It is good that you are sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. And as you noted in Scripture, neither does Jehovah take delight in the death of the wicked.

It is interesting that Abraham took it upon himself to question the rightness of Jehovah's proposed destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. So, there is nothing wrong in trying to understand why God would cause such horrible destruction to come upon his own creations.

You asked why Jehovah would not simply cause people to go to sleep and not wake up. Well, on at least one occasion that's exactly what God did. If you recall the occasion when the Assyrian army was moving to destroy Jerusalem, God's angel of death went through the camp and slew 185,000 of the Assyrians. Apparently they merely went to sleep and simply didn't wake up in the morning.

Also, too, during the original Passover in Egypt, evidently the firstborn of each Egyptian family merely went to sleep and never awakened. In these instances both the Assyrians and Egyptians were caught in the middle of the epic controversy between Jehovah God and the god of this world—Satan the Devil.  They were not necessarily judged to be any more wicked than their fellows. They simply became casualties-- caught up in the cross-fire, as it were, in the universal war. Of course, we should not lose sight of the fact that all of us are short-lived anyway and that Jehovah is going to undo death eventually. So, those who were put to death simply went to the "penalty box" (of death) prematurely and will eventually return to the land of the living.

As far as why God went to the extreme of causing the global Deluge that destroyed all life above ground not in the Ark, we have to consider the situation that existed before the Flood. The Bible says that the sons of God came down to cohabit with women. The unnatural union of materialized angels mating with the daughters of men produced a freakish race called the Nephilim. Evidently, God allowed this situation to develop to the extent that the human race was threatened with extinction due to the fact that real men could not sufficiently reproduce our race because the sex-crazed angels coveted most of the females in their harems. Not only that, but the Nephilim were brutes and killers. So, Jehovah judged that the entire world of that time was ruined and he determined that it ought to be destroyed—in order to preserve the human race.

But your question is: Why not simply cause everyone to go to sleep? Why destroy all the animals and birds and even fishes to some extent? While no one can answer for God on this issue, reasoning on the matter, we come to appreciate that it was not God's time to destroy the angels that sinned. Jehovah had already decreed in Eden that the seed of the woman would crush the seed of the serpent. But, at the time of the Deluge the seed of the woman had not even been revealed. So, Jehovah did what he had to do to force the rebel angels out of their materialized fleshly bodies and back into their natural habitat in the spirit domain-- where he then put the clamps on them to prevent them from re-materializing after the Flood.

As for the animal creation, 2nd Peter 3:12 likens apostate Christians to "unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed."  Notice, please, that God's Word says that animals are "born naturally to be caught and destroyed." That does not, of course, give men license for wanton slaughter and animal cruelty. It simply means that animals were created to live for a relatively brief while and then die as part of the natural cycle of birth-life-death. The reason it is natural for animals to die is because they were not created in the image of the Ever-living God Jehovah—as were we. Death is not the natural state of mankind, which, no doubt, is why we grieve over lost loved ones and why so many people cling to the myth that we have a deathless soul.

So, in the global Deluge the animal creation was caught up and destroyed, as they would have naturally died anyway. But, Jehovah mercifully made provisions for each kind of animal, or most kinds anyway, to be preserved on the Ark. Jehovah's good purpose was accomplished by forcing the angels off the earth and giving mankind a fresh start on an earth rinsed clean of the vile presence of the demons and their offspring.

In the instance of Sodom and Gomorrah: it seems hard to underestimate their perversity. After all, the Bible account says that the outcry of complaint against Sodom and Gomorrah reached as high as heaven. That means that people were looking to God to do something about the outrageous behavior of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. At Genesis 18:20-21, (NIV) the angels that spoke with Abraham in Jehovah's behalf said to him: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

So, what did the angels find when they went down to the valley and made their inspection? Jehovah's angels themselves were accosted by a mob of homosexual perverts that tried to gang-rape them! So, now, the question: What good would have been served by merely causing the perverts of Sodom to go to sleep? Would people in the surrounding regions understand what had happened? Perhaps it might have been construed that they had died of natural causes by some sort of pestilence. But, by causing fire to fall from heaven and thick black smoke to boil up into the sky, no doubt visible for some distance, Jehovah established beyond any doubt that his judgment had been executed. Jehovah basically sterilized the entire region of their diseased presence.

Not only that, we might say that the smoke and ash from Sodom and Gomorrah lingers to this day, in that the Bible account of their horrific destruction serves as a cautionary example for us. In fact, 2 Peter 3:6-9 says that very thing. It reads from the NIV: He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.

If we are on the leeward side of Jehovah's onrushing tempest of global judgment, isn't it a loving thing that he has provided such vivid examples of his power and determination to annihilate those whom he judges to be incorrigibly wicked?

Now, what about the battle of Armageddon? The oncoming war of Armageddon is the just that—a war. And as in all wars, there are going to be casualties. Armageddon is God's response to the outrages that will be committed against those whom God recognizes as his sons. It is the war to end all wars—forever. Jehovah is described in the Bible as a mighty warrior. So it is appropriate that when Jehovah intervenes in human affairs to destroy this world that it should sanctify him for all time as a terrible destroyer of his enemies.

Acts 2:16 says: '"And in the last days," God says, "I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh" the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and illustrious day of Jehovah arrives. And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved."'

Here we see "the last days" are mentioned. It appears these are the days before the day of Jehovah. We have seen from other scriptures that the presence of Jesus and the day of Jehovah are the same thing. Therefore, the "last days" are before the presence of Jesus too.

I have thought the Lord's day begins with Jesus throwing Satan out of heaven, bringing woe for the earth in the form of the great tribulation. But according to the above verses, the tribulation is part of the last days, before the day of Jehovah. Matt 24 says the same thing in that it is immediately after the tribulation the sign of the son of man will appear and the sun darkened etc which according to the verses above are part of the last days before the day of Jehovah. How can I resolve this apparent paradox?

The "great and illustrious day of Jehovah" in that context is referring to the actual battle of Armageddon. As most readers are no doubt aware, Peter was quoting from the book of Joel. Joel uses the expression "day of Jehovah" in two different ways. Joel 2:1 says: "Blow a horn in Zion, O men, and shout a war cry in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land get agitated; for the day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near! It is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick gloom, like light of dawn spread out upon the mountains."

The above-cited verse indicates that "the day of Jehovah" is still coming even during the period of gloom and distress brought about by the onrushing locust-like invasion of the "Northerner." However, down a few verses, Joel 2:11 refers to the invading hordes of locusts as being part of the day of Jehovah. That verse reads: "And Jehovah himself will certainly give forth his voice before his military force, for his camp is very numerous. For he who is carrying out his word is mighty; for the day of Jehovah is great and very fear-inspiring, and who can hold up under it?"

According to the Watchtower's present interpretation of Joel, the victim of the locust attack is supposedly Christendom and Jehovah's Witnesses are represented by the devouring locust. However, if that were the case, in answer to Jehovah's rhetorical question: "Who can hold up under it?" we would have to say that Christendom has held up very well under our supposed merciless denunciation of her. Obviously, even according to the Watchtower's interpretation our preaching is not coincident with Jehovah's great and fear-inspiring day or the last days.

At any rate, we can appreciate that the last days commence when this system erupts into global warfare and the forces hostile to Jehovah and his people over-run what God considers to be his holy place. That is the day of Jehovah because it is as a judgment from God upon his own spiritual house—purging it of what is unholy. However, as Joel goes on to indicate, Jehovah intervenes to rescue his chastened loyal ones and to destroy the forces of the Northerner, in what can only be describing the actual war of Armageddon.

That event is also called the day of Jehovah, and more especially so, because at that point Jehovah's judgments will become manifest to even God's enemies. That's why Joel 3:14-15 says: "Crowds, crowds are in the low plain of the decision, for the day of Jehovah is near in the low plain of the decision. Sun and moon themselves will certainly become dark, and the very stars will actually withdraw their brightness."

So, on the one hand, the tyrannical armies of the world are participating in the day of Jehovah's judgment by the work that they do, and then when Jehovah and Christ actively enter the fray, in what will be the world's time of judgment, that stage is also called the day of Jehovah.

Without a doubt, the date 607 B.C.E. is a very important date in the Watchtower's chronology. In fact, it has become a crucial underpinning for an entire superstructure of prophetic interpretations that have been built upon the date of 1914.

The justification for accepting that date is based upon another key date—539 B.C.E.—as marking the fall of Babylon. Historians are in agreement on that date also. But, the discrepancy comes in because the Bible says that Jerusalem would be desolate for 70 years. Jeremiah 25:11-12 says: "And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation." 

Remembering that the numbers get smaller going forward to the current era, the Watchtower allows two years for the Jews to travel back to Jerusalem; arriving back in their city in 537 B.C.E. Accounting for the 70-year desolation, the Watchtower merely counts back seven decades to arrive at 607 B.C.E. as the date for the fall of Jerusalem.

While chronological prophecy is fascinating and has captivated the minds of many Bible students, the problem we are faced with is that there is no way that Biblical chronology can be verified without the use of uninspired secular sources of dating. That's because there is no way of connecting events recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures with our modern era using the Bible's own internal chronology. There is simply a gap between the time the Hebrew Scriptures were completed and the current era. While we have the vital genealogical records in the Bible that give the lineage of Christ, they do not give the lifespans of all the individuals all the way up until the time of Christ. So, Bible chronologers are forced to use certain key dates as so-called pivotal dates to reconcile Biblical and secular dates.

The real problem that that presents for Christians is that it forces us to put our faith in Babylonian cuneiform writings and astronomical calculations, and such, rather than the word of God. Since Jehovah's Witnesses have put their faith in such chronological calculations, what happens to our faith in Jehovah when such speculations prove inaccurate or are significantly revised? I suspect we shall find out shortly.

People may not always agree on what those terms mean exactly. Generally, though, spirituality refers to the inward quality of our worship and our inclination towards matters pertaining to our personal relationship with God. The NWT only uses the word spirituality once and it is in connection with ridiculers, which the letter of Jude says that they are lacking spirituality. Paul, however, used the related word "spiritual" many times. He also contrasted a physical man and a spiritual man evidenced by each one's receptivity, or lack there of, to the things of God.

Religion, on the other hand, is generally understood to be an expression of outward formalized form of worship. The NWT uses the expression "form of worship" to denote both good and bad forms of worship. For example at Colossians 2:18, Paul wrote about a false type of religion. It reads: "Let no man deprive you of the prize who takes delight in a mock humility and a form of worship of the angels, taking his stand on the things he has seen." The form of worship, or religion, that Paul wrote about well describes the modern Catholic and Orthodox religions.

On the other hand, the letter of James refers to a form of worship that is acceptable to God. It says: "If any man seems to himself to be a formal worshiper and yet does not bridle his tongue, but goes on deceiving his own heart, this man's form of worship is futile. The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world."

James 1:26 would appear to answer your question, in that a person lacking spirituality might indeed appear be a formal worshipper of God, but his religious offerings to God would be futile if he misused his tongue in some way. But, spiritual persons are obligated by God to practice a formal religion that looks after orphans and widows and stays uncontaminated from the world. So, while it is possible to practice one without the other, it is not possible to please God unless we have both—spirituality and an acceptable formal form of worship.

Ultimately, everything is a matter of conscience, in that we will all have to stand before the Judgment seat of God to answer for ourselves. However, some things are clearly wrong and the Christian Scriptures authorize congregation elders to judge specific offenders. Paul lists them as follows: "But now I am writing you to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside, while God judges those outside? "Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."

While Paul specifically noted that unrepentant fornicators and idolaters ought to be removed from the congregation, taking some form of transfusion does not seem to fall into any of those categories—even though it, too, was listed as one of the necessary things that Christians should abstain from in Acts. So, perhaps when it is all said and done, Jehovah may indeed judge some individuals for having misused blood, but perhaps the organization might also be rebuked by Jehovah for going "beyond the things written" in Scripture by treating blood issues as a congregational judicial matter. It is something to think about.