3 questions Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot answer3 Questions Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot answer by Keith Glasgow Very few people who start studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses have sufficient knowledge of the Bible to challenge the Watchtower’s teachings and interpretation of the Scriptures. The Watchtower Society uses the Bible, but only to support their own beliefs. When a Bible passage does not agree with their doctrines, they interpret the Word of God to suit their preconceived ideas. For example, when Scripture clearly s p e a k s o f 1 4 4 , 0 0 0 J e w s , a n d specifically shows that this number is made up of 12,000 people from each tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8), the witnesses refuse to accept the plain statement of the Word of God, and spiritualize it. They say that God is speaking about “spiritual Israel” who are the special “anointed class” Jehovah chooses from among His “Witnesses” to go to heaven and reign with Christ. But the passage gives no hint of such an interpretation. There are only two ways of looking at Scripture. Either you can start with what you believe and force the Bible to line up with your predetermined belief; or you can accept the Bible as the only authority, and change your beliefs to be in harmony with it. Are you willing to change your beliefs when they do not fit Scripture, or will you force the Bible verses to say what you want them to say, in order to support your own (or the Watchtower’s) belief? There are three crucial areas of belief where it is clearly apparent that the Watchtower Society have superimposed their own beliefs over what the Bible teaches. To challenge their beliefs I will ask three questions to which they have no answers. No doubt they will put forward answers, but can only do so by distorting the plain meaning of the Word of God (2 Peter 3:16).Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God who became a human. Question 1 If Jesus isn’t God, why does God the Father command all the angels to worship Him? The Bible teaches that only Jehovah should be worshipped: “You shall worship the Lord (Jehovah) your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10). Yet in Hebrews 1:6 God says concerning His Son: “Let all God’s angels worship Him”. The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (Kingdom) Interlinear Translation reveals that the Greek word translated “worship” in Matthew 4:10 when referring to Jehovah, is translated “obeisance” when applied to Jesus in Hebrews 1:6. This is a manipulation of Scripture to support the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ belief, as the original word is the same in both passages, and should not be weakened just to fit their doctrine. God alone is to be worshipped (Revelation 22:8-9). To honour any created being with worship, no matter how high in the created order that one may be, is nothing less than idolatry. Jesus accepted worship from men (Matthew 28:9,17, Luke 24:52, John 9:38). If Jesus were not God, to accept another’s worship, would be a grave sin deserving the judgement of God (Acts 13:21-23, Revelation 22:8-9). Worship means, among other things, to honour in the highest place. Jehovah will not share His glory with any other being (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11) yet Jesus prayed “Glorify me, alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was” (John 17:5 N.W.T.). Jesus said that all should honour the Son even as they honour the Father (John 5:23), and to fail to honour the Son is to fail to honour the Father. These verses do not explicitly say that Jesus is God, but the implication is abundantly clear for an honest and unbiased student of the Scriptures. They support the Bible verses that clearly teach that Jesus is God, such as John 1:1 “...and the Word was God”. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Question 2 If Jesus’ body was not physically raised from the dead, how could He prophesy that it would be raised and not be a liar? The Watchtower Society claims that Jesus rose spiritually from death, but that His actual body was not raised. However, in John 2:18-22, Jesus spoke of His body as a temple (v.21), and clearly stated that His body would be destroyed (crucified) and raised again in three days (v.19). If His body was not raised Jesus was a liar, or was Himself deceived. The same body which was crucified was the one that was raised to life. The Bible shows this by: The wound marks of the crucifixion in His resurrection body, which would have been deceiving and dishonest were it not His body (John 20:25-28), The appearance of Jesus in “flesh and bone” (Luke 24:39), His eating food (Luke 24:43), He was seen and touched by many witnesses (Matthew 28:9, 1 John 1:1), The clear teaching of the apostle Peter (Acts 2:24-31).Either the Lord’s prophecy in John 2:19 was wrong, or the Watchtower Society is wrong. You must choose which to believe. The Watchtower Society’s belief is that Jesus’ resurrection was spiritual. based on 1 Corinthians 15:44 where Christians are taught that they will be raised with “a spiritual body.” However, the spiritual body referred to in this passage is still a body that can be touched and can eat food. It is a glorified body that is able to live in both the physical world as well as the spiritual realm (heaven). Jesus’ resurrection body was spiritual in the sense that it could suddenly appear in a locked room and could go into heaven, which our physical bodies are not able to do (1 Corinthians 5:50). Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in Salvation by Grace Question 3 If we must earn acceptance before God, how can we be saved by grace? All agree that mankind has sinned and, as a result, noone is automatically accepted before God. However, the Watchtower Society teaches that in order to be accepted by God people must earn His favour by living a righteous life and witnessing for Jehovah. Only those who live lives worthy of the Lord and believe what the Watchtower Society dictates, can find acceptance before God. But the Bible teaches: 1. We cannot earn God’s favour or acceptance by our good works or righteous living: Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather through the Law, we become conscious of sin.” 2. We cannot be accepted before God on the basis of our own effort and God’s grace at the same time. Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” Galatians 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Romans 4:4-5 “When a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” 3. Christ did not just die as a ransom for Adam’s sin, He died as a sacrifice for our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:3 “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” 4. The only way for us to be accepted before God is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified (made acceptable before God) freely by His grace, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”Jesus prophesied that false prophets would arise and deceive many people. Unfortunately, those who are deceived become convinced they are right in what they believe. The only method to test whether or not you have been deceived, is to expose your beliefs to what the Bible clearly teaches. You must do this with raw honesty and unwavering sincerity. Get alone with God’s Word and nothing else. Refuse to read any literature, whether Watchtower Society or Christian, until you have allowed God to show you from His Word alone what you should believe. The motive behind this article is not to win an argument, but to challenge the beliefs of those whom we know from Scripture have been led astray. In love, we ask you to reconsider what you believe and why you believe it. Jesus said: “Unless you believe that I Am, you will die in your sins...before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:24, 58, compare Exodus 3:13-15). In the New Testament, the way to get right with God is clearly shown to be through Jesus Christ alone, by grace alone, and through faith alone. By Jesus Christ alone: Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." 1 John 5:11-13 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” By grace alone: Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” By faith alone: Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” John 3:18 “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” Published by: Living Hope Publications 22 Chamberlain Drive Kilsyth VIC 3137 Australia www.keithglasgow.comNext >