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Jehovah's Witnesses: Patrick Zukeran History of the Watch Tower One of the most aggressive and fastest growing cults is
the Jehovah's Witnesses. Today they have a worldwide organization that
numbers about 3.5 million members operating in 205 countries. Several
factors account for this rapid growth. The first is their zealous
door-to-door evangelism. Second, we Christians have failed to make a solid
defense of our faith against their attacks when they have come to our
door. The result is the Witnesses continue unchallenged in the propagation
of their organization and deceive many. Third, the rise of the cults are a
fulfillment of the prophetic warnings given by Jesus and the Apostles. In this essay I want to look at the beliefs of the
Witnesses and then give the reader practical witnessing strategies. The
history of the Jehovah's Witnesses begins with the founder of the
organization Charles Taze Russell. He was a member of the Congregational
Church who came to reject the doctrine of hell and eternal punishment. In
1870, with no formal education, he began a Bible society which eventually
named him pastor. In 1884, he founded Zion's Watchtower and Tract Society
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is now the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Since then they have
mushroomed into an organization which produces more literature in one year
than the Christian and Catholic churches combined. And, of all the cults,
their missionary forces are the most well trained in evangelism. Witnesses deviate from biblical Christianity in several
areas. I will discuss some of their major doctrinal errors. First, like
all the cults, they deny the Trinity. They believe there is one God,
Jehovah. Jesus, is actually Michael the Archangel, the first of God's
creation, who became flesh at the incarnation. After the resurrection, He
returned to heaven as Michael the Archangel.(1) The Holy Spirit is not God
but an active force much like electricity or fire.(2) Second, Witnesses deny the bodily resurrection of Christ,
but instead believe He was raised as a spirit and manifested Himself
several times in different materialized bodies.(3) Third, they deny the existence of hell and eternal
punishment, but believe in total annihilation after death. Only the elite
ruling class, the 144,000, are allowed to go to heaven. The faithful
Jehovah's Witnesses remain unconscious after death till they are
resurrected in the Millennium. Those who are not in the organization are
annihilated after death.(4) Fourth, Witnesses have a works-oriented salvation.
Salvation is not based upon a relationship with Christ, but found in the
organization. One must serve the society, and depending on one's
faithfulness and absolute obedience, one may be saved.(5) Fifth, they believe that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914
and established His throne in heaven. At Armageddon, God will destroy all
evil, and abolish all the world's governments, and establish a new
Paradise on earth. Then the living and resurrected Jehovah's Witnesses
will inherit Paradise earth. The 144,000 mentioned earlier will rule with
Jesus. At this time all unbelievers who have died will be raised (with
some exceptions) and will study under the Witnesses during the Millennium,
a period of a thousand years. Studying with them will be the unbelievers
who have survived Armageddon. After the thousand years, their faith will
be tested because God will release Satan from the abyss. At that point all
unbelievers will have to choose between Satan or Jehovah. Those who reject
Jehovah will be annihilated.(6) Clearly the doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses deviate
in critical ways from sound biblical principles. Next, I want to discuss
approaches to evangelizing Jehovah's Witnesses. False Prophecies of the Watch Tower One of the most effective ways to evangelize Jehovah's
Witnesses is to destroy their faith in the Society. Remember, salvation is
found only in this organization. The Watch Tower Society is seen as the
spokesman for God. If you can show Witnesses the serious errors of the
organization, they will begin to have doubts and questions. This can
sometimes lead them to leave the Society. Attacking the Society's record of false prophecy can cause
JWs to to question the organization. This approach is effective because
they claim to have the true understanding of the end times. If we can show
them that the organization has been constantly wrong in the area of
prophecy, this will certainly make an impact. When the Jehovah's Witnesses
show up at your door again, begin first by asking them, "Are you
prophets of God?" Some will say, "Yes." Others may say,
"We are prophets in a sense." You must make it clear there is no
such thing as "a prophet in a sense." There are only true
prophets and false prophets. Some may deny being prophets. If so, show
them a copy of the April 1, 1972, Watch Tower article on page 197,
which states clearly that they are prophets. Second, define clearly what makes a true prophet and a
false prophet using Deuteronomy 18:20-22. A true prophet speaks in the
name of Jehovah and predicts future things which come to pass. A false
prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and predicts future things which do
not come to pass. Make sure they understand this, for this is the most
critical step. Third, ask them, "Is there an organization that fits
the character of a false prophet?" That's when you say, "Let's
take a look at the Watch Tower Organization." Have handy copies of
the articles mentioned here. The 1889 issue, "The Time is at
Hand," page 101 states, "The battle of the great day of God
Almighty (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914, with the complete
overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." This
1914 prediction of Christ's return never came true. Then the Watch Tower predicted that Christ would
return in 1925. The 1918 issue of, "Millions Now Living Will Never
Die," p. 89 states, "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." This proved to be another false
prophecy. The Watch Tower made a third prophecy of the return
of Christ; this one was to occur in 1975. The August 15, 1968, issue of, Why
Are You Looking Forward to 1975?, p. 494, predicted the return of
Christ in 1975. Once again the Witnesses were shown to be false prophets.
If the Witnesses don't believe these articles are real, tell them to look
them up in their church's library. Another interesting prophecy is found on page 154 of their
book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Here they state,
"Some of the generation living in 1914 will see the end of the system
of things and survive it." Most of the 1914 generation are dead, and
the few remaining are very old. In just a few years, the Watch Tower
will again have another false prophecy. When presented clearly, the record
of the Watch Tower's false prophecies is a very effective tool in
witnessing to JWs. (If you would like these false prophecies, write us here
at Probe. For a minimum donation of five dollars, we can send you a copy
of the original articles.) The Name of God Another effective avenue of witnessing to the Witnesses is
in the name of God. Jehovah's Witnesses state that God's true name is
"Jehovah." They say the term "God," is merely a title,
and that the real name for God is "Jehovah." In fact they go so
far as to say that unless one calls on the true name of God,
"Jehovah," one cannot be saved.(7) Let's take a real close look at the name
"Jehovah" and see if it is in fact the true name of God. The
term "Jehovah" is actually a false reading of the Hebrew
pronunciation of God, or YAHWEH. Allow me to explain where the word
"Jehovah" comes from. The words in the Hebrew Old Testament
contained no vowels. The words were constructed of consonant letters only.
The Scribes knew what vowels to use in the pronunciation of the words by
the construction of the consonants, the context, and memory. It was
written this way until the fifth century when the Masoretes added the
vowels under the consonants in their version of the Old Testament known as
the Masoretic Text. The name of God in the Old Testament spelled YHWH, was
considered holy, and was not to be read aloud. Instead, when the Hebrews
came upon YHWH, they would say ADONAY, which means "Lord." In
order to indicate this substitution, the Massoretes placed the vowels of
ADONAY or the English equivalent of e, o, and a underneath the consonants
of YHWH. Later some Christian translators mistakenly combined the vowels
of ADONAY with the consonants of YHWH producing the word
"Jehovah." Now the term is recognized to be a late hybrid form
never used by the Jews. That's the origin of the word "Jehovah."
Let's now look at what other scholars say about the name
"Jehovah." Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary:
"Jehovah" -- False reading of the Hebrew YAHWEH.(8) Encyclopedia
Americana:
"Jehovah" -- erroneous form of the name of the God of Israel.(9)
Encyclopedia
Britannica: The
Masoretes who from the 6th to the 10th century worked to reproduce the
original text of the Hebrew Bible replaced the vowels of the name YHWH
with the vowel signs of Adonai or Elohim. Thus the artificial name Jehovah
came into being.(10) The
Jewish Encyclopedia:
"Jehovah" -- a mispronunciation of the Hebrew YHWH the name of
God. This pronunciation is grammatically impossible.(11) The New
Jewish Encyclopedia: It is
clear that the word Jehovah is an artificial composite.(12) According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 680, vol.
7, "the true pronunciation of the tetragrammaton YHWH was never lost.
The name was pronounced Yahweh. It was regularly pronounced this way at
least until 586 B.C., as is clear from the Lachish Letters written shortly
before this date." Therefore, for Jehovah's Witnesses to insist Jehovah is
the true name of God and that one is saved only if he calls on that name,
is an error. When Witnesses appear at your door explain to them the name
"Jehovah" and read what the scholars say about Jehovah. Also
remember, God uses many names for Himself such as, King of Kings, the Lion
of Judah, the Alpha and the Omega, and others. When JWs realize what the
authoritative sources have to say, especially the encyclopedia references,
they will begin to realize the need to take a serious look at this error
in the organization. The Bodily Resurrection of Christ A third subject area for effective witnessing to Witnesses
is the bodily resurrection of Christ. Witnesses believe that Christ's
crucified body was disintegrated by Jehovah never to exist again.
Accordingly, Jesus was raised as a spirit who then materialized and
appeared in several different fleshly bodies as the angels had done.
Indeed, it was in this form that He appeared to His disciples; i.e., He
wasn't in a human body; He just appeared to be human. He ascended into
heaven as a spirit and once again became Michael the Archangel.(13) This
doctrine can be easily disproved. First, in Luke 24:36-43, Jesus clearly states in verse 39
that He is not a spirit but a man of flesh and bone. He even ate food to
prove that He was not a spirit but had a physical body. In John 20:24-27,
Jesus shows Thomas His wounds. Jesus is clearly demonstrating to His
disciples that the body previously on the cross had been resurrected. If
Jesus had a different body than the one on the cross, He would have been
deliberately deceiving the disciples. Ask the Witness, "Would Jesus
deliberately deceive His disciples into believing something that was not
true?" Next, turn to some passages where Jesus predicts the
resurrection of His body. In John 2:19-21 Jesus says, "Destroy this
temple and in three days I will raise it up." See Acts 2:26-27,
another prophecy of the Messiah's bodily resurrection. Clearly the
prophecies and Jesus' appearances prove a bodily resurrection. Witnesses cite 1 Peter 3:18 and 1 Cor. 15:44-50 to back up
their belief. In 1 Peter 3:18 we read, "Christ died once and for
all... he being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the
spirit." This verse does not prove Jesus is a spirit. This verse says
that Jesus was raised in the Spirit and by the Spirit of God who gives
life. Romans 8:11 states that the Holy Spirit was involved in raising
Jesus from the dead. Jesus was not raised as a spirit but by
the power of the Holy Spirit. According to 1 Cor. 15:50, "flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God." Since Jesus is in heaven, Witnesses say
He must be a spirit.(14) They are correct in saying that the earthly body
cannot enter heaven. However, when Jesus rose, He had a glorified body
(Luke 24:39). Therefore, He can dwell in heaven because of His glorified
state. According to 1 Cor 15:39, "All flesh is not the same: Men have
one kind of flesh, animals have another.... There are also heavenly bodies
and there are earthly bodies." Christ's glorified body allows Him to
travel in the earthly and heavenly dimensions. Some verses indicate that
Christ exists in heaven in bodily form. "For in him all the fullness
of Deity dwells in bodily form" Colossians 2:9. The verb
"dwells" in the Greek is katoikei, and is in the present
tense. In other words, Jesus has a glorified body in heaven, the one that
was resurrected. Note also 1 Timothy 2:5, "There is one God and one
mediator, the man Christ Jesus." The verb "is," is a
present tense verb also. How can Jesus be a man if He is Michael the
Archangel? Seeing these errors may prompt them to seek the truth. The Holy Spirit A fourth avenue of effective evangelism with Jehovah's
Witnesses is the subject of the deity of the Holy Spirit. As I mentioned
earlier, the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is not a
person because they see the Holy Spirit as a force--much like electricity
or fire. Here is what Jehovah's Witnesses say about the Holy Spirit. In their book You Can Live Forever In Paradise on Earth,
they state, "As for the `Holy Spirit,' the so-called third person of
the Trinity, we have already seen that this is not a person but God's
active force."(15) In their magazine Why Should You Believe in the
Trinity? they state, "To a certain extent it (Holy Spirit) can be
likened to electricity, a force that can be adapted to perform a great
variety of operations."(16) Here are some verses that are effective in proving the
deity of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5 Ananaias and Sapphira lied to the
church about the amount they sold their land for and the amount they gave
to the church. Peter confronts them on this issue and states in 5:3,
"Ananaias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you
have lied to the Holy Spirit...?" Peter later states in the next
verse, "You have not lied to men but to God." Here the Holy
Spirit is called "God" with a capital G both in our Bibles and
in the Witnesses' Bible. Another interesting question to ask Witnesses is,
"Can you lie to a force like fire or electricity?" The answer is
"No." You can only lie to an intelligence, a person. In Acts 13:2 the Holy Spirit speaks, "While they were
worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, `Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" Ask the
Witness, "When was the last time electricity or fire spoke to
you?" It is obvious only an intelligent person can communicate in
language. Ephesians 4:30 states, "And do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God." Any logical person should realize you can only grieve
a living being. Ask a Jehovah's Witness, "How can you grieve or bring
sorrow to an impersonal force like electricity?" When you put all these facts together, the fact that the
Holy Spirit is called God, He can be lied to, He speaks, and He can be
grieved, the evidence shows that the Holy Spirit is a person, not an
inanimate force. When presented clearly, I have not met any Jehovah's
Witness who have been able to refute these verses. God bless and good Witnessing! © 1994 Probe Ministries
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