Doctrines Exposed Watchtower Society AKA Jehovah Witnesses Organization Are NOT the SAME as CHRISTIANITY
Jesus Christ
The Watchtower says: “The foremost angel, both in power and authority, is the archangel, Jesus Christ, also called Michael.” The Watchtower, Nov. 1, 1995, p.8
The Bible says: Jesus is “....so much better than the angels....Let all God’s angels worship Him”.
Hebrews 1:4,6 (see also John 1:1, 5:18; Titus 2:13)
The Soul of Man
The Watchtower says: “The soul dies; it does not live on after death.”
The Soul of Man
The Watchtower says: “The soul dies; it does not live on after death.”
What Does God Require of Us?, 1996, p.23
Jesus says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
Jesus says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
Matthew 10:28 (see also Revelation 6:9,10; 2 Corinthians 5:8)
Salvation
The Watchtower says: “....come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation....”
The Watchtower says: “....come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation....”
The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1981, p.21
Jesus says: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus says: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 (see also Acts 4:12)
Resurrection
The Watchtower says: “Jesus died and was resurrected by God as a spirit creature....”
Resurrection
The Watchtower says: “Jesus died and was resurrected by God as a spirit creature....”
What Does God Require of Us?, 1996, p.7
Jesus says: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up....He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
Jesus says: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up....He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
John 2:19-21 (see also Luke 24:36-39)
Works
The Watchtower says: “To get one’s name written in that Book of Life will depend upon one’s works.”
Works
The Watchtower says: “To get one’s name written in that Book of Life will depend upon one’s works.”
The Watchtower, July 1, 1947, p.204
The Bible says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith....it is the gift of God, not by works.”
The Bible says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith....it is the gift of God, not by works.”
Ephesians 2:8,9 (see also Titus 3:5)
Hell
The Watchtower says: “God’s Word says nothing about eternal torment of lost souls in a fiery hell as being the punishment for wickedness."
Hell
The Watchtower says: “God’s Word says nothing about eternal torment of lost souls in a fiery hell as being the punishment for wickedness."
The Watchtower, March 1, 1960, p.134
Jesus says: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Jesus says: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matthew 25:41 (see also Mark 9:42-48)
Faith
The Watchtower says: “Put faith in a victorious organization!”
The Watchtower, March 1, 1979, p.1
The Bible says: “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
The Bible says: “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
Galatians 2:20 (see also Mark 11:22)
Second Coming of Christ
The Watchtower says: “So it was in 1914 that Jesus returned invisibly, without public fanfare and with only his faithful servants being aware of his return.”
Second Coming of Christ
The Watchtower says: “So it was in 1914 that Jesus returned invisibly, without public fanfare and with only his faithful servants being aware of his return.”
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991, section 132
The Bible says: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.”
The Bible says: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.”
Revelation 1:7 (see also Matthew 24:27-30)
A Tainted Bible
To help justify the Jehovah’s Witnesses unbiblical teachings, the Watchtower Society began publishing its own version of the bible in 1950. This unique rendering, called The New World Translation, is hailed by Jehovah’s Witnesses as the most accurate translation available today. What Witnesses don’t know is that many key verses in The New World Translation have been altered, mistranslated and deliberately changed to support the Society’s biased teachings. In particular, the identity of Jesus Christ as God has been severely manipulated, in order to reduce Him to a created being, inferior to the Father.
For example, instead of rendering Jesus (the Word) as God in John 1:1, as all accurate bible translations do, The New World Translation renders it: “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god” (emphasis added). Reducing Jesus to “a god” is a heretical distortion of the Greek text and has been sharply criticized by prominent New Testament Greek scholars. In fact, none of the men on the New World Translation Committee had any working knowledge of the ancient biblical languages. One man on the committee, Frederick Franz, was acclaimed by the Watchtower as having an “outstanding reputation as an eminent Bible scholar”. The Watchtower, August 1, 1977, p.463 However, in a public court trial in Scotland, he admitted that he couldn’t speak Hebrew nor translate a simple verse from the book of Genesis into the ancient language. Taken from Why the Name Jehovah’s Witnesses?, Personal Freedom Outreach, St. Louis, Missouri
A Non-Prophet Organization
The Watchtower Society boldly makes the exclusive claim to be God’s prophet on earth,The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p.197; All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, 1990 ed., p.9 the only organization that God uses to communicate to mankind today. The fact is, however, the Watchtower Society has made numerous false predictions regarding the beginning of the battle of Armageddon, the end of the world and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. The end was first predicted in 1914 The Time is at Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1907 ed., p.101 by the Watchtower’s founder, C.T. Russell. When it didn’t occur the date was changed to 1915, The Time is at Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1927 ed, p.101 and later to 1918 The Finished Mystery, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 7, 1917, p.485 Under the leadership of the second president, Judge Rutherford, an aggressive campaign called Millions Now Living Will Never Die was launched. In this campaign it was predicted that in 1925, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and many other Old Testament prophets, would rise from the dead and appear as perfected humans on the earth. Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pp.89,90 After this embarrassing failure the Watchtower carried on, still continuing to set dates for the end. Other prophetic years, ending in disappointment, were 1941, The Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1941, p.288 1975 The Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p.17 and 2000. The Watchtower (original magazine), Jan. 1, 1989, p.12 [Note: bound volume and CD changed the words “20th century” to “day”]
Knowing that exposure of its flawed past would be enough to convince truth-seeking Jehovah’s Witnesses to jump ship, the Watchtower conceals much of this information from its members. In addition, it cleverly trains them to view the more well-known prophetic disasters only as mistakes made by fallible men. However, the bible is clear and very direct on the matter. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 plainly warns us that those who claim to be prophets of God, yet make incorrect predictions, are false prophets that should be avoided. Although the Watchtower continues to make light of the adverse repercussions of its erroneous past, sadly, many loyal Jehovah's Witnesses were so convinced of these prophecies that they sold houses and businesses, putting off marriage, children and schooling to serve the Watchtower Society in the final days before Armageddon.
Winds of Change
Further proof that the Watchtower Society is not God’s channel of communication to man can be demonstrated by reviewing some of the doctrinal changes it has made throughout its history. A Jehovah’s Witness who was in good standing with the organization 70 years ago would be promptly expelled today if he still believed the same doctrines as once taught to him. Even a Witness currently going door-to-door has no assurance that his present beliefs won’t change in the future, making what is being taught as today’s truth, tomorrow’s error. Some changes made over the years are as follows: References for doctrinal changes are available by contacting www.towertotruth.net
Early Years
Now
Christ's Invisible Presence Began in 1874
Christ's Invisible Presence Began in 1914
Jesus Should be Worshipped
Jesus Should not be Worshipped
Smoking Permitted
Smoking Forbidden
Saluting the Flag andVoting Permitted
Saluting the Flag andVoting Forbidden
Jesus Died on a Cross
Jesus Died on a Stake
Jesus is not the Archangel Michael
Jesus is the Archangel Michael
All Witnesses will go toHeaven
Most Witnesses will LiveForever on Earth
Blood transfusions Allowed
Blood transfusions Forbidden
Called God, Lord
Call God, Jehovah
Celebrated Holidays
Holidays not Celebrated
Could go to War
Can not go to War
Vaccination Forbidden
Vaccination Allowed
Although these changes and reversals are alarming to the average person, to a Jehovah’s Witness this is one of the proofs that the Watchtower Society is God’s visible organization on earth. The Society instructs them that truth is revealed in installments and that the above changes are actually just minor adjustments progressing towards further light. To support this, one will frequently hear a Witness quote Proverbs 4:18: “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established” (NWT). In reality, however, the Watchtower is pulling Proverbs 4:18 completely out of its proper context in order to excuse and explain away over 120 years of contradictions, errors and false teachings.
A Tainted Bible
To help justify the Jehovah’s Witnesses unbiblical teachings, the Watchtower Society began publishing its own version of the bible in 1950. This unique rendering, called The New World Translation, is hailed by Jehovah’s Witnesses as the most accurate translation available today. What Witnesses don’t know is that many key verses in The New World Translation have been altered, mistranslated and deliberately changed to support the Society’s biased teachings. In particular, the identity of Jesus Christ as God has been severely manipulated, in order to reduce Him to a created being, inferior to the Father.
For example, instead of rendering Jesus (the Word) as God in John 1:1, as all accurate bible translations do, The New World Translation renders it: “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god” (emphasis added). Reducing Jesus to “a god” is a heretical distortion of the Greek text and has been sharply criticized by prominent New Testament Greek scholars. In fact, none of the men on the New World Translation Committee had any working knowledge of the ancient biblical languages. One man on the committee, Frederick Franz, was acclaimed by the Watchtower as having an “outstanding reputation as an eminent Bible scholar”. The Watchtower, August 1, 1977, p.463 However, in a public court trial in Scotland, he admitted that he couldn’t speak Hebrew nor translate a simple verse from the book of Genesis into the ancient language. Taken from Why the Name Jehovah’s Witnesses?, Personal Freedom Outreach, St. Louis, Missouri
A Non-Prophet Organization
The Watchtower Society boldly makes the exclusive claim to be God’s prophet on earth,The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p.197; All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, 1990 ed., p.9 the only organization that God uses to communicate to mankind today. The fact is, however, the Watchtower Society has made numerous false predictions regarding the beginning of the battle of Armageddon, the end of the world and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. The end was first predicted in 1914 The Time is at Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1907 ed., p.101 by the Watchtower’s founder, C.T. Russell. When it didn’t occur the date was changed to 1915, The Time is at Hand, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 1927 ed, p.101 and later to 1918 The Finished Mystery, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 7, 1917, p.485 Under the leadership of the second president, Judge Rutherford, an aggressive campaign called Millions Now Living Will Never Die was launched. In this campaign it was predicted that in 1925, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and many other Old Testament prophets, would rise from the dead and appear as perfected humans on the earth. Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pp.89,90 After this embarrassing failure the Watchtower carried on, still continuing to set dates for the end. Other prophetic years, ending in disappointment, were 1941, The Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1941, p.288 1975 The Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p.17 and 2000. The Watchtower (original magazine), Jan. 1, 1989, p.12 [Note: bound volume and CD changed the words “20th century” to “day”]
Knowing that exposure of its flawed past would be enough to convince truth-seeking Jehovah’s Witnesses to jump ship, the Watchtower conceals much of this information from its members. In addition, it cleverly trains them to view the more well-known prophetic disasters only as mistakes made by fallible men. However, the bible is clear and very direct on the matter. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 plainly warns us that those who claim to be prophets of God, yet make incorrect predictions, are false prophets that should be avoided. Although the Watchtower continues to make light of the adverse repercussions of its erroneous past, sadly, many loyal Jehovah's Witnesses were so convinced of these prophecies that they sold houses and businesses, putting off marriage, children and schooling to serve the Watchtower Society in the final days before Armageddon.
Winds of Change
Further proof that the Watchtower Society is not God’s channel of communication to man can be demonstrated by reviewing some of the doctrinal changes it has made throughout its history. A Jehovah’s Witness who was in good standing with the organization 70 years ago would be promptly expelled today if he still believed the same doctrines as once taught to him. Even a Witness currently going door-to-door has no assurance that his present beliefs won’t change in the future, making what is being taught as today’s truth, tomorrow’s error. Some changes made over the years are as follows: References for doctrinal changes are available by contacting www.towertotruth.net
Early Years
Now
Christ's Invisible Presence Began in 1874
Christ's Invisible Presence Began in 1914
Jesus Should be Worshipped
Jesus Should not be Worshipped
Smoking Permitted
Smoking Forbidden
Saluting the Flag andVoting Permitted
Saluting the Flag andVoting Forbidden
Jesus Died on a Cross
Jesus Died on a Stake
Jesus is not the Archangel Michael
Jesus is the Archangel Michael
All Witnesses will go toHeaven
Most Witnesses will LiveForever on Earth
Blood transfusions Allowed
Blood transfusions Forbidden
Called God, Lord
Call God, Jehovah
Celebrated Holidays
Holidays not Celebrated
Could go to War
Can not go to War
Vaccination Forbidden
Vaccination Allowed
Although these changes and reversals are alarming to the average person, to a Jehovah’s Witness this is one of the proofs that the Watchtower Society is God’s visible organization on earth. The Society instructs them that truth is revealed in installments and that the above changes are actually just minor adjustments progressing towards further light. To support this, one will frequently hear a Witness quote Proverbs 4:18: “But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established” (NWT). In reality, however, the Watchtower is pulling Proverbs 4:18 completely out of its proper context in order to excuse and explain away over 120 years of contradictions, errors and false teachings.
No comments:
Post a Comment