"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13)
What a profound reality for those who are in Christ. As I read this verse in my devotional today, I reflected upon my former ways of living in the "domain of darkness." I was not free no matter how much I told myself I was. Instead, I was a slave to sin. As Paul will go on to say, "you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds." (1:21) But not anymore! Following v. 13, it is explained that we "have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
But who is this a reality for? The Watchtower explains,
*** pe chap. 16 p. 136 par. 7 God’s Government Begins Its Rule ***
Yes, Jesus then began to rule over his congregation of followers who, in time, were to join him in the heavens. Thus the Bible speaks of them, while they are on earth, as being taken into “the kingdom of the Son of [God’s] love.” (Colossians 1:13) But this rule, or “kingdom,” over Christians with the hope of heavenly life is not the Kingdom government for which Jesus taught his followers to pray. It is a kingdom over only the 144,000 persons who will rule with him in heaven. Down through the centuries they have been its only subjects. Thus this rule, or ‘kingdom of the Son of God’s love,’ will end when the last one of these subjects with a heavenly hope dies and joins Christ in heaven. No longer will they be Christ’s subjects, but they will then be kings with him in God’s long-promised Kingdom government.
How incredibly sad it must be for a Jehovah's Witness to read these passages and not be able to apply it! While there is a time and a place for discussions on Christology and hell, we can't neglect the realities presented to those who are in Christ. The reason being, it gives us an opportunity to present to JW's the utterly hopeless state they are in. That is, the text presents us with two realities:
1) Those subject to the domain of darkness
2) Those subject to the kingdom of Christ
You are either subject to one or the other. That is, if you haven't been "transferred to the kingdom of [Christ]," then you are still in the "domain of darkness." Thus, it is no surprise that Jehovah's Witnesses follow a works-salvation system:
*** w51 9/15 p. 557 par. 11 What to Do in the Face of the End ***
So there is good reason for the time allowance which God has granted since 1914. It is not just to let human suffering take place on a scale greater than ever before or more flagrant wickedness to be carried on. Not that! But it is in order to discharge God’s responsibility to serve final notice and in order to send his chosen witnesses with a final warning in this “time of the end”. So this is a period of God’s undeserved kindness, allowing people of good will who are in danger to take advantage of God’s patience and mercy. They are thus given a fair opportunity to act and work for their own salvation by God’s means, and not by human means. They should never presume upon God’s patience and think he is slow and they may linger a little longer with the world and enjoy more of it before making a last-minute break for safety under God’s organization. There is now no time to lose, and we should all take the viewpoint that Peter said to take: “Consider the patience of our Lord as salvation.” (2 Pet. 3:15, NW; Rev. 12:13-17) So work for salvation.
There is nothing here about Christ obtaining eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12); nothing about imputed righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), and nothing about salvation apart from works (Romans 4:6). Instead, its all about what you can do. Its an impossible gospel and contrary to what Christ taught:
““Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””
(Matthew 11:28–30)
Does this sound like Watchtower-theology to you? Or does this sound like a salvation system whereby Christ is at the center; He is the one who accomplishes salvation, not us. How is this relevant to Colossians 1:13? By denying these realities to the millions of Jehovah's Witnesses who have lived and not shared in a "heavenly hope," a works-salvation system is the only possible option for them. They are living in the dark. And those who live in the dark believe that they are the ones in charge. They are the ones who have to prove themselves. Its all man based. And it is one of the saddest realities for Jehovah's Witnesses who are trapped in this hopeless system.
So the next time you hear a knock on your door, think twice before you engage in a spiritual boxing match over definite and indefinite articles (again, not saying this is always wrong; there's a time and a place), consider sharing with them a message of hope. They already feel condemned. How do I know? Because anyone who works for their salvation knows that they are missing the mark by an infinite long-shot! Don't believe me? Ask them, "When you stand in judgment before an infinitely holy God, will he allow you to enter into paradise? And on what basis?" The answer will almost always surprise you.
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4 comments:
The name Jehovah (or Yahweh)- Gods name, in the bible almost 7000 times- taken out of most bibles replaced with Lord and GOD. We are in (239 Lands) and print literature and bibles in almost 500 languages including sign language and braille. We have some of the largest printing presses in the world and every week unitedly learn and teach the same thing worldwide. We also never go to war (conscientious objectors)- even in the face of imprisonment. We preach door to door and have bible studies free of charge and (we) also never get paid for it. All of our work and printing is done completely by donation. We have paved the way for bloodless surgery and have fought for free speech among other human rights in the US supreme court more than any other organization. As well worldwide we fight for freedom of religion. We are often the first group to show up for disaster relief and give aid - not just to other Jehovah's Witnesses. We do it all out of love for our Creator and in following closely to biblical prophecy -We believe we are living in the last days of this system - Jesus said in Matt 24:14 " And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." Does this mean the end of the earth and all people, NO. The kingdom clearly in the scriptures is about the earth being returned to the way it was meant to be, no more death and illness. Jesus proved he could heal all of this while on earth. For more info, watchtower.org
There are a lot of LIES and half truths/twisted truths- put out there about us - don't believe them. Talk to us before making any finale belief about us, we are always open to talk.
We are no part of the NWO or the New Age movement- no matter what you have read, Lies spread by liars - taken on by soo called " Truthers."And No, I am not looking for any help as I have found the Truth. If you believe we are living in the last days and you say you believe in the bible and the scriptures must be fulfilled . = The good news about Jesus Kingdom must be preached to the ends of the earth - instuction must be given on how to survive into the New System under Jesus Kingdom in an Organized manner. Who else is doing this work - Who is going secretly into countries under religious ban and deep into jungles and islands worldwide with the message of this Kingdom ?
WE ARE THE ONLY ONES TELLING THE TRUTH WORLDWIDE. WE COULD ONLY DO THIS WORK TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH BECAUSE WE HAVE THE BACKING OF JESUS.
NO- ONE ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH RIGHT NOW IS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANY THING CLOSE TO WHAT WE ARE = FACT. WE ARE THE ONLY ONES DOING HOLY WORK FOR JEHOVAH WORLD WIDE !!!!
you can make all the accusations you want - I already have seen your nicely twisted truth. It is always good to question many things about the bible - but you are only reaching a tiny handfull of people. We are reaching people Globaly because we have THE Truth and the backing of Truth. Take care
Thank you for your comment. While I can appreciate you sharing your general religious convictions, I am more interested in your response to the blog article to which you are commenting on.
Also, because I am interested in what Jehovah's Witnesses have to say, I added your blog to my RSS feed. However, unless I didn't look hard enough, I didn't notice the option to comment? Is there a reason for this?
"WE ARE THE ONLY ONES TELLING THE TRUTH WORLDWIDE. WE COULD ONLY DO THIS WORK TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH BECAUSE WE HAVE THE BACKING OF JESUS.
NO- ONE ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH RIGHT NOW IS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANY THING CLOSE TO WHAT WE ARE = FACT. WE ARE THE ONLY ONES DOING HOLY WORK FOR JEHOVAH WORLD WIDE !!!! "
Yet you start your comment by listing the printing presses and facilities you use....
If you're reaching people globally, does that include China, Pakistan and India?
And what gospel are you reaching them with? The gospel as preached by Paul (Christ, crucified, resurrected, freedom from sin) or the Watchtower gospel (Jehovah, 1914, organisation, Armageddon)?
You state that Mike is spreading lies and half-truths. For my sake, can you specify what parts of what he said about working for salvation were lies and half-truths, please. Help me to see the lies in what he said, especially when he quoted from the Watch Tower publications. Thanks.
I talk to many people every week about Jesus and their salvation and I almost always ask them "If you were to die today and stand before God and He were to say to you, 'Why should I let you in to My heaven?' what would you say?". You would be flabbergasted by the number of people who say up front that they are already a Christian but then answer that question with a response that includes "I try to...be good enough, go to Church often, do good deeds, etc." I always leave them with the Word of God in either tract or quoted form and I tell them that the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is only by placing all of your faith in Christ Jesus alone. Some who say they are Christians refuse to answer the question. That right there is a red flag - to claim to have Jesus and not even want to talk about Him!
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