“Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and what are their beliefs?”……Answer: The sect known today as the Jehovah’s Witnesses started out in Pennsylvania in 1870 as a Bible class led by Charles Taze Russell. Russell named his group the "Millennial Dawn Bible Study." Charles T. Russell began writing a series of books he called "The Millennial Dawn," which stretched to six volumes before his death and contained much of the theology Jehovah's Witnesses now hold. After Russell’s death in 1916, Judge J. F. Rutherford, Russell’s friend and successor, wrote the seventh and final volume of the "Millennial Dawn" series, "The Finished Mystery," in 1917. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was founded in 1886 and quickly became the vehicle through which the "Millennial Dawn" movement began distributing their views to others. The group was known as the "Russellites" until 1931 when, due to a split in the organization, it was renamed the "Jehovah's Witnesses." The group from which it split became known as the "Bible students."……What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe? Close scrutiny of their doctrinal position on such subjects as the deity of Christ, salvation, the trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the atonement shows beyond a doubt that they do not hold to orthodox Christian positions on these subjects. Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is Michael the archangel, the highest created being. This contradicts many Scriptures which clearly declare Jesus to be God (John 1:1,14, 8:58, 10:30). Jehovah's Witnesses believe salvation is obtained by a combination of faith, good works, and obedience. This contradicts countless scriptures which declare salvation to be received by grace through faith (John 3:16Ephesians 2:8-9Titus 3:5). Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the inanimate power of God. Jehovah's Witnesses reject the concept of Christ's substitutionary atonement and instead hold to a ransom theory, that Jesus' death was a ransom payment for Adam's sin.……How do the Jehovah's Witnesses justify these unbiblical doctrines? First, they claim that the church has corrupted the Bible over the centuries; thus, they have re-translated the Bible into what they call the New World Translation. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society altered the text of the Bible to make it fit their false doctrine, rather than basing their doctrine on what the Bible actually teaches. The New World Translation has gone through numerous editions, as the Jehovah's Witnesses discover more and more Scriptures that contradict their doctrines.……The Watchtower bases its beliefs and doctrines on the original and expanded teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and their successors. The governing body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the only body in the cult that claims authority to interpret Scripture. In other words, what the governing body says concerning any scriptural passage is viewed as the last word, and independent thinking is strongly discouraged. This is in direct opposition to Paul’s admonition to Timothy (and to us as well) to study to be approved by God, so that we need not be ashamed as we correctly handle the Word of God. This admonition, found in 2 Timothy 2:15, is a clear instruction from God to each of His children to be like the Berean Christians, who searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things they were being taught lined up with the Word.……There is probably no religious group that is more faithful than the Jehovah's Witnesses at getting their message out. Unfortunately, the message is full of distortions, deceptions, and false doctrine. May God open the eyes of the Jehovah's Witnesses to the truth of the gospel and the true teaching of God's Word.

“Is the New World Translation a valid version of the Bible?”……Answer: The New World Translation (NWT) is defined by the Jehovah’s Witnesses' parent organization (The Watchtower Society) as “a translation of the Holy Scriptures made directly from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into modern day English by a committee of anointed witnesses of Jehovah.” The NWT is the anonymous work of the "New World Bible Translation Committee." Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the anonymity is in place so that the credit for the work will go to God. Of course this has the added benefit of keeping the translators from any accountability for their errors, and prevents real scholars from checking their academic credentials.……The New World Translation is unique in one thing ├ö├ç├┤ it is the first intentional systematic effort at producing a complete version of the Bible that is edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing with a group’s doctrine. The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Society realized that their beliefs contradicted Scripture. So, rather than conforming their beliefs to Scripture, they altered Scripture to agree with their beliefs. The "New World Bible Translation Committee" went through the Bible and changed any Scripture that did not agree with Jehovah's Witness' theology. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that as new editions to the New World Translation were published, additional changes were made to the biblical text. As biblical Christians continued to point out, Scriptures that clearly argue for the deity of Christ (for example), the Watchtower Society would publish a new edition of the New World Translation with those Scriptures changed. Following are some of the more prominent examples of intentional revisions.……The New World Translation renders the Greek term word “staurÔö£Ôöés” (“cross”) as “torture stake” because Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that Jesus was crucified on a cross. The New World Translation does not translate the Greek words "sheol," “hades," “gehenna,” and “tartarus,” as “hell" because Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in hell. The NWT gives the translation “presence” instead of "coming" for the Greek word "parousia" because JW's believe that Christ has already returned in the early 1900's. In Colossians 1:16, the NWT inserts the word "other" despite it being completely absent from the original Greek text. It does this to give the view that "all other things" were created by Christ, instead of what the text says, "all things were created by Christ." This is to go along with their belief that Christ is a created being, which they believe because they deny the Trinity.……The most well known of all the New World Translation perversions is John 1:1. The original Greek text reads, "the Word was God." The NWT renders it has "the word was a god." This is not a matter of correct translation, but of reading one’s preconceived theology into the text, rather than allowing the text to speak for itself. There is no indefinite article in Greek (in English – “a” or “an”). So any use of an indefinite article in the English translation must be added in by the translator. This is grammatically acceptable in English, so long as it does not change the meaning of the text.……There is a perfectly good explanation for why “theos” has no definite article in John 1:1 that does denies the New World Translation rendering. There are three general rules we need to understand to see why.……1. In Greek, word order does not determine word usage like it does in English. In English, a sentence is structured according to word order: Subject – Verb – Predicate. Thus, “Harry called the dog” is not equivalent to, “The dog called Harry.” But in Greek, a word’s function is determined by the case ending found attached to the word’s root. In this verse, there are two case endings for the root “theo” . . . one is “s” (theos), the other is “n” (theon). The “s” ending normally identifies a noun as being the subject of a sentence, while the “n” ending normally identifies a noun as the direct object.……2. When a noun is functioning as a predicate nominative (in English a noun that follows a “being” verb such as “is”) its case ending must match the noun’s case that it modifies, so that the reader will know which noun it is describing. Therefore, “theo” must take the “s” ending because it is modifying “logos.” Therefore, John 1:1 transliterates to: “kaitheos en ho logos.” Is “theos” the subject or is “logos”? Both have the “s” ending. The answer is found in the next rule.……3. In cases where two nouns appear, and both take the same case endings, the author will often add the definite article to the word that is the subject in order to avoid confusion. John put the definite article on “logos” (the Word) instead of “theos.” So “logos” is the subject, and “theos” is the predicate nominative. In English, this results in John 1:1 being read as: “and the Word was God,” (instead of “and God was the word”).……The most revealing evidence of the Watchtower’s bias is their inconsistent translation technique. Throughout the Gospel of John, the Greek word "theon" occurs without a definite article. The New World Translation renders none of these as "a god." Just 3 verses after John 1:1, the New World Translation translates another case of “theos” without the indefinite article as “God.” Even more inconsistent, in John 1:18, the NWT translates the same term as both “God” and “god” in the very same sentence.……The Watchtower, therefore, has no hard textual grounds for their translation-only their own theological bias. While New World Translation defenders might succeed in showing that John 1:1 can be translated as they have done, they cannot show that it is the proper translation. Nor can they explain the fact that that the NWT does not translate the exact same Greek phrases elsewhere in the Gospel of John the same way. It is only the pre-conceived heretical rejection of the deity of Christ that forces the Watchtower Society to inconsistently translate the Greek text, thus allowing their error to gain some semblance of legitimacy to those ignorant of the facts.……It is only the Watchtower’s pre-conceived heretical beliefs that are behind the dishonest and inconsistent translation that is the New World Translation. The New World Translation is most definitely not a valid version of God's Word. There are minor differences between all the major English translations of the Bible. No English translation is perfect. However, while other Bible translators make minor mistakes in the rendering of the Hebrew and Greek text into English; the NWT intentionally changes the rendering of the text to conform to Jehovah's Witness' theology. The New World Translation is a perversion, not a version, of the Bible.

“Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions?”……Answer: Acts 15:19-21,28 is the Scripture Jehovah’s Witnesses typically point to as the reason they refuse to accept blood donations. Acts 15:20 says, “Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” It is clear from the context that the instructions were against eating / drinking blood, not blood transfusions. Blood transfusions were not even possible in Bible times, so there is no possibility that this Scripture could be referring to blood transfusions. There were many pagan religious practices that involved eating and drinking blood and/or strangling an animal to keep more of its blood in its meat. This is what the Bible speaks against, not blood transfusions.……Is it acceptable for a Christian to receive or give a blood transfusion? Since the Bible does not explicitly say, a decision of this nature can only be made between a person and God. One consideration might be that God created billions of people over the centuries, but only four blood types, making it possible to transfuse blood from one person to another, regardless of race or nationality. Perhaps this is an argument for the legitimacy of blood transfusions. A person should carefully and prayerfully consider what God would have them to do in regards to receiving / giving a blood transfusion. There is no command either way in Scripture. Blood transfusions are therefore a matter of conscience

“Should we allow false teachers into our home?”……Answer: The short letter of 2 John is written in part to warn believers against the influence of false teachers. John identifies them as those "who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh" and describes them as deceivers and antichrists (2 John 7). He goes on to prohibit receiving them into our homes or wishing them well. The question is whether this prohibition refers to those who knock on our doors today, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Are we to deny members of these sects access to our homes?……It is important to understand exactly what it means that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Many cultists will agree that Jesus was a man of flesh and bone who walked the earth around 2000 years ago. But that is not what John means here. He first addressed this issue in 1 John 4:2, telling us how to identify false teachers and the spirits who drive them. The first test of a true teacher/prophet of God is that they proclaim that Jesus is God incarnate in human flesh (John 1:14). Both the full deity and full humanity of Christ will be asserted by any teacher who truly comes from God. The Holy Spirit testifies to the true nature of Christ, while Satan and his demonic host deny that true nature. That is why John identifies anyone who denies the deity of Christ-which both the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses do-as deceivers and antichrists. ……What should be our response, then, when cultists come knocking at the door? John, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives a clear answer: we are not to receive them into our homes. While John was likely more commanding against allowing false teachers to stay in your home than just allowing them in the door, the principle is the same. We are not to do anything that would give the appearance we approve of their message. Many people feel "called" to debate endlessly with cultists, bringing them into their homes for Bible studies or witnessing to them in chat rooms and forums. But God does not call us to do these things; He commands us to avoid false teachers. Cultists are master deceivers who are well-trained in techniques that will confuse those whose knowledge of Scripture is limited-the very ones cultists most often seek out. It is invariably these well-meaning and compassionate souls who dialog with cultists. But God's desire is to protect the weak among His people and John's prohibition reflects that desire. ……John's final warning regards "greeting" cultists, which the King James Version translates as bidding them "God speed." This phrase in the Greek means to cheerfully or joyfully hail or salute someone. In other words, we are not to give cultists or anyone else the impression that we see them as having legitimate claims, doctrines, or opinions. We are not to bless them or wish them well. John tells us that to do so is to share in their wicked work. Christians are of Christ; cultists are anti-Christ, no matter how kind, sincere, and charming they may appear. We can have no fellowship with darkness or those who spread falsehood; rather, we are to separate ourselves from them.……But aren't we to witness to them about Christ? Aren't they the mission field? Interestingly, nowhere in the Bible are we called to witness to false teachers. Jesus tells us to "watch out" for them (Matthew 7:15) and Paul tells us to "avoid them" (Romans 16:17) and declares them to be "accursed" (Galatians 1:8). We are, of course, to be always ready with an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15), but that presupposes the cultist is actually interested in the true hope of salvation through Christ, something that is rarely, if ever, the case. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), but we are not to cast our pearls before pigs (Matthew 7:6). In regards to cultists, it is especially important to rely on the Lord's wisdom (James 1:5) in discerning the difference between an opportunity and a distraction.

Mistakes of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Paul K. Williams

The Christian’s attitude toward all men is one of love, so my desire for Jehovah’s Witnesses is only the best. I pray for them salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the hope of heaven.

On the other hand, the Christian’s attitude toward false doctrine is one of implacable hatred. David wrote, "From Thy precepts I get understanding Therefore I hate every false way." (Psalm 119:104) And Paul wrote, "If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:9)

Since false doctrine condemns, the only way we can express our love toward the people who call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses is to combat the false doctrine they hold in an attempt to deliver them unto the truth which saves. May this little paper help in that effort.

Some History

The movement which finally produced the people known as Jehovah’s Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell. Born in 1852, he early rejected the Bible doctrine of eternal torment for the wicked and started a career of denunciations of "Organized Religions." He founded the magazine, "Zion‘s WatchTower" in 1879, which is now known as "The Watch Tower AnnouncÔö¼┬íing Jehovah’s Kingdom." The result of his revolt against organised religion was the founding of one of the most highly organised sects known.

Russell wrote six books called Scripture Studies and declared that it would be better to leave the Scriptures unread and read his books, rather than to read the Scriptures and neglect his books. In The Watch Tower, September 15, 1910, p. 298 he wrote:

"If the six volumes of Scripture Studies are practically the Bible, topically arranged with Bible proof texts given, we might not improperly name the volumes 'The Bible in an Arranged Form.' That is to say, they are not mere comments on the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself. Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the Scripture Studies aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years-if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the Scripture Studies with their references and had not read a page of the Bible as such, he would be in the light at the end of two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures."

It remains true to this day that those who avidly and uncritically study the JW books will be Jehovah’s Witnesses, but those who lay aside those books and study only the Bible will come out from that error!

Judge F. Rutherford (not a judge, but his first name was "Judge") took over the movement in 1917 when there was a split. It was he who gave the name "Jehovah’s Witnesses" to the people in 1931. It was he, also, who wrote in 1920 the book, Millions Now Living Shall Never Die, in which he prophesied that people then living would begin to get younger and that Abraham, Isaac and others would return to the earth in visible form in 1923.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Incorporated, of PennsylÔö¼┬ívania (U.S.A.) is the governing body of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is ruled by a President elected by a Board of Directors. The President holds office for life and has the general supervision and management of the business and affairs of the corporation. And it is a very strictly ruled organisation, even down to the fact that individual JW’s must turn in time sheets showing how many hours each week they spend going from house to house.

False Doctrines

Following are some of the false doctrines and a few scriptures to refute them.

I. The Kingdom

JWs teach that the Kingdom of God was established in heaven in 1914.

The Bible teaches: The Kingdom of God is the church, which was established when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles a few days after He ascended back to heaven.

PROOF:

Daniel 2:44-Read the entire chapter to see that God tells of four world empires. First was Babylon, then history tells us of three others-the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire. This verse tells us that God will set up His eternal kingdom during the days of the kings of the fourth empire-the Roman kings. This was when Jesus came and set up the kingdom.

Mark 9:1-"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Thus, Jesus prophesied that the kingdom would come within the lifetime of those people to whom He spoke. Note also: the kingdom was to come "with power."

Acts l:8-"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." The power came with the Holy Ghost, and the Kingdom came with power. Therefore when Jesus sent the Holy Ghost on the apostles (Acts 2), the Kingdom began.

Colossians l:l3-"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Note: Paul used the past tense. The kingdom was already in existence and all Christians were in it. The kingdom is the church.

H. Hell

JW's teach: the wicked will not be punished eternally but will suffer nothing more than what they call "death," that is, complete annihilation and cessation of existence.

The Bible teaches: the wicked will be conscious after death and will be tormented forever in hell (gehenna).

PROOF:

Matthew 25:41,46-"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." This is the picture of the judgment scene. The same Greek word is used to describe punishment as to describe life, and it means "eternal". The Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot meet this scripture, so they have retranslated it in their New World version. They mistranslate it to say, "And these will depart into everlasting cutting off." This is typical of them. When they cannot face what the Bible says, they change the Bible to suit their doctrine. But the Greek word kolasinmeans punishment, not cutting-off.

Revelation 14:9-11-Describing the punishment of those who worship the beast, John says that the smoke of their torment goes up forever and they have no rest day and night. A clearer statement of eternal punishment would be hard to make.

Other passages on the subject are: Matthew 8:11,12; 13:42,50; 22:13; Luke 13:24-28; 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 13; Revelation 20:10.

Warning: There are one Hebrew word and three Greek words transÔö¼┬ílated hell in the King James Version. These do not have the same meaning and are translated differently in other English translations. The only word which refers to eternal punishment is gehennawhich is found only in the following passages: Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; and James 3:6. In most other passages the word hell translates sheol(Old Testament) or hades(New Testament), which literally means "the unseen place." Those words refer to the place of departed spirits, not to eternal torment. If you do not understand the difference in the meaning of those words, you will get mixed up in your study.

III. The Soul

JWs teach that man does not have a soul which continues to live after death apart from the body. They say that man IS a soul (which is true) but deny that there is any part of man which lives on apart from the body.

The Bible teaches that man is a soul who lives in a body here upon the earth but who continues living when this body dies. The easiest way to show this is to use passages which do not use the word soul. This avoids arguing over the definition of the word. Following are four passages.

2 Corinthians 5:8-10-Paul here says that a person can be absent from the body and at home with the Lord. Verse 6 says that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. In this passage, "we" refers to the real person, the body being only the outward tabernacle we are in while on the earth. The real person can be absent from the tabernacle, which is what happens at death.

Philippians l:21-24-Paul wanted to "depart and to be with Christ; which is far better." JWs say that Paul did not know what he was talking about. They say that it is impossible to "depart" (this means to die, as you can see from reading these verses) and be with Christ. I think Paul knew more than the JWs.

2 Peter l:13-15-Peter calls his approaching death the putting off of his tabernacle.

Luke 16:19-31-Jesus here tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus, both of whom died and were conscious after death while life was going on for others on the earth. JWs say that this is a parable and give a fantastic interpretation of its meaning. Nothing in the Bible says that it is a parable. If it is a parable, it is not false. A parable was the use of true-to-life events to illustrate spiritual truths. Jesus did not misrepresent the state of the dead.

IV. Name

Judge Rutherford gave the WatchTower people the name "Jehovah’s Witnesses" in 1931. It was not known to them before that time. They claim that Isaiah 43:12 authorises their name. It says, "I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord (Jehovah), that I am God." But this verse gives no name. It describes what some people were doing. If a man is a printer, "Printer" is not his name. The JWs say that Isaiah 62:2,4, which prophesies a new name (which the text says is Hephzibah), refers to "Jehovah’s Witness." But the verse describing people as witnesses was previous to that prophecy. That prophecy had to refer to another name.

The name given to God’s people today is Christian. See Acts 11:26 and 1 Peter 4:16.

V. Blood Transfusions

In 1945 the JWs were given another new doctrine-that God forbids blood transfusions. They did not believe this doctrine before that date. This unfortunate doctrine has led to the death of many sincere Jehovah’s WitÔö¼┬ínesses and their children who might have been saved if blood transfusions had been used.

The Bible teaches that the Jews in Old Testament times were forbidden to eat the blood or fat of animals. In the New Testament, the prohibition of eating animal blood was given because it was associated with the worship of idols (See Acts 15:29). Blood transfusions are not the eating of blood, and not the eating of animal blood, are designed to give life and do not involve the taking of life. Blood transfusions are not in way connected with idolatry. Therefore, blood transfusions are not forbidden by the Bible.

VI. Organisation

The JWs have a most complex organisation, with a President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, a Board of Directors, Company Servants, Branch Servants and many other offices which are not mentioned in the Bible. They teach that the church is made up of only 144 000 people (who only will go to heaven) and that all the rest of their followers can only be subjects of the Kingdom.

The Bible teaches that the church and the kingdom are the same (see point I of this paper). And the church has been given a definite, but very simple, organisation by her Head, Jesus Christ. He placed in the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12). The apostles and prophets made up the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20), and we build on that foundation by following what they gave in the New Testament. Evangelists are preachers with the job of preaching the word (2 Timothy 4:1-5). Pastors, (shepherds) are also called elders and bishops (Acts 20:17,28). Their job is to oversee and feed the local church (1 Peter 5:1-3) and must have the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:1-8 and Titus 1:5-9. Teachers are to teach the word, and deacons are servants working under the direction of the bishops. (For deacons see Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13). No other offices are given by Jesus Christ, therefore the complicated organisation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is wholly without Biblical authority.

VII. Date Setting

The JWs are notorious date setters. Charles Russell prophesied that Jesus would return and set up His kingdom in 1914. When nothing happened, he decided that the kingdom was set up in Heaven and that Jesus came in power, not in visible form. The JWs point to the outbreak of World War I in that year as proof (?) of their contentions.

In 1920, Judge Rutherford wrote Millions Now Living Shall Never Die and prophesied that Abraham and Isaac would return in visible form in the mid 1920’s. The JWs would rather not be reminded about this book.

Now (Note: This paper was written in about 1971–PKW) they are predicting the end of all things before or during the American autumn (Sep. 21-Dec. 21) of 1975. They are certain that the accepted order of things, political and economic, will be destroyed by that time and that only those who are JWs will escape death in the great tribulation which will precede that time. They look forward to living forever on the earth in peace after that date. It is this bold claim which is causing so many to work so hard at this time, and many are being converted to their religion because of the so-called imÔö¼┬íminence of this time of terror.

In setting their dates, the JWs have twisted numerous passages of the Bible. Speaking of the time when He would come again, Jesus said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 25:36) The JWs say they cannot predict the day or the hour, but they can predict the season of the year! This is nonsense. Jesus was saying that there will be no sign of His imminent return. All things will continue as they did in Noah’s time until He comes. The lesson is that we must be ready at all times because He will come without notice.

It is my sincere hope that God will spare this world until after 1975. Perhaps there will be many sincere Jehovah’s Witnesses who will as a result have their eyes opened to the false doctrines of that religion and will come out of it. I pray so. (Note: My prayer was answered and many Jehovah’s Witnesses left that organisation after the failure of this prophecy.-PKW)

“Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses – what is the key?”……Answer: Jehovah's Witnesses say they are the only true Christians, but they are neither Protestant nor Catholic. The fundamental doctrinal issue that distinguishes them from orthodox Christianity is the Trinity. They say it is a pagan teaching, but they misrepresent it, saying that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit must be three gods. They actually agree with the Trinity doctrine when it says that the Father and the Son are two Persons, but imagine they need to prove this to Trinitarians! They fail to grasp how the three Persons comprise the One Being of God, and so they come up with the idea of a Big God and a little god ├ö├ç├┤ two gods. They say Jesus was created (Arianism) and was Michael the archangel and that Jesus' body was not resurrected; it simply disappeared and He rose as a spirit creature. They say the Holy Spirit is not a person but is Jehovah's active force or energy.……Because they say that Jesus is a demi-god, their understanding of salvation and atonement is wrong. They say Jesus, who was a perfect Man, died only to atone for the sin of Adam and that when we die, our death pays the penalty of our own sin. Only some 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses today can possibly claim to be born-again and have a heavenly hope. The rest say they don't want to go to heaven to be with the Lord but they want to live forever on a paradise earth (Restorationism). They believe if they remain faithful and obedient till the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ Jesus, they will 'earn the right to be declared righteous' and that's why they have to keep on striving, with no assurance of salvation. Only today's 'remnant' of the 144,000 can say they are in the new covenant, and that Christ Jesus is their mediator. All must be obedient to the leaders (the Watchtower Society and its Governing Body) if they wish to survive Armageddon. To disagree with what they say is to disagree with Jehovah because He uses them as His sole channel of communication to dispense 'the truth.' Only they saw 'with spiritual eyes of discernment' that Christ Jesus started to rule from heaven in 1914, an invisible 'second presence.' Also, they say Christ Jesus will never return to earth, but will remain in heaven, there to rule with the 144,000 over the earth.……With all these unbiblical beliefs, where does one begin to witness to a Jehovah's Witness? There is only one place to begin-with the person of Christ Jesus, whose deity is the foundation of Christianity. Jehovah's Witnesses are unable to grasp the significance of Jesus' death and why they must be born again in order to have their sins forgiven. Before they can put all their trust in the finished work of Christ Jesus, they have to understand they are not saved, which means they are presently lost in their sin. No Witness has the assurance of salvation which is the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who belong to the Father through Christ (Romans 8:16). The full deity of Jesus Christ can only be revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, who they relegate to commodity status, like electricity. To the Witnesses, the Holy Spirit is a "thing," not a Person. ……Witnessing to the Witnesses must be done in Christian love and with compassion. Remember, they have been deceived and believe a false gospel, yet many have a genuine love for God and are utterly sincere in their beliefs. Do not be afraid of them (1 John 4:17-19), but let them know how much you care about their eternal salvation. Share your Christian testimony with them. Invite them into your home, but do not allow them to conduct what they describe as a Bible study, which is actually a study of their literature. Be aware they will not read any non-Watchtower literature or attend a church service. They say they will only accept what the Bible says, but their New World Translation has been drastically altered to reflect their theology, and every reference in the New Testament to the deity of Christ Jesus has been removed. It always comes as a surprise to them to meet people who love the Lord, display the fruit of the Spirit, and use the Bible as the basis for their faith (Hebrews 4:12). Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Direct all your conversation to the person of Christ and the need to put total faith in what He has done. Do not allow them to lead you down the path they wish you to take, namely, considering how you can survive Armageddon to live on a paradise earth. This is not the gospel. Above all else, pray for them.…

“I am a Jehovah’s Witness, why should I consider becoming a Christian?”……Answer: Perhaps the most important commonality between Evangelical Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses is our belief and trust in the Bible as the ultimate authority inspired by God, on issues concerning God and his expectations for us. While we may understand things differently, Jehovah's Witnesses are to be highly commended for their dependence on and diligence in studying the Holy Scriptures to know God and His will. Like the Bereans, we would be wise to examine all things in life, in light of the Scriptures. To that end, we shall examine verses of the New World Translation (the version of the Bible published by their Watchtower Society) to clear up some common misunderstandings.……A Rose by any other name├ö├ç┬¬……Christians get their name from being followers and worshipers of Jesus Christ, first called "Christians" in Antioch during Paul's ministry (Acts 11:26). Paul repeatedly made it clear that to be a Christian was to be a witness to men concerning the person of Christ, to be a witness to the words and works of Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses, on the other hand, believe that we are to focus our worship exclusively on God the Father (who is sometimes referred to in the Bible as "Jehovah".) This name, however, was a hybrid name created by Christians by adding vowels to the tetragrammaton "YHWH," which was the original rendering which we now know as "Yahweh" in the Hebrew and "Jehovah" in the Greek. Evangelical Christians understand Jesus to be God in all His fullness, equal in deity, but different in function from that of God the Father. Christians acknowledge that one of the names for God the Father is Jehovah; however, there are many other names and titles which the scriptures use in reference to God the Father.……Jehovah's Witnesses understand Jesus to be Michael the Archangel, and categorically deny His deity. As we shall see, if we understand Jesus to be anything other than God, many verses present obvious contradictions. However, we know that God's Word is inerrant and does not contradict itself. Therefore, we must understand the truth of God's Word in a way that is consistent and faithful to His revelation. You will notice that these same verses lack any contradiction if we understand Jesus to be God the Son-the fullness of God in bodily form-who surrendered His rights to be the suffering servant and sacrifice for our sin. (All verses were quoted directly from the Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation. Bold type emphasis added.)……God's Glory……(Verses regarding God the Father)…Isaiah 42:8 "I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images."……Isaiah 48:11 "├ö├ç┬¬And to no one else shall I give my own glory."……(Verses regarding Jesus)…John 8:54 "├ö├ç┬¬It is my Father that glorifies me, he who you say is YOUR God"……John 16:14 "That one will glorify me├ö├ç┬¬"……John 17:1 "├ö├ç┬¬Father, the hour has come; glorify your son├ö├ç┬¬"……John 17:5 "So now you, Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was."……Philippians 2:10 "so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground"……Hebrews 5:5 "So too the Christ did not glorify himself by becoming a high priest, but [was glorified by him] who spoke with reference to him; 'You are my son; I, today, I have become your father."……The Savior……(About the Father)…Isaiah 43:3 "For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel your Savior."……Isaiah 43:11 "I am Jehovah and besides me there is no savior."……Isaiah 45:21 "Is it not I, Jehovah besides whom there is no other God; a righteous God and a Savior, there being none excepting me?"……(About Jesus) …Luke 2:11 "because there was born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord├ö├ç┬¬"……Acts 13:23 "From the offspring of this [man] according to his promise God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus."……Titus 1:4 "├ö├ç┬¬May there be underserved kindness and peace from God [the] Father and Christ Jesus our Savior."

……Whose name are we to have faith in?……(said about Jesus or by Jesus)…John 14:12 "Most truly I say to YOU, He that exercises faith in me, that one also will do the works that I do├ö├ç┬¬"……Acts 4:12 "Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."……Acts 26:18 "├ö├ç┬¬and inheritance among those sanctified by [their] faith in me."……Revelation 2:13 "I know where you are dwelling, that is where the throne of Satan is, and yet you keep on holding fast my name, and you did not deny your faith in me├ö├ç┬¬"……John 20:28 "In answer Thomas said to him: My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me have you believed?……John 20:31 " But these have been written down that YOU may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that, because of believing YOU may have life by means of his name."……Acts 2:38 "Peter [said] to them: 'Repent, and let each one of YOU be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ…"……1 John 3:23 "Indeed, this is his commandment, that we have faith in the name of his Son Jesus Christ├ö├ç┬¬"……Created or Creator?……Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jehovah created Jesus as an angel, and that Jesus then created all other things. What do the scriptures say?……(About the Father)…Isaiah 66:2 "Now all these things my own hand has made, so that all these came to be." ……Isaiah 44:24 "├ö├ç┬¬I, Jehovah, am doing everything, stretching out the heavens, by myself├ö├ç┬¬"……(About Jesus)…John 1:3 "All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence." If all things came into existence through Jesus, He could not have been created because He is included in the "all things."……Status, Names and Titles of Jesus and Jehovah……Isaiah 9:6 "For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us, and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."……Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says Jehovah God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty." ……Revelation 1:17-18 "├ö├ç┬¬I am the First and the Last, and the living one, and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys to death and of Hades." ……Revelation 2:8 "├ö├ç┬¬These are the things that he says, 'the First and the Last, who became dead, and came to life [again]"……Revelation 22:12-16 "Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end├ö├ç┬¬I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you people of these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star."……Revelation 21:6-7 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the fountain of the water of life free. Anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son." If Jehovah is the Alpha and Omega (the first and last Greek letters), then the "first and the last" must refer to Jehovah, so the Witnesses claim. But when did Jehovah become dead? The only "first and last" who died and lived again is Jesus.……Hebrews 1:13 "But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said 'Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet"?……Truth and Unity……Jesus' substitutionary atonement was accepted for one reason: God accepts only His own righteousness. The righteousness of a man or an angel is insufficient to hold up to the holy and perfect standard of God's righteous law. Jesus was the only suitable sacrifice because He was the righteousness of God, and as God's law required shed blood, Jesus took on flesh so that He might be a ransom for all who believe in His name.……Notice that if we understand Jesus to be God incarnate, then all the above verses can be understood to be true and mutually consistent in their claims. They can also be understood clearly with plain reason, taken at face value. However, if we attempt to suggest that Jesus is something less than God-Michael the archangel-then these verses are mutually exclusive and cannot both be true, when taken in their natural context. Therefore, the truth of God's Word necessitates that we must come to another understanding in which all Scripture is unified, interconnected, interdependent, inerrant and true. That unifying truth can be found only in the person and deity of Jesus Christ. May we see the truth revealed in Scripture as it is, not as we would each have it to be and may God receive all the glory.……If you have any questions about Jesus as God incarnate, please ask us. If you are ready to place your trust in this God incarnate Jesus, you can speak the following words to God: “Father God, I know that I am a sinner and am worthy of your wrath. I recognize and believe that Jesus is the only Savior, and that only by being God, could Jesus be the Savior. I place my trust in Jesus alone to save me. Father God, please forgive me, cleanse me, and change me. Thank you for your wonderful grace and mercy!

…“Is Jesus Michael the Archangel?”……Answer: Jesus is not Michael the Archangel. The Bible nowhere identifies Jesus as Michael (or any other angel for that matter). Hebrews 1:5-8 draws a clear distinction between Jesus and the angels, "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father'? Or again, 'I will be His Father, and He will be my Son'? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God’s angels worship Him.' In speaking of the angels He says, 'He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.' But about the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.'" The hierarchy of heaven beings is made clear in this passage-angels worship Jesus who, as God, is alone worthy of worship. No angel is ever worshipped in Scripture; therefore, Jesus (worthy of worship) cannot be Michael or any other angel (not worthy of worship). The angels are called sons of God (Genesis 6:2-4Job 1:62:138:7), but Jesus is THE Son of God (Hebrews 1:8Matthew 4:3-6).……Michael the Archangel is perhaps the highest of all the angels. Michael is the only angel in the Bible who is designated "the Archangel" (Jude verse 9). Michael the Archangel, though, is only an angel. He is not God. The clear distinction in the power and authority of Michael and Jesus can be seen in comparing Matthew 4:10 where Jesus rebukes Satan, and Jude verse 9, where Michael the Archangel "dared not bring a judgment of blasphemy" against Satan and calls on the Lord to rebuke him. Jesus is God incarnate (John 1:1,14). Michael the Archangel is a powerful angel, but still only an angel.………The Church of Christ

The Jehovah’s Witness organisation is not the church which Christ built (Matthew 16:18). He is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23) which is His body. He has only one body (Ephesians 4:4), and He is the Saviour of it (Ephesians 5:23). Everyone who is saved is added to it by the Lord (Acts 2:41-47). To be saved, one must believe the gospel (Mark 16:16), repent of his sins and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). When one is baptized (immersed-Romans 6:4), his sins are washed away (Acts 22:16), he is saved (1 Peter 3:21). Then he must continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42), not the doctrines of men (Galatians 1:6-9). The memÔö¼┬íbers of the church are called Christians (Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16), and the church is called by Christ’s name (Romans 16:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2). Christians do not join denominations, but continue simply to worship and work directed only by the New Testament. If you would like to know more about that church, please contact me. I hope you will.