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"Jehovah's Witnesses" Are Not
Jehovah's Witnesses

(October 2002)

[All Biblical quotations in this report are taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, copyright 1984. Although we do not believe the NWT is a good translation, we thought it best to show that the "Jehovah's Witnesses" own Bible does not support their own doctrine. Also, all info on this report has been hard copied for our records.]

The religious organization that bears the name of "Jehovah's Witnesses" with their "Kingdom Halls" and "Watchtower" claims, as of August 2001, to have over 6 million practicing members worldwide with 93,154 "congregations" (www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm). According to the King James Bible, God's name is indeed Jehovah (e.g. Psalm 83:18), but these people are not His witnesses; yet they claim to be. On their web site, speaking of themselves, they write,

Jehovah's Witnesses? Yes, that is the way they refer to themselves. It is a descriptive name, indicating that they bear witness concerning Jehovah, his Godship, and his purposes. (www.watchtower.org/library/jt/index.htm)

This is a lie. "Jehovah's Witnesses" bear false witness concerning Jehovah, His Godship, and His purposes.

I. Jehovah

Lie #1. "Jehovah's Witnesses" (JW's) claim that Jehovah created Jesus.

In their book entitled Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life (which is also a lie) on page 62 they write,

As we have previously learned in this book, Jesus had a prehuman existence. He is called God's "only-begotten Son" because Jehovah created him directly.

On the JW's official web site in the article Is God Always Superior to Jesus? they write,

God is always the superior, Jesus the lesser one who was created by God. (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_06.htm, see also footnote 1 below)

Although it is true that God the Father is always superior to Jesus (John 14:28; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Hebrews 13:8), it is a lie to say Jesus was created by God. This is a man-made doctrine nowhere taught in all of Holy writ (Proverbs 30:5-6). Jesus was never created (Hebrews 13:8, NWT). He has always been (John 8:58, NWT). This is evident in the words of Hebrews 7:3. Speaking of Melchizedek, it says,

In being fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor an end of life, but having been made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. (NWT)

Here Melchizedek is likened to the Son of God (Jesus) who has no "beginning of days." As Micah 5:2 says,

And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite. (NWT)

"Time indefinite" is eternity past with no beginning (i.e. no creation) since Jesus had no "beginning of days" (Hebrews 7:3, NWT).

Compounding their lie, JW's use the truth of Jesus' first born status as an argument for His supposed creation. On the JW's official web site in the article Who Is Jesus Christ? they write,

Jesus lived in heaven as a spirit person before he came to earth. He was God's first creation, and so he is called the "firstborn" Son of God. (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14) Jesus is the only Son that God created by himself. Jehovah used the prehuman Jesus as his "master worker" in creating all other things in heaven and on earth. (Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:16, 17) [www.watchtower.org/library/rq/article_03.htm]

In their book, Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, on page 39 JW's write,

Jesus was called God's "only-begotten Son" because Jehovah created him directly. (John 3:16) As "the first-born of all creation," Jesus was then used by God to create all other things. (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14)

Nowhere in Scripture is it described as the JW's proclaim (Proverbs 30:5-6). The "first-born of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) is explained further in Colossians as having to do with Him "being first in all things" (Colossians 1:18, NWT). It is never described as Him being created by God at some time. Moreover, JW's claim God created Jesus and then Jesus created "all other things." Scripture does not teach this anywhere (Proverbs 30:5-6). The JW's have added "[other]" to Colossians 1:16-17 which supports this false doctrine, but the "other" isn't there in the original language; and the JW's knew this; that's why it is in brackets. If the JW's addition to the word of God is left out (as it ought to be) the truth becomes very clear. Speaking of Christ it says,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all things and by means of him all things were made to exist. (Colossians 1:15-17, NWT without the added "[other]")

Also, this "all other things" idea is contrary to John 1:3. Speaking of Jesus, John 1:3 states,

All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. (NWT)

If the Father (Jehovah) created Jesus, then Jesus would be "one thing" that came into existence without it being "through him" (i.e. through Jesus).

Lie #2. JW's claim that Jesus is not God (i.e. Jehovah).

Obviously akin to the above deceit, JW's deny that Jesus is Jehovah God. In their article, What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus? JW's write,

Even the demons, who "believe there is one God," knew from their experience in the spirit realm that Jesus was not God. (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_05.htm)

A little later,

The disciples viewed Jesus as the "one mediator between God and men," not as God himself. (ibid.)

In the article, Is God Always Superior to Jesus? they state that "Jesus was not God" in more ways than one stating near the end of the article,

The fact is that Jesus is not God and never claimed to be. (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_06.htm, see also footnote 2 below)

The JW's own Bible proclaims Jesus to be God in John 1:1.

In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. (NWT)

The Word is Jesus Christ (see John 1:14) and here He is proclaimed to be "a god." What god is He? 1 John 5:20 tells us.

But we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us intellectual capacity that we may gain the knowledge of the true one. And we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting. (NWT)

Jesus Christ and His Father are proclaimed here to be the true God and life everlasting. The Greek more literally reads, "we are in the True One, in His Son" (ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ, ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτου). Being in the Father equals being in the Son. They are "two" (John 8:17-18) yet "One" (John 10:30). As it is written,

Everyone that denies the Son does not have the Father either. He that confesses the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:23 NWT)

Moreover, Jesus Himself claimed to be the life in John 11:25 and both the truth and the life in John 14:6, and the Lord God in John 20:28-29 where Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" In response Jesus said,

Because you have seen me have you believed? Happy are those who do not see and yet believe. (NWT)

What did Thomas believe? He believed Jesus was his Lord and his God.

Furthermore, Jesus warned the Jews of His day that they would die in their sins (i.e. go to hell) if they did not believe that He was God (by the way, this is true for all, not just the Jews). In John 8:24 Jesus said,

Therefore I said to you, you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am [he], you will die in your sins. (NWT)

Who is the "I am [he]" Jesus is referring to? God. The end of the chapter illustrates this.

Jesus said to them: "Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been." (John 8:58, NWT)

In John 8:58 Jesus speaks of His eternal existence ("before Abraham came into existence, I have been") which points Him to being Jehovah God, as Psalm 90 says,

O Jehovah, you yourself have proved to be a real dwelling for us during generation after generation. Before the mountains themselves were born, or you proceeded to bring forth as with labor pains the earth and the productive land, even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God. (Psalm 90:1-2, NWT)

The Jews understood he was claiming to be God in John 8:58. This is why in the next verse we see them picking up stones to kill him (John 8:59) as they desired to do in John 5:18 when they correctly understood Jesus' claim to be equal with God. When Jesus said, "before Abraham came into existence, I have been" He was declaring Himself to be the "Eternal Father" as Isaiah 9:6 (NWT) declares Him to be.

Furthermore, in the JW's lie about Jesus not being God, they make Jehovah out to be a liar, because Jehovah says,

I - I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior. (Isaiah 43:11, NWT)

But I am Jehovah your God from the land of Egypt, and there was no God except me that you used to know; and there was no savior but I. (Hosea 13:4, NWT)

Indeed, there is no Savior but God, and this is why Jesus, who is God, is called both God and the Savior.

. . . we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of [the] Savior of us, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13, NWT; note also Titus 1:3, 4; 2:10; 3:4 & 6)

. . . by the righteousness of our God and [the] Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1, NWT, note the JW's added "[the]" to this text)

Another text JW's tamper with that reveals Christ's deity is Acts 20:28.

Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own [Son]. (Acts 20:28, NWT)

The JW's add the word "[Son]" (Proverbs 30:5-6). Left as God had it written (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), Acts 20:28 reveals Jesus to be God, because it was God who purchased the church "with the blood of his own."

Lie # 3. JW's claim Jehovah does not have a physical body.

In their book, Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, which leads to everlasting destruction, on page 24 they write,

. . . "God is a Spirit"; he does not have a physical body. (John 4:24)

This is a lie. Abraham fed God's physical body (Genesis 18:1-8, NWT). Jacob wrestled with God's physical body (Genesis 32:24-30, NWT). Daniel saw God's head, hair, and clothing as He sat on a throne (Daniel 7:9, NWT). Micah wrote of God walking barefoot and naked (Micah 1:8, NWT). The Scriptures clearly declare Jehovah does have a physical body. This is, at least in part, why the Bible has so many references to the physical body parts of God (e.g. heart, hands, head, eyes, ears, mouth, feet, nostrils, waist, etc., see our report, The Lord Is A Man).

Lie # 4. JW's claim the Holy Spirit is not Jehovah.

In their article entitled, Who Is God? JW's write,

Jehovah lives in heaven, but he can see all things. (Psalm 11:4, 5; John 1:18) What, though, is the holy spirit? It is not a person like God. Rather, it is God's active force. Psalm 104:30. (www.watchtower.org/library/rq/article_02.htm)

2 Corinthians 3:17 proves this to be a lie.

Now Jehovah is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17a, NWT)

II. His Godship

JW's "Godship" is sunk in the despair of deceit. They reject the true God, who is plural in who He is (e.g. Genesis 3:22; 11:6-8; Matthew 28:19). In their article, What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus? they plainly declare that God is "Not a Plural God" (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_05.htm).

Yet, the Scriptures reveal that He is a plural God, as Genesis 1:26-27 illustrates.

And God went on to say: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving on the earth." And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God's image he created him; (NWT)

In verse 26 God says, "Let us make man in our image," and whose image is man created in? God's image, as verse 27 plainly declares. There is no one else in view, not even the angels are mentioned. It was God's image that man was made in, and this image is plural ("us," "our").

III. His purposes

A. In suffering

In their book, Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, JW's lie when they say,

The Bible assures us that the suffering we see around us is not caused by Jehovah God. (p. 71)

Isaiah 45:6-7 declares,

I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. Forming light and creating darkness, making peace and creating calamity, I, Jehovah, am doing all these things. (NWT)

Jehovah says He is the one who is creating the calamity, as Romans 11:36 states,

Because from him and by him and for him are all things. (NWT)

Romans 1:18 declares, "God's wrath is being revealed" (NWT), and this is why there is so much suffering on the earth. "Jehovah is a Killer" (1 Samuel 2:6, NWT), and He is good at what He does (Nahum 1:7, NWT).

In this same vein, JW's write,

How comforting it is to learn from the Bible that God does not torture anyone! - Jeremiah 7:30,31. (Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, p. 88)

It's amazing they say this when their own Bible says,

If anyone worships the wild beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God that is poured out undiluted into the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb. (Revelation 14:9-10)

The JW's perverted view of Jehovah on this accord (i.e. He doesn't torture anyone or cause suffering) is so bad they outright reject the Biblical teaching of hell. In The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom February 15, 1997 publication on the back page they write,

Jehovah's Witnesses have long held that hell, as the Bible teaches it, is simply the common grave of dead mankind - not a place of fiery torment.

Jesus has some radically serious words for "the common grave" "where their maggot does not die and the fire is not put out" (Mark 9:43-48, NWT, "gehenna" = hell, e.g. see KJV). This foolish and damning JW lie holds no place for the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) who presently is "existing in torments" (Luke 16:23, NWT). Likewise, the Sodomites know otherwise for they are "undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire" (Jude 7, NWT).

B. In Authority

JW's also lie when they reject the rulership of Jehovah. In their article, Who Really Rules the World? they write,

Many people would answer the above question with a single word - God. But significantly, nowhere does the Bible say that either Jesus Christ or his Father are the real rulers of this world. On the contrary, Jesus said: "The ruler of this world will be cast out." And he added: "The ruler of the world is coming. And he has no hold on me." - John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11. (www.watchtower.org/library/t22/who_rules.htm)

Indeed, Satan is called the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and does rule via deception (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9), but,

Jehovah himself has firmly established his throne in the very heavens; and over everything his own kingship has held domination. (Psalm 103:19, NWT)

. . . the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind (Daniel 4:17, NWT; see also Daniel 4:25, 32; 5:21).

Come, you people, and see the activities of God. His dealing with the sons of men is fear-inspiring. He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they went crossing over on foot. There we began to rejoice in him. He is ruling by his mightiness to time indefinite. (Psalm 66:5-7a, NWT; see also Psalm 22:28; 59:13)

Note also that Jesus is "The Ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5, NWT)

C. Seeing God

JW's write,

Though it is true that humans will never be able to see the true God, he has kindly had recorded for us in the Bible many details about his personality. (www.watchtower.org/library/g/1999/2/8/article_04.htm)

Matthew 5:8 says,

Happy are the pure in heart, since they shall see God. (NWT, see also 1 John 3:1-2)

Conclusion

JW's are not pure in heart. They are liars (1 John 2:4). Not all the lies of JW's are given in this report, but just a few that you might be warned of their deceit (Ephesians 5:11, NKJV). All who follow after this false religion will, despite their unbelief in such a place, spend forever in the lake of fire, because they were "unbelieving" (Revelation 21:8).

Footnotes:

1. This same false doctrine can be found in the article What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus? where they write,

What comes through very clearly to an impartial reader is that God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, separate and distinct from anyone else, and that Jesus, even in his prehuman existence, is also separate and distinct, a created being, subordinate to God. (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_05.htm)

A little later they write,

Thus, Jesus had an existence in heaven before coming to the earth. But was it as one of the persons in an almighty, eternal triune Godhead? No, for the Bible plainly states that in his prehuman existence, Jesus was a created spirit being, just as angels were spirit beings created by God. Neither the angels nor Jesus had existed before their creation. (ibid.)

And a little later,

Yes, Jesus was created by God as the beginning of God's invisible creations. (ibid.)

2. This same error can be found in their article What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus? where they write,

The temptation of Jesus would make sense only if he was, not God, but a separate individual who had his own free will, one who could have been disloyal had he chosen to be, such as an angel or a human. On the other hand, it is unimaginable that God could sin and be disloyal to himself. "Perfect is his activity . . . A God of faithfulness, . . . righteous and upright is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4) So if Jesus had been God, he could not have been tempted. - James 1:13. (www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_05.htm)

This makes for good worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:20; 3:19), but not Biblical truth (Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 11:33).

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