"Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, And my servant whom I have chosen: That ye may know and believe me, And understand that I am he: Before me there was no God formed, Neither shall there be after me."
-- Isaiah 43:10 (KJV) --
You may see them passing out information at some tourist site. They may also be walking down your street, going door to door, talking to your neighbors. Jehovah's Witnesses are really pleasant to talk to and the gospel they present sounds right. But beware: their gospel, as right as it sounds on the surface, is false. Heed this warning from the apostle Paul:
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:8-9 NASB95).
The following Bible versions are referenced in this post: New American Standard (NASB95), King James Version (KJV), and the New World Translation (NWT) of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Members of this religious organization often use the NWT and KJV.
A Few Core Beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses
As I previously stated, the gospel that the Jehovah's Witnesses presents sounds right on the surface. But their gospel is grounded in a number of core beliefs which are false. Here are a few of them.
Only the Father is Jehovah.
JW Proof Texts: "The LORD he is God; there is none else beside him" (Deuteronomy 4:35); "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Corinthians 8:6).
My Response: Jehovah (YHWH, LORD), the covenantal and proper name of the God of Israel, is referenced over 7000 times throughout the Old Testament starting in Genesis 2:4 and ending in Malachi 4:5. This name speaks of His eternality, immutability (He never changes), self-existence, self-sufficiency, and ultimate sovereignty. He stands alone as the only true and eternal God.
During his encounter with God at the bush that "burned with fire" (Exodus 3:2 KJV), Moses wanted to know what to say to the children of Israel when they ask for the name of the God of their fathers. God responded, "I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD (Jehovah) God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exodus 3:13-15 KJV).
"I AM" in Hebrew is 'Ehyeh. Its Greek equivalent is Egō eimi. This name literally means God is and may be known and is directly related to the covenantal name of God. The Jews asked Jesus, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" (John 8:57 KJV). Jesus responded, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (Egō eimi)" (John 8:58 KJV). Jesus declared, with absolute authority, His pre-existence as Jehovah "before Abraham was born" (John 8:58 NASB95). The Jews took "up stones to cast at him" (John 8:59 KJV) because they knew exactly who Jesus claimed to be - the God of their father Abraham. Jesus prayed, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5 KJV). God gave this prophecy approximately 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem - "But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2 KJV). The fact that Jesus existed before the world was created is proof that He is Jehovah.
Jesus is not God.
JW Proof Text: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god" (John 1:1 NWT).
My Response: John 1:1 (KJV) states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The letter 'a' in the phrase "and the Word was a god" is an indefinite article. The Greek language only uses words that correspond to definite, not indefinite, articles. As you read through the rest of John chapter 1, the NWT goes out of its way to show that Jesus is a god.
God said, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD (Jehovah), And my servant whom I have chosen: That ye may know and believe me, And understand that I am he: Before me there was no God formed, Neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10 KJV). While confronting the disbelief of the Jews, Jesus said, "for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24 KJV).
A number of other proof texts are used by the Jehovah's Witnesses to prove Jesus is not God. Here are a few of them.
JW Proof Text: "No man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18 KJV). Since people saw Jesus, he cannot be God.
My Response: Jesus said, “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 6:46; John 14:9 KJV). "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30 KJV).
JW Proof Text: Jesus said, "...my Father is greater that I" (John 14:28 KJV). Since the Father is greater than or superior to Jesus, then Jesus must not be God.
My Response: This passage does not mean that Jesus is inferior to the Father in His being or essence - they are one (John 10:30). The Father, who commands, is greater in authority over the Son. Jesus said, "but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here" (John 14:31 NASB95). When Thomas encountered the resurrected Christ, he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28 KJV, NWT). Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for saying this. It is interesting to note that this is also in the New World Translation. The NWT commentary on this verse attempts to explain that Thomas may have acknowledged Jesus as the representative and spokesman of the true God when he called Jesus "my God."
JW Proof Text: Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36 NASB95). God is omniscient (all knowing). Since Jesus did not know the day and hour of His return, He cannot be God.
My Response: It is true. During His earthly ministry, Jesus, who "existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7 NASB95). He temporarily laid aside some of the privileges He possessed throughout eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He chose to veil the glory He had with the Father before the world was created (John 17:5) and became a slave by being made in the likeness of men (Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 2:17). He came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28). Jesus did not empty Himself of His deity (Colossians 2:9) and His divine attributes. He is fully God and fully man. He still had the power to calm a raging storm at sea (Luke 8:23–25) and raise the dead (John 11:43–44). He also had the authority to forgive sins on earth, something only God alone can do (Mark 2:5–10). Since Jesus is fully God, He is omniscient. Since the Father told the Son what to speak (John 12:49–50), He could have disclosed to Jesus the exact time of His second coming but chose not to. We are always to be ready for His return (Matthew 24:42–44). Jesus knew that no one, including the angels of heaven, didn’t know when He will return. He also knew that only the Father knew when He will return. Only an omniscient God would know these things!
JW Proof Text: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). If Jesus is God, then He wouldn't be sitting at His own right hand.
My Response: The right hand of God is the highest position of power and authority. Angels, authorities, and powers "are being made subject unto him (Jesus Christ)" (1 Peter 3:22 KJV). "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom" (Hebrews 1:5-8 KJV). The throne of the Son (God) is everlasting. All of the angels worship Him. "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God" (Revelation 7:11 KJV).
Jesus was created by God.
JW Proof Text: Jesus "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created..." (Colossians 1:15-16 KJV). God created Jesus before creating Adam. In fact, God created Jesus and then used him to make everything else, including the angels. That is why the Bible calls Jesus “the firstborn" of all creation.
My Response: A few verses later in Colossians, we learn that Jesus "is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18 KJV). Did God create Jesus from the dead before creating Adam? The answer is obviously no. The phrase "firstborn of every creature" speaks of Christ's preexistence as "the everlasting God, the LORD (Jehovah), The Creator of the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 40:28 KJV). The LORD alone is the maker of all things who stretched out the heavens and spread the earth by Himself (Isaiah 44:24). In fact, the LORD declared, "Before me there was no God formed, Neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10 KJV). Thus, the LORD did not create "a god" (John 1:1 NWT) who He used to create everything else.
There is no scriptural basis for the Trinity.
JW Proof Text: Jesus told Mary after His resurrection, "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:17). The Bible does not mention the word "Trinity" for this very reason: Jesus is not God.
My Response: Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the "rapture" yet the Bible does not mention this word either. Does this mean there will not be a literal rapture as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18? I agree that the word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible, but does this mean it's not taught in the scriptures? A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a very pleasant couple who was passing out information on the Jehovah's Witnesses. We talked about the Trinity, which they deny. I asked the husband (I'm assuming this couple is married) if the word 'name' in Matthew 28:19 is singular or plural. Since he wasn't sure, he broke out his King James Bible, read the passage - "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" - then said 'name' is singular. I wish I had the NWT on me because this version says the same thing: "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit." Three distinct persons under one name can only mean one thing: there is one God in being who consists of three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
The New Testament acknowledges there is only one God (1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). The Father is recognized as God (John 6:27; 20:17), Jesus Christ is recognized as God (John 1:1–3, 14; Hebrews 1:8), and the Holy Spirit is recognized as God (Acts 5:3–4). The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are perfectly unified as one God, yet they are three distinct persons, and they will never cease to be three persons.
The Triunity of God is supported in the New Testament.
All three persons are announced during the foretelling of the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:30-35).
The Father and Spirit are present at the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17).
Jesus mentions the Father and the Spirit in His promise of the Helper (John 14:16-17).
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are cited in the great commission (Matthew 28:19).
Other passages where all three persons are mentioned together include Acts 2:32-33; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 2:13, 18; Ephesians 4:4-6; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:1-2.
The Holy Spirit is God's active force, not a person.
JW Proof Texts: "But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD (Micah 3:8 KJV); "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee" (Luke 1:35 KJV).
My Response: The scriptures clearly teach that the Spirit is a real person and not some force. The prophet Zechariah proclaimed to the post-exilic Jews, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6 KJV). Zechariah made a clear distinction between the person of the Holy Spirit ("my spirit") and some abstract force or power. How do you blaspheme (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10), grieve (Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30), insult (Hebrews 10:29), lie to (Acts 5:3), quench (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and test (Acts 5:9) a force?
Only 144,000 people will be resurrected to life in heaven.
JW Prove Text: "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads... And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth" (Revelation 14:1, 3 KJV). God will select a limited number (144,000) of faithful Christians to go to heaven where they will reign with Christ and rule over the "new earth" (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). The rest of the Christians will inherit the new earth (Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5). Once selected to be part of the 144,000, they must maintain a Christian standard of faith and conduct or they will be disqualified from being part of this number.
My Response: The 144,000 are sons of Israel that will be sealed by God so that no harm will come to them when God's wrath is poured out on the earth (Revelation 7:1-3). "And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand" (Revelation 7:4-8 KJV).
The scriptures do not tell us how many souls will be resurrected to life in heaven. But here is what they do teach: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Revelation 7:9 KJV).
Those who physically die will not suffer in a fiery hell of torment.
JW Proof Texts: "His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish" (Psalm 146:4 KJV). "For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten... there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going." (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10 KJV).
My Response: When people die physically, they are either cremated or buried in a grave. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV).
There are several passages that clearly teach that those who die in their sins, without Christ, will spend eternity in a "fiery hell of torment." A great example comes from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man who died was "in hell... being in torments." He cried out to Abraham, "I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:23-24 KJV). The NWT uses the word 'Grave' in place of 'hell.' It then goes on the use the phrase "blazing fire" in place of "flame." The Greek noun mnēmeion means tomb or grave and is found in several passages including Matthew 27:52-53, Luke 11:44, John 5:28, and John 12:17. The Greek noun hadēs is associated with the underworld. It is sometimes contrasted with heaven (Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15). In Luke 16:23 it is called hell - a place where the wicked are tormented after death. Thus, the NWT rendering of the Greek noun hadēs as 'Grave' in this passage is incorrect.
Jesus said, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched... And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched... And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire" (Mark 9:43, 45, 47 KJV).
Those that worship the beast during the tribulation period "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night" (Revelation 14:10-11).
In Closing
The Jehovah's Witnesses are people who have been and continue to be misled with false doctrine. Many of them profess to be Christians who believe that Christ came and died for their sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Tragically, the majority of these souls deny the Triunity of God and thus, the deity of Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man. They are destined to die in their sins without Christ (John 8:24). Unless you can sit down with a Jehovah's Witness and have a civil discussion on their core beliefs, I highly recommend not arguing with them because, in the end, nothing gets accomplished and you walk away discouraged. At the minimum, share the hope that is in you - that "His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3 NASB95). They don't have this living hope. You do.
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