Download Jehovah*s Witnesses - Great Bible Truths

Jehovah’s Witnesses
May 7, 2015
Overview
-
Introduction
Key Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Distinctive Practices
A Few Defenses
What We Learn from Jehovah’s Witnesses
Introduction
A Few Quick Facts
- Around (in some fashion) since the 1870s
- Boast membership of over 19.9 million (Mormonism:
15 million)
- For several years, the fastest growing religion in the
United States.
- Current growth rate: 2.2% per year (Catholicism: 1.1%)
Key Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Adapted from Dr. James White,
Alpha and Omega Ministries
“Jehovah’s Witnesses have little truly systematic
theology … In fact, they have almost no consistent
doctrinal system at all except for one thing: they do
have an ecclesiology that stresses loyalty to the Watch
Tower organization above everything else.”
Ray Mattera
1.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is God’s only true
organization on this earth. They are the
“faithful and discrete” slave of Matthew
24:45.
“Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom
his master appointed over his domestics, to give them
their food at the proper time?”
Matthew 24:45 (NWT)
“Is not the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the
one and only channel which the Lord has used in
dispensing his truth continually since the beginning of
the harvest period?”
The Watchtower Society
Charles Taze Russell
1852 - 1916
Joseph Franklin Rutherford
1869-1942
“YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah,
“even my servant whom I have chosen ...”
Isaiah 43:10 (NWT)
2. Jehovah (God the Father) is the only true
God.
The Nature of God in Scripture:
1. The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all
God.
2. The Father is NOT the Son, the Son is NOT the
Holy Spirit, the Father is NOT the Holy Spirit.
3. There is only one God.
“We believe there is one living and true God, who in
essence, while eternally existing, is three distinct
Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all having the
same nature, attributes, and perfections.”
Friends Church Statement of Faith
“Sincere persons who want to know the true God and
serve him find it a bit difficult to love and worship a
complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God.”
The Watchtower Society
“JEHOVAH”
3. Jesus is not God. Instead, He is a “god”;
He is God’s first creation, by whom
everything else was created.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs about Jesus
- Jesus was sinless, born of the Virgin Mary.
- He is Jehovah’s anointed savior, and His only-begotten
Son.
- He gave His life a ransom sacrifice to purchase Adam’s
descendants from the power of sin, death and the
devil.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs about Jesus
- He is not God, but a god.
- He was the first of God’s creation, and the one who
created everything else in this world.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 (NIV)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up
stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and
went out of the temple.
John 8:58-59 (NIV)
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the
human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all,
forever praised! Amen.
Romans 9:5 (NIV)
“…while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NIV)
“For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
have been created through him and for him.”
Colossians 1:16 (NIV)
New World Translation
of the Holy Scriptures
“A frightful mistranslation… erroneous… pernicious…
reprehensible.”
Dr. Bruce Metzger
“You greased my head with oil;
My cup is well-filled.”
Psalm 23:5 (NWT)
“[The New World Translation is] the single most
dangerous piece of anti-Christian literature around.”
Dr. James White
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 (NIV)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was a god.”
John 1:1 (NWT)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I am.”
John 8:58 (NIV)
Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before
Abraham came into existence, I have been.”
John 8:58 (NWT)
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the
human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all,
forever praised! Amen.
Romans 9:5 (NIV)
To them the forefathers belong, and from them the
Christ descended according to the flesh. God, who is
over all, be praised forever. Amen.
Romans 9:5 (NIV)
“…while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NIV)
“…while we wait for the happy hope and glorious
manifestation of the great God and of our Savior,
Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NWT)
“For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
have been created through him and for him.”
Colossians 1:16 (NIV)
“…because by means of him all other things were
created in the heavens and on the earth, the things
visible and the things invisible,+ whether they are
thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All
other things have been created through him and for
him.”
Colossians 1:16 (NWT)
“[The New World Translation is] the single most
dangerous piece of anti-Christian literature around.”
Dr. James White
4. Jesus is actually Michael the Archangel.
“There is Scriptural evidence for concluding that
Michael was the name of Jesus before he left heaven
and after his return.”
“‘Michael the great prince’ is none other than Jesus
Christ Himself.”
The Watchtower Society
Michael
Michael
Jesus
“But then Michael, one of the foremost princes, came
to help me.”
Daniel 10:13 (NWT)
“During that time Michael will stand up, the great
prince who is standing in behalf of your people.”
Daniel 12:1 (NWT)
“…because the Lord himself will descend from heaven
with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice
and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in
union with Christ will rise first.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NWT)
5. The Holy Spirit is a force, not a person.
“[The Holy Spirit] is not a person, but is a powerful
force that God causes to emanate from himself to
accomplish his holy will.”
The Watchtower Society
“I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:8 (NIV)
“I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you
with holy spirit.”
Mark 1:8 (NWT)
6. There are two classes of Jehovah’s
Witnesses.
“Then I saw, and look! the Lamb standing on Mount
Zion, and with him 144,000 who have his name
and the name of his Father written on their
foreheads.”
Revelation 14:1 (NWT)
“After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no
man was able to number, out of all nations and
tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes;
and there were palm branches in their hands.”
Revelation 7:9 (NWT)
1. The 144,000 – These are the “anointed”
Jehovah’s Witnesses.
2. The “Great Crowd” – Most practicing
Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The 144,000 – the “Anointed” Class
- Consist of all true Christians from Jesus’ resurrection
until now. They are the only genuinely “saved” people
and are the only ones able to experience the many
blessings of the New Testament.
- Are self-identified by the taking of communion at the
annual Memorial of Christ’s death.
- Although they were supposed to all have been “sealed”
by 1935, there were 12,604 from this group in 2014.
The “Great Crowd”
- The vast majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses (8 million+).
- Are not saved by grace (not “justified” by faith), but
must earn salvation through becoming like Christ.
7. We are living in the end of the end times.
Armageddon may happen at any time.
The fate of people at Armageddon is
determined by what group you find
yourself in.
When Armageddon Hits…
- The 144,000:
- “Great Crowd”:
Will be resurrected spiritually and
enjoy eternity with Christ in heaven.
Will stay here on earth and be able to
be a part of the millennium. Will
(hopefully) grow to be more like
Christ, and will face a test at the end
of time determining their ultimate
outcome.
When Armageddon Hits…
- “Everyone Else”:
If they die before Armageddon,
will be resurrected and have
chance to grow in knowledge of
God. If they die after
Armageddon, will be wiped off
face of the earth.
Unique Beliefs about Eternity
- There is no Hell or eternal punishment. People who don’t
ultimately accept Jehovah cease to exist.
- There is no real “resurrection.” People who die cease to
exist for a time and are recreated by Jehovah as they
were before.
“[The Christian clergy] is the most reprehensible of all
of God’s enemies.”
The Watchtower Society
Distinctive Practices
Preaching / Witnessing
“It is in our endurance in proclaiming 'this good news
of the kingdom' that we may attain to salvation.”
The Watchtower Society
Hours per Month Witnessing
- Publishers:
- Auxiliary Pioneers:
- Regular Pioneers:
- Special Pioneers:
- Missionaries:
~ 10 hours a month
30-50 hours a month
70 hours a month
130 hours a month (usually in
special location)
130 hours a month (usually in
other countries)
Prophecy
Prophesied Years of the End according to
Jehovah’s Witnesses
1874
1877
1914
1915
1918
1943
1975
Birthdays
Birthdays in Scripture (according to JW’s)
- There are only two references to birthdays in Scripture:
Genesis 40:22 and Matthew 14:6-10.
- In both instances, both individuals celebrating a birthday
were pagan (Pharaoh and Herod, respectively), and both
had someone put to death.
- Therefore, the Bible is teaching us that the celebration of
birthdays is an evil practice and should be avoided.
Blood Transfusions
Blood in Scripture
- God forbids Noah from eating animal life that still has
blood in it (Genesis 9:4)
- A blood transfusion is given to someone intravenously,
and is like “eating” blood.
- Therefore, a Jehovah’s Witness is forbidden from blood
transfusions.
Government
A Few Defenses
Adapted from Ron Rhodes,
Reasoning from the Scriptures
with the Jehovah’s Witnesses
1. “Tell me about your organization’s
history!”
2. Colossians 2:9 and the meaning “divine
quality.”
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form…”
Colossians 2:9 (NIV)
“because it is in him that all the fullness of the divine
quality dwells bodily..”
Colossians 2:9 (NWT)
Can you name a single renowned Greek
scholar who agrees with the Watchtower
rendering of Colossians 2:9 or a single Greek
lexicon that has “divine quality” as the
definition of theotesis?
3. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and the “Trumpet of
God”
“…because the Lord himself will descend from heaven
with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice
and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in
union with Christ will rise first.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NWT)
If reference to the archangel’s voice makes
the Lord Jesus an archangel, then—to be
consistent—doesn’t having God’s trumpet
make Jesus God?
4. A Comparison of Yawheh and Jesus
In view of the fact that numerous Old
Testament passages about Yahweh are
directly applied to Jesus in the New
Testament, what does that tell you about
Jesus’ identity?
Download Chart at:
http://www.breadoflifebiblestudy.com/Lessons/03TheTriuneGod/Articles/Y
ahwehISYeshuah08.pdf
5. Give them the Gospel!
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor
angels nor governments nor things now here nor
things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor
any other creation will be able to separate us from
God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
What We Learn from Jehovah’s Witnesses
- We need to beware of unhealthy fascination with end
times, especially with “date setting.”
- We need to beware of authoritarian structures within
any church, denomination, etc.
- We need to heed the warning of 1 Timothy 6:3-5 and 2
Timothy 3:7 .
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with
sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine
conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing;
but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and
disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive
language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of
depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that
godliness is a means of gain.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 (NIV)
“…always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the
truth.”
2 Timothy 3:7 (NIV)
- “What the cults will do for a lie, most Christian’s won’t
do for the truth.”
- We need to take seriously our study of God’s truth,
moving beyond “milk” to “solid food.”
Final Thought
YHWH
JHVH