Hey y’all!
How are ya? I’ve been pretty busy trying to get my life together with being more organized and what not.
For today’s blog, I wanted to talk about (or clear the air) Jehovah’s Wittnesses. There are lots of beliefs about them that incorrect and I just wanted to clarify some things. I grew up in the religion and was raised with certain values and principles near and dear to my heart. However, when I was growing up, I felt stifled. I hated being told what to do and how to act and what to believe. I stopped going to the Kingdom Hall (church as some people call it) and I wanted to figure things out for myself. It wasn’t until after my grandpa died that I decided to read a Bible (the NIV version). I started praying and things in my life started to get better. I wasn’t until the third time around for me reading my Bible that I decided to read the New World Translation (the JW version).
I then downloaded the Daily Text (or devotionals as most people call them) from JWLibrary app. I was so excited! I felt great getting back to my roots. Now here is my disclaimer: I AM NOT A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS. I’m not doing my roots but facts are facts. I wasn’t baptized. I don’t go out in service. I cuss like a sailor. I barely attend meetings (especially since I’ve moved) and I’m not a virgin. I don’t live the lifestyle I should live. For example, last weekend, I went to Universal to celebrate my birthday (big no no) and I love love Harry Potter (which is witchcraft…also a huge no no). My heart still tugs towards his organization so I know there’s a possibility that I’ll actually commit to it. I love reading my daily text. I love reading my Bible every night and I love talking to him in prayer.
Anyway, below you will find five facts/truths about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Please keep an open mind as you read this. If you feel like this post will upset you, then you’re free to stop reading. If you’re willing to learn and get some facts (true facts from the inside) then feel free to read.
It is not a cult! Plain and simple. Nothing is forced upon anyone. Just like when they come to you preaching the good news (God’s message of hope; Matthew 24:14) and you refuse to listen, if you don’t agree with what you’re learning, you’re free to go. Honestly, if you learn about Jehovah and his likes and dislikes, that should move you to make lifestyle changes. If you don’t agree with Jehovah’s standards of living, that’s fine. It’s free choice. We all have free will. It’s up to us to make that choice. If you do agree with his standards of living then know changes in your lifestyle must happen. You can’t curse. You can’t love what he hates. You shouldn’t have premarital sex or celebrate holidays.
For example, what if you had a friend or close loved one. You this person’s likes and dislikes but you do things that the person don’t like. You do things that he or she hates. Would you feel like you were close? Would you have a great relationship with that person? Let’s say you were sober but your best friend was always wasted. Yes its true the person has a right to drink to the point of being drunk but would that be fair to your friendship? You could either continue to have a poor relationship with that individual or you could hang out with those who will support your sobriety. Same way with God. If you do things he loves, you’ll please him and you can hang with people who has the same love of God as you!
Not everyone gets into heaven. There are two prospects for when people die: heaven (for the anointed ones; Revelation 5:9, 10) or earth (the earthly hope/resurrection). When Jehovah made the Earth, he made it with the hope that we humans will live on it forever. Sadly, Adam and Eve made that hope not come to pass. No one goes to hell (Jehovah is a loving God and wouldn’t do anything like that). The dead are in a sleeping state. They have no consciousness at all. In stead, when the time for the resurrection comes, people of all sorts will be raised from the dead. Both the righteous and unrighteous (Acts 24:15). How exciting is that? To see your loved ones live again? Even those from the Bible like Noah or Abraham? How would you feel? Knowing that you’ll live forever, in a world free of pain and corruption?
Jehovah is a loving God who doesn’t take loved ones. One thing I wish people would understand is that Jehovah does not take loved ones away from us. He hates death. He’s a loving God. Why would he want people to be in pain? People die because of the inherited sin that Adam and Eve caused. He wants us to live forever. Thats why he will get rid of death (in due time) and bring billions of people back to life. To say that God “needed an angel” would be a lie. Its not nice to tell lies, especially on those who love us. The dead are conscious of nothing at all (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10; Psalm 146:4).
Soon this world will be gone and a new one will replace it. You read that correctly. We are living in the last days. The warning signs that you would find the evidence of this is 2 Timothy 3:1-5. It states that these days would be “critical times hard to deal with”. Can you not agree? It seems like every time you turn on the news, there’s a war going on, or more natural disasters, people are seeming to have no humanity towards each other. People are more selfish than ever. You see more people dying. Sadly, things will continue to get worse. However, one day, Jehovah will put an end to these conditions and everything will be made new (Psalm 37:11,34).
When he originally made the Earth, he made it so that mankind can live forever on it in perfect health. Sadly, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, we lost that prospect. Jehovah gave us the ransom sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ and now we have that prospect again. Gone will be the days of death and being ill and unfairness. Everything will be perfect and no one will live in fear anymore!
God has a name and it’s Jehovah. Jehovah is God’s name (Psalm 83:18; Revelation 4:11). Not Lord. Not Jesus (his son). Jehovah. He wants us to use his name. It means we are getting on a personal level with him. Imagine if you met someone and became really close with the person but they never called you by your name. The person only called you “man” or “woman” or even called you something like “boss”. How would you feel? Would you feel close with the person? Or would you feel hurt that they never called you by your name at all? That’s how Jehovah feels when we call him God or Lord. He wants us to use his name. Sadly, lots of Bibles took his name out of their translations.
To learn about more misconceptions about Jehovah’s Witnesses, please feel free to reach out to them at your local branch or you can also check out their website jw.org. There are tons of resources to learn more about Jehovah, living a christianity lifestyle, and many more. There’s lots of free information out there and its available in over 100 languages. Honestly, I did my best to explain things but its always best to go to the source directly.
As I’ve mentioned before, even though I’m not a witness and I’m not living the lifestyle I should, I still feel hope. I have challenges I must work through myself and I can’t wait for the day when I’m fully ready. I’m human. I like crystals and Harry Potter and Christmas and Thanksgiving. I have to get all of that out of my system. Change doesn’t happen overnight.
Anyway, I hope you guys have learned a thing or two about Jehovah’s Witnesses!
xoxo,
LolaDasher
Nessa D 