World Religions in a Nutshell (7 page)

Based on Isaiah 43:10, they believe the only true God is known as “Jehovah,” the Almighty. Although He is eternal and omnipotent, He is not omnipresent.
⁵

In addition, Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the deity of the Holy Spirit. They believe the Holy Spirit is not a person but is only “the active force of God” (
Reasoning
, p. 381).

Who Is Jesus?

The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus is not God incarnate but is just a created being. He is called God’s “only begotten Son” because He is the first and only being created directly by Jehovah. As the “first-born of all creation,” Jesus was then used by God to create all other things.

Before Jesus came to earth He was Michael the archangel, and is the “second greatest personage of the universe.” Through the virgin birth, He was later re-created on earth as a perfect man. Jesus became the Messiah at His baptism, and at that time He was
anointed to become the King of the coming Kingdom.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also deny the bodily resurrection of Christ. They believe that after Jesus was buried, God disposed of His physical body. Jesus was raised as a
spirit
creature and temporarily “materialized” different physical bodies
to make Himself visible to His disciples. Now back in heaven
as a spirit, He is once again known as Michael the archangel.
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Heaven and Hell

The Watchtower Society denies the existence of Hell as a place of everlasting punishment for the wicked. They argue,

“
The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally after death cannot be true mainly for four reasons: (1) It is wholly unscriptural; (2) it is unreasonable; (3) it is contrary to God’s love; and (4) it is repugnant to justice.”
⁷

The Jehovah’s Witnesses (like the Seventh-Day Adventists) believe in “soul sleep”: that humans don’t have immortal souls, so when the body dies there is no longer any conscience existence. They teach that Hell, or Sheol, is simply the common grave of mankind. From there, those who are righteous will be resurrected; those who are ultimately condemned by God will be annihilated and cease to exist.

The Watchtower theology of Heaven is based on their interpretation of the Book of Revelation. They teach that when the saints go marching in, you’re not going to be in that number because the only ones who will enter the Pearly Gates are the 144,000 “anointed ones.” According to the Watchtower, all of these 144,000 “tickets” to Heaven have already been “sold out.” Only these 144,000 are born again, are members of the spiritual body of Christ, and can expect to reign with Christ in Heaven.

So for the vast majority of remaining Jehovah’s Witnesses, known as the “other sheep” or the “great crowd,” Christ’s
sacrifice provides only a chance at eternal life on earth.
⁸
They
will never go to Heaven or see Jesus/Michael. Their only hope is to live in the Paradise established on earth after Armageddon.

These “other sheep” expect to be given a physical
eternal life
on earth, in contrast to
immortality
as spirits in Heaven for the 144,000.

Note that, like the Mormon church, Jehovah’s Witnesses redefine biblical words, making it difficult to witness to them. You can try to convince them that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3), and they’ll agree with you. They believe only the 144,000 who are born-again will go to “the kingdom of God,” while they’re content to end up in Paradise on earth—therefore, they don’t need to be born again.

Sin and Salvation

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that in the Fall, all mankind inherited “imperfection” from Adam and Eve and hence are sinners who are subject to death. But they believe sin was only
partially
atoned for by Christ. As a perfect man, Christ’s
death paid the ransom that removed the effects of
Adam’s
sin, but individuals still have to work to earn forgiveness for
their
present and future sins. In other words, original sin that brought death was canceled by Christ’s atonement—yet men can still die by their own rebellion and sin.

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, salvation requires a complicated combination of belief and good works:

“
[Belief] involves taking in accurate knowledge of God’s purposes and his way of salvation. Then faith has to be exercised in Jesus Christ as the Chief Agent of salvation...This places the Christian in a saved condition, but he must now persevere in doing God’s will and continue to adhere to all of God’s requirements for the rest of his life. Only then will he be saved to eternal life.”
⁹

Jehovah is said to be a God of “grace” only because without Jesus’ death for our sins, no one would have the
opportunity
to merit salvation. In addition to faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, requirements for salvation include baptism by immersion, repentance, active association with the Watchtower Society, righteous conduct, and absolute loyalty to Jehovah. Even then, there is no assurance of salvation, only hope for a resurrection. Those who fail to live up to these requirements, or who are disfellowshipped by the Watchtower Society, have no hope of salvation.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are told that serving as loyal spokesmen for the Society is “a sacred duty, a requirement on which
our life depends.”
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Witnesses are compelled to knock on door after door to try to spread their beliefs—and earn their salvation.

Witnesses are expected to spend five hours a week going
door-to-door, to sell twelve subscriptions to
The Watchtower
magazine each month, and to conduct a monthly “Bible study” in the homes of their converts.
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They then have to submit detailed reports of their activity, and their performance will affect their status in the local congregation or “Kingdom Hall”—adding more pressure for them to work harder. With a lifetime of works to try to earn their salvation, it’s hard to see how their gospel is “good news” at all.

Jehovah’s Witness Customs

No crosses:
Because Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was executed on a “torture stake,” they reject the traditional symbol of Christianity, the cross, as being of pagan origin. They believe displaying a cross (whether on a necklace or church) is idol worship—so you won’t see any on their buildings.

Forbidden activities:
The Watchtower Society also forbids many activities that are not explicitly forbidden in the Bible: such as smoking, blood transfusions, boxing, or participating in a raffle, as well as things related to the current earthly kingdom, like saluting the flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, standing for or singing the national anthem, voting, and performing military or civic service. The Society
also forbids celebrating personal birthdays, Christmas, Easter,
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, as well as most other holidays, believing that they have pagan roots.

No association:
So that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not corrupted by contact with others, they are not allowed to associate with non-Witnesses—even those in their own family. The only exception is if a non-Witness family member is living in the same household.
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How to Reach a Jehovah’s Witness

As you’re talking with Jehovah’s Witnesses, keep in mind that they believe they worship the true God of the Bible, while Christians are lost souls who have been misled by the devil into worshipping a pagan three-headed deity. So don’t be surprised if they’re not very receptive to your message.

Also keep in mind that members are taught to obediently follow all the teachings of their leaders, and any who question their teaching are severely reprimanded or even disfellowshipped. Because a member who leaves the organization must be shunned by all other Witnesses—including his family—he’s not going to give up his beliefs easily.

So what’s the best way to reach a Jehovah’s Witness? Should you try to convince him that Jesus is God, or of the existence of Hell? Well, if you have the confidence to, try it. Many ex-Witnesses say they were forced to reexamine their beliefs because someone planted just one seed of doubt in their minds about the truthfulness of the Watchtower teachings. The Word of God is living and powerful, and
will
have an impact.

If you can quickly demonstrate from Scripture that Jesus
is God, Jehovah’s Witnesses will have to reconsider their understanding of God. They will now have two Persons who
are God—Father and Son. For example, have them read Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6. Point out that the Messiah would be “Immanuel” (“God with us”) and would be called “Mighty God”—the same name used for Jehovah in Isaiah 10:21.

But a word of caution: Be careful you don’t try to win the fight simply by arguing doctrine—and then failing to share the gospel biblically. If you don’t address the conscience, you’ll end up trapped in the intellect with nowhere to go.

So next time the Jehovah’s Witnesses come calling, take the opportunity to speak with them. Don’t worry about straightening out all the areas of disagreement, but gently point them to the moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Show them that as lawbreakers they will be guilty before a holy God, and that no amount of works will ever save them.

And remember—those who are caught in this cult are spending one billion hours spreading their false teaching. Be sure you’re a faithful witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and spend your time wisely in spreading what is truly “good
news”!