On the last day, Jesus returns, and 8,000,000 Jehovah's Witnesses are shocked that he didn't return invisibly. Remembering the account of Stephen, they know if they can see him, they can speak directly to him, so they line up proudly to be rewarded for all they've done for his brothers.
"Lord, Lord," they happily cry out, "just look what all we have done in your name!"
"I know," Jesus says, "I saw. Your cult taught millions of people to ignore my repeated, crystal clear instructions to come to me. I do not know any of you, personally, because you have waited until now to speak directly to me. Did you not know that I am to be your judge? Did you not know that I began ruling as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the first century? Did you not read any of the letters my disciples left for you?"
Elder Tireless, the oldest among them, a man of 97 years, all of them spent in faithful service to the religion, steps forward and with a shaking, unsteady voice says, meekly, "But Lord, did we not spread explanations of prophecy in your name? Did we not cast out unrepentant sinners from our midst in your name? Did we not silence all who presumptuously questioned your Faithful and Discreet Slave class in your name? Did we not preach to all the world the good news that you would eventually come to lovingly terminate the lives of billions of people so we could live in their houses, in your name? Did we not regularly meet together to partake of spiritual food you provided, and convince millions of people to join us, all in your name?"
Jesus shouts, "I did not command any of that! You have all rejected my commands in favor of the commands of men! You didn't even follow the most simple one, 'Come to me!' Even a small child can understand that command. Did I not say, 'Approach the kingdom of heavens as a child?' Who is it that you fed that was hungry? Who is it that you clothed that was naked? Who did you shelter in their need? Who was in prison that you visited? Only those from whom you also received something? Members of a mythical 'slave class' that you pretended I spoke about, from whom you believed you were receiving better truth than I could give you, by the teacher I told you that you must receive, the Holy Spirit? Or did you serve the least of these, my siblings? Did you serve those who could not possibly repay? Hypocrites! You literally shut up the kingdom of heavens before men, by removing from them a personal relationship with me! I am the narrow gate and the gatekeeper, did you not read? Or did you read ... and not get the sense of it?"
Kneeling close to Elder Tireless, Jesus quietly, and sternly says, "You personally judged, persecuted, and punished people for violating commands of mere men; for violating the opinions of men who falsely claimed to speak for me, literally, in place of me. Did you not read in the letter to the Romans that no one should be judging another over differences of opinion? But you did read it, and you ignored it, preferring instead the false stories of liars who spoke falsely in my name. Did you never read what my disciple Matthew wrote about that? Did you learn nothing at all from John recounting the blind man I healed, and how the Jews responded? You were never appointed by me to stand in judgment in my place, the Pharisees sat in Moses' seat of judgment exactly as you seated yourself in mine."
Jesus continues, as the crowd murmurs uncomfortably in dawning awareness of the accuracy of his words. Shifting his eyes among the elders he can most readily spot, "When did I ever breathe one single word about 'paradise earth' or 'two hopes?' You lied to the world about my good news of a reconciled relationship to God. And how dare you twist my words and those of my disciples to justify secret meetings of judgment, a thing that never once came into my heart to do to another human. Did you not read that you should judge nothing until the appointed time, and that I would be doing the judging? Did you not see Paul's counsel to Timothy that all reproof should be given before all onlookers? Did you not care that the Sanhedrin that convened to convict me falsely as a blasphemer, did so in direct violation of the law at a time when it would not be public? You imitated the Pharisees, not me, not my disciples. Did you have no fear that I would hold you in judgment for the cruelty you did in secret, in my name?"
He stands again, as a somber hush falls over everyone, tears streaming from Elder Tireless' old eyes. Only his sobs heard.
Jesus continues, speaking loudly enough for all to hear, "Worst, of all the things each of you did, you taught people that I was a false God, and that speaking directly to me would be an act of idolatry. I instructed everyone to come to me, to drink from me, to learn from me, to be refreshed by me. Repeatedly. Routinely. You taught them all to ignore me. Paul explained repeatedly that his ministry was one of reconciliation, through me as the mediator, and you publicly denied the truth of his words. Instead, you preached a message of dedication to a religion, the antithesis of my teachings. The first time I came, it was to end religions and to provide a way for each of you to have a reconciled personal relationship with God. That was my entire purpose in coming. Did you not read that I said 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life?' Did you not understand from this that I am the way of entry into the naos, into the very temple of God, through the curtain of my sacrificed flesh? Paul told you. Did you not read? Did you not understand that I am all three curtains through which the High Priest would annually pass, in addition to being your High Priest and King?"
With a deep sigh, Jesus finishes, "You know you are sinners, and all I told you that you needed to do was to come to me, personally, and seek from me a restored relationship with God. You and I would have worked out your personal salvation between us, individually. You did not seek me out for what I offered you. You never once approached the way of entry into the temple, you never even approached the narrow gate that leads to life. Because you never did so, your sins remain. I never knew you. Get away from me, you workers of iniquity."
According to the Bible, that is what Jesus' return would mean for Jehovah's Witnesses. I urge you, please don't take my word for it. I'm a stranger on the Internet. The full and irrefutable proof of my claim is right there in your own Bible.
Supporting Scriptures:
- John 3
- John 6-10
- John 14-16
- Matthew 7:13-23
- Matthew 15
- Matthew 28:18-20
- Hebrews (the whole letter, paying attention to the timing of Jesus' commencing of role as King and High Priest)
- 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2
- 1 Timothy 2:1-7
- Matthew 23
- Hebrews 10:5-25 (Yeah, yeah, I know, you just read it ... humor me)
- Acts (the whole letter, looking carefully for any example of Christian baptism that required a prayer of dedication or any public declaration of loyalty to any religion)
- Galatians 1:6-9
- Romans (the whole letter, looking carefully for where anyone is authorized to judge besides Jesus)
These "books" were letters. Read them as what they were. Learn how first century Christians actively put into practice what they had been taught, and mark well where their practices differ from the practices of Jehovah's Witnesses. You will soon find that there is very little Scriptural support for any element of Christian worship as carried out by Jehovah's Witnesses. They are lying to the whole world. Their whole cult is based on twisted opinions of very few men applied to Scriptures.
DISCLAIMER: I am capable of observing what the Bible does and does not teach. Any writing of mine that discusses the Bible or that challenges JW teachings based on the Bible will always be presented from the perspective of someone who does believe the Bible is the infallible, inspired word of God.