The Narrow Road Becomes Wide
| By: Lorri MacGregor; ©October 2003 |
| Jehovah’s Witnesses love to think of themselves as being on the “narrow road” that leads to heaven. But how many of them really are, according to their own teachings? Lorri MacGregor gives us the distressing answer. |
Most everyone is familiar with the Scripture at Matthew 7:13, 14, which reads, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses love this Scripture, always identifying themselves as those on the narrow, cramped, road, believing all others doomed to destruction by Jehovah God. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe we are all living in the last generation when this scripture will be fulfilled, to their advantage of course, and our impending doom. We ask Jehovah’s Witnesses, are you really on the “narrow” road, or has your road become “broad”? We ask you to consider your own doctrine on this important question.
Cheryl Schatz, our ministry partner from Edmonton, Alberta deals with this intriguing question in her recent article.
Are we the last generation? If we are to believe the doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses this is a question that is of utmost importance. How so? The last generation is the only generation that has a choice.
On page 255 of the Watchtower’s book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, they present the choice that needs to be made by the last generation. They say, “Really, there are but two choices. Christ compared it to the choice of either one of two roads. One road, he said, is ‘broad and spacious.’ On it travelers are permitted freedom to please themselves. The other road, however, is ‘cramped.’ Yes, those on that road are required to obey the instructions and laws of God. The majority, Jesus noted, are taking the broad road, only a few the narrow one. Which road will you choose? In making your choice, keep this in mind: The broad road will suddenly come to a dead end—destruction! On the other hand, the narrow road will lead you right through into God’s new system. There you can share in making the earth a glorious paradise, where you can live forever in happiness.”
How is the last generation different from every other generation according to Watchtower teaching? For every other generation the two roads are reversed. For previous generations, the broad road is now the one that leads to paradise earth! The Watchtower Society teaches that almost every single person that has ever lived and died was on that broad road leading to paradise. Everyone on the broad road qualifies for a resurrection onto a paradise earth. It matters not whether the person lived for God or if they exercised their free will to live for themselves, as long as they lived and died before the last generation, they will find themselves following the broad road into paradise—no questions asked! They get a “second chance” to live forever.
But what of the narrow road? How is the narrow road different for all previous generations than it is for the last generation? Since so many from past generations are promised a chance in the Watchtower paradise earth (the broad road), this narrow road for past generations becomes the road that leads to eternal destruction, in Watchtower thinking. These few in number from the past, in comparison to the billions on the broad road, found their way onto the narrow road. Those few who found the narrow road will never experience a Watchtower resurrection. They will never get a chance to see paradise on earth, and have a second chance at salvation. Instead, they are wiped out from God’s memory and will never receive this second chance for life as everyone else receives.
Who are the unfortunate souls who found themselves on that dreaded narrow road that leads to Watchtower destruction? They were people who became Jehovah’s Witnesses from the time the Watchtower first started preaching the “end of the world” message. These formerly faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses originally believed the message of the Watchtower, that the end was just around the corner. However, after living through one failed prophecy after another, they abandoned their faith in the Watchtower organization. The Watchtower brands such ones as apostates and deems them unfit to receive a resurrection.
So, since 1879, anyone who became a Jehovah’s Witness, but who left the Organization, is on that narrow road to destruction. They are the only ones from previous generations who will not receive a resurrection. What a shame! Since everyone who was preached to by the Watchtower devotees from 1879 to the very early 1900’s is dead and gone, the only lasting effect the Watchtower managed to have for that generation was to create a way for some to lose out on paradise!
If you take the Watchtower’s doctrine to its logical conclusion, the generation of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s would have been better off never having heard the message of the Watchtower. Everyone who didn’t hear the message is guaranteed a chance for life in paradise. But for those who heard and believed but who became disillusioned, the Watchtower became to them a stench of eternal death.
So, we ask “Who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ of paradise earth”? Let’s summarize from the Watchtower’s teachings to find the three groups of people who will be ‘in’ paradise and the three groups who are ‘out’.
Those who will receive life, the ‘in’ group, are:
- Every person who never became a Jehovah’s Witness and who dies before Armageddon will receive a second chance.
- Every current Jehovah’s Witness who is worthy enough to merit everlasting life will go into paradise.
- Every practicing Jehovah’s Witness who dies before Armageddon will receive a second chance no matter how worthy they are.
Those who will not receive life, the ‘out’ group:
- Every non-Jehovah’s Witness living at the time that Armageddon occurs will die. They will not receive a second chance for life.
- Every Jehovah’s Witness alive at the time that Armageddon occurs but who is not considered worthy enough will be annihilated and will not receive a second chance at life.
- Every Jehovah’s Witness who has left the organization and who subsequently dies will not receive a second chance for life.
The difference between the will’s and the will not’s, according to the Watchtower, is dependent on when you were born and when you died. If you lived and died anytime up until 1879 you are in. If you lived and died after 1879 you are probably in—as long as you didn’t subscribe to the Watchtower’s message. That way you didn’t have a chance to become an apostate and end up on that dreaded narrow road. If you live in the last generation, you are almost certainly out. Only a relatively small number of worthy Jehovah’s Witnesses will go into paradise alive, they believe. This threat keeps the faithful knocking on doors, trying to earn their salvation.
As Cheryl’s article shows this is a convoluted doctrine! The “narrow” road to life becomes “broad” in their theology, allowing all kinds of rascals from the past to enter paradise, while putting their present followers in a vise and adding more and more pressure to conform and making it harder and harder to enter paradise.
Next month we will deal with their “new light” on the last generation teachings. We can only pray Jehovah’s Witnesses will see how misled they have been by the Watchtower Society, and turn to Christ for salvation.
