The Plain Truth about the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Letter Size Tract, Tri-fold

Copyright © 1998 James L. Melton

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In 1870, at the age of eighteen, an ex-Congregationalist by the name of Charles Taze Russell started a Bible class in Pittsburgh.  In 1876, the class elected Russell as their Pastor.

He founded the "Herald of the Morning" in 1879, which eventually developed into what is known today as "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom."  Today this publication has grown to over seventeen million copies per month in over one hundred  languages.

In 1884, Russell incorporated the "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" at Pittsburgh.  Today this organization has branches in over one hundred countries, and it has missionary works in over two hundred and fifty.  With over one-half million volunteer workers, the Jehovah's Witnesses have become a serious threat to Bible believers throughout the world.

Russell died in 1916, and Judge J.F. Rutherford took over the Society's leadership.  It was under Rutherford's leadership that the group took the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," and Society headquarters moved to Brooklyn.  Rutherford died in 1942, and Nathan Knorr took control and boosted the membership to over two million.  In 1961, the Society published its own "translation" of the scriptures, called "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures."  Knorr died in 1977.  As of 1996, the president of the Watchtower Society was Milton Henschel. 

The Trinity Doctrine Denied

According the Bible, God is a Trinity.  As all humans are a trinity (soul, body, and spirit--1 Ths. 5:23), God is also a Trinity.  In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our image. . ."  In Genesis 11:7, God said, ". . . .let us go down, and there confound their language. . ."   The terms "us" and "our" obviously refer to the Holy Trinity.  So the Trinity is found in the very early chapters of the Bible.

In the New Testament, we can see all three Members of the Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter three.  God the Father is speaking from Heaven.  God the Son is being baptized, and God the Holy Ghost is descending like a dove.  When Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, He said in verse 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."

So one can clearly see that God's word testifies  to the fact that He is a Trinity.  However, the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny this altogether.  The book, "Let God Be True",  (Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc., 1952) says the following on page 92:  "The trinity doctrine was not conceived by Jesus or the early Christians."   Then on page 93, this book says: "...the plain truth is that this is another of Satan's attempts to keep the God-fearing person from learning the truth of Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ."

The JW's cannot UNDERSTAND the Trinity, so they CONDEMN the Trinity.  They fail to realize that it is not our job to tell God WHAT HE IS or to even FULLY UNDERSTAND how He can exist.  Our responsibility is to BELIEVE WHAT HE SAYS, AS HE SAYS IT, WHERE HE SAYS IT, WITHOUT CHANGING A SINGLE WORD!

I John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”  Who are we to believe, the Jehovah’s Witnesses or God’s word?

The Deity of Christ Denied

As the Second Member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ stands co-existent in Eternity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  There are many proofs in the Scriptures for the Deity of Christ.  Some are as follows:

(1)  In Zechariah 12:10, Jehovah speaks of the future return of Christ and says, ". . . They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourne for him, as one mourneth for his only son  .  .  .  ."  This is spoken again in Revelation 1:7, which is clearly a reference to Christ Himself, but in Zechariah 12:10 GOD said, ".   .  .  They shall look upon me whom they have pierced  .  .  .  ."  The One that they pierced was Jesus Christ!  So, in Zechariah 12:10, God is saying that He is Jesus Christ.

(2)  In John 1:1, John 1:14, 1 John 1:1, and in 1 John 5:7, Jesus is called "the Word," and John 1:1 says that "the Word was God."

(3)  Thomas referred to Jesus as "My Lord and my God" in John 20:28, and Jesus did not see the need to correct him.

(4)  Isaiah 7:14 gives us the prophecy of the Virgin Birth of Christ and states that His name would be "Immanuel."  Matthew 1:23 tells us that this word means "God with us."

(5)  In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  The Bible certainly would not say this about anyone less than God.

(6)  In John 10:30, Jesus says, "I and my Father are one."  Jesus is not a lesser god;  He is ONE with the Father.

(7)  Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus is "from everlasting."

(8)  In John 8:58, Jesus tells the Pharisees, "Before Abraham was, I am."  He claimed to be the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14, which is God Almighty.

(9)  Jesus allowed others to worship Him  (John 9:38; Matt. 14:33; and Luke 24:52), which was forbidden, unless He was God (Rev. 22:9).

(10)  Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2:5), which only God can do (Mark 2:7).

(11)  The Lord Jesus Christ is omnipresent  (Matt. 18:20;  28:20;  II Cor. 13:14;  I John 5:7).  We know He is God because He is capable of being everywhere at once.

(12)  Jesus is omniscient  (Mark 11:2-6; Matt. 12:40).  He is God because He knows all things.

(13)  The Lord Jesus is also omnipotent  (Rev. 19:6; Matt. 28:18).  He has all power.

(14)  According to John 1, 1 John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1, Jesus is the Creator of Genesis 1!

(15)  Jesus never sinned!  Romans 3:23 says that ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus did not sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18).  So Jesus had to be God.

The Scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ is Deity, yet the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny this truth.  Here are a few blasphemous remarks made by the JW's over the years concerning the Lord Jesus Christ:

". . . he was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God"  (The Kingdom is at Hand, p. 46, 47, 49).

"If Jesus were God, then during Jesus' death, God was dead in the grave"  (Let God Be True, p. 91).

". . . the true Scriptures speak of God's Son, the Word, as 'a god'."  He is a "mighty god," but not the Almighty God, who is Jehovah"  (The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 47).

Again, who are we to believe, the Jehovah’s Witnesses or God’s word?

Literal Resurrection Denied

The Bible speaks of a literal and physical resurrection, but the Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus only rose from the grave spiritually.  Their literature speaks for itself:

"Therefore the bodies in which Jesus manifested himself to his disciples after his return to life were not the body in which he was nailed to a tree.  They were merely materialized for the occasion, resembling on one or two occasions the body in which he died . . . ." (The Kingdom Is At Hand, pg. 259)

"Our Lord's human body . . . did not decay or corrupt . . . whether it was dissolved into gasses or whether it is still preserved somewhere . . . no one knows." (Studies In The Scriptures, Vol. 2, pg. 129)

According to the words of Jesus Christ Himself, He is NOT merely a spirit being.  He is a literal and physical risen Savior.  In Luke chapter twenty-four, beginning at verse thirty-six, the disciples see the risen Christ and they supposed they had seen a spirit (vs. 37).  Then Jesus cleared the matter up for everyone when He said, ". . . Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."  (Luk. 24:38-39)

When Jesus appeared to Thomas He said, ". . . Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."  (Jhn. 20:27)  The risen Christ had the crucifixion scars in His body to PROVE that He had been physically resurrected from the dead.  If Jesus didn't rise physically then He lied in John 2:18-22 when He said that His "body" would rise in three days.  He didn't say His spirit would rise.  He said that His BODY would rise.  When He arose His disciples actually REMEMBERED this prophecy and believed.           The bodily resurrection of Christ is a fundamental Bible doctrine.  The salvation of a person's soul rests upon this doctrine, because if Jesus didn't physically rise from the dead AS HE SAID HE WOULD, then we're all lost and going to Hell according to 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (JW's included).

Literal Second Coming Denied

If the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected literally and physically from the dead, and if He appeared physically to His disciples, then His Second Coming must also be literal and physical.

 Acts 1:11 tells us that Jesus will return "in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."  Jesus ascended into Heaven literally, physically, and visibly, so He will return "in like manner."

The JW's deny this.  They insist that the Second Coming of Christ will be SPIRITUAL, rather than literal and physical:

"Christ Jesus comes, not again as a human, but as a glorious spirit person." (Let God Be True, pg. 196)

"Since no earthly men have ever seen or can see the Father, they will be unable to see the glorified Son."  (Let God Be True, pg. 197)

"It is a settled Scriptural truth, therefore, that human eyes will not see him at his second coming, neither will he come in a fleshy body." (The Truth Shall Make You Free, pg. 295)

The word of God says otherwise.  Paul says in Titus 2:13 that we should be LOOKING for that blessed hope and the glorious APPEARING of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  If the JW's are right in saying that we will not be able to see Christ, then why did Paul  tell us to be LOOKING for His APPEARING? 

Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."  In Matthew 24:30, Jesus Himself says, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

There's nothing spiritual or invisible about the Second Coming of Christ.  The "clouds" will be literal (Rev. 1:7), as will the "fire" (2 Ths. 1:8), the "saints" (1 Ths. 3:13), the "mountains and rocks" (Rev. 6:16), and the thousand-year reign (Rev. 20:1-7).  A "spiritual" or "invisible" Second Coming is totally foreign to the written revelation of God.

Literal Burning Hell Denied

The JW's have traditionally believed and taught that there is no eternal punishment for the wicked:

". . . the Bible hell is mankind's common grave..." (Let God Be True, pg. 92. )

"The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally after death cannot be true . . . ."  (Let God Be True, pg. 99)

We call it to the reader's attention that it was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who first used the term "hell fire" (Mat. 5:22), and it was Jesus Christ who said in Matthew 25:41, ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

A JW believes that Hell is only the grave that everyone goes to at death.  He believes that the saved ones in the graves will be given eternal life on earth after the White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15, while the unsaved in the graves will be annihilated once and for all in the Lake of Fire.  JW's refuse to believe that God will punish the wicked forever in the Lake of Fire.  Of course, the Scriptures say something entirely different:

(1) There is no FIRE in the grave, but there certainly is fire in the "hell" of the Bible (Luk. 16:23; Deu. 32:22; Mat. 5:22; 18:9; Jas. 3:6).

(2) No one PRAYS from the grave, but they certainly do in Hell (Luk. 16:24; Jon. 2:2).

(3) Hell was originally made for the Devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41), but the grave was not.

(4) A Christian's SOUL does not go to the grave at death (Phi. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; 1 Ths. 5:10).  Only the BODY goes to the grave.  An unsaved man's body also goes to the grave at death, but his SOUL goes to a place of TORMENT and FLAMES (Luk. 16:22-23).

(5) The grave cannot possibly be Hell because Jesus said it would be better to enter into life (eternal life) without a hand, a foot, or an eye, than to go to Hell (Mat. 18:8-9).  How could it be "better" if Hell is only the grave where there is no suffering at all?  According to Jesus Christ, Hell is a lot WORSE than losing a hand, a foot, or an eye forever.

(6) Annihilation cannot be true because the Bible uses such terms as "shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2) and "torment . . . forever" (Rev. 14:11).  Shame and torment are sufferings that are experienced by a LIVING BEING, not an annihilated corpse. 

God is an ETERNAL Being;  therefore, an eternal payment is required for sin (Mar. 9:44-48; Isa. 66:22-23).  You can have a FAIR TRIAL, or you can have a FREE PARDON.  In a fair trial before God, you will be eternally damned to Hell because you are a sinner against a Holy God.  God will have no choice but to sentence you to Hell forever.

Friend, be not deceived by the Jehovah’s Witnesses!  They are false teachers and their doctrines are dangerous.  For more information about other false teachers, order The Bible Believer’s Handbook of Heresies from the address below.

If you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, please send for your free copy of Understanding God's Salvation Plan.  You can have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Send for your free booklet today!

The Bible vs. the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Booklet, 33 pages

Copyright © 1991 James L. Melton

Revised 2005

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Introduction

The purpose of this booklet is to expose the false teachings of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, more commonly known as the “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”  If you are a Jehovah’s Witness, or if you know someone who is one, I challenge you to read this study carefully, checking all of the Scripture references in your Bible and praying for the Lord to show you the truth (John 16:13).  Remember, Jesus said SEEK and you shall FIND (Mt. 7:7).

Many today believe it is wrong to write or speak against anyone’s religious beliefs, but this is only one of Satan’s many tools used in order to keep misled souls locked into the many cults and heretical sects that are contrary to Jesus Christ and sound Bible doctrine.  God’s word commands true Christians to “mark” and “avoid” false teachers in Romans 16:17-18: 

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

We are even told in Titus 1:11 that their mouths “must be stopped.”  Just as a good shepherd would do anything necessary to defend his sheep from a threatening pack of wolves, Christians who are grounded in the word, especially preachers, are obligated to defend God’s flock from the “grievous wolves” of false doctrine who wander from house to house in hopes of leading astray the precious sheep of God’s pasture.  From a writer’s perspective, publishing booklets such as this is not an enjoyable task, but it is a necessary task.  So, we send this volume forth in the glorious name of Jesus Christ, with the prayer that many souls will be loosed from Satan’s prison of deception to enjoy the abundant life found by grace through faith in God’s Son.

Charles T. Russell and the Jehovah’s Witness Beginning

In 1870, at the age of eighteen, an ex-Congregationalist by the name of Charles Taze Russell started a Bible class in Pittsburgh.  In 1876, the class elected Russell as their Pastor.

He founded the "Herald of the Morning" in 1879, which eventually developed into what is known today as "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom."  Today this publication has grown to over seventeen million copies per month in over one hundred languages.

In 1884, Russell incorporated the "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" at Pittsburgh.  This organization now has branches in over one hundred countries, and it has missionary works in over two hundred and fifty.  With over one-half million volunteer workers, the Jehovah's Witnesses have become a serious threat to Bible believers throughout the world.

Russell died in 1916, and Judge J.F. Rutherford took over the Society's leadership.  It was under Rutherford's leadership that the group took the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," and Society headquarters moved to Brooklyn.  Rutherford died in 1942, and Nathan Knorr took control and boosted the membership to over two million.  In 1961 the Society published its own "translation" of the Scriptures, "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures."  Knorr died in 1977, and Frederick Franz took over the leadership of the Watchtower Society.  Franz is the current leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses (1991).

What does the Bible say about the doctrines taught by the JW’s?  The true Bible-believing Christian realizes that the primary purpose for the Lord giving us the Scriptures is doctrinal (2 Tim. 3:16), and we are supposed to know sound doctrine from false doctrines.  Many have departed from the faith and have given themselves over to "doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. 4:1), and it is our Christian duty to check these people and arm ourselves against their false teachings.

The main false doctrines taught by the "JW's"  (Henceforth used to abbreviate "Jehovah's Witnesses") are as follows:

1. God is not a Trinity

2. Jesus Christ did not physically rise from the dead

3. Christ will have no literal and physical Second Coming

4. There will be no place of eternal torment for those

      who reject Christ

These are the major heresies taught by the JW's, and we shall examine each in light of God's pure and preserved words.   Let us begin with a look at the Trinity.

Is God A Trinity?

According the Bible, God is a Triune Being.  As all humans are a trinity (spirit, soul, and body--1 Ths. 5:23), God is also a Trinity.  In Genesis 1:26, God said,

Let us make man in our image . . .

God said in Genesis 11:7,

. . . let us go down, and there confound their language. . .

The terms "us" and "our" obviously refer to God as a Holy Trinity since man had not yet been created.  So the Trinity is found in the very early chapters of the Bible.

In the New Testament, we can see all three Members of the Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter three.  God the Father is speaking from Heaven.  God the Son is being baptized, and God the Holy Ghost is descending like a dove.  When Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, He said in verse 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.

1 John 5:7 tells us that there are THREE that bear record in Heaven:

. . . the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  (The "Word" is Christ  according to John 1:1-3, 14, and 1 John 1:1-3.)

God is a Trinity.  He isn't three gods, like the JW's accuse us of believing, but He is ONE Triune God.  The pagans who worshipped three gods did so because they knew from observing the creation that God must be in some way associated with the number three.  They never fully understood the Holy Trinity, but they sure came much closer than the JW's.

As man is a spirit, a soul, and a body, God the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Trinity, God the Son is the Body, and God the Father is the Soul.  This doesn’t make God into “three people” any more than it makes you three people.  You are a spirit, a soul, and a body, but you are only one person.  It’s the same with God.

According to Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20, God's creation actually declares the Trinity doctrine.  One can see proof of the Trinity everywhere in the universe.  The universe consists of three parts:  time, space, and matter.  Time consists of three parts:  past, present, and future.  Space consists of three parts:  length, breadth, and height.  Matter consists of three parts:  energy, motion, and phenomena.  There are three heavens mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:2, and on earth there are three forms of life:  man, plant, and animal.  These forms of life are found in three places:  land, sea, and air.  God is continually showing us through His creation that He is a Trinity.        

A perfect example of this is the sun.  The sun has three kinds of rays:  chemical rays, light rays, and heat rays.  Chemical rays cannot be seen or felt, but they can be very powerful.  When one receives a sun burn, it is from the sun's chemical rays.  This is a type of God the Father.  Light rays are sometimes visible to the human eye.  This is a type of Jesus Christ, the "light of the world" (John 8:12) and the "Sun of righteousness" (Mal. 4:2).  Heat rays are a type of the Holy Ghost for they bring comfort to us by warming our bodies, just as the Holy Ghost, the Comforter (John 16:7),  brings comfort to us.  So it’s not hard to see that God's word and God's creation both  testify to the fact that He is a Trinity. 

However, some people aren't getting the message.  The book, "Let God Be True",  (Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc., 1952) says the following on page 92:

The trinity doctrine was not conceived by Jesus or the early Christians.

Then on page 93, this book says:

. . . the plain truth is that this is another of Satan's attempts to keep the God-fearing person from learning the truth of Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ.

 On page 102 of the 1946 edition of "Let God Be True," the JW's make a very blasphemous statement concerning the Holy Trinity:

. . . Sincere persons who want to know the true God and serve Him find it a bit difficult to love and worship a complicated, freakish looking, three-headed God.

The JW’s obviously acquired this false concept of the Trinity from studying and seeing pictures of the numerous pagan deities, but these false gods bear no resemblance to the Holy Trinity of the Bible.  As we’ve already pointed out, Christians do not believe that God is “three gods” or that He is a “three-headed god.”  The JW's cannot understand the Trinity, so they condemn it.  They fail to realize that it is not our job to tell God what He is or to even fully understand how He can exist.  Our responsibility is to believe what He says, and God says that He is a Trinity.

Jesus Christ Is Deity

As the Second Member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ stands co-existent in Eternity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  There are many proofs in the Scriptures for the Deity of Christ.  We shall now list several of them.

1. In Zechariah 12:10, Jehovah speaks of the future return of Christ and says, ". . . They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourne for him, as one mourneth for his only son . . . ."  This is spoken again in Revelation 1:7, which is clearly a reference to Christ Himself, but in Zechariah 12:10 GOD said, ". . . They shall look upon me whom they have pierced . . . ."  The One that they pierced was Jesus Christ!  So, in Zechariah 12:10, God is saying that He is Jesus Christ.

2.  In John 1:1, John 1:14, 1 John 1:1, and in 1 John 5:7, Jesus is called "the Word," and John 1:1 says that "the Word was God."

3.  Thomas referred to Jesus as "My Lord and my God" in John 20:28, and Jesus did not see the need to correct him.

4.  Isaiah 7:14 gives us the prophecy of the Virgin Birth of Christ and states that His name would be "Immanuel."  Matthew 1:23 tells us that this word means "God with us."

5.  In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  The Bible certainly would not say this about anyone less than God.

6.  In John 10:30, Jesus says, "I and my Father are one."  Jesus is not a lesser god;  He is ONE with the Father.

7.  Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus is "from everlasting."

8. In John 8:58, Jesus tells the Pharisees, "Before Abraham was, I am."  He claimed to be the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14, which is God Almighty.

9. Jesus allowed others to worship Him  (John 9:38; Mat. 14:33; and Luke 24:52), which was forbidden, unless He was God (Rev. 22:9).

10.  Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2:5), which only God can do (Mark 2:7).

11.  The Lord Jesus Christ is omnipresent  (Matt. 18:20;  28:20;  II Cor. 13:14;  I John 5:7).  We know He is God because He is capable of being everywhere at once.

12.  Jesus is omniscient  (Mark 11:2-6; Mat. 12:40).  He is God because He knows all things.

13.  The Lord Jesus is also omnipotent  (Rev. 19:6; Mat. 28:18).  He has all power.

14. According to John 1, 1 John 1, Colossians 1, and  Hebrews 1, Jesus Christ is the Creator of Genesis 1!

15.  Jesus never sinned.  Romans 3:23 says that ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus did not sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18).  So Jesus had to be God.

Now, if you've taken time to check the above references, then the Holy Spirit has attempted to show you one great truth:  The LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD.  That much is clear to any honest Bible student.

Unfortunately, the Jehovah's Witnesses are not honest Bible students.  One only has to pick up a copy of their "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures" to see how dishonest and unfaithful they are with God's word.  We shall list a few examples of how the New World Translation attacks the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ:

1.  It changes Zechariah 12:10 to read, ". . . they will certainly look to the one whom they pierced. . ."

2.  John 1:1 in the N.W.T. says that "the Word was a god," instead of "the Word was God."  The definite article "the" is replaced with "a," and the capital "G" is replaced with a lower case "g."  The last half of 1 John 5:7 is omitted in the N.W.T., because it says that the Father, the Word  (which is Christ in John 1:14), and the Holy Ghost "are one."

3.  The Virgin Birth is attacked in Isaiah 7:14 of the N.W.T. by translating "maiden," instead of "virgin," even though Matthew 1:23 told them that it should read "virgin!"  

4.  They change "from everlasting" in Micah 5:2 to read, "time indefinite," which is not the same. 

5.  John 8:58 is where Christ said, "Before Abraham was, I am."  This matches God's statement to Moses in Exodus 3:14, meaning that Christ is God.  However, the N.W.T. says, "Before Abraham came into existence, I have been."  This destroys the valuable cross reference to Exodus 3:14.  The JW's believe that Jesus was "a god" before the time of Abraham, but that He was NOT the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14.

6.  In John 9:38, Matthew 14:33, and Luke 24:52, the JW's have replaced the word "worshipped" with the words "did obeisance," which is not the same (See Gen. 37:7, 43:28; Exodus 18:7; 2 Sam. 1:2; 2 Chr. 24:17).

The matter is clear:  the JW's will attack the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ every time they have a chance, and their "bible" proves it.  Their writings also prove it.  Here are a few blasphemous remarks made by the JW's over the years concerning the Lord Jesus Christ:

. . . he was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God  (The Kingdom is at Hand, p. 46, 47, 49).

If Jesus were God, then during Jesus' death, God was dead in the grave  (Let God Be True, p. 91).

. . . the true Scriptures speak of God's Son, the Word, as 'a god'."  He is a "mighty god," but not the Almighty God, who is Jehovah  (The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 47).

The very fact that he was sent proves he was not equal with God, but was less than God his father  (The Word:  Who is He, p. 41).

This is how a cult deals with the written word of God.  HUMAN REASONING is the final authority, not God’s word.  Rather than taking God at His word by faith, a cultist will  reject God's word and attempt to reason things out for himself.  All cults will add to, subtract from, or simply ignore the written revelation of God (or at least the parts they dislike).  The Scriptures already presented are clear: Jesus Christ is Deity.

 The Holy Ghost Is Deity

The JW's believe that the Holy Ghost is only "God's active force."  They deny the scriptural teaching that the Holy Ghost is a Member of the Holy Trinity:

The Scriptures themselves unite to show that God's holy spirit is not a person but is God's active force by which he accomplishes his purpose and executes his will  (Aid to Bible Understanding, pg. 1543).

The Holy Spirit is the invisible active force of Almighty God that moves his servants to do his will (Let God Be True, pg. 108).

Not only do the JW's deny the Deity of the Holy Spirit, they even deny that He is a person.  So, in this sense, Satan has been exalted above the Holy Ghost by the JW's!   The rreason given by the JW's for the personality of Satan is that:

. . . the Bible calls Satan a manslayer, a liar, a father (in a spiritual sense) and a ruler. (John 8:44, 14:30)  Only an intelligent person could fit all those descriptions.  ("Awake!", December 8, 1973)

We agree, but how can any honest person say that and then deny the personality of the Holy Ghost?  The Holy Ghost also has attributes that only a person can have.  For example:

1.  Only a person could SPEAK, which the Holy Spirit does (Acts 2:11; 13:2; Rev. 2:7).

2.  Only a person could TEACH and COMFORT (Jhn. 16:7, 13).

3.   Only a person could have a MIND (Rom. 8:27).

4.  Only a person could possess the POWER that the Holy Spirit possesses (Rom. 15:19).

5.  Only a person could be INSULTED and GRIEVED (Heb. 10:29; Eph. 4:30).

So the Holy Ghost IS a Person, but more than that, He is GOD, the Third Member of the Holy Trinity.  There are several scriptural proofs for the Deity of the Holy Ghost:

1.  In Acts 15:3 Peter accuses Ananias of lying to the Holy Ghost, and then in verse four Peter tells him that he had lied unto GOD.  The Holy Ghost is God.

2. The Holy Ghost says in Acts 13:2, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."  GOD is the one who calls men to do His work (Rom. 8:28; Gal. 1:6; 1 Ths. 2:12; 4:7; 2 Ths. 2:13-14); so, the Holy Ghost is God.

3. Only God could perform all the great wonders that the Holy Ghost performs (Psa. 104:30; John 14:16, 26; 16:8-14; Job 33:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

4.  The Holy Ghost is God because blasphemy against Him shall not be forgiven (Mat. 12:31).

5.  The Holy Ghost is God because He is ETERNAL (Heb. 9:14).

6. The Holy Ghost is God because He is OMNI-PRESENT (Psa. 139:7-8).

7.  The Holy Ghost is God because He has the power to give life (John 3:6; 6:63).

8.  The Scriptures are God's word, and 2 Peter 1:21 says   the Holy Ghost inspired the Scriptures.  Therefore, the Holy Ghost is God.

The Bible clearly reveals to us that the Holy Ghost is a Member of the Holy Trinity.  To deny this truth is to openly deny God's word.  The Trinity doctrine is a BIBLE doctrine, not a pagan doctrine.  It is true that Satan has counterfeited the Trinity doctrine for many centuries in many pagan religions, but that doesn't change the truth.  God's word declares that He is a Trinity, and it is our duty to believe it.

Did Jesus Christ Rise Physically From the Dead?

According to the JW's, He did not.  The Bible speaks of a literal and physical resurrection, but the Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus only rose from the grave spiritually.  Their literature speaks for itself:

. . . So the King Christ Jesus was put to death in the flesh and was resurrected an invisible spirit creature.  (Let God Be True, pg. 138)

Therefore the bodies in which Jesus manifested himself to his disciples after his return to life were not the body in which he was nailed to a tree.  They were merely materialized for the occasion, resembling on one or two occasions the body in which he died... (The Kingdom Is At Hand, pg. 259)

Our Lord's human body . . . did not decay or corrupt . . . whether it was dissolved into gasses or whether it is still preserved somewhere . . . no one knows. (Studies In The Scriptures, Vol. 2, pg. 129)

According to the words of Jesus Christ Himself, He is NOT merely a spirit being.  He is a literal and physical risen Saviour.  In Luke chapter twenty-four, beginning at verse thirty-six, the disciples saw the risen Christ and they supposed they had seen a spirit (vs. 37), but Jesus cleared the matter up for everyone when He said,

. . . Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.  (Luke 24:38-39)

He then SHOWED them His hands and feet, and they believed.  What did they believe?  They believed that He was a literal and physical being in a literal and physical body.  When Jesus appeared to Thomas He said,

. . . Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  (John 20:27)

The risen Christ had the crucifixion scars in His body to PROVE that He had been physically resurrected from the dead.

If Jesus didn't rise physically then He lied in John 2:18-22 when He said that His "body" would rise in three days.  He didn't say His spirit would rise; he said that His BODY would rise.  When He arose His disciples actually REMEMBERED this prophecy and believed.  Too bad the JW's can't do the same.

The JW's claim that Jesus appeared in different bodies after His so-called "spiritual resurrection."  Their "proof" for this is the fact that the Emmaus disciples didn't recognize Him in His resurrection body, so it couldn't have been the same body.  That's nonsense.  Luke 24:16 tells us why they didn't recognize Him.  It had nothing to do with a spiritual body.  The problem was their EYESIGHT: But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

The bodily resurrection of Christ is a fundamental Bible doctrine.  The salvation of a person's soul rests upon this doctrine, because if Jesus didn't physically rise from the dead AS HE SAID HE WOULD, then we're all lost and going to Hell according to 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (JW's included).

Will There Be A Literal and Physical Second Coming?

If the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected literally and physically from the dead, and if He appeared physically to His disciples, then His Second Coming must also be literal and physical.

Acts 1:11 tells us that Jesus will return "in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."  Jesus ascended into Heaven literally, physically, and visibly, so He will return "in like manner."

The JW's deny this.  They insist that the Second Coming of Christ will be SPIRITUAL, rather than literal and physical:

Christ Jesus comes, not again as a human, but as a glorious spirit person.  (Let God Be True, pg. 196)

Since no earthly men have ever seen or can see the Father, they will be unable to see the glorified Son.   (Let God Be True, pg. 197)

It is a settled Scriptural truth, therefore, that human eyes will not see him at his second coming, neither will he come in a fleshy body.  (The Truth Shall Make You Free, pg. 295)

The word of God says otherwise.  Paul says in Titus 2:13 that we should be LOOKING for that blessed hope and the glorious APPEARING of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.  If the JW's are right in saying that we will not be able to see Christ, then why did Paul tell us to be LOOKING for His APPEARING? 

The New World Translation has very conveniently removed the word "appearing" from Titus 2:13 and replaced it with "manifestation."   The same has also been done in 1 Timothy 6:14, 2 Timothy 1:10, and 2 Timothy 4:8.  (You can make the Bible teach ANYTHING if you just CHANGE THE WORDS!)

Now we know that the Second Coming of Christ will NOT be a spiritual and invisible return.  Revelation 1:7 says,

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

In Matthew 24:30, Jesus Himself says,

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Zechariah 14:4 says,

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

The literal and physical feet of Luke 24:39 will literally STAND upon the literal, physical, and very visible mount of Olives.  That's perfectly clear to anyone with reading ability.

There's nothing spiritual or invisible about the Second Coming of Christ.  The "clouds" will be literal (Rev. 1:7), as will the "fire" (2 Ths. 1:8), the "saints" (1 Ths. 3:13), the "mountains and rocks" (Rev. 6:16), and, of course, the thousand-year reign (Rev. 20:1-7).  A "spiritual" or "invisible" Second Coming is totally foreign to the written revelation of God.

It is also noteworthy to point out that the JW's have quite a record when it comes to DATING the Second Coming.  Listed below are five separate instances where the JW's have predicted the Second Coming and missed:

1. In 1897, a book titled  "The Battle of Armageddon" stated on page seventy-five that Jesus' Second Coming had ALREADY HAPPENED INVISIBLY in the year 1874, and the Watchtower publication re-stated this in the September 15th issue of 1922 and also in the January 1st issue of 1924.

2. The Watchtower claimed on January 15th, 1892,  that Armageddon began in 1874 and would end in 1914.  This became quite an embarrassment for the JW's because 1914 was the beginning of World War I!

3. The book Millions Now Living Will Never Die claimed that the year 1925 would actually bring about the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old.  Page eighty-nine of this book claimed that "the earthly phase of the kingdom shall be recognized."  However, when the January 1, 1925, issue of the Watchtower was published, it said, "This may be accomplished.  It may not be."

4. The December Watchtower for 1941 claimed that World War II would turn America and England into dictatorships, that the end of Nazi rule would mark the end of demon rule, and that God would rule when the Nazis were defeated. 

5.  In 1942, the JW's were still talking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob returning "any day now!"  (Consolation, May 27, 1942, Pg. 13)

So the Watchtower Society will continue right along with its foolish date setting, keeping it's members in constant fear and confusion.  It is true that the Bible gives us many definite signs which indicate the Lord's return is getting very near, but no one knows the day nor the hour (Mat. 24:36).

Is Hell A Literal Fiery Place?

The JW's have traditionally believed and taught that there is no eternal punishment for the wicked:

. . . the Bible hell is mankind's common grave… (Let God Be True, pg. 92.

Page ninety-eight  of this book refers to the doctrine of Hell as a "God defaming doctrine."

The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally after death cannot be true . . . .  (Let God Be True, pg. 99)

We call it to the reader's attention that it was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who first used the term "hell fire" (Mat. 5:22), and it was Jesus Christ who said in Matthew 25:41, ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."  When the JW's attack the Hell doctrine they are attacking the very words of Christ.

A JW believes that Hell is only the grave that everyone goes to at death.  He believes that the saved ones in the graves will be given eternal life on earth after the White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15, while the unsaved in the graves will be annihilated once and for all in the Lake of Fire.  JW's refuse to believe that God will punish the wicked forever in the Lake of Fire.  Of course, the Scriptures say something entirely different:

1. There is no FIRE in the grave, but there certainly is fire in the "hell" of the Bible (Luk. 16:23; Deu. 32:22; Mat. 5:22; 18:9; Jas. 3:6).

2.  No one PRAYS from the grave, but they certainly do in Hell (Luk. 16:24; Jon. 2:2).

3.  Hell was originally made for the Devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41), but the grave was not.

4.  A Christian's SOUL does not go to the grave at death (Phi. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; 1 Ths. 5:10).  Only the BODY goes to the grave.  An unsaved man's body also goes to the grave at death, but his SOUL goes to a place of TORMENT and FLAMES (Luke 16:22-23).

5. The grave cannot possibly be Hell because Jesus said it would be better to enter into life (eternal life) without a hand, a foot, or an eye, than to go to Hell (Mat. 18:8-9).  How could it be "better" if Hell is only the grave where there is no suffering at all?  According to Jesus Christ, Hell is a lot WORSE than losing a hand, a foot, or an eye forever.

6. Annihilation cannot be true because the Bible uses such terms as "shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2) and "torment . . . forever" (Rev. 14:11).  Shame and torment are sufferings that are experienced by a LIVING BEING, not an annihilated corpse. 

God is an ETERNAL Being; therefore, an eternal payment is required for sin (Mark 9:44-48; Isa. 66:22-23).  You can have a FAIR TRIAL, or you can have a FREE PARDON.  In a fair trial before God, you will be eternally damned to Hell because you are a sinner against a Holy God.  God will have no choice but to sentence you to Hell forever.

If you are wise you will receive God's FREE PARDON.  Jesus Christ has ALREADY paid for your sins, but you must RECEIVE Him as Saviour.  John 1:12 says,

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

      Friend, you have seen how the Bible interprets itself.  You have seen the truth about the false teachings of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.  As mentioned in the introduction, these people should be marked and avoided.  We urge you to start looking for a true Bible believing church where the word of God is preached and taught correctly.  If you've never been saved, we urge you to carefully and prayerfully read the next section of this booklet.