Jehovah’s Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses

A Rebuttal to Their Doctrines

The Jehovah’s Witness doctrinal system is based on the Bible interpretations of Charles Taze Russel, who announced that he possessed all truth. In his many books, Russel “left scarcely one great truth or fundamental doctrine untouched with his unholy and unwarranted conclusions.” (Dr. William E. Biederwolf). Present day Jehovah’s Witnesses are following the preposterous teachings of a rascal who divorced his wife and was in trouble with the courts for fleecing his followers with “miracle wheat”, which he sold at an exorbitant price, claiming that it would produce 15 times as many bushels per acre as ordinary wheat.

The clear teachings of the Bible are opposed to the claims put forth by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Several of their doctrines are presented here along with sound Biblical reasons for their falsehood.

Jehovah’s Witnesses…

. . . deny the absolute, unique deity of Jesus Christ.

Scripture demonstrates that the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah. Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; and 48:12 state that the attribute of being “first and last” belongs to Jehovah alone. In Rev. 1:8,11,17 and 22:13,14, Jesus Christ is shown possessing this very attribute.

Isaiah 45:22-25 speaks of a universal worship which one day all mankind will render unto Jehovah. Phil. 2:9-11 applies this passage to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 44:22,23 sets forth Jehovah as the redeemer. Eph. 1:7 establishes Jesus Christ as the Redeemer.

In Isa. 45:24 and 54:17 Jehovah is our righteousness. I 1 Cor. 1:30, Jesus Christ is our righteousness.

Isaiah 43:11 reserves for Jehovah alone the work of saving man, “Beside me there is no savior.” Titus 2:13 teaches that Jesus Christ is the Savior, thereby establishing Him as the Jehovah of Isaiah 43.

. . . teach that Jesus Christ is a created being - a created god.

This error is reached through a false translation in the New World Translation of the Greek New Testament which renders John 1:1 as “And the Word was a god…” This premise is refuted in Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, and 45:5, 21. For times Jehovah declares the impossibility of there being “another god” or “a god” besides Himself.

. . . deny the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13,14 is one of many scriptures which declare this to be false. Eight times the Lord Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit by the personal masculine pronoun. The deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly demonstrated in the following references: Acts 5:3,4; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 13:14.

In 1 Cor. 12:4-6 the Holy Spirit is called Lord and God. In placing Isaiah 68:10 alongside Acts 28:25-27, it becomes evident that the God of Isaiah 6 is the Holy Spirit.

. . . deny the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.

The truth of the Trinity is amusing to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but it constitutes part of the revelation of God. There are three persons in the Scripture who are called “God”: The Father, Eph. 1:2; the Lord Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13; and the Holy Spirit, Acts 5:3,4. The Greek word  is used of all three.

The fact of the Trinity is also apparent in Isa. 48:16,17; Matt. 16:17; 28:19, and 2 Cor. 13:14.

. . . deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Their false doctrine declares, “The man Jesus is dead; only his spirit arose.” In Luke 24:36-45 a different picture is shown. In verse 39 Christ obviously was talking about His body.

Thomas met the physically resurrected Christ, John 20:24-29, as did other disciples who ate fish with him, John 21:12-14.

Paul testifies to the bodily resurrections of Christ in 1 Cor. 15:3-19.

The guards at the tomb, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin were convinced Christ had risen physically.

. . . deny the bodily visible return of Jesus Christ.

They say, “We must not expect Him to come again as a human being - comingis properly translated presence and refers to the invisible presence of the Lord.”

In contrast, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is coming back again physically. Rev. 1:7, “…every eye shall see Him.” 1 Thess. 4:16,17, “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven.” And in Acts 1:10,11, He “shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.”

. . . deny the presence of the believer with Christ after death.

According to 2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:21-24, and Luke 16:20-22, the believer passes into the presence of Christ immediately after death.

. . . deny the believer’s hope of heaven.

There are many Bible passages which speak of the “living hope” of being with Christ forever, including John 14:1-3, Phil. 3:20,21, 1 Pet. 1:3-5, and Rev. 3:12.

. . . deny the reality and eternality of future punishment.

The Bible teaches the reality and eternity of Hell. Jesus Christ spoke more of hell than He did of heaven. Hell is a furnace of fire (Matt. 13:49,50), an unquenchable fire (Mark 9:42-48), a place for Satan and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

. . . deny the perfect salvation of the Cross of Christ.

The Witnesses teach, without using a single verse of Scripture, that the Millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ, will give all men, living and dead, an opportunity, under favorable conditions, to earn salvation.

But Christ has purchased our salvation on the Cross, Rom. 3:21-26. Salvation is wholly apart from any human effort, Rom. 3:27,28.

. . . are against patriotism and saluting your country’s flag.

The Bible teaches all believers to be loyal citizens, Rom. 13:1-7;l 1 Pet. 2:13-15, and Matt. 22:21.

. . . are wrong about the 144,000.

A Jehovah’s Witness hopes through good works and sincere effort to become one of the 144,000. The 144,000 are mentioned in Rev. 7 and 14, and they are seen to be literal Jews of the ancient tribes, with no Gentiles among them (7:4-8), all males (14:4), all virgins (14:4). The 144,000 will minister during the Great Tribulation (14:6-13). They do not earn their office, they are appointed by God (7:3).