Dear Fellow Christians:
Please adhere to Scripture as you speak to the Jehovah's Witnesses:
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Now, keeping this in mind; let's see what the Bible says compared to what the Jehovah's Witnesses' believe:
Deuteronomy 18:
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been
spoken by the LORD?"
22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come
true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken
presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
If we test the spirit, as commanded by Scripture; we must examine the JW in this same light: Then consideration to the below four paragraphs:
(1) The January 1, 1989 Watchtower clearly pointed to the year 2000 as the farthest limit of Christian missionary work and thus the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ. It stated, "The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century."1
(2) If that missionary work was to "be completed in our 20th Century" then the door-to-door missionary activities should have ceased no later than December 31, 1999. When the missionary work has ceased, Jehovah's Witnesses know that Armageddon begins followed immediately by the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. Those who more accurately measure the 20th Century can give the Society twelve more months — to December 31, 2000. Either way, in 1989 the Society was clearly limiting the remaining time before the end of missionary activity to eleven or twelve years at most.
(3) About a year later, however, the Watchtower Society altered the article in the bound volume version of the publication removing the time limitation. The bound volume of the same article states "The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity. He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our day."2
(4) Notice that unlike "in our 20th Century," the phrase "in our day" is sufficiently vague as to avoid being tested according to Deuteronomy 18: 20-28.3 It also may be significant to note that the unbound version is the one studied by the Jehovah's Witnesses in their weekly meetings and distributed door-to-door. The bound volumes did not become available until over a year later and are often used as permanent references.
Concerning false predictions, Jesus warned: "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"11 The fruit of a prophet is prophecy — one should not attempt to gather good doctrine from an organization guilty of false prophesying.
The JW has made several false predictions - well documented, and we are well warned about such things in the Bible (any bible).
2 Timothy 3:
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible
women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Of course those are not the first false predictions from the Jehovah's Witnesses: Below are a few more:
1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874," Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.
1899 "...the ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).
1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873." The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward).
1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.
1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914." The Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262.
1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." The Watchtower, page 106 4/1/23.
1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year." The Watchtower, 1/1/25, page. 3.
1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work." The Watchtower, Sept, 1925 page 262.
1926 "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything." The Watchtower, page 232.
1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing dates." Vindication, page 338.
1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon." The Watchtower, 9/15/41, page 288.
1968 "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an ‘end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The ‘end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?.. Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them." Awake, 10/8/68.
1968 "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, 8/15/68, page 494.
I suppose the JW might say that the organization is still learning. If that is so, then how can they trust what they are taught now by the Watchtower? Will what they are being taught now change also?
A true prophet of God won't err in prophesying. Only a false prophet does.
The Jehovah's Witness organization, that claims to be a prophet of God, is really a false prophet. Jesus warned us by saying, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible" (Matt. 24:24).
James 3:1
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you
know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
John 14:6
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life..."
John 20:25
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless
I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my
hand into his side, I will not believe it."
2 Peter 2
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying
the sovereign Lord who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their
condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been
sleeping.
1 John 5: 20
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us
understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—
even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: three, however, not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power, but in aspect; yet of one substance, and of one condition, and of one power, inasmuch as He is one God, from whom these degrees and forms and aspects are reckoned, under the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, yet there are not three Gods, but one God.
Two well-established doctrines in the Bible are the Trinity and the full divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Briefly, here is how the Bible conveys the doctrine of the Trinity. There is only one true God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6-8). The Father is God (2 John 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:2-3), the Son is God (John 1:1; Rev. 1:7-8), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17). Each of these Persons must be fully God, because to say otherwise would be to compromise the essential unity of God.
The Bible also clearly portrays the full deity of Jesus Christ. Everything that the Father is, the Son is also: Both are eternally unchanging (compare Mal. 3:6 and Heb. 13:8); both use the title "Lord" (compare Ps. 68:19 and Rom. 10:9); both are called "Lord of Lords" (compare Deut. 10:17 and Rev. 17:14); both are the only "Savior" (compare Isa. 45:21 and Acts 4:12); and it is said of both that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess their Lordship (compare Isa. 45:23 and Phil. 2:10-11).
These doctrines are not man-made. They are derived from the Bible. Those who challenge them are not challenging men, but the very word of God. Thus, anyone or any organization that teaches otherwise is not teaching the true Gospel. The teaching of ideas that are in opposition to the clear teaching of what God has revealed in Scripture.
John 2:19
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three
days."
What did Jesus say? Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
Complete explanation of this
When Jesus spoke of himself as the good Shepherd (John 10:7-18), he pointed out that unlike other, faithless shepherds, he is the good Shepherd who would lay down (tithêsin) his life (psuchê) for his sheep (John 10:11). Jesus concluded this discourse by explaining that he will not be giving up his life forever, but laying down his life in order to receive it again. "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down [tithêmi] my life (psuchê) in order to (for the purpose of) receive it again [hina palin labô autên]" (John 10:17).
The Watchtower's Four Requirements for Salvation
Requirement One: Accurate Knowledge
Requirement Two: Avoid Debauchery
Requirement Three: Watchtower Membership
Requirement Four: Proselytism
Are the Society's Requirements Biblical?
John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
Acts 16:30-31:
He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your household."
Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Emphasis on an active Christian life is certainly valid. James asked, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?…Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (2:14, 17). The next verse, however, shows how Jehovah's Witnesses have misunderstood the crucial point made by James: "Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (2:18). People are not saved by their works; however, their faith is made visible through their actions. Jesus said that a person's relationship with him would be visible to others as "fruit" (John 15:5). Paul explains that this fruit is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22–23). Works are thus a natural manifestation of faith, flowing from an individual's loving relationship with God, rather than a man-made checklist that people must continually fulfill in order to earn salvation.
Paul clearly teaches that you simply cannot earn salvation, but that is a GIFT of God. Paul described the teaching of the Watchtower when he said, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:6–7).
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus was a "created being." One of their justifications for such a false belief is in Colossians 1:15
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exists."
NOTE: The Jehovah's Witnesses' Bible, "The New World Translation", intentionally and incorrectly adds the word (other) where it does not exist in Scripture.
The Jehovah's Witnesses interpret the word "firstborn" here to mean "first created" because it is consistent with their theological presupposition that Jesus is a created thing. Of course, Jesus, the word become flesh (John 1:1,14) is not a created thing. But that hasn't stopped the Watchtower organization from claiming He is. Nevertheless, there is a Greek word for "first created" and it was in use at the time of Paul's writing to the Colossians. He did not use it here. The Greek for "firstborn" is proto with tikto which would give us "firstborn" and that is what we find here in Colossians 1:15. The Greek for "first created" would be proto with ktizo and it is not used here.
Second, the biblical use of the word "firstborn" is most interesting. It can mean the first born child in a family (Luke 2:7), but it can also mean "pre-eminence." In Psalm 89:20, 27 it says, "I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him...I also shall make him My first-born" (NASB). As you can see, David, who was the last one born in his family was called the firstborn by God. This is a title of preeminence.
Third, firstborn is also a title that is transferable:
Gen. 41:51-52, "And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" (NASB)
Jer. 31:9, "...for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn (NASB)."
Scripture best interprets scripture.
Firstborn does not require a meaning of first created as the Jehovah's Witnesses say it means here. "Firstborn" can mean the first born person in a family and it can also be a title of preeminence which is transferable. that it obviously, since Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14), he not only is the first born son of Mary, but he is the pre-eminent one in all things. The Jehovah's Witnesses should consider this when they examine Col. 1:15.
Much more about the Jehovah's Witnesses here.
Concerning the Jehovah's Witnesses' Bible, "The New World Translation." (NWT)
1. Gen. 1:1-2 - "In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God's active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters." (New World Translation replaces the word SPIRIT with ACTIVE FORCE)
1. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society denies that the Holy Spirit is alive, third person of the Trinity. Therefore, they have changed the correct translation of "...the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters," to say "...and God's active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters."
2. Zech. 12:10 - In this verse God is speaking and says "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zech. 12:10, NASB).
1. The Jehovah's Witnesses change the word "me" to "the one" so that it says in their Bible, "...they will look upon the one whom they have pierced..." Since the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus is God in flesh, then Zech. 12:10 would present obvious problems--so they changed it.
3. John 1:1 - They mistranslate the verse as "a god." Again it is because they deny who Jesus is and must change the Bible to make it agree with their theology. The Jehovah's Witness version is this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
4. Col. 1:15-17 - The word "other" is inserted 4 times. It is not in the original Greek, nor is it implied. This is a section where Jesus is described as being the creator of all things. Since the Jehovah's Witness organization believes that Jesus is created, they have inserted the word "other" to show that Jesus was before all "other" things, implying that He is created.
1. There are two Greek words for "other": heteros, and allos. The first means another of a different kind, and the second means another of the same kind. Neither is used at all in this section of scripture. The Jehovah's Witness have changed the Bible to make it fit their aberrant theology.
5. Heb. 1:6 - In this verse they translate the Greek word for worship, proskuneo, as "obeisance." Obeisance is a word that means to honor, show respect, even bow down before someone. Since Jesus, to them, is created, then he cannot be worshiped. They have also done this in other verses concerning Jesus, i.e., Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9.
6. Heb. 1:8 - This is a verse where God the Father is calling Jesus God: "But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.'" Since the Jehovah's Witnesses don't agree with that they have changed the Bible, yet again, to agree with their theology. They have translated the verse as "...God is your throne..." The problem with the Jehovah's Witness translation is that this verse is a quote from Psalm 45:6 which, from the Hebrew, can only be translated as "...Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." To justify their New Testament translation they actually changed the OT verse to agree with their theology, too!
The NWT translation is an inacccurate translation. It has changed the text to suit its own theological bias in many places.
We should take a look at the Bible here:
Revelation, chapter 22;
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Who is saying this? None other than Jesus Himself.
Even the the "New World Translation" includes this passage.
I wonder if they tried to change what it says in Titus 2:13?
"While we wait for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," [NIV]
Yup, they got to that one too.
Just a quick note concerning the "New World Translation". The JW has resisted all efforts to identify the translators of their Bible, stating they would rather give credit to God. However, an unbiased observer will quickly note that such anonymity also shields the translators from any blame for errors or distortions in their renderings. And it prevents scholars from checking their credentials.
"In fact, defectors who have quit Watchtower headquarters in recent years have identified the alleged members of the committee, revealing that none were expert in Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic - the original languages from which the Bible was translated."
The Translators
Biblical Explanation of the Trinity
LINKS to Important Informational Sites Concerning Jehovah's Witnesses
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