Jehovahs Witness

Jehovah’s Witnesses

General Information:

Beginning: Founded by Charles Taze Russell in Pennsylvania in 1879. The current headquarters (known as the “Watchtower Society”) is in Brooklyn, New York. Groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses meet in buildings identified as “Kingdom Halls”.

Below is a summary of some of the false teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness cult:

What are the key Jehovah’s Witness writings? The “New World Translation” of the Bible; Reasoning from the Scriptures; You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth; and the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. (Note: The New World Translation of the Bible has altered many verses which expose their false teachings.)

The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the Bible is not sufficient to teach us about God and that people should not think for themselves in interpreting the Bible. Only the Watchtower Society (God’s representative and prophet on earth) is capable of determining the true meaning of Scripture; therefore their words are to be obeyed as the voice of God.

Who is God the Father? God is only to be known and referred to by one name – “Jehovah”. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity.

Who is Jesus? He is not “God Almighty”; he is a lesser “god” than Jehovah. Jesus was the first being created by Jehovah. He was created as the archangel Michael and then Jehovah created all other things through this angel. Jesus was later given a body and placed on the earth, where he died at the stake (not a cross). He was resurrected only as a spirit creature and his body was destroyed. Jesus came as an invisible spirit in 1914. He is not coming again bodily, but is now ruling as King through the Watchtower Society. Jesus and angels will soon destroy everyone who is not a Jehovah’s Witness.

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is not God. “It” is an impersonal force that flows or radiates from “Jehovah”.

How is Salvation received? Salvation is based upon obedience to the Watchtower Society. You must be baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness and must proselytize from “door-to-door”. Only 144,000 people will go to Heaven and this number was reached years ago (these are known as the “anointed class”). The remainder of Jehovah’s Witnesses will live forever on Paradise Earth, if they obey God perfectly for 1,000 years (these are known as the “other sheep”). Those who do not obey will be annihilated and will cease to exist (there is no place of suffering). There is no way of having assurance of salvation.

Below are some interesting notes about the predictions of the Watchtower Society that helps to show the false nature of this cult:

While the Watchtower Society claims to be the prophet of God on the earth, they are consistent in only one thing – being incorrect. Below is an example of some of the false predictions made by the Watchtower Society:

1. In 1874, Christ will return.

2. In 1914, all human governments will be overthrown and God’s kingdom will be established on the earth.

3. In 1925, some of the Old Testament saints would return to live in San Diego (including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

4. In 1975, Christ would begin his 1,000 year rule on the earth.

Jehovah’s Witnesses rarely deny these errors. Instead, they will argue that some Biblical prophets sometimes held mistaken views. They fail to see that Biblical prophets were 100% accurate when speaking on behalf of God. In fact, the Bible clearly states that if a person claims to be a prophet of God and what they say does not come to pass, you can know they are not from God and you should disregard them (Deuteronomy 18:22). Sometimes Jehovah’s Witnesses will apologize for the frequent errors of the Watchtower Society in an effort to bypass the issue; however, this does not change the fact that they are false prophets.

Summary:

The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement (so-called) is a cult. They deny that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are God. They undermine and deny the teaching of the Word of God. They claim to produce other writings that have more authority than the Bible.

Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses:

Anytime we witness, we must remember to rely upon the power of God and the Word of God to work in the individual’s heart. Here are some pointers for witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses:

(1) Pray. Remember that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

(2) Be patient. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been programmed with standard responses to common objections to their teachings. Be aware of this and continue to prayerfully share the truth with them.

(3) Undermine the credibility of the Watchtower Society. This may be helpful in getting Jehovah’s Witnesses to honestly consider the truth. You can do this by getting them to consider particularly passages of Scripture that clearly show the error of their teaching. Additionally, you can call to question many of the false predictions of the Watchtower Society.

(4) Have them read Verses out loud and then ask them what the Verse says. Ensure that they acknowledge the clear teaching of the Verse, otherwise, Jehovah’s Witnesses will often just filter Verses through what the Watchtower Society has told them that Verse means.

(5) Share your testimony of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is hard for someone to argue with a personal experience. Talk as much as you can about Jesus Christ and the Biblical Gospel of what He has done for us.

In summary, you want to cause them to doubt their false teaching and you want to share the Lord Jesus Christ with them. Remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “power of God unto Salvation” (Romans 1:16) – not your ability to argue. Lovingly and prayerfully share the Gospel and leave the results to God.