Why is the world so full of violence?

The world is in a great state of upheaval. Daily news
reports are filled with crimes, violence, accidents, natural
disasters and utter mayhem! 

Why do we have war, injustice, pain, sickness, death
and misery? Is this what the God who created
this world wanted?

How many gods are there? How many religions are
there? Why are there so many? How will we find the
real one? Is there a real God and a real religion?

People who ask these questions are usually frustrated and
confused. Many are so cynical about ever finding the truth
that they have given up.

Who can blame them? Religion is a way of life for the
vast majority of the people in the world but - are they
in the right religion?

¹³"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it.”

(Matthew 7:13) (New International Version)

But how does someone find the right path?

⁷"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and
the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives;
he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
(Matthew 7:7-8) (NIV)

There has always been only one right path. 

Where is it?

Looking back thousands of years ago, we see that the ancient Jews
knew who their God was, and their story is in God’s book, the Bible.

¹³ And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children
of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent
me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall
I say unto them? ¹⁶ Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and
say unto them, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely
visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
(Exodus 3:13,16) (American Standard Version)

How do we know that Jehovah is God’s name?

God’s name has been in the Bible for many centuries. Some versions
of the Bible do not have Jehovah’s name in them because the translators
removed His name and replaced it with “LORD” or “GOD”.

The King James Version of the Bible has Jehovah’s name in four
scriptures because the translators forgot to replace these. They are:

³ And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob,
by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH
was I not known to them.

(Exodus 6:3) (King James Version)

² Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid:
for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he
also is become my salvation.
(Isaiah 12:2) (KJV)

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH
is everlasting strength.

(Isaiah 26:4) (KJV)

¹⁸ That men may know that thou, whose name alone
is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
(Psalms 83:18) (KJV)

Many versions of the Bible do not have Jehovah’s name in it all.
Other versions of the Bible have Jehovah’s name restored where
it originally belonged. By performing a “search” for the word
“Jehovah” at the on-line versions at www.biblegateway.com,

We can see that in the Old Testament alone:

·        The American Standard Version has Jehovah’s name in it 5822 times.

·        Young’s Literal Version has Jehovah’s name in it 5787 times.

·        The Darby Version Bible has Jehovah’s name in it 5791 times.

·        Also available is the New World Translation of the Bible published
    by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society which has Jehovah’s
name restored in it 6973 times.

Why is Jehovah’s name in the Old Testament so much?

The prophets wrote Jehovah’s name almost 7,000 times in the Old
Testament because Jehovah wants us to know what His name is.

¹⁸ For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed
the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that
formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.
(Isaiah 45:18) (American Standard Version)

Some people believe that Jehovah’s name is too sacred to say out
loud. In fact, this is such a widespread belief that modern-day Jews
do not pray to Jehovah by name. Catholics and most Protestants do
not either. The prevailing belief is that since Jehovah is acknowledged
to be the one true God, it is not necessary to say His name. In fact,
it might be an insult to Him to say His sacred name out loud.

Is it forbidden to say God’s name, Jehovah?

No. Jehovah never said His name is too sacred for us to say.
In fact, Jehovah made the prophets write down many scriptures
for us that actually direct us to call on Him by name:

¹³ And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children
of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent
me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall
I say unto them? ¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent
me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto
all generations.
(Exodus 3:13,15) (ASV)

Religion’s Failure Part 2

There must be hundreds, maybe even thousands
of gods and religions.

Where did all the false religions come from?

If there is only one true God, why isn’t there
only one true religion?

Who is responsible for all of the chaos that is in the world?

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and
showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
⁹ And he said to him - All these I will give you, if you will
fall down and worship me. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, Be
gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord
your God and him only shall you serve.

(Matthew 4:8-10) (English Standard Version)

From this scripture, we can see that Satan, the Devil,
wants to be worshipped. Satan could not persuade 
God's Son to worship him, but Satan knows how to trick
us into it. While it is true that relatively few people worship
Satan directly, The Devil has been wildly successful in
getting the vast majority of Earth’s inhabitants to worship
him indirectly for thousands of years now.

How is it possible to worship Satan indirectly?

Simply by not choosing to worship and obey Jehovah!
And just look at all of the possible ways to worship
something other than Jehovah. The Apostle Paul 
illustrated the principle clearly:

You cannot be drinking from the cup of Jehovah and the cup
of demons; YOU cannot be partaking of the table of Jehovah
and the table of demons.

(1Corinthians 10:21) (New World Translation) Watchtower.org

Right at this moment everybody living on this earth has
chosen the table they are feeding from. There is no middle
ground. Everyone has chosen to partake of either Jehovah’s
table or the demon’s, whether they are aware of it or
not. Most people are not even aware that they are feeding
right now at Satan’s table and have been all of their life! In
fact, most people consider themselves to be quite respectable
and reasonably faithful to their religion, therefore, they cannot
imagine being disrespectful or disobedient to our Heavenly
Father.

How can people be disobedient to Jehovah
if they obey their priest or minister?

This is what our Messiah, himself, had to say to the priests
of his day who were not properly doing their job of teaching
people the truth about Jehovah:

¹³ But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go
in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
(Matthew 23:13) (New King James Version)

People depend on their Christendom priests and ministers
to tell them what they need to know but they instead tell
people just what they want to hear. This was prophesied
by Paul in a letter to Timothy almost 2,000 years ago:

³ The time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching.
Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling
them only what they are itching to hear. ⁴ They will turn from the
truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories.
(2Timothy 4:3-4) (Contemporary English Version)

Who can we trust? Who will tell us the truth? Can we find
the truth in all of the wild tales generated by Christendom?
 

Does any church of Christendom agree completely with any
other church? Why do they not agree? Are their beliefs just
man-made doctrines?

Christ had this to say to the religious leaders of his time:

²⁷ Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the
outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and
everything unclean.

(Matthew 23:27) (New International Version)

Why did he say that?

⁶ Jesus replied, You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about
you when he said, ⁷  These people honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace
God's commands with their own man-made teachings.

(Mark 7:6-7) (New Living Translation)

Isaiah indeed criticized Jehovah’s own priests for turning to
false doctrines, and hence, false worship, long before 
God's Son was even born.

¹³ The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and
honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship
of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

(Isaiah 29:13) (NIV)

Rules taught by men are what most Christians learn in their churches
today. Jehovah wants us to know what His name is, but Christendom’s
ministers teach us that “God doesn’t have or need a name."

Is that wise?
 

¹ And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
² If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give
glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send
the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I
have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

(Malachi 2:1-2) (American Standard Version)

Christ recruited his apostles and disciples for the purpose of
preaching the truth. False religions are composed of man-
made traditions and false beliefs.

Which will do us any good? What is necessary for the
true and acceptable worship of our Heavenly Father?

The Apostle John wrote:

²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must
worship in spirit and in truth.

(John 4:24) (NLT)

Therefore it is necessary to dispense with the man-made
customs and traditions. We must, instead, follow Jehovah's
requirements rather than give Jehovah just what we feel
like giving. Maybe then Jehovah will answer our prayers
and bless us.

16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
(Psalms 145:16) (NIV)

Religion’s Failure  Part 1

Religion is a disappointment for many. In fact religion is the
main reason why so many people no longer believe in God or
the Bible. Most of the people of the world prefer to believe in all
manner of falsehood or nothing at all.

The religions of "Christendom" have not only failed to be a source
of light, The ministers of Christendom have grossly misrepresented
God and the Bible.

What are the religions of "Christendom"?

The Catholic and Protestant religions with their numerous variations.

How has Christendom grossly misrepresented God and the Bible?

Among other things, She refuses to teach people
that God has a name, and that it is Jehovah.

Who says that God's name is Jehovah?

¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name
forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
(Exodus 3:15) (American Standard Version)

By throwing away Bible knowledge and replacing it with absurd
man-made doctrines, the result is "Apostate Christendom"
(false Christianity). Because of the work of these priests and
ministers of Apostate Christendom, very few people today know
what the Bible contains, and many don't want to know.  

Why is Christendom being called "She", as if she is female?

In the Bible, the Apostle John calls all false religion 
"Babylon the Great". When the words  "Babylon
the Great" were penned by John, almost two thousand
years ago, the "Great City of Babylon” did not even
exist - it had already been annihilated from the face
of the earth for many centuries. All false religion (Which
originated there) is compared to a prostitute who
commits fornication with the kings of the earth:

¹ One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls
came over and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I
will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great
prostitute, who sits on many waters. ² The rulers of the world
have had immoral relations with her, and the people who belong
to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality."

(Revelation 17: 1-2) (New Living Translation)

⁴ The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry
made of gold and precious gems and pearls. She held in her hand a
gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.
⁵A mysterious name was written on her forehead: "Babylon the
Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World."

(Revelation 17:4-5) (NLT)

In John’s vision, “Babylon the Great” appeared as a drunken
harlot. She symbolically represents the tremendous mish-
mash of all the false religious beliefs that exist today.

Apostate Christendom is noted for political involvement. She
has blessed the guns of warfare, on both sides of each battle,
and always encouraged her followers to go to war. “Christian”
Churches have even been used as recruiting centers during
wartime. History shows that the early Christians refused
military service and even died for their stand of neutrality in
all political affairs. Scripture is clear that this neutral stand
would remain a requirement of all Christians, right until the
end of this “system of things”.

During wartimes, Catholics and Protestants killed each other
with the full consent and support of their religious leaders.
Religious leaders lead political inaugurations and many a King
has risen or been deposed by the Catholic leaders themselves
in the past, when the church was more powerful than any
government in history - during the Holy Roman Empire
(circa 315-1800 AD). Those who questioned the Church's
authority during that time were tortured and executed with
the full consent and collaboration of Church and State. Religious
leaders today run for political office and get involved in the world’s
political affairs.

But there are many prophecies yet to be fulfilled and no one is
watching for these anymore, much like when Christ came to the
earth. Many of the Jews were so wrapped up in the traditions
and teachings of men, that they did not recognize their Messiah 
when he came. Christ told his followers to remain politically
neutral, and to be no part of the world, just as he was.

"They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world."  

(John 17:16) (English Standard Version)

So too, today, Christendom has so disillusioned the masses,
that they do not recognize the days that we are living in, as
the last days. People focus so much on Jesus' infancy as a
baby in a manger that they perceive him as helpless or, they
focus entirely on his death and assume that he is just dead
and gone. They do not recognize or teach that he is now a
King in Heaven, ready to take over rule of the earth.

Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until
I make thine enemies thy footstool.

(Psalm 110:1) (American Standard Version)

When apostate Christianity adopted the holidays, customs,

traditions and teachings of the pagans, especially those beliefs
of Ancient Babylon, they began to grossly misrepresent the God,
whom they claim to worship.  By trading Bible truths for pagan
philosophies and traditions of men, they have left God voiceless
- since his manual of life was given to man to help him survive
into a new and different world. 

Rather than look to the Bible for what to teach or believe in,
misguided people have debated for centuries about which
dogmas and doctrines to adopt - and then they found or
made up scriptures to support them.

They have paid translators to remove God's name, "Jehovah",
from the Bible, in order to aid in their teaching of the Mysterious
Trinity Doctrine that originated in Ancient Babylon.

⁶And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment
of God. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he
said, ⁸  `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far
away. ⁹ Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands
with their own man-made teachings.'"

(Matthew 15: 6-9) (NLT)

"And Jehovah says:  'For the reason that this people have come near
with their mouth, and they have glorified me merely with their lips,
and they have removed their heart itself far away from me, and their
fear toward me becomes men's commandment that is being taught."   
(Isaiah 29:13) (NLT)

There is only one group of people on the face of the earth who
ignore the traditions of men and teach Bible truth. These
people are present in every country on earth. They want to
reach as many people as possible and teach them the truth.

Who are these people? What can they teach us?

Jehovah’s Witnesses carry out a world-wide preaching work
unmatched by any other religion. Many evangelists such as Dr.
Billy Graham have preached their brand of Christianity to millions
of people, but according to the Watchtower yearbook for the year
2008, more than 7 million members of Jehovah’s Witnesses
spent 1.4 billion hours in service work (door-to-door preaching)
and conducted over 7 million home Bible studies in 236 countries
in the year 2008 alone.

From: http://www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm

The Great Day of Jehovah

More than three thousand years ago all of mankind
was destroyed except for eight people!

How do we know that the story of
Noah and the ark is a true story?

Christ, himself talked about it to his disciples:

“³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood came and took them
all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
(Matthew 24:37-39) (New International Version)

God's Son, who is referred to frequently as the "Son of Man",
not only talked about the Great Flood as if it really happened,
he also talked about the Great Day of Jehovah as if it is going
to occur. That is because he knew it will!

“From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: ’Repent,
YOU people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’”
(Matthew 4:17) (NIV)

Why would our Savior consider the Kingdom Message
to be so important nearly two thousand years ago?

The idea was that his followers would spread the message,
acquire more followers and then the whole world would
know about Jehovah’s intentions.

Why did the work take so long?

The world population has steadily increased to over six
billion people now. The number of people who are spreading
the Kingdom Message number only about seven million. It 
took time to inform the people of the world in every country
and give them all a fair chance to hear and understand.

⁷ "But always, first of all, I warn you through my servants the
prophets. I, the Sovereign LORD, have now done this."
(Amos 3:7) (New Living Translation)

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
(2Peter 3:9) (NIV)

"Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect.  They all have
the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask
for them. For "Anyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will
be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless
they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they
have never heard about him? And how can they hear about
him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and
tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean
when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news!" But NOT everyone welcomes the Good News, 
for Isaiah the prophet said, "Jehovah, who has believed our
message?" Yet faith comes from listening to this message of
good news.“
(Romans 10:12-17) (New World Translation)  -Watchtower.org

What is happening now that the Kingdom Message has
been preached throughout the entire world?

“²¹ For that will be a time of greater horror than anything
the world has ever seen or will ever see again. ²² In fact,
unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human
race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake
of God's chosen ones.”
(Matthew 24:21-22) (NLT)

Are we near Jehovah's Day now?

Yes! The world is in great turmoil with:

·        Wars
·        Diseases
·        Earthquakes

·        Crime
·        Injustice
·        Terrorism
·        Famine and drought
·        Poverty
·        Flooding

These are indeed the signs that we are near the Great Day of
Jehovah. There is still some goodness and optimism somewhere
in the world now but the problems will get worse and worse with
no let-up. This is the time for all to hear this message and consider
the source. The Bible is Jehovah’s words and His prophecies
never go unfulfilled. People may believe that the Bible is an
ancient book with no relevance in today’s world, but that would
be a grave error.

What kinds of people ignore the Kingdom Message?

Primarily, the people who love the world the way it is now.
In spite of the world’s problems, there are a lot of things to
enjoy in the world. People can be ensnared by:

• Wealth and prosperity
• Seeking pleasure
• False teachings
• Lack of faith
• Apathy
• Addictions
• Ambitions

The Apostle John had this advice for the wise:

“¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For
everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust
of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes
not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its
desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives
forever.”
(1John 2:15-17) (NIV)

Jehovah patiently waited for His work to be finished by
His servants. Everyone in the world heard the Kingdom
Message and made their choice:  to ignore the message
or join the effort to spread the message. There was no
middle ground. People are either part of the solution or
part of the problem. People who are part of the solution
will have nothing to worry about as The End approaches: 

“¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you,
the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will
suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of
death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who
overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
(Rev 2:10-11) (NIV)

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not
be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength
and song; and he is become my salvation.”
(Isaiah 12:2) (American Standard Version)

The people who are the problem will be very afraid:

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall
from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ ³⁰ ”At
that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and
all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they
will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the
heavens to the other.”
(Matthew 24:29-31) (NIV)

When the people who rejected the Kingdom Message
realize their error, it will be too late:

“¹⁸ There were flashes of lightning, roars of thunder, and the
worst earthquake in all history. ²⁰ Every island ran away, and
the mountains disappeared. ²¹ Hailstones, weighing about a
hundred pounds each, fell from the sky on people. Finally,
the people cursed God, because the hail was so terrible.”
(Rev 16:18,20-21) (Contemporary English Version)

“...Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all
the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts. And as for you,
you will prophesy to them all these words, and you must say to them,
‘From on high Jehovah himself will roar, and from his holy dwelling
he will give forth his voice. Without fail he will roar upon his abiding
place. A shout like those treading [the winepress] he will sing out
against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise will certainly come clear
to the farthest part of the earth for Jehovah hath a controversy with the
nations; he will enter into judgment  with all flesh: as for the wicked, he
will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah... And the slain of Jehovah
shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered,
nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.”
(Jeremiah 25:29-33) (ASV)

There are those who will say something like: “I can’t believe
that a God of love would do such a thing to nice people like
us!” Jehovah's prophets predicted this long ago.

17 You make God tired with all your talk. "How do we tire him
out?" you ask. By saying, "God loves sinners and sin alike. God
loves all." And also by saying, "Judgment? God's too nice to judge."
(Malachi 2:17) (Message Bible)

The Authority of the Bible

Most modern Christians tend to rely on the New Testament
of the Bible and ignore the Old Testament because Christ is
the modern Christian's savior. When Christ came to us almost
2,000 years ago he brought us true teachings which later became
known as Christianity. Not long after he and his followers died
his pure teachings became corrupted by many non-Biblical beliefs.
Today, the majority of modern Christians unwittingly follow these
man-made beliefs that did not originate from them.

What kind of man-made beliefs?

The widest man-made belief is that God's Son took the place of
his Father, Jehovah. In order to believe that the Son is now GOD,
it is necessary to ignore the entire content of the Old Testament
and that is just what Christendom's ministers do.

How do we know that Christ is not God?

Because the words of JEHOVAH God, as recorded by His
prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible, were constantly
quoted by Christ. At the time that Christ was on the earth -
only the Old Testament had been written. These were the
words inspired by his Father, the "Jewish God," Jehovah.

"...a New Testament did not begin to exist until late in the second century."
- River of God, Gregory J. Riley, pp. 66-67

"The first Christians relied on the Old Testament as their chief
religious book. To them it was of divine origin and authority."
-Dr. Samuel Davidson; The "Canon"
The Encyclopedia Britannica

Thus God's Son, himself, considered the Hebrew Scriptures
as words of authority on all things. All questions that were
asked of Christ he answered by quoting Jehovah God's words
in the Old Testament. Therefore - Christ, himself, considered
the Old Testament Bible to be inspired by God. Our Saviour
lived by the words of his Father, Jehovah, as recorded in the
Hebrew Scriptures and instructed us to do so.