Heresy of the Jehovah’s Witness: From the Theologian’s Corner

Introduction

 Unfortunately, there are a myriad of people torn between what is the right, and what is the wrong religious doctrine to follow. I am only referring to the different denominations of the Christian faith, because this is the area we will dissect through out this article. I particularly want to explore the 20Th centuries greatest and most successful heretical doctrine. I had the luxury of two sets of Grand Parents being regular attendees of their particular faiths. This gave me the opportunity to be confused, as I was exposed to different religions that were suppose to be Christian, and yet had doctrines that were as opposite as a Lion and a Hyena. My Grandmother from my mother’s side of the family is a Jehovah’s Witness, and my father’s parents are die hard Louisiana Catholics. In this article I am going to concentrate on the heretical teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness, and contrast it with the Bible and main stream Christianities teachings.

Roots Of The Heresy

 History tells a interesting story about the Advent movement of the 1800’s, and a man named William Miller. The short story is, Miller made a prediction that Christ would make his second comming on October 23rd 1844. This of course did not happen, and is known in History as The Great Disappointment. This was so significant because Miller had a estimated following of 50,000 known as the Millerites. The prediction Miller made had one fault at its root, Miller never considered Mathew 24:36 NLT, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.* Only the Father knows. If the Divinity of Christ has no answer for this mystery, it is a wrap that man will have no answer. The eschatology continues to fall apart as Miller passes the torch to Charles Tays Russell. The short version is Russell made several false predictions, and his final one was the worst of all. He prophesied that the battle of Armageddon would take place in the year of 1914. The evidence is clear, the world remains with no second comming of Christ, and Russell should have referred to Mathew 24:36 as well.

Get Away From My Door

 You have had that irritating knock at the door form the pioneering Jehovah’s Witness representative. Evangelism is core in Christendom, but recruiting for the glory of the religion, instead of the body of Christ is the red flag of this brand of doctrine. They understand that Christians do not study their Bible and they are more than prepared to argue. They are successful at this, and brag of the fruits of their harvest, being their growing number of converts. However they fail to tell you about how many leave their organization. Remember, the J.W.’s are filled with former Christian’s just like you, who did not study, and their itchy ears failed to follow sound doctrine, and this is how they end up knocking at your door.

What About 1975

 For the year of 1975, the Watchtower Society printed articles in their publications, that made this date significant for the followers to be prepared for the battle of Armageddon. I always like to bring this topic up when I am ambushed by their pioneers. However, they are never prepared to discuss this because, they have not been taught about it. The Elders who are old enough to remember have been programmed to respond by saying something similar to this; ” those people were just over zealous and this did not come from the top”. This is a lie from the Devil’s mouth. Let me refer you to a direct quote from the Watchtower magazine courtesy of JW files.com. ‘What about the year 1975? What is it going to mean, dear friends?’ asked Brother Franz. ‘Does it mean that Armageddon is going to be finished, with Satan bound, by 1975? It could! It could! All things are possible with God. Does it mean that Babylon the Great is going to go down by 1975? It could. Watchtower 10/15/66 pg.631. The facts are they made a wrong prediction once again and disregarded Mathew 24:36, under the leadership of R. Franz, the president of the Watchtower at the time. The Bible clearly teaches in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”. The year 1975 was definitely a fable. There were members of this cult selling their homes, and all they owned because they didn’t believe they had a need for possessions, because the world was ending. The governing body encouraged this as evident in their publication I am referring to. “Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.—1 John 2:17 Kingdom Ministry May 1974 pg.3  This world still exists, and this debacle is not even credible at this point. Perhaps they should just apologize so we can move past this, but I assure you they wont.

 Faith Without Works

  Let me refer you to a teaching that was written in one of their publications, and is often part of the rhetoric and heresy they speak when they are at your front door. “To get one’s name written in that book of life will depend on one’s works, whether they are in fulfillment of God’s will and approved by his Judge and King.” (Watchtower, August 15, 1972).  This is once again a false teaching and the Bible clearly teaches the opposite. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV) How can you earn something that is a gift? Salvation is something that you and I do not deserve, but the Father gives it to us out of his kindness and grace. It is no different than if your child misbehaved in school, and you decided to let him continue with his extra curricular activities even though he does not deserve to participate. They teach that all the literature they pass out is part of the process of earning their way but it i a mis-representation of scripture. In Revelation 20:12, “and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works”. It was speaking of your reward in heaven based on what you have done, but it says nothing about it being based on the grace you have earned. This is a prime example of why Hermeneutics is so important for those who rule over religious bodies.

Conclusion

 These people have definitely drank the Koo laid, and there is nothing to suggest they will change their minds or practices. I did not deal with all of the heretical teachings like blood transfusions, or their badly translated version of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, but I will tackle this in full someday when I release the book on this 20th century heresy. Until then remember to study your Bible, ask questions of Elders in a Bible teaching church. Don’t answer the door if you are not prepared to defend the Gospel, as told in Jude 1:3. Pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the scripture, this is in the word and God and He will answer this request.

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