertain about life, death and their actual destiny.

 

Is further punishment from God at hand?

 

The vast majority of mankind is ignoring Jehovah and wondering
why their lives and the world is a shambles. It is bad enough that
this world is in turmoil and misery while Jehovah has withdrawn
His favor from the world. Soon the people who are ignoring Him
now will be destroyed just as the Bible warns:


11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.
Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for
them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which
is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they
had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead
that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in
them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

(
Revelation 20:11-15) (NIV)

 

The Apostle John wrote this down for us living today. It would not be
a good idea to keep on ignoring Jehovah and His plans for us. Now is
a good time to learn more about Jehovah and His requirements.

 

Bible Gateway 24


Friday, November 06, 2009

They Would Rather Have Statues of gods...

According to Encyclopedia Wikipedia, 1/3 of the world's
population is "Christian".

Major Religions

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

Yet most of the world, even the so-called Christians, have rejected
the Glorious God, Jehovah, in favor of their pagan holidays, pagan
doctrines, pagan sun god worship, trinity worship, etc.

The world does very little to show honor for Jehovah. There
are Kingdom Halls of Jehovah's Witnesses all over the world
and everyone knows what those buildings are designated for,
the worship of Jehovah, the true God. Jehovah's Witnesses
know what idols are.

What about the rest of the world?

22 They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves.
23 They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious
God who lives forever.
(Romans 1:22-23) (New International Reader's Version)

Such as...


SUN GOD WORSHIP RAYS COLLAGE 5

It is easy to identify a pagan sun god. The sun's rays radiate
from their heads either as "spikes" or a disk behind the head.

Even here in modern America?

Statue of Liberty1

Most Christians have done nothing at all to honor Jehovah,
our Father, but we have fine statues all over the world to
honor the common people's preferred gods.

jesus_rio_statue

One of the most familiar commandments for Christians is:
 
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below
. 5 You
shall not bow down to them or worship them;"
(Exodus 20:4-5) (New International Version)

That should be clear enough.

But what do we find in abundance all over the world?

gods collage1

What does the Bible say about our idols?

23 Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals
and reptiles. 25 They chose a lie instead of God's truth. They
worshiped and served created things.
They didn't worship the
Creator. But he must be praised forever. Amen. 
(Romans 1:23, 25) (NIRV)

"See, I have taught you statutes and judgments,
as Jehovah my God hath commanded me -- "
(Deuteronomy 4:5) (Young's Literal Translation )

"And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes
and ordinances, that ye might do them... And take great heed...
lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the
form of any figure, the pattern of male or female, and lest thou
lift up thine eyes to the heavens, and see the sun, and the moon,
and the stars, the whole host of heaven, and be drawn away and
bow down to them and serve them,"
(Deuteronomy 4:14-16,19) (Darby)

Most cross-clutching Christians smugly assume that they do not
worship idols like the pagans do. They would never suspect that,
among other things, pagan sun god worship has crept into their lives...

"The real secret of Constantine and the bishops of Rome is their
cunning introduction of sun worship and paganism into
Christianity
. It was done so shrewdly that, incredibly, it has
been veiled within the faith for centuries. Through Constantine,
paganism and Christianity joined hands in the Roman Empire.
Sun worship, which appears in nearly every pagan religion in
the world, soon appeared in Christian art, imagery, and theology.
The halo often seen on Christ and Mary is actually a
symbol of sun worship
."
--Beyond The Da Vinci Code
  by Alan Parker, Th.D

Jesus halo collage2

Not all idols are of living things.

celtic cross collage 2  
Notice that the Celtic cross is a cross combined with the sun?

Glory and honor is given to idols even by the nominal Christians.
They rejected Jehovah God but cherish the old rugged cross...

church collage 1

"The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken:
lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and
what manner
of wisdom is in them?"
(Jeremiah 8:9) (American Standard Version)

Is there an answer?

"The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom;
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
(Proverbs 9:10) (ASV)

"...I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee to profit,
who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!
then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness
as the waves of the sea:
(Isaiah 48:17-19) (ASV) 

"The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; A good
understanding have all they that do his commandments..."
(Psalm 111:10) (ASV)

"The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge;
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction."
(Proverbs 1:7) (ASV)

"The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, That one may
depart from the snares of death."
(Proverbs 14:27) (ASV)

"The fear of Jehovah is the instruction of wisdom..."
(Proverbs 15:33) (ASV)

"The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah
is riches, and honor, and life. "
(Proverbs 22:4) (ASV)

"Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, That delighteth
greatly in his commandments."
(Psalm 112:1) (ASV)

Falling Away From Jehovah

When people fell away from Jehovah God - they began to invent new
and different ways to think of "God". Man's imagination ran rampant
until, among other things, they finally invented a polytheistic - triune
god to further corrupt their view of Jehovah, the true God.

The "Christian Trinity" came from the pagans. 

"So we see that the earliest forms of various pagan religions -
were really deviations away from the One True God, Jehovah. 
Their doctrines concerning the One God - were obviously
lacking specific truths - as they departed from the true faith. 
The more that people crept away from faith in God - the more
elaborate the concoctions became regarding their view of
God, until a 'trinity' of three persons was invented."
-- From the Book --
The Pagan Influence Upon the Development
of the Doctrine of the Trinity; - by Michael F Blume

"The trinity got its start in Ancient Babylon with Nimrod - Tammuz -
and Semiramis. Semiramis demanded worship for both her husband
and her son as well as herself.  She claimed that her son, was both
the father and the son. Yes, he was 'god the father' and 'god the son' -
The first divine incomprehensible trinity."
 --The Two Babylons ;
   Alexander Hislop;  p.51

"Long ago - right after the Flood, a man named Nimrod emerged on the
scene of history. His name means 'let us rebel'.  He led the founding of
the first great civilization – Babylon... He led them to rebel against
Jehovah God.  He had tremendous power, so much that he became a
god in the eyes of the people. When he died, his wife, Semiramis,
recognized that without him she might lose power herself,  so she
devised a clever plan. Semiramis was pregnant. She told everyone that
the child in her womb was none other than Nimrod being reborn.
This
was the beginning of the greatest perversion... the concept of
father/son deity
,  the very first incomprehensible divine trinity (the
unexplainable mystery)..."
- Resurrection Sunday and
the Babylonian Connection; By Errol Hale

"Nimrod of Ancient Babylon became both the husband and son of
Semiramis, and was worshiped as - both god the father - and god
the incarnate son. In the Bible, Nimrod was called Tammuz and
Molech. He was worshiped in Babylon as El-Bar, meaning 'god the
son.' In Assyria, Nimrod was called Baal, Bal or Belus meaning 'lord.'"
--The Two Babylons ; Alexander Hislop
Louizeaus Brothers; Neptune, N.J.

"History reveals that the trinity concept is a pagan invention and
belief found in many ancient countries. The worship of the trinity
traces back to the worship of Nimrod,  Semiramis, and Tammuz
(of ancient Babylon) soon after the Flood!"
-Forerunner Commentary
"Trinity" by John W. Ritenbaugh
under - The Nature of God - Elohim

Babylon was just the beginning...

"All Pagan religions from the time of Babylon have adopted in one
form or another a Trinity doctrine or a triad or trinity of gods. In
Babylon it was Nimrod, Semiramas, and Tammuz. In Egypt it was
Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The Greek triad was composed of Zeus,
Athena and Apollo. The Romans had the Trinity of Jupiter, Mercury
and Venus.  Since the doctrine of the trinity is unscriptural,  it took
an emperor to make Christianity start embracing the concept. The
Emperor Constantine had spoken, and no one dared touch the creed
of the Trinity during his lifetime. The great majority of the Eastern bishops
found themselves in a false position. Satan has deceived people into
believing that God is a 'Trinity.'"
--The Lost Doctrines of Christianity
The Doctrine of the Trinity
The Reluctant Messenger

Constantine and Rome

"The basis of modern Christianity is the Trinity, Constantine decided
that God was three-in-one based on the Greek theologians. To this
day, Constantine’s Nicean Creed on the Trinity is used as the basis for
determining who is a Christian, which is why Jehovah’s Witnesses
are still labelled as heretics today
. The effects of pagan influences
on Christian traditions can also be clearly seen in its’ celebrations, for
every single one has a pagan celebration as its origin. Perhaps
we should ponder if it would have been better for Jesus' teachings to
have disappeared than to have them so utterly corrupted and perpetuated
as his own."
--Ancient paganism
and the dangers of compromise
Constantine and The Trinity

The nominal Christians reject Jehovah and surround themselves
with crosses, statues and other images of their gods. They may
not knowingly worship those images, but they have still fulfilled
the Bible's prophecies nonetheless. They rejected Jehovah
and...

They Would Rather Have Statues of gods!

They would even rather have crosses.

That is not what true Christians would do.

Bible Gateway 24


Sunday, November 01, 2009

The "Hand of Jehovah"

 hand-of-god large2

One of the most popular messages the church crowd hears from
their Christendom priests and ministers is "God loves you - just as you
are
". While it is absolutely true that God loves us as His children, He
does not love evil people doing evil things
. He never has and never
will. Jehovah has executed judgment on wrongdoers many times in the
past and many people criticize Him for taking such drastic action. 

Yet, how else can we expect God to protect
the good people from the evil ones?

"that all the peoples of the earth may know the HAND of Jehovah,
that it is mighty;  that ye may fear Jehovah your God - for ever."
(Joshua 4:24) (American Standard Version)

Fear God?

Why? Why should we be afraid of God if He is a God of love?

"I will cause them to know  MY HAND -and- MY MIGHT and
they shall Know that MY NAME is Jehovah."
(Jeremiah 16:21) (Young's Literal Translation)

Do we have something to worry about?

"but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah,
but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah,
then will the HAND of Jehovah be against you..."
(1Samuel 12:15) (ASV)

"...JEHOVAH... in thy HAND there is POWER
and MIGHT - and none can withstand thee."
(2Chronicles 20:6) (Darby)

Just how much does God love us as we are?

Did God almost exterminate all of us once?

5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth,
and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently
and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and
put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will
wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth.

Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals,
the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of
the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”
(Genesis 6:5-7) (New Living Translation)

What about judgment against cities full of people?

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came unto Zoar.
24 Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven; 25 and he
overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants
of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
(Genesis 19:23-25) (ASV)

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God
to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are
to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell
Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden
Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and
wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on
Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions,
my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the
LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites
out of it."
(Exodus 7:1-5) (New International Version)

There are many more stories in the Bible about Jehovah’s
judgement. They are there to teach us that Jehovah means
business
. It is a bad idea to keep on believing that He will
never get angry with us. Jehovah is a loving God but He
has His limits.

Does Jehovah see everything we are doing?

The Eyes of Jehovah...

"...the EYES of Jehovah... run to and fro through the whole earth."
(Zechariah 4:10) (ASV)

"The EYES of Jehovah are in every place,
Keeping watch upon the evil and the good."
(Proverbs 15:3) (ASV)

"For the ways of man are before the EYES of Jehovah,
and he pondereth all his paths."
(Proverbs 5:21) (Darby)

"For God carefully WATCHES the way that people live;
he sees everything they do. No darkness is thick enough
to hide the wicked from his EYES. For it is not up to
mortals to decide when to come before God in judgment.
He will openly strike them down for their wickedness.
For they turned aside from following him. They have no
respect for any of his ways."
(Job 34:21-23) (New Living Translation) 
 
"From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-"
(Psalm 33:13,14) (NIV)

"Behold, the EYE of Jehovah is upon them that fear him,
Upon them that hope in his lovingkindness; To deliver
their soul from death, And to keep them alive..."
(Psalm 33:18,19) (ASV)

"Don't say, "I didn't know it!" God can read your mind.
He WATCHES each of us ; and knows our thoughts.
And God will pay us back for what we do."
(Proverbs 24:12) (Contemporary English Version)

"The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous, and his
ears are open unto their cry. The face of Jehovah is against
them that do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth."
(Psalm 34:15,16) (ASV)

Many people blithely believe that Jehovah does not exist,
does not care or cannot do anything about the evil things
that people are doing.

But that is not what the Bible warns! 

"They say, "God can't see!  He's got on a blindfold." The wicked
don't respect you. In their hearts they say, 'God won't punish us!'
But you see the trouble and the distress,
and you will do something..."
(Psalm 10:11,13,14) (CEV)

"You make God tired with all your talk. "How do we tire him out?"
you ask. By saying, "God loves sinners and sin alike. God loves all."
And also by saying, "Judgment? God's too nice to judge."
(Malachi 2:17) (Message Bible)

"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly,
therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully
to do evil."
(Ecclesiastes 8:11) (New American Standard Bible)

Jehovah has definite plans for evil, disobedient people.

"Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. Upon the
wicked
he will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning
wind shall be the portion of their cup
."
(Psalm 11:4,6) (ASV)
 
"I will pour out my vengeance on all... that refuse to OBEY me."
(Micah 5:15) (NLT)

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a
fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God."
(Hebrews 10:26,27) (NIV)

Jehovah has sent Christ back to execute His judgment

"...for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors, and he
will send them a saviour, and a defender, and he will deliver them."
(Isaiah 19:20) (ASV)
 
"...At the time that God has already decided, he will send
Jesus Christ back again."
(1Timothy 6:15) (CEV)

"The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will "WEED OUT" 
of his kingdom  everything that causes sin and all who do evil."
(Matthew 13:36-41) (NIV)
 
"...This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven
in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who
do NOT know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out
from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
on the day he comes to be glorified."
(2Thessalonians 1:7-10) (NIV)
 
JESUS  DECLARED : "I have come in My Father's name
and with His power..."
(John 5:43) (Amplified Bible) 
 
Divine Reward and Punishment

Foolish people believe that it is enough just to know who Jesus is.
They believe that Jesus also loves us no matter what.
The Bible's
prophets indicate that there is far more to know than that.

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin,
you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a
day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be
revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have
done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good,
seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.
8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for
themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of
wickedness.
(Romans 2:5-8) (NLT)

"...they do NOT listen to God's word or OBEY it, and so
they meet the fate that has been planned for them."
(1Peter 2:8) (NLT)

"...God requires obedience to all of his commands."
(Romans 10:5) (NLT)

"See that you do all I command you;
do not add to it or take away from it."
(Deuteronomy 12:32) (NIV)

"God will give to each person according to what he has done."
(Romans 2:6) (NIV)

"...each will  receive his own reward according to his own labor. "
(1Corinthians 3:8) (NASB)

"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened,
which is the book of life. The dead were judged according
to what they had done as recorded in the books."
(Revelation 20:12) (NIV) 
 
"And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no
favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to
what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him..."
(1Peter 1:17) (NLT) 
 
"You see that a man is justified - pronounced righteous before
God - through what he does and not alone through faith..."
(James 2:24) (AMP)

"I, Jehovah, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man
according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
(Jeremiah 17:10) (ASV)

People complain that God is being mean.

"How can a loving God have such terrible plans
for us? How can He be called a God of Love?"

Are they terrible plans or are the evil and violent
people
just getting what they deserve?

"For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more;
though you look with care where they used to be, they
will not be found. But the meek in the end shall inherit
the earth and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace
."
(Psalm 37:10,11) (AMP)

"For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah,
they shall inherit the earth. For just a little while longer,and the
wicked ones shall be no more: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace... The
righteous shall inherit the earth, And dwell therein for ever... Wait
for Jehovah, and keep his way, And he will exalt thee to inherit the
earth; When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it."
(Psalm 37:9-11,29,34) (ASV)

"...And you will destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth."
(Revelation 11:18) (NLT)

This prophecy is just one of many made long ago for the
benefit of Jehovah's people. From waht we can see in
the news daily, Jehovah is already actively giving the wicked
their due. None of the upheaval in the world will affect the
people who devote themselves to Jehovah.
Christ, himself,
assured Jehovah's people that their patience and devotion
will be rewarded. 


"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
(Matthew 5:5) (King James Version)

What kind of Earth do the meek want, the violent, chaotic
world we have today or a kinder, gentler world?

"This world as you see it - is on its way out."
(1Corinthians 7:31) (Message Bible)

"But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth,
where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to that!"
(2Peter 3:13) (CEV)

It will be a much quieter and better world indeed!

"Look! I am creating... A NEW EARTH -- so wonderful
that no one will even think about the old one anymore."
(Isaiah 65:17) (NLT)

"He will swallow up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah
will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of
his people will he take away from off all the earth.."
(Isaiah 25:8) (ASV)

"...And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish nor
grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former
order of things have passed away."
(Revelation 21:1-5) (AMP)

These prophecies are going to become fulfilled very shortly!

Bible Gateway 24



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