We are, again, in the June 2022 study edition of the Watchtower magazine, looking at the story of Job, and the lessons we can come away with. There is much to encourage a Christian here. Two questions arise from the article:
1 the nature of the hope Christians have, and
2 the reason for being confident in that hope.
The Watchtower study article 27 begins:
'JEHOVAH has given a beautiful hope to all those who love him. Soon he will bring an end to sickness, sorrow, and death. (Rev. 21:3, 4) He will help “the meek” who are hoping in him to transform the earth into a paradise. (Ps. 37:9-11) And he will make it possible for each one of us to have a warm, personal relationship with him that will be even more wonderful than what we enjoy now. What a marvelous hope that is! But what basis do we have for believing that God’s promises will come true? Jehovah never breaks a promise. We thus have good reason to “hope in Jehovah.” (Ps. 27:14) We show this by waiting patiently and joyfully for our God to bring his purpose to completion.—Isa. 55:10, 11.'
Have they missed the central point in talking about hope? Have they missed the central character on whom Christian hope is founded?
Typically, Jehovah’s Witnesses begin their message with the promise of a better world to come, ‘an end to sickness, sorrow, and death. He will help “the meek” who are hoping in him to transform the earth into a paradise.’
The message taken around the doors runs along the lines of, ‘ The world is a mess, but you can live forever in paradise on earth.’ In their book What The Bible Can Teach Us, pp 38,39, the message is summarised in four points:
1. God created us for a purpose, to make earth a paradise
2. Satan rules the world, the whole world is lying in his power
3. God’s kingdom will solve the problem
4. God’s kingdom will make the earth a paradise
Doesn't the picture above look so wonderful? But is that the sum of what God has promised those who love him? (Ro.8:28)
In the Watchtower article they say, ‘In the book of Revelation, Jehovah promised that in our day, he would bring together people out of every nation and tribe and tongue, and he would unite them in pure worship. Today, that remarkable group of people is known as the “great crowd.” (Rev. 7:9,10) Although consisting of men, women, and children of different races, languages, and backgrounds, that diverse group forms a peaceful, united global brotherhood.’
The way to share in the hope of a paradise on earth is to join the great crowd, Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Of course, the message of the kingdom is a message of future hope, of a time when Christ’s kingdom will be established on earth and we see the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). It is a time when creation, which is subjected to futility now, will be released from its bondage to corruption (Ro.8:19-21). As we await its consummation we can, indeed, learn a lot from the example of Job.
However, the message of the Bible is, ‘all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’ (Ro.3:9-12) The problem is not that Satan rules the world, though he does rule in so many hearts, the problem is us! We are not victims, we are in open rebellion against God.
The solution the Bible speaks of is not joining an organisation but turning to Christ, confessing our sin, our need of a Saviour, kneeling before the cross and receiving God’s free gift of salvation:
A new birth (Jn.3:3; Gal.2:20)
A new heart in a new creation (2 Cor.5:17)
A renewed mind (Ro.12:2)
A new self (Eph.4:22-24)
Being renewed in knowledge (Col.3:10)
Freed from the law of sin and death (Ro.8:2)
Having the right to become children of God (Jn.1:12)
SAVED! Romans 10:9,10
The good news is, indeed, the good news of the kingdom. It is what Jesus was anxious to preach throughout his ministry (Lk.4:43), but entry into the kingdom comes by the new birth (Jn.3:5), through which we gain the gifts of new life listed above.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the new birth is a euphemism for a new beginning, but it is much more than that. It is literally a second birth into a new life in Christ. The Watch Tower robs people of this message, which is available to ‘whoever believes in him,’ not just the 144,000, and whoever believes inherits this new life, which John describes as ‘eternal life.’ (Jn.3:16)
The way the Watch Tower presents its message looks so authentic. Apparently full of Bible promises, it puts people off their guard, deceives many. The Bible’s promise of the kingdom is so much more than Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and offer.
It is our responsibility to know our Bibles, to be familiar with God’s promises, and to share the great good news that, ‘Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.’ (1 Pet.3:18)
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