Lesson 4: Jehovah’s Witnesses

They knocked on Samuel’s door and offered him a copy of Awake magazine. The visitors were a woman with two of her children. They were well-dressed and friendly. The magazine’s cover article was about how to help children do better in school. The woman read a verse of scripture, made a comment on it, and then asked Samuel if he would be interested in being visited for a Bible study. Samuel said he would think about it.

► Read Hebrews 1 aloud together. Each student should write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What does this passage tell us about Jesus? Each student should write a list of statements. As a group, discuss what you have written.

History

Charles Russell started Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881 to publish his distinctive teachings. The organization changed its name to Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931.

Russell wrote a six-volume set of scripture studies. He said that people would be better off to read his books without the Bible than to read the Bible without his books. He said that if a person stopped reading his books and read only the Bible, he would be in darkness within two years, but if he would read only his books without the Bible, he would be in the light.

The Bible says that God’s Word is a light that guides us, see Psalm 119:105. The Holy Spirit teaches followers of Christ even if we have no human teacher, see 1 John 2:27.

Doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been changed many times.

Leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses have made many prophecies that did not come true. For example, the second leader, Rutherford, predicted that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be resurrected in 1925 and live in a luxurious house that he prepared for them. They did not come, but he lived in the house himself.

The Bible says that if a person’s prophecy does not come true, he is not to be trusted as a prophet, see Deuteronomy 18:22.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that all other churches are Satanic, and that there is no salvation except through their organization.

Jesus told the disciples that not all servants of God would be in the same organization, see Luke 9:49-50. Salvation is found only through Jesus, not any organization, see Acts 4:10, 12.

► What are some things you can see already that indicate that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not scriptural Christianity?

Present Influence

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that they work in 239 countries and publish in over 900 languages. They have printed around 40 billion pieces of literature.[1] They have nearly 118,000 congregations, and a membership of more than 8 million active members.[2]

Headquarters for the Jehovah’s Witnesses are in Brooklyn, New York.

Difficult Doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not participate in government elections or hold any government office, because they believe they are separate from the kingdoms of this world.

In the Bible, men like Nehemiah, Mordecai, and Daniel served God but also worked for heathen nations, see Nehemiah 1:11-2:1; Esther 8:2, Esther 10:3; and Daniel 6:1-3.

They do not serve in the military and do not believe that war is ever right.

They do not celebrate any holidays, whether national holidays, Christian holidays, or birthdays, because they believe that all the celebrations follow pagan customs.

They do not accept blood transfusions, even to save life, because of the scriptures that forbid the eating of blood.

They do not pay tithe, and their pastors do not get salaries.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe a person can be saved immediately by putting his faith in Christ. They believe he must join their organization, learn their doctrines, and begin practicing their requirements. Salvation is a process, and the moment when one can know he is saved is not definite.

In the New Testament, people became Christians in the moment when they repented and put their faith in Christ, see Acts 2:41 and Acts 8:26-39. This is possible because we are saved by grace and not by works.

Every member is required to turn in monthly reports of witnessing activity. A member who does not turn in reports is taken from the list of active members and is not considered saved.

The Bible says that God has a list in heaven of those who are saved, see Luke 10:20 and Revelation 21:27. That list does not belong to an earthly organization.

► According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, how is a person saved?

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept the cross as a Christian symbol, and believe that Jesus died on a stake.

They say that the doctrine of the Trinity should be rejected because it is illogical and impossible to understand, as if there should not be anything in God’s nature that is beyond our understanding.

[3][4]Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is not God, but an impersonal force that comes from God, comparable to the power of electricity.

They claim to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but they believe that only his spirit rose, not his body.

► Why should these doctrines be called “difficult doctrines”?

The most serious doctrinal error of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is denying the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be real Christianity. They claim that all other churches are false. But if a person understands and believes all the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, he does not believe the scriptural gospel and is not a Christian.

Tactics of Jehovah’s Witnesses

A person who is interested in joining the Witnesses goes through a Bible study for several months. He has to make changes in his life to follow what he is learning. Then he is baptized and becomes a “publisher,” and is supposed to distribute literature from the organization.

On average, publishers spend 10,000 hours witnessing before gaining one new member.[5]

Each member buys printed materials from the organization to distribute.

They do not call their congregations churches. They believe all churches are Satanic. They call their buildings “Kingdom Halls.”

The New Testament is written to churches, see Revelation 1:4 and 1 Corinthians 14:33.

They try to prove their doctrines by scripture to people who trust the Bible without knowing much about it. They have published their own version of the Bible, called The New World Translation, with changes that support their doctrine. They changed many verses that imply the deity of Christ. This version was not produced by real biblical language scholars.

They say Jesus is Son of God and Savior of the world, and that he made salvation possible. They teach that Jesus was the first thing God created and he was merely a perfect man, not God.

► In Colossians 1:16-17, the New World Translation added the word “other,” so that the verses say that Jesus created all other things, is before all other things, and for him all other things exist. Why do you think the Jehovah’s Witnesses added that word?

► Now go back and read the bold and italicized text and each scripture.

► The doctrines in the list below are all denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Look at the Handbook of Doctrine to see the importance of each doctrine and the evidence for it. Make sure you understand how the verses referenced prove the doctrine.

(5) Jesus is God.

(6) Jesus rose bodily from the dead.

(7) The Holy Spirit is God.

(8) God is a Trinity.

(9) Salvation is only by the atonement of Christ.

(11) We receive salvation by faith.

(12) We can have personal assurance of salvation.

(13) The unsaved will suffer eternal punishment.

Do not treat Jehovah’s Witnesses rudely. Because they believe they are persecuted for the truth, they expect evangelical Christians to treat them badly. Instead, show the love of Christ and a genuine concern for them. This is probably the most effective way to win them to Christ.

Don’t argue about smaller issues, like celebration of holidays or serving in the military. It is much more important to talk about the basics of the gospel and assurance of salvation.

The priority is to share the gospel. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have assurance of salvation and a personal relationship with God.

Paul was raised a Jehovah’s Witness, and many of his relatives are still in the cult. As an adult he drifted away from the organization, but still believed they were right. His wife became a Christian, and he decided to prove to her that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were right. In his study he found that they had made many false prophecies. He began to read the Bible and realized that Jesus is God, and not an angel like he had been taught. He read the verse where Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and realized that what he needed was not just religious beliefs, but a relationship with Jesus.

► Now read Hebrews 1 again. Each student should write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for a Jehovah’s Witness. Several students can share what they wrote.

Remember to find an opportunity to present the gospel to someone from this religious group. Prepare to share with your classmates about the conversation you have had. Write your 2-page written report and turn it in to your class leader.