Summary of the Cult
The Jehovah Witnesses are a worldwide organization with approximately 6 million members worldwide. They have approximately 700,000 full-time witnesses and have 5 million bible studies each week. This organization was founded in 1884 as “
Zion’s Watchtower Tract Society. The founders name was Charles Russell who was a devious character who suggested his books were better to read than the bible and was divorced by his wife in 1913 for adultery, conceit, egotism and domination. The Jehovah Witnesses also have their own translation of the Bible, called the New World Translation © 1961.
Errant Teachings and Refutation:
The first item to exam when studying cult evangelism, is the organization itself and the function of its founder in its history. This organization is founded upon the principle that they are the only true witnesses of God. The support this by using their translation, the New World Translation, Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses.” The refutation for this title that they give themselves if found clearly in the context of this verse. This verse is not referring to a religious group, but to
Israel as a whole. The emphasis that the Jehovah Witnesses place upon it is a clear misrepresentation of the scriptures.
The second errant teaching of the Jehovah Witnesses is in reference to their biblical version that they “translated.” The Jehovah Witnesses developed their own translation in 1961, called the New World Translation. This version was supposedly developed as a more clear translation and was supposed to be more true to the Hebrew and Greek text, than the King James Version. This version has many fallacies in it and this version was clearly written in an attempt to distort passages and to make them conform to Watchtower doctrine. In the NWT there are many examples of how they have twisted the scriptures in order to mature their doctrinal beliefs. An example of this is observed in John 1:1 where it says “The Word was a god” rather than “the Word was God.” There translation is contrary to Greek grammar and is a clear misinterpretation of the definite article. Also a statement that can be made to a Jehovah Witness to show how this is a misuse of the definite article, is that if they translate John 1:1 the way that they do, they must believe in more than one God.
Other examples of the misinterpretations of the Jehovah Witnesses translation is seen in their translation of Colossians 1:16 in which they had the word other to the statement about Christ creating the world. This completely changes the theology of the passage and is a clear misrepresentation of the Greek text. The Watchtower also adds the name Jehovah in many insistences in the Bible. In actually this word Jehovah is a made up word. When the English speaking people of King James’ day translated this they did not know that this word was actually the Hebrew name Yahweh with the vowels of Adonai. The Watchtower’s translation of the bible is based on bias and the translators, (only one having a college education), were focused only on propagating Jehovah Witness doctrine.
The second major mistake in the doctrinal teachings of the Jehovah Witnesses is that there are many fallacies and heresies that are present in their teaching. The Jehovah Witnesses can be easily discredited by their numerous false prophecies that they have predicted over the last century. In the book of Deuteronomy 18:17-22 it lists the qualifications of a false prophet and tells us how we can discern false prophets.
And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The clear definition of a false prophet in this passage is that if the things he predicts does not come to pass, then he is a false prophet. Some examples of this can be seen in the Watchtower prediction that Armageddon would occur in 1914. A second prediction that they made was that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would return from the dead in 1925. A third prediction that they have made is that the end of the 6,000 years of human history would be in 1975. All of these predictions never came to pass so we know from scripture that the are false prophets. Matthew 7:15 says, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
This fallacy in the Watchtower organization is emphasized by Charles Russell who prophesied that Christ would return in 1874. When that did not occur, he changed the date to 1914. When that did not happen either, he claimed that Christ had in fact retuned, but in an invisible sense and had begun to reign over the earth through the Watchtower organization. They believe that in 1874 Jesus caught up the apostles and the dead members of the 144,000; 1914 was the time of the Gentiles ended and Christ began to reign and in 1918 He came to the spiritual temple and begun the judgment of the nations.
The third error in the teachings of the Jehovah Witnesses is in their teaching of the trinity. They believe that the trinity is a doctrine originated by Satan so that the hearts of men would be turned away to follow after a polytheistic god. The refutation for this is clear. The Jehovah Witnesses also except the King James Version as a expectable version along with the NWT. In the King James and even in the NWT the doctrine of the trinity can be proven by examining a number of passages in the scripture. An example of how one can do this is by starting in Revelations 1:8 (God is the father), Isaiah 44:6 (only 1 God), Revelations 22:7 (I come quickly), Revelations 22:17 (I come quickly), Revelations 22:13 (Alpha and Omega), Revelations 22:20 (Jesus is the one who comes quickly), Acts 5:3 (Holy Spirit is God), and Acts 5:4 (Holy Spirit is a person – can only lie to a person). Therefore from this we can deduce that there is three persons, one called God the Father, God the son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.
The fourth mistake in the Jehovah Witnesses’ doctrine is found in their understanding of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus is really the archangel Michael, who was the first creation of God, who then created the rest of creation. They believe that Jesus came in bodily form as a man, died on a stake and then rose from the dead in an invisible form (his body was dissolved in the gases). They also teach that Jesus returned in 1914 to rule over the earth in an invisible form and use the Watchtower as His mouth piece. In Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of
God. Also in 1 Corinthians 15 it also lists the numerous accounts of all that saw Jesus alive after His resurrection (Luke 24:36-40, John 2:19). Even the point of their beliefs in which they state that Jesus died on a stake is unfounded, for the historical account in secular history is clear on the method of punishment as is the Greek language about this matter of Christ dieing on the cross. As far as Christ returning in a spiritual sense to the earth in 1914, this is a violation of the prophecies in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where it says, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
The fifth fallacy presented by this cult is in there misunderstanding of the personage of the Holy Spirit. They believe that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force or simply God’s active force on this earth. This is clearly wrong; for the scriptures specifically say that the Holy Spirit has all three components of a personage. The three aspects of personality that he has displayed overall in Acts 5 where He is showed distinctly as separately as a person is he has a mind, will and emotion. The mind is also proven by 1 Corinthians 2:10, the will by 1 Corinthians 12:11, and emotion Ephesians 4:30.
The sixth error in the Jehovah Witnesses doctrine is in their understanding of the atonement. They believe that the death of Christ removed the effects of Adam’s sin and that mankind is now placed into a position in which he can work out his own salvation. In John 14:6, Jesus says to “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
In their belief of the atonement they also have a misrepresented belief of what salvation is. They believe salvation is earned through their works as found in the epistle of James. They fail to understand that Jesus fulfilled every part of the redemptive process and that all that we need to do is repent, believe and receive the free gift of salvation (Acts 3:19). Also in Ephesians 2:8 it says For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
A seventh fallacy is found in their eschatological beliefs. The Jehovah Witnesses have many strange beliefs such as they will fight against the rest of the world with Jesus on their side and that the only ones who will go to heaven are the 144,000 and they will stay here on the paradise earth. They also believe that there is no hell or lake of fire, but it is the grave and nothing more. In Matthew 18:8 and Matthew 25:41-46 refer to the fact that there is a hell and a sport prepared for the devil and his angels and for those of God’s creation who reject Jesus as the messiah. The Jehovah Witnesses have many strange beliefs. They refuse to celebrate Christmas (it is worldly) and they do not celebrate birthdays because throughout the bible they only have connection with unpleasant events. They also refuse to take blood transfusions as they believe that it would be like eating blood, which is forbidden by the scripture. The Jehovah Witness also believes that it is alright to lie to a person in order to further their cause. An example of this was found in Communist East Germany, where they would lie to public officials about who they were. A more startling example is given by F.W. Thomas in his book Masters of Deception. He related an account in which he was handing out tracts he had written revealing the fallacies of the Jehovah Witnesses. He handed one of these to a JW and that man lied directly to him saying that he knew the author of the tract personally and that he was a disgruntled member who had robbed the organization of public funds. He relates how he confronted the man with his lie by producing his driver’s license to prove that he was the author and that he had never been a Jehovah Witness. The man refused to apologize and excused it as a means in which the world could be saved at any cost. Some excuses the give for lying is that Rahab lied about the two Israelites hiding in her house and that Abraham, Isaac and King David lied on several occasions. Regardless of the out come it is never right to do wrong.
Witnessing to a Witness: The Jehovah Witnesses are an organization that reaches out daily to the world with a passion to convince people of their beliefs. They are also people that need to here the good news of the Gospel. We can witness to them by simple following the two greatest commandments, love God and love our neighbour, basically let Jesus shine through.
Here are some ways that Christians can share Jesus with a Jehovah Witness:
1. Identity with a Jehovah Witness. Show them that you value them as people and always remember that they were people before they were a cultist.
2. Discuss persistently with a Jehovah Witness. Talk with them until they refuse and walk away. Share the gospel with them, it may be the only time they here it (Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12).
3. Answer to the best of your ability every question that a Jehovah Witness asks you. Also be prepared, study about them and what they believe. They know very well what they believe and have bible verses and explanations that convince them of it. This is why it is important to study and for Christians to know their Bibles well.
4. Allow a Jehovah Witness to back away so that he can save his self image.
5. Don’t approach a Jehovah Witness with a feeling of resentment and hatred. If we are going to reflect Christ we must act like Him. Be patient with a Jehovah Witness. Listen to what they have to say as well and show them in love and kindness where their wrong and try to reconcile them to Christ.
Conclusion:
The Jehovah Witnesses are a growing religion and we as believers must be able to share the gospel with them. We need to study and be more proficiently so that we can be in a place to do more than just tell them we disagree but prove to them in a loving way through the scriptures that they are following a way which leads to destruction. Jehovah’s Witnesses are committed people and are people that we as conservative holiness Christians can learn from in the fervor for witnessing and their friendliness to those in the community around them. We must pray for these six million people and love them to Jesus.
Posted by Joseph 