If you’ve ever had a couple of men or women (sometimes with their children) come to your door to talk to you about God, they were probably the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
What they believe:
1. God is Jehovah. True
God is Jehovah which means Yahweh [LORD] which was God’s covenant name: “I am that I am”; but the Jews considered it too holy to speak, so they usually used Adonai in its stead, which means Lord and is a title for God, not His name (note that when LORD stands for Yahweh, it is always spelled with small caps).
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children ofIsrael
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
2. Jesus is God’s son, but He’s not God. False
"Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
“Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, Who is doing His work.” John 14:10
“Jesus answered,’ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only He who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. " 1 John 5:5
3. The Holy Spirit is not God; He is an intelligent, impersonal force. False
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own… "I Corinthians 6:19
"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning.Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 11:15-16
4. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is God’s visible representative on earth and should be obeyed as the voice of God. False
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 2:5
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual word,” 1 Corinthians
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual word,” 1 Corinthians
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16-17
5. Jesus died on a stake, not a cross. False
“And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:20
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
6. The earth is here forever, and will always have people living on it. False
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." Revelation 21:1
7. The human soul ceases to exist at death. False
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matt. 25:46
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matt. 25:46
8. Only 144,000 people will go to heaven. False
(If God is God, why can’t He make heaven big enough for all His saints?)
See Ch.
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9
9. There is no hell, when you die you are annihilated (cease to exist), unless you are a JW. When a JW dies, they remain unconscious until resurrected in the Millenium. False
There are 54 mentions of hell in the (31 of these in the Old Testament), but the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society teaches that Hell is not a real place, it is the grave or total destruction after death. This is similar to Judaism—many Jews do not believe in Hell, only Sheol or the grave (see my lesson on Judaism). JW’s also teach that humans do not have souls, but that they are souls themselves.
Matthew indicates that we do have both a soul and a body: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Revelation refers to hell as a real place which contains dead souls awaiting judgement: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
And Revelation indicates that the Second Death is a real eternal event that involves a swallowing up of death (for death will no longer exist)* and hell (which is a real eternal place): “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
10. You must be baptized by immersion in a JW’s church to be saved. False
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts
"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark
· 11. The Bible forbids blood transfusions. False
This is a distortion of Acts 15:29: “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” They focus on the “abstain from eating blood” portion and consider blood transfusions the same as eating blood! However, the Watchtower Society changed its mind back in 2000, and is allowing more and more blood components to be used for transfusions. They now allow organ transplants. This means that before the Watchtower Society received this new revelation, many JW have had to allow their loved ones to die for fear of being 'shunned.**' They are constantly changing their minds about what God has ‘revealed’ to them. The rules and regulations about what portions of blood and what types of medical procedures are allowed is so varied and confusing, that it pharisaical in its specifications-- all based on a portion of one Bible verse.
12. Do not celebrate birthdays or holidays. False
They believe all holidays come from false religions, that the early Christians didn’t celebrate them, so JW’s shouldn’t either. They only celebrate what they call the Memorial of Jesus’ Death at Passover (they don’t believe Jesus is God though). However, the early church was predominately Jews, and the Jews celebrated many holidays- Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, the Festival of Booths…some ordained by God in the book of the Law, and some are traditional. The Lord does not want us to live a cheerless life. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was at a wedding feast, where He turned water into wine. Wine is a symbol in Middle Eastern culture of joy!
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
13. Give no allegiance to anyone but Jehovah: do not salute the flag, vote, or serve in the military. False
JW’s believe that saying the pledge of allegiance is worshiping the flag. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, allegiance means “loyalty or devotion; a warm-hearted feeling of fidelity (faithfulness) and obedience…” i.e., good citizenship. However, the Bible does not prohibit military service to one’s country. Just as He assembled armies to fight for the nation of Israel
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 2:3
14. They believed that Jesus would return in 1914, then 1925, then 1975 to establish His throne in heaven and usher in God’s kingdom on earth. Obviously, False
Now the Society claims that Jesus did indeed return in 1914, invisibly and established His throne in heaven. When Jesus returned in 1914, He threw Satan and his demons out to earth. The Watchtower Society has displayed a less than scholarly knowledge of the scriptures, relentlessly setting dates for the end of the world, based on end time scripture in Revelation. The Watchtower’s teachings have changed many times over the years. A good source of the many redactions of previously held doctrines can be found here: http://www.equip.org/articles/the-wise-and-faithful-servant
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 1:8
How do I lead a Jehovah’s Witness to Christ?
· Warning: It can be dangerous to witness to a JW, because they have gone through intensive training (mind-control) and will use scriptures and twist them in such a way that they seem to be speaking truth. So if you are not a mature Christian, know the scripture well, and experienced in witnessing to cultists, they are likely to confuse you. Many sources written by former JW’s warn against attempting to seriously witness to a JW without being prepared. ‘Prepared’ means having some of their own literature to prove that the Society contradicts itself, and means studying some of the many techniques available on the internet and on DVD to train you for the intensive work involved in freeing the mind of a JW (make sure you ask your parents to check out any info on the internet first, to be sure it is from a reputable, Christian source).
· Witnessing to a JW with your lifestyle, or your words, does not work like in other religions- these people are brainwashed, and it usually takes several intensive sessions of discussion with them to win them over (assuming you know what you are doing). Some of them will even refuse to speak to you again if they realize your questions are stirring up doubts in their own faith and if they realize you are going to be hard to win.
· They are forbidden to look at any literature you give them. So, don’t think you will lead them to Christ using your Bible (they only use their New World Translation). If you do not have some of their literature, to counter them with, they are likely to frustrate you and waste a lot of your time. When witnessing to a JW, remember “…greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 and
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of
a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
- Keep in mind that JW’s are people who are lost and desperately in need of the Savior. Pray for them, and pray for wisdom when you decide to witness to them. They can be very argumentative and will try to wear you down- remember they think that their eternal destiny is bound up in getting you to convert to their beliefs. (http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts/jw.html).
- The most effective way to evangelize JW’s is to destroy their faith in the Watchtower Society. You must get them to doubt that the Society is the ultimate authority on earth. If you get them to see the serious errors in the Society, they may leave the Society (Watchtower Society). All their literature comes from the Society. All other literature is considered ‘apostate.’ You should not accept their literature, if you do, you are telling them that you do not think their literature is apostate (which it is). If you do accept it, you should return it to them when they return (they will come back at a later date to ‘discuss it’). When you return it, tell them you want copies of the original sources quoted in the article. The purpose for this is that the Society uses quotes out of context and their writing is deceptive. If the JW asks the society for original sources, they will not get it because it will expose the Society for the liars they are. However, in order to save face, the JW will usually try to find the information on his/her own for you. This search should be the first step in their realizing that the Society is dishonest—as they find the original sources, they will realize it is misquoted, and out of context.
- The point of any meeting with a JW is to get them to think independently of the Society. There are many more techniques worth studying for when you are an adult and answer the door
- http://www.equip.org/perspectives/sharing-your-faith-with-a-jehovahs-witness (Christian Research Institute)
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2
“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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:15-16
Famous JW’s:
Venus & Serena Williams, tennis superstars
Michael Jackson, raised as JW, left the church after the Thriller debacle (some studies indicate that JW’s have the highest incidence of mental health issues) http://www.equip.org/articles/paradise-postponed-and-postponed
Prince, singer (recent convert)
Selena, late Tejano singer
Janet Jackson, left the JW
Terrence Howard, actor (Iron Man, Hustle & Flow, Ray)
Naomi Campbell, supermodel
Dwight D. Eisenhower, late U.S. President (raised JW)
*the first death is the separation of the body from the soul, death will be thrown into the lake of fire, because no one and nothing will ever die again; the Second Death applies to the souls that will suffer eternal agony, a continual dying if you will (for lack of a better term in English).
** As stated in the overview of cults in the preface to the Mormons lesson. One of the distinguising marks of a cult is its requirement that members follow their rules fully or risk being excommunicated, shunned or even --in very extreme cases-- killed. This may not seem like a big deal, but this 'shun' extends to every person in the family. Since cults typically target whole families for proselytizing, the power of obedience is made more firm by their ability to forbid your family to associate with you when you walk away from the cult.
No comments:
Post a Comment