Introduction: In 1870, a bible study was started in Pennsylvania by Charles Russell, which later became the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1961, the Jehovah’s Witnesses wrote the New World Translation of the Bible to support their doctrine, the Watch Tower material, and Awake Magazine material. The Jehovah’s Witness believe that these materials are better than the Bible.
The following points list the Jehovah’s Witness beliefs based on their bible translation and their written material. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe:
Salvation is by Grace Plus Works– Jehovah’s Witnesses believe they must work to get saved and to stay saved. They believe that salvation comes through Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, requiring faith, a changed life, baptism, and obedience to God’s will. This is the main reason they are so zealous to be out knocking on doors and sharing their material with others. (“To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it” The Watchtower, February 15, 1983: 12).
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith… Not of works, lest any man should boast”.
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”
- The Human Soul Ceases to Exist at Death– Ezekiel 18:4 “the soul that sinneth it shall die”. Numbers 19:22 “the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean”. The soul and the body were connected in the Old Testament however, in the New Testament, they are separated. They believe the human soul ceases to exist at death (Jehovah’s Witness in the Twentieth Century, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1979, 13). This they believe, not be held accountable however, the Bible says that there is an ultimate judge who will judge righteously- Jesus Christ.
- The New Testament Christian has his soul and body separated- II Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord”.
- This is what happens at the moment of Salvation- Colossians 2:10-12 “in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ”.
- All must be judged at:
- The Judgment seat of Christ- II Corinthians 5:10 which is for the believer.
- The Great White Throne Judgment- Revelation 20:11-15 which is for the unbelievers.
- Hell is Mankind’s Common Grave– They believe that Hell, a place of fiery torment, where sinners remain after death until the resurrection, does not exist. To them, hell is soul sleep, no torment, no knowledge, no suffering, it’s a place of rest in hope. They say that every place you find the word Hell in the Bible, it means “everlasting destruction”.
- Revelation 20:13 “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they are judged every man according to their works”. They believe hell and the grave are the same thing- Vs 11- Great White Throne Judgment.
- Luke 16:19-26 rich man in hell and Lazarus in Paradise. They believe this is a symbolic parable, which is not the truth.
- Annihilation– They believe: Eternal punishment is a punishment or penalty of which there is no end. It does not mean “eternal torment” of living souls. Annihilation, the second death, is the lot of all those who reject Jehovah God, and it is eternal, they cannot suffer torment. A person who rejects the free gift of salvation must pay for his own sins, instead of taking God’s righteousness.
- Revelation 20:15 “Whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast unto the lake of fire.
- Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night”.
- Luke 9:44, 46, 48 say “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”. This is the soul of a person in Hell. This means they are not annihilated.
- Jesus was the First of God’s Creation– They claim this about Jesus Christ: “The Bible show that there is only one God…greater than His Son… and that the Son, as the Firstborn, Only-begotten, and the creation by God, had a beginning. The Father is greater and older that the Son is reasonable, easy to understand, and is what the Bible teaches” From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1958, 164).
- Their proof text- John 14:28 “for my Father is greater than I”.
- I timothy 3:16 “God was manifest in the flesh”
- I John 5:17 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”.
- John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.
- Hebrews 1:8 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever”. God the Father speaking to the Son, Jesus Christ.
- The Holy Spirit is Not a Person– “As for the Holy Spirit, the so-called third Person of the Trinity, we have already seen that it is not a person, but God’s active force” (The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1968, 24).
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. This isn’t just a force but a person.
John 14:26 “the holy Ghost… he shall teach you all things…and bring all things to your remembrance”.
- The Holy Spirit is Not part of the Trinity– They say: “The Holy Spirit is not a person; it is God’s active force ‘What Does God Require of Us’?, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1997). Genesis 1:2 “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”.
- I John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”.
- Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”.
Conclusion: Beware, these are the things a JW believes and what the Bible truly says. (Quotations come from The Kingdom of the Cults Walter Martin).
Anchor Baptist Church 