Gypsy Camp Blog

Jehovah\’s Witnesses are known for their door-to-door preaching. They are also known for their belief that the end of the world is coming. They have, at times, been criticized for the belief in the imminence of the end, what the Bible in the Revelation, or Apocalypse refers to as Armageddon. Revelation 16:14,16. What does the end of the world mean? For some the end of the world paints a a doomsday scenario, nuclear war, WWIII, etc.. For Jehovah\’s Witnesses, they believe that the end of this world will be a cleanup, out with the bad, with the good remaining to help work to make the earth a paradise.

Jesus preached with his Apostles and others, concerning what is referred to in the Scriptures as, \”The good news of God\’s Kingdom.\” Rather than focusing on the negative, for the most part, while giving adequate warning, Jesus tried to lift up those who were burdened with a message of comfort. The Jews of that time were being oppressed by imperial Rome. Those Jews were hoping for a Messiah, a warlike king who would liberate them. Instead, Jesus said that his Kingdom was no part of this world, that it was separate, and that instead of fighting his way to military victory, Jesus preached about a coming peacful Kingdom which would bring relief to all mankind. John 17:16

This kingdom was referred to by the early Jewish prophets in the book of Daniel, Isaiah, and the Psalms. A promised earthly paradise, was the hope of the pre-Christian Jews, the Hebrew Scriptures, or the \”Old Testament\” referred to this paradise, where it said in a way that those Jews and early Christians took to mean literally \”The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent\’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,\” says the LORD. Today\’s New International Version

Also, in Isaiah 11:6-9, the well known promise was made,

\”The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice\’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. King James Version

Jesus stated that when he would return, that he will separate \”the sheep from the goats,\” the good from the bad, one group which will pass on to paradise, and the other will receive judgment. Matthew 25. While aware and preaching about the the end of this sytem, or the end of the world, Jehovah\’s Witnesses do not believe, from their understanding of the Bible, that God will permit the earth to be destroyed by men, but it indicates that only the wicked, and rather than preaching a message of destruction, they are encouraged to preach, as Jesus did, a message of comfort, and the hope of everlasting life in paradise, which gives hope. As one woman in her 30s said, before studyingthe Bible she had no hope, everything seemed dark, but after learning of the promises in the Bible, she had hope for the first time and it helped her to keep positive and productive in her life.

The message then, of the end of the world, that is spoken of in the Bible, isn\’t a doomsday message, it isn\’t in any way Orwellian, rather, it is one that is one that is positive and hopeful, and even as Jesus\’ message gave hope to those who were being oppressed, the message of God\’s Kingdom that is being preached by Jehovah\’s Witnesses, is one that gives comfort and hope.

This article was written by John Scott, a public school teacher (not an official source of Jehovah\’s Witnesses). See this link for Jehovah\’s Witnesses official website for current information for audio downloads of Jehovah\’s Witnesses current Watchtower and Awake magazines.

Related posts:

1. Jehovah’s Witness Beliefs, Practices and Modern History Detailed in 1993 Book Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom is a 750 page...
2. Music, Early Jews, and First Century Christians The Bible's music is spoken of in the Bible book...
3. The Best Investment In The Whole World When talking about investments we always want to consider the...
4. Why some Don’t Celebrate Halloween Halloween is a holiday celebrate by thousands upon thousands of...
5. Do Mormons Go To Heaven or Hell? Mormonism Religion One that does not follow the Mormon faith but has...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.