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Somewhere in your life, you have come in contact with the "Watchtower Bible & Tract Society." More familiarly known by their common name "Jehovah's Witnesses," this group is impossible to ignore simply because of their ultra-aggressive outreach. The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is the largest publisher in the Free World and in one recent year printed over 44 million books and over 550 million magazines. Over 14 million copies of the Watchtower magazine are published every two weeks in 108 languages of the world. The Jehovah's Witnesses have mapped out the entire United States so that every residence will be contacted at least once or twice a year by a team of door-to-door workers.

Despite being a false and counterfeit religion, the JWs have won many converts to their corrupted faith because of two main reasons: 1.) The average "Christian" does not know the Bible thoroughly and cannot explain scripturally why they believe what they believe. Most Christian churches do not make any attempt to thoroughly educate their people on key doctrinal issues. Such people are an easy target for the well-equipped Jehovah's Witness missionary. 2.) In their studies, they present a small part of truth, just enough to make everything sound plausible and then insert their own false doctrine, imbedding it within facts. A few years ago, a Jehovah's Witness who we had won to God gave me a couple of JW commentaries on the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation and wanted me to read them and see what was right and what was wrong. I was amazed to find that in the Daniel commentary, for the first two-thirds of the book, they were right on in their analysis. And then, after 143 pages of accuracies, they suddenly brought up that "Jesus was just the archangel Michael" without any scriptural support. That example is a standard method of Jehovah's Witnesses' style. To someone who does not know their scripture very well, it is dangerously effective. This person is showing you things about scripture that are right and that you never knew and it becomes hard to identify when the lie is inserted in the teaching.

Another good example of this style of embedding a lie within the truth is the Jehovah's Witnesses' teaching on the trinity. They will tell you that the concept of a trinity is a false concept of God invented by the Catholic Church in it's beginnings and that it is not supported by the scripture and that the original disciples and Apostles had absolutely no concept of a triune God and that God is absolutely one. All of that part of their teaching is absolutely true, but the problem is that the JWs then state that Jehovah God of the Old Testament is the One, true God and that Jesus was not God at all, but a created angelic being. They are right about the trinity not being a Biblical concept of God, but then they imprint a lie into the truth by demoting Jesus to an angel when the scriptures clearly say that "all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily" (Colossians 2:9). They present a form of truth and then slip a lie hidden amongst it.

This lesson is to help equip you to deal scripturally with the doctrinal errors of the Watchtower organization so that you can easily spot the lies, but the most effective lesson against Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine is to know scripturally why you believe even the most basic doctrines of scripture.

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The Watchtower Society is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and was begun in the late 1800s by a man named Charles T. Russell. Russell was raised in a protestant church in Pennsylvania and as he grew up said that there were certain things about the Bible that he did not like. Namely, the teaching of hell and eternal judgment, and such. He asked "how could a loving God, possibly send people to eternal torment?" and from that premise decided that the passages of the Bible that dealt with such things were errant.

Russell began to develop his own theology which he published in a series of volumes called Studies in Scripture. Later in 1879, he began to publish the Watchtower magazine and in 1884, he incorporated the organization in Pennsylvania by it's present name. In 1909, he moved the headquarters to it's present day location in New York. Charles T. Russell was a scam artist with mixed up theology. The local Brooklyn newspaper, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, began a campaign in the early 1900s to expose the scams of the organization. This effort led to a few lawsuits and court cases in which all the testimony was recorded for posterity. One of the first lawsuits was over Russell's "miracle wheat" which he was selling in the Watchtower magazine for a then expensive "dollar a pound." Russell claimed that his "miracle wheat" would grow five times as much as ordinary wheat. When the Eagle published a report that it was a scam, Russell sued the newspaper for libel but lost the case when government witnesses testified that not only did the wheat not produce as advertised but actually ranked lower than the average in the government tests.

There were several other lawsuits of this nature, but one of the most interesting points about these trials is the testimony under oath of Russell about his knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. In Russell vs. Ross, he was asked "do you know the Greek alphabet?" to which Russell replied "yes." When a paper with Greek letters was produced for Russell to actually attempt to try, he quickly backpedaled and couldn't identify them. He was then asked again "are you familiar with the Greek language? to which he replied "no." Such information is interesting considering that much of Russell's doctrines were from his "Greek scholarship" that "corrected errors" in the Bible. And that Russell's doctrine would eventually pave the way for the Watchtower to do their "own translation" of the Bible called The New World Translation. It would be hard to trust the "Greek scholarship" decisions of someone who couldn't even identify the alphabet letters under oath. I am no Greek scholar and am certainly not qualified to translate or read the language, but even I can identify the Greek alphabet when I see it!

Russell was also a false prophet. Early in his ministry, he calculated that Jesus Christ would return in the year 1914. When Jesus didn't show up, he redefined the "second coming of Christ" to mean that Jesus Christ had returned as an invisible spirit, a ghost, in 1914 to help set up his organization. Because of this, Jehovah's Witnesses today still believe that Jesus Christ has already come back and that the time of the Gentiles and Grace is over and that Jesus Christ's return was a quiet and private event. In our first text, though we read that Jesus said that His return would be as "visible as the lightening from the east to the west" and if anybody claimed that His return was "in secret chambers" to not believe them (Matthew 24:23-27). The scripture also says this about Christ's return:

After Russell's death in 1916, the Watchtower Organization was taken over by a very dynamic leader named Joseph Franklin Rutherford. It was under Rutherford's rule that the Organization was first called "Jehovah's Witnesses" and that they began to really adamantly focus on "Jehovah" as the "name of God." Rutherford also taught that the Watchtower Organization was the only God-willed government on earth and as such all other governments are satanic. This is why a Jehovah's Witness will never salute the flag, recite the pledge of allegiance, and why they will never serve in the Armed Forces of any nation. This teaching directly contradicts Paul's teaching in Romans:

Rom 13:1-2, 6-7 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. . . . 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. ESV

We are to obey the government's rule as long as it does not directly contradict the Bible and realize that the government is placed there by God for our good. It is my religious opinion that a true Christian should always salute and respect the flag, and recite the pledge of allegiance because to not do so is to rebel against the authority that God has placed over us!

Under Rutherford's leadership, the Jehovah's Witnesses also stopped celebrating Christmas because they deny that Jesus Christ was God in come in flesh. They don't celebrate Easter, because they deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of the so easily verified false prophecies and scams of Russell, the Watchtower Organization tried to distance themselves from his name. A modern day Jehovah's Witness will tell you that they look to "Rutherford" and not Russell as their leading founder, but essentially they still believe the lies taught by Russell. Not that Rutherford was any less a false prophet: he prophesied that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would return visibly to this earth to help promote the kingdom of God. He was so sure of his prediction that he built a large mansion in San Diego, California for them to live with him when they came somewhere between 1925 and 1929. When 1929 came and went and Abraham and his son and grandchild did not show up, Rutherford moved into the mansion himself and died in 1942, having also been proven a false prophet.

After Rutherford, the Organization was taken over by a man named Nathan H. Knorr. Knorr started the Organization's aggressive missionary campaign and also commissioned the New World Translation, the Jehovah's Witnesses' own translation of the scriptures. It is basically the King James Version with a few scriptures twisted and contorted to fit their theology. To any serious student of Greek and Hebrew it's very obvious that it is highly inaccurate. After many years, Knorr made the same mistake as his predecessors and began to prophesy that the year 1975 would be the end of the age and the Battle of Armageddon would occur that year. When the battle did not come as expected, a great disillusionment came on the Jehovah's Witnesses and in 1976 and 1977 over a million church members left the Organization, knowing the Bible's stance of a false prophet.

When Knorr died in 1977, the Watchtower Organization was run by Frederick Franz, an elderly gentleman who had been their leading theologian for years. When Franz died in 1992, the Watchtower Organization was taken over by Milton G. Henschel. Henschel stepped down from the presidency in 2001 and since then, the president has been a man named M.H. Larson. Perhaps learning from the earlier mistakes, these recent leaders have so far resisted the urge to prophesy about the timing of any great event.

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It is not impossible to convert a Jehovah's Witness, but it is difficult. There are five important fact that have been ingrained into them that make this so:

1. They have accepted the Watchtower Organization as the prophet of God.

2. They have accepted the Organization as God's sole channel for His truth.

3. They believe that to reject the Organization is to reject God.

4. They believe that only the Organization can interpret the Bible; as individuals they are unable to do so.

5. They believe that the Watchtower magazine contains God's truth, directed by Him, through the Organization.

What all of this means is that Jehovah's Witnesses believe what they have been told to believe by the Organization. And they believe "interpretations" of scripture that they have been showed by their literature. To almost every question posed to a Jehovah's Witness, you will get the same response because they only know what they have been told. We can use this to our benefit in witnessing to them, especially considering that they have been programmed to argue with people trying to prove to them a trinity, and we come to them with the truth of who Jesus Christ is. Oneness Apostolics should have no worries or qualms about meeting the false doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The false doctrines of the Watchtower Organization is many, but most of them can be summed up by the following errant teachings:

1. Jesus Christ is a created being -- a creature.

2. Jesus is actually Michael the Archangel.

3. Jesus was not resurrected bodily, but as a spirit being.

4. Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 (secretly to the Organization).

5. Jesus is not Jehovah God come in Flesh.

6. Since He is not God, Jesus should not be worshipped, but only honored as Jehovah's first creation.

7. There is no literal hell with fire and torment and "hell" is simply "the grave."

8. Heaven's doors are open to only 144,000 people.

9. The majority of Witnesses must remain on earth.

10. Salvation is only earned by energetic works for the Organization until the end and then one may merit eternal life on a paradise earth.

11. The Holy Spirit is only a "force" that God uses to do His will.

12. When a person dies, their soul dies also and "ceases to exist."

13. The New World Translation of the scriptures is the only true and inerrant English translation.

Let's take these points one by one and give scriptural refutations against the gross doctrinal errors of the Watchtower Organization. The truth is:

1. Jesus Christ was not a created being, but rather God revealed in flesh coming to pay the price of redemption for mankind. We've covered this thoroughly in past lessons, but let me remind you of just a few scriptures:

The simple fact is that if Jesus were a created being, then how could He have created "all things?" It's obvious that Jesus Christ is the Creator, not the creation! (also see John 1:10).

2. Jesus is actually Michael the Archangel. Not only is there absolutely no proof of this in scripture, there is proof that Jesus is not an angel of any kind but took on human flesh:

Other English versions make this principle clearer:

3. Jesus Christ was resurrected in a glorified, resurrected body, and not just as a spirit being. We find proof of this when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection:

4. Jesus did not return invisibly to the Organization in 1914, because when Jesus comes back to earth, it will be obvious to all who dwell on the earth. We have already mentioned how that Revelation 1:7 states clearly "every eye shall see Him." Here is a few other scriptures that prove that Jesus will come back in plain view:

A "cry of command," a "voice of an archangel," and a "trumpet of God" does not sound like a secretive, quiet coming does it!?

5. Jesus Christ is none other than Jehovah God in flesh. This is where Oneness Pentecostals should choose to fight their doctrinal battles, for you can prove this with the Jehovah's Witnesses' own Bible that this is so! There are many proofs of this in scripture, but let me point out a couple that avoid some key scriptures that have been changed by the New World Translation. In other words, here are some proofs that they forgot to alter in their errant Bible:

The JWs know about this scripture, and they will always say "Mighty God" is not the same as the "Almighty God." Jesus was a "mighty God" while on earth, but somehow is not the Almighty who is Jehovah. That logic is certainly faulty, but let's choose our battle on the phrase that this "son to be born" would be the "everlasting Father." "Everlasting means the Father that has always been and will always be. With that in mind, a few other scripture help drive the point home:

Ask a JW who the one Father and God who created us all is, and they will tell you "Jehovah God." If that's true, then Isaiah 9:6 clearly states that the "son to be born" would be called "Everlasting Father." Furthermore, Jesus said "if you have seen me, you have seen the Father," (John 14:9) and "I and my Father are one," (John 10:30) and "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you (John 14:18). If Jesus is the Father, and Jehovah is the Father and we only have one Father, then it follows that Jesus is Jehovah!

Another good proof of this is to start with this prophecy:

Ask any Jehovah's Witness who the "LORD" refers to and they will reply "Jehovah God." So this prophecy in Isaiah tells us that a voice will come crying in the wilderness preparing the "way of Jehovah God" and that immediately after this, "the glory of Jehovah God shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." Now we fast forward to the Gospels and the time of Christ and John the Baptist:

The scriptures say that John the Baptist was the "voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord," and so now we ask: who was it coming after John that he prepared the way for? The answer which is known by most Sunday School children is "John introduced the ministry of Jesus Christ." It's obvious that Jesus Christ is "Jehovah God" and His glory "revealed that all flesh shall see it together."

One more simple proof will suffice to show that Jesus Christ is none other than Jehovah God in flesh. Since the JWs like the book of Revelation, we'll use it to point out truth. The scriptures say:

The question to ask is "who is speaking here?" "Who is meant by "the Lord God?" A Jehovah Witness will have to say that "the Lord God, the Almighty" speaking here is none other than "Jehovah God."

Again, we see "Alpha and Omega" and "beginning and the end" used to denote Jehovah God. Here's another scripture:

Since we have seen that the "I am Alpha and Omega" indicates Jehovah God speaking, it is clear that this is again "Jehovah God" who is also the "first and the last." We could stop here and point out from the chapter that this verse is Jesus speaking and that He is the One on the throne, but we have set them up for an even greater proof with one more scripture:

We have seen how that the titles "Alpha and Omega" and "First and Last" refer to Jehovah God, but now the One who is the "first and the last" says "I died, and behold I am alive forevermore." The question to ask a JW is "when did Jehovah die?" Of course, they will have to admit that He did not that it was Jesus who died. Obviously Jesus IS Jehovah God, He is the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, and He became flesh and that flesh died and rose again so that we might have salvation and victory over death and hell! Jesus is Jehovah!

6. Jesus was and is to be worshipped! We can find examples in scripture where He was worshipped:

7. There is a literal hell, where the lost will be in everlasting torment. The scriptural proofs are too many to list them all here, but we read in our other text in Mark 9:42-48 that Jesus said it would be better do something drastic and avoid hell rather than go to the place where the "worm" or "soul" never "dies" and the fires that are "never quenched." Jesus taught on hell more than any other subject, because He is the only human being that ever lived that had actually seen it! Hell is a real place. In some places in scripture the word does only mean grave, but there is a literal "lake of fire" which burns with everlasting fire and torment. Notice the following scriptures:

8-9. Heaven's doors are open to a great multitude beyond just 144,000 people and so most Witnesses must stay on the earth. The 144,000 that are saved are specifically identified as literal "Jews" in scripture with the verses even giving the fact that there are 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes (Revelation 7:4-8). If you simply go on to verse 9 of Revelation chapter 7, you will find that there is also a "great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne" in heaven! That is the church that were redeemed from the earth (Revelation 7:13-17) and so there is many, many more that go to heaven than just 144,000 people!

10. Salvation is not earned by good works on earth, but is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-11). Furthermore, Jesus said that to enter into the kingdom, you must be "born into it"! We are born into it by being "born of the water and of the Spirit!" (see John 3:1-8)

11. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God moving on earth and among men. It is not a "force separate from His being." We see this proved time and time again through scripture. The scripture commands us that "God is a Spirit" and so we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The Bible also says that God alone is "holy" (Leviticus 11:45) therefore the only "holy spirit" must be the very spirit of God. That is why when Jesus told His disciples about receiving the Holy Spirit, He said "I have been with you, but I shall be in you" (John 14:17) because He was God in flesh, coming back in Spirit form to live within His disciples. That is also why when Ananias and Sapphira "lied to the Holy Ghost," Peter said that they had "lied to God" (Acts 5:3-4). The Holy Spirit is none other than the Spirit of Jesus, which is the Spirit of God. According to Paul there is only "one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4).

12. When a person dies, their soul does not "cease to exist" but as we have already seen, they live forever either in paradise, or in eternal torment in a place of fire. Here are some more scriptures that point out the existence of the soul after physical death and of a coming resurrection:

Another good proof that even in eternal torment, we exist is that in Revelation 19:20, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown into the "lake of fire." One thousand years later, we find this:

The key word here is "they" will be tormented for forever! A thousand years later, and the beast and the false prophet are still being tormented in the lake of fire. They have not ceased to exist, but are still there!

13. The New World Translation is an extremely flawed and errant translation of the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures. We could do an entire lesson on the flaws and blatant attempts to twist scripture to match their beliefs by the JWs in the New World Translation. If they disagreed with something, the would simply add a word or take away a word so that the meaning is changed. Here is just a small example of a few verses:

The key change is "a God." The Greek reads:

There is no "indefinite articles" in the Greek language and you have to use grammatical rules to determine whether or not "a" or "an" should go in front of the noun. In this case, there is no indefinite article and so no major English translation adds it. This is just a case where the JWs decided to insert a word to change the meaning of the sentence, because they know that verse 14 says that the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Another blatant example is found in Colossians:

In the Greek, the word "other" is not there and by throwing it in there, the Jehovah's Witnesses attempt to say that Jesus was a created being. He created the "other things." But the scripture says that He created ALL things, not "other things." That's a big difference and this scripture is one of many times where the New World Translation was blatantly changed from the original languages to match their errant doctrine. Such a translation is not truth. The Word of God says itself:

We cannot twist scripture by leaving things out or adding things to fit our pet errant doctrines! We must let "God be true and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). The Word of God is truth and it is through them that God has revealed His plan of salvation and spoken to the world; NOT through the Watchtower Organization!