Positive Teachings

I want to thank those who have emailed me about the many things about Jehovah's witnesses. Some have been positive and of course some negative. As mentioned in previous posts, most of the negative come from those who were once part of the organization and of course some who are not.

We have said many things in terms of this being the truth and have backed it up with scripture. Take for example Idol's. Generally, idolatry involves a ceremony or a ritual. Idolatry is the veneration, love, worship, or adoration of an idol. And what is an idol? It is an image, a representation of something, or a symbol, that is an object of devotion. Usually, idolatry is directed toward a real or supposed higher power believed to have animate existence (a human, an animal, or an organization). But idolatry can also be practiced with regard to things inanimate (a force or a lifeless object of nature).

Not all images are idols. God himself told the Israelites to make two golden cherubs for the ark of the covenant and to embroider representations of such spirit creatures on the inner covering of ten tent cloths for the tabernacle and on the curtain separating the Holy from the Most Holy. Only officiating priests saw these representations that served primarily as a picture of the heavenly cherubs. It is evident that the tabernacle representations of cherubs were not to be venerated, since righteous angels themselves would not accept worship.

Servants of Jehovah guard against idolatry because he is against all idolatrous practices. God commanded the Israelites not to form images as objects of veneration and worship them. Among the Ten Commandments are found these words: “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation, in the case of those who hate me; but exercising loving-kindness toward the thousandth generation in the case of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Why is Jehovah opposed to all idolatry? Principally because he exacts exclusive devotion, as shown above in the second of the Ten Commandments. Moreover, he said through his prophet Isaiah: “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.” - Isaiah 42:8. At one time, idolatry ensnared the Israelites to such an extent that “they would sacrifice their sons and their daughters to demons.” Idolaters not only deny that Jehovah is the true God but also serve the interests of his chief Adversary, Satan, together with the demons.

Yet that is what many do so by process of elimination you really can eliminate many religions. Any religion that uses Idol's in their worship well is false religion. Bold statement isn't it. Think about this though. When Jesus was on Earth, it's safe to say what he was teaching was the truth right? Notice what Jesus said to those in his day.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for you yourselves do not go in, neither do you permit those on their way in to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you traverse sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one you make him a subject for Gehenna twice as much so as yourselves. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the graves of the prophets and decorate the memorial tombs of the righteous ones, and you say, ‘If we had been in the days of our forefathers, we would not have been sharers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Therefore you are bearing witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna?

Thus those religious persons who were subjects for Gehenna and who were liable to the judgment of Gehenna were the unrepentant Jewish scribes and Pharisees and their proselytes. They were persons who were unrepentant and who refused to enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Jesus showed this by next saying: “For this reason, here I am sending forth to you prophets and wise men and public instructors. Some of them you will kill and impale, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city; that there may come upon you all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I say to you, All these things will come upon this generation. Some Pharisees did repent and quit shutting up the kingdom of the heavens, like Saul of Tarsus who became the Christian apostle Paul.

The point is this. False religion was around when Jesus walked the Earth. False religion was around before Jesus walked the Earth. So then its safe to say that false religion would be here today. Do all religions please God? Well you be the judge of that. If Jehovah says no idols in worship and you use idols, can you really say that the religion you are in is the truth?

Idol worship is just a part of proving a religion is false. If all religions please God then Jesus wouldn't make this statement " Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name? And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness. Read that scripture. It's found at Matt. 7:22, 23,

Jesus himself said Not everyone. He also said the one doing the will of his father. Question is, what exactly is the will of his father. Notice this in that scripture alone that Jesus said that Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name? By that statement we can tell that many religions are performing powerful works in his name but he says get away from me. The fact that they ask the question tells me that they are not aware of what they are doing, that they think they are doing the right thing but again their lives show that they slave for another master.

Get away from me. This scripture alone should tell you that not all religions please God. Yes you have your modern day Scribes and Pharisees and it's witnesses who this time are saying Woe to you through the pages of the bible. I didn't say it. Jesus said it. So we are clear that Idol worship is bad. We are clear that Jehovah is against Idol worship. Question is this then. Why do many religions use Idols?

I will touch on another subject tomorrow. Have a great day!

For those new to this, please don't give up learning. Continue your studies. If you don't keep your mind spiritually strong, Satan will make sure you mind stays spiritually dead.