Jehovah’s Witnesses & God’s Kingdom

I was going through the canvas bag that I keep my bible in for Lady’s Bible study, which I attend every Thursday morning from the beginning of fall and all the way through the beginning of summer. I was doing kind of a fall cleaning when I came across two publications given as handouts by local Jehovah’s Witnesses. I received them in the typical door to door fashion, we have all been accustomed to lately. I usually skim through them briefly trying to figure out what it is exactly they are dishing out. I guess I had done that very thing back in 2010 when I initially received the pamphlets and then filed them away with my study bible thinking I’d bring up some of the questions I had during bible study, but don’t think I ever did.

I have since taken a second look and was a little troubled by what I uncovered in these writings, one was the April 1, 2010 Watchtower which bore the title The Man Who Changed the World: His Message and You and the other the October 2010 Awake, with its title Whom Can You Trust?  Every time I had taken the opportunity to discuss my misgivings with the door-to-door Jehovah’s Witness, I was surprised to learn how versed they are at quoting the bible, but not very good at explaining how they fit in with their theology or even what that theology was! Whenever I questioned them about whom or what Jesus was and how he fit into the picture of this utopian world they were painting, they became a little agitated and basically ended the conversation.

I had a very limited experience with Jehovah’s Witnesses growing up, I knew a guy who was in my friend’s band back in the ‘70s, the bass player, who started dating a girl who claimed to be a Jehovah’s Witness and she seemed nice enough. She never seemed to preach about her beliefs. They later married and had a child, then just seemed to disappear, that was my only real dealing with members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

After rereading the two pamphlets, a couple of things stuck out in my mind: number one is that they present God as real and trustworthy, along with how important it is to present yourself as trustworthy in the world and number two; they talk a lot about the Kingdom of God and the teachings of Christ. The things that trouble me the most are those two facts, if God is a real person as they are depicting Him, with human attributes such as: God has a personal name, Jehovah, God is unique, Jehovah hates bad behavior, Jehovah is a loving God and you too can be God’s friend. Then I don’t understand why they go into such detail about the teachings of Christ and the coming of God’s Kingdom while presenting Jesus as nothing more than a teacher or profit, instead of God incarnate, God’s son and the King who will rule the Utopian Kingdom of God they are proclaiming?

If they believe that God is real and trustworthy, why don’t they believe that Jesus is God’s only son or God incarnate? They quote the bible right and left, but somehow they don’t think it’s the truth. I get the impression from these writings that Jesus is viewed as just some nice guy who taught the world about the coming of God’s Kingdom and then died and nothing more. If they believe that God is trustworthy and real, why don’t they believe it when God himself says from heaven “this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased”, that Jesus’ death was the ultimate sacrifice and He has returned alive to His Father in Heaven where He now sits at His Father, Jehovah’s right hand? Why aren’t they proclaiming his victory and that he is coming back ALIVE to rule God’s Kingdom on earth, as it says in the bible?

This is the part I don’t understand, how can they paint this beautiful picture of a utopian world, with animals and man all living in harmony, if the Messiah isn’t around to help it along? Actually I spoke to a Jehovah’s Witness woman who came to my door a while ago, who acknowledged that Jesus was in fact God’s son and the King who would rule God’s new Kingdom on earth, but thinking back on it now I realize she never said she believed Jesus was actually God in the flesh or that the Bible was the” inspired word of God” as Christians believe.

I’ve read several more copies of their hand outs and I find it very disturbing that they emphasize Christ death more than His resurrection, even going so far as to have an annual event every year called “The Memorial of Christ’s Death”. As an explanation for this event they quote Luke 22:19 “Do this in remembrance of me” but not the rest of the complete reference in Luke 22:19 & 20 “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.^" And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” I don’t read anywhere in the Bible that this was to be a once a year commemoration of His death only. They stress that one should believe in Christ’s work on the cross as the end of death, but don’t spend much time on the fact that it’s only the beginning of life through Christ. Christ clearly says in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Then what about the Holy Ghost? I get this feeling they don't believe in the Trinity either.They talk about Jehovah, but what about “the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”? First God the Father creates the World and everything in it and then when His most prized creation, man, rebels, He sends His son to reconcile them through His earthly life and death on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice. Christ does not end on the cross, He returned to Heaven as King to sit at the right hand of His Father, Jehovah, where He began, but He leaves the Holy Ghost or Spirit embedded in the hearts of believers to help guide them.

Jesus is the one who intercedes for us with Jehovah God, not Mary his mother, as some religions believe, not a Pope, but Christ, so how can they leave Him as dead? How can you claim to follow God and totally disregard His Son! I just can’t fathom it! Even if you acknowledge Him as God’s son, but not as God incarnate, you have missed the whole point of His death on the cross, the sacrifice, grace, mercy and forgiveness given on your behalf!