The original founder of the Jehovah Witnesses Organization was a certain Charles T Russell, who was then succeeded by Judge Rutherford after his death. Again, I am not too concerned that Charles Russell falsely predicted that the world was going to end in 1914, but I am more interested in refuting the deceptive teachings that he set for our JW relatives. Indeed, there is too much in that organization to be examined in one lifetime, regardless, we are going to try our best to tackle these major ones…
Who is Jesus?
According to the JW website, “We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God…However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.” Therefore, the Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus was a “created being called Michael the Archangel.” I believe there is no more blasphemy to the Christian Gospel than to deny that Jesus is God; a created being for that matter? In fact, I think according to Romans 10:9, you cannot be a Christian unless you confess that Jesus is Lord. It is that serious. Here is just one verse to pull down the entire JW doctrine, Hebrews 1:8-9 But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
Denial of hell
Again, I believe the doctrine of hell is a vital part of the Gospel message. Therefore, any supposed theology that denies God’s punishment of sinners has neither the Gospel nor has it any right to call itself Christian. Such is the case with our well-dressed friends who posted on their website that “people who die pass out of existence; they do not suffer in a fiery hell of torment.” Here is a question to them: if there is no sin punishment, then what did Christ die for? Even more, since there is no hell, what are they saved from? Another question; if there is no fiery furnace, is the Bible then lying when it says something like, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 13:41-42)?
The New World Translation
The JWs believe that all Bibles that believers use today are “corrupted” hence they have their own Bible that was translated by an unknown group of individuals they call the “NWT Committee.” What you must know about this Bible is that it is the only version that was edited and revised so it could agree with the Jehovah Witness doctrine. It is safe then to say that they realized that their doctrine is not biblical, hence they made a “Bible” specifically to suit that agenda. For example, the Greek clearly teaches in John 1:1 that “…the Word was God.” Yet the New World Translation deliberately changed that into “…the Word was a god.” How’s that for deception?
Man-made rules
Once you decide to become a Jehovah Witness, be also ready to replace your freedom in Christ with a long list of legalistic rules that were made by their “Governing Body.” These are the bosses of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, based in Brooklyn, New York, whose job is to determine what the Witness members must do. It’s them (not Scripture) who decided that it’s forbidden to celebrate birthdays, vote, join the military, criticize their church, read books from other denominations and even donate blood (even if someone needs it in emergency). These are considered “sinful” hence members who do these things risk being “dis-fellowshipped” (chased out of the church and completely separated from family members). Is it only me, or does anyone else think such a group has more in common with a cult than it is with a Christian church?
Conclusion
There are still a lot more issues with our Watchtower friends which I have no time to discuss. These may include their denial of Jesus’s bodily resurrection, denial of His death on a cross, the identity of the 144 000, lies that the Second Coming has already happened and other multiple false predictions that the world was going to end. Although I greatly admire their zeal for evangelism, I would never, in godly sincerity, recommend the Jehovah Witness Church. In fact, no one must fault me if I were to go on and – reluctantly – define them as a cultic group. You see beloved, we must always begin with this question: what does the Bible say? So that we can then proceed and say, “Therefore, this ought to be like that and that ought to be done that way.” Hence I advise, please, next time the Awake Witnesses show up on your door, be compassionate, sit down with them, discuss and lovingly explain the true Gospel of our salvation. I thank you.
Sinothi Ncube
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