I was raised believing we are preaching a life-saving message. This isn’t in the sense of salvation from sin and death, but in the sense of salvation from eternal destruction at Armageddon. Our publications liken it to the message of Ezekiel, and we are warned that like Ezekiel, if we do not go door to door, we will incur blood guilt.
(Ezekiel 3:18) When I say to someone wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him, and you fail to speak in order to warn the wicked one to turn from his wicked course so that he may stay alive, he will die for his error because he is wicked, but I will ask his blood back from you.
Now let me insert a little disclaimer here: I’m not saying that we shouldn’t preach. We are under command from our Lord Jesus to make disciples. The question is: What are we commanded to preach?
Jesus came to the earth to declare the good news. However, our message is a warning to the wicked that they are going to die eternally if they don’t listen to us. Essentially, we are taught that the blood of all those on earth who die at Armageddon would be on our hands if we do not preach. How many thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses believed this in the first 60 years of the 20th Century. Yet everyone they preached to, whether they accepted the message or not, ended up dead; not at God’s hands, but because of inherited sin. They all went to Hades; the common grave. Thus, according to our publications, all these dead ones will be raised. So no blood guilt was incurred.
This has caused me to realize that our preaching work was never about warning people about Armageddon. How could it be when the message has been on-going for 2,000 years and Armageddon still hasn’t happened. We cannot know when that day or hour will come, so we cannot alter our preaching work to provide a warning against imminent destruction. Our true message has not changed for a score of centuries. As in the days of Christ, so it is now. It is the good news about the Christ. It is about reconciliation with God. It is about the gathering of a seed by which the nations will bless themselves. Those who respond have the opportunity to be with Christ in the heavens and to serve in the restoration of a paradise earth, taking part in the healing of the nations. (Ge 26:4; Gal 3:29)
Those who do not listen do not necessarily lose out entirely. If that were the case, then there would be no one to resurrect from the time of Christ onward—at least no one from Christendom. The message we are supposed to preach isn’t about escaping destruction at Armageddon, but about become reconciled with God.
The artificial urgency of preaching a message aimed at saving people from imminent destruction has altered lives and disrupted families. It is presumptuous as well, for it assumes we know how close that destruction is, when the facts of history have revealed that we have no idea whatsoever. If you count from the publication of the first Watchtower, we have been preaching imminent destruction for over 135 years! However, it’s worse than that, for the doctrines that influenced Russell originate at least 50 years before he started his preaching work, meaning that the urgent message of the nearness of the end has been on the lips of Christians for two centuries. Of course, we could go back even farther if we chose, but the point is made. The eagerness of Christians to know the unknowable has led to deviation from the true message of the good news since sometime in the first century. It has shifted the focus of these ones—myself included for a time—so that we have preached altered and corrupted good news of the Christ. What danger is there in doing that? Paul’s words spring to mind.
(Galatians 1:8, 9) . . .However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to you as good news something beyond the good news we declared to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, I now say again, Whoever is declaring to you as good news something beyond what you accepted, let him be accursed.
There is still time to put things right if we have the courage to do so.
Leave a Reply
34 Comments on "Are We Engaged in a Life Saving Preaching Work?"
Thanks, all, for your responses to my question.
Using modern media is good but let’s be realistic: “selling” jw.org is not the message Jesus had in mind.
I agree that modern tools should be used to speak about the real message, not to draw people to the organisation or to JW.org.
I very much disapprove the planned campaign in AUgust to distribute sheets to promote JW.org.
Yes. Not jw.org but Jesus:
2. Cor. 4:5
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
I agree with you, menrov. The GB wants all the Elders to get “fired up” about this Corporate campaign and pioneer. I’ll never do it!
There is an article in April KM about using recorded message on the Jw.org and playing it to the householder in the ministry. It reminds me of the gramophones records with the Rutherford speeches back in the early 19 century , only difference is that we use iPhone or any other mobile device but the method is same. As far as August campaign is concern it’s nothing else but advertising Wt and not the Bible message and for this reason I am not going to participate in this.
“If the GB is so secure with the “Truth” why not use TV-radio-webinars to reach the masses with the urgent life saving message, it’s not like they can’t afford it and the 8 million JW’s would certainly contribute to this. cents :)”
What you have described would be effective and it is really just a modern version of the early methods that the Russelites/Bible students employed…..
And wait until you hear how the Kingdom Hall loan arrrangement is going to change in the next couple of months!
I love preaching. But I don’t love counting time. Counting time especially for those in the full time ministry can tilt the balance to quantity rather than quality.
“But no, everything is done very routinely as if they were selling vacuum cleaners”
I needed a laugh and that really made me laugh:)
” How else can it be explained that after preaching for many decades the people in the territory have no idea of what JWs basic message is about?”
I believe every single publisher /pioneer can attest to this…..in all my years of preaching householders consistently believe one thing…. We do not believe in Jesus. That was my biggest pet peeve until recently. I understand now why people may believe that.What other Christian religion gets accused of not believe in Jesus?? We only use Jesus as “bait” to convert people into our religion.
I blame spell check on grammatical laziness.
Touché.
My problem: I think much faster than I type 🙂 🙂
“The hours counted are like the fringes on the garments in the first century…a way of “looking” righteous and it becomes a stumbling to the friends. ”
Exactly!!!
Daytona,
You better keep doing that because I’m one of them that needs that encouragement brother.
Thanks for percervering for the likes of me.
Sis thinking
Thanks, Menrov, but I meant specifically unbelievers in WT teachings – as many leaving the WT undoubtedly are.
Thanks for the clarification. And yes, I agree with that completely.
My understanding from back in the 60s was that those who died before Armageddon would be resurrected, but those who God killed himself at Armageddon would not. Can’t say if that was ever explicitly expressed in the publications or not, but it was what I was taught.
I don’t believe that has changed officially, but more and more witnesses are having trouble with the idea of a God who would destroy everyone on earth simply because they never had the opportunity to accept the message.
Hmm, a problem with a Watchtower quote. How odd! 🙂