The 10 Most Important Things You Can Say to A Jehovah's Witness

by Ron Rhodes

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

Copyright © 2001 Ron Rhodes
Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402
All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-7369-0535-9

Contents

Introduction
Icon Chart


1. The Watchtower Society Does Not Speak for God
   
2. The New WorldTranslation Is Inaccurate and Misleading
   
3. God Has Other Names Besides Jehovah
   
4. Jesus Is God Almighty
   
5. The Holy Spirit Is God, Not a “Force”
   
6. The Biblical God Is aTrinity
   
7. Salvation Is by GraceThrough Faith, Not by Works
   
8. There Is One People of God–NotTwo Peoples with Different Destinies
   
9. Man Is Conscious in the Afterlife, and Hell Is a Real Place of Eternal Suffering
   
10. Jesus Changed My Life Forever
    Bibliography
    Notes

Chapter 1

The Watchtower Society
Does Not Speak for God

The Watchtower Society is the organization that governs Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe God personally set up this organization as His visible representative on earth. It is through this organization– and no other–that God allegedly teaches the Bible to humankind today. According to the Watchtower Society, people are unable to ascertain the true meaning of Scripture without its vast literature.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are extremely exclusivistic in viewing the Watchtower Society as the sole possessor and propagator of God’s truth. Other Christian organizations are viewed as deceptive and rooted in the work of the devil. Even reading the Bible is considered insufficient in and of itself in learning the things of God. Unless a person is in touch with the Watchtower Society, it is claimed, he or she will not progress spiritually even if that person reads the Bible regularly. Witnesses are expected to obey the Society as the voice of God. Not surprisingly, Watchtower literature is replete with admonitions to “depen-dent” Bible interpretation–that is, dependent on the Watchtower Society.

If a Jehovah’s Witness disobeys the instructions of the Watch-tower Society–even on a relatively minor matter–the assumption is that this individual is apostate, and the punishment is disfellowshiping. Jehovah’s Witnesses in good standing with the Watchtower Society are forbidden to interact or talk with one who has been disfellowshiped. The only exception to this is if the disfellowshiped person is in one’s immediate family, such as a husband or wife, in which case it is permissible to conduct “necessary business.” The fear of disfellowshiping is one of the Watchtower’s most effective means of keeping individual Jehovah’s Witnesses obedient to its teachings.

The Watchtower Society

1. The Watchtower Society is viewed as God’s voice on earth.

2. Jehovah’s Witnesses are expected to unquestioningly obey the Watchtower.

3. Witnesses are instructed to depend on the Watch-tower for the correct interpretation of the Bible.

4. Reading the Bible alone, without Watchtower literature, will lead a person astray.

5. The penalty for failing to obey the Watchtower is disfellowshiping.

   While unquestioning submission to the Watchtower Society may seem unreasonable to you and me, the Society often cites verses from the Bible to make it appear that God instructs believers to engage in such submission:

6. Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that the Watchtower Society is the “faithful and discreet slave” mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:45-47 (NWT). Other Christian organizations are said to be represented by the evil slave mentioned in verses 48-51.

7. Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that the primary teaching of 2 Peter 1:20,21 is that there should be “no private interpretations” of the Bible. Only the Watchtower Society can offer the true meaning of the Bible.

8. The Watchtower Society cites Acts 8:30,31 [where Philip helps an Ethiopian man understand the Scriptures] to illustrate that people cannot rightly understand the Bible without an organization to guide them. The Watchtower is allegedly God’s Bible-interpreting organization on earth.

Below I will take a closer look at these verses.

The Bible yields clear proof that the Watchtower Society is a human institution that does not speak for God. The Society 1) misinterprets key verses in supporting its own authority; 2) has a track record of false prophecies; and 3) has changed its position on important issues through the years–something that a true spokesman for God would never do. Consider the evidence.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is staying away a long time,” and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Watchtower Society is not the “faithful and wise servant” of which Jesus speaks in this passage. Jehovah’s Witnesses are practicing eisogesis (reading a meaning into the text) instead of practicing exegesis (deriving the meaning out of the text).

Contrary to the Watchtower view, Jesus in this parable likens any follower to a servant who has been put in charge of his master’s household. He contrasts two possible ways that each professed disciple could carry out the task–faithfully or unfaithfully. The servant who chooses to be faithful makes every effort and focuses all his energies on fulfilling his commitments and obligations while his master is away. By contrast, the unfaithful servant calculates that his master will be away for a prolonged time and decides to mistreat his fellow servants and “live it up.” He is careless and callous, utterly failing to fulfill his obligations. Jesus’ message is a call to every Christian to be faithful. Those who are faithful will be rewarded at the Lord’s return.

Since the Watchtower Society claims to be God’s collective faithful slave that alone guides people in their understanding of Scripture, and since this organization did not come into existence until the late-nineteenth century, does this mean God had no true representatives on earth for many centuries? Does this mean God did not care whether people understood the Bible for all those centuries? Ask your Jehovah’s Witness friend.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation renders verse 20: “For you know this first, that no prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation.” Contrary to the Watchtower understanding, the word “interpretation” here literally means “unloosing” in the Greek. The verse could be paraphrased: “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own unloosing.” In other words, the prophecies did not stem merely from the prophets themselves or by human imaginings, but ultimately they came from God (as verse 21 goes on to emphatically state). This passage is not dealing with how to interpret Scripture but rather deals with how Scripture came to be written.

With this in mind, let us consider verses 20 and 21 together: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own [unloosing], for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (NASB, emphasis added). Now, the word “for” at the beginning of verse 21 (” for no prophecy was ever made by...”) carries an explanatory function, indicating that verse 21 explains verse 20 by restating its contents and then pointing to God as the author of Scripture. This means verse 21 contextually indicates that the collective focus of verses 20 and 21 is Scripture’s origin, not its interpretation.

The Word “moved” in 2 Peter 1:21 NASB (“men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”) literally means “borne along” or “carried along.” Luke uses this word to refer to a ship being “borne along” by the wind (Acts 27:15,17). The experienced sailors on the ship could not navigate the ship because the wind was so strong. The ship was being driven by the wind. Likewise, the biblical authors were driven, directed, and carried by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit “moved” or “directed” the human authors of the Bible as they wrote (2 Peter 1:21). The word “moved” is a strong one, indicating the Spirit’s complete superintendence of the human authors. While humans were individually active and consciously involved in writing Scripture, the Spirit ultimately directed them in what they wrote. In view of this, 2 Peter 1:20,21 cannot be used to support the Watchtower’s contention that people should avoid “private interpretations” of what Scripture means. Such an interpretation is foreign to the context.

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

On the one hand, this passage indicates that guidance is sometimes needed to help people understand Scripture. The meaning of certain Scripture passages is not always immediately evident, even to those who are earnest seekers. This is one reason God gives “teachers” to the church (see Ephesians 4:11) and provides the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15).

However, there is no evidence for an organization whose infallible views must be accepted by all true followers of God. In Acts 8:30,31, one man (Philip) taught an Ethiopian man directly from Scripture (not from literature designed by an organization), after which time the Ethiopian confessed his faith in Christ and got baptized (see Acts 8:34-38).

The Bible tells us that when Philip and the Ethiopian “came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39 NASB, emphasis added). The eunuch did not have to join and submit to an organization. Drive this point home to your Jehovah’s Witness friend.

Contrary to biblical prophets, the Watchtower Society has a track record of giving false prophecies. Although claiming to be a “prophet” organization, the Watch-tower Society has set forth false prophecies. Three of them are especially notable:

1. The Watchtower Society (WS) predicted that 1914 would mark the overthrow of human governments and the full establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

2. The WS predicted that in 1925 select Old Testament saints (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) would rise from the grave and live in San Diego.

3. The WS predicted that in 1975 human history would end and the 1,000-year reign of Christ would begin.

1914: Studies in the Scriptures (1891) refers to “the full establishment of the Kingdom of God in the earth at A.D. 1914.”

1925: Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1920) said, “1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the faithful prophets of old.”
1975: Our Kingdom Ministry (in 1968) claimed: “There are only about ninety months [7 years] left before 6,000 years of man’s existence on earth is completed.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses sometimes argue that some of the biblical prophets held mistaken views and yet they were not branded as false prophets. Jonah is cited as an example. Jonah’s prediction about the destruction of Nineveh did not come to pass (see Jonah 3:4-10; 4:1,2). Clearly, we are told, a biblical prophet made a mistake. Since Jonah was not condemned, neither should modern “prophet” organizations like the Watchtower Society be condemned for mistakes.

A look at the Bible, however, proves that Jonah did not make a mistake. Indeed, he told the Ninevites precisely what God had told him to say (Jonah 3:1). Since God cannot err (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2), Jonah’s statement was not a false prophecy. It is clear that there was an implied condition in Jonah’s exhortation to Nineveh: “Unless you repent, God will destroy you.” The fulfillment of the threat of judgment was thus contingent on the repentance of Nineveh–a fact proven by their repentance (see 3:5) as well as by Jonah’s selfish admission that he was afraid from the beginning that they would repent and God would save them (Jonah 4:2).

God’s allowance of repentance in the face of judgment is stated as a principle in Jeremiah 18:7,8: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” This principle is illustrated in the case of Nineveh. Thus, Jonah’s prophecy cannot be cited to lessen the guilt of the Watchtower Society in its numerous false predictions. Biblical prophets were 100-percent accurate. If a prophet made a false prophecy, he was stoned to death (Deuteronomy 18:22). Emphasize this fact to the Jehovah’s Witness.

The Watchtower Society has changed its position on important issues, something a true spokesman for God would never do. This charge is illustrated in the fact that the Watchtower Society (WS) has often changed its position on medical issues. Vaccinations are a good example. Back in 1931, the Golden Age magazine said that a “vaccination is a direct violation of the everlasting covenant that God made with Noah after the flood.” Vaccinations were forbidden by the WS for 20 years. However, it dropped this prohibition in the 1950s. The August 22, 1965 issue of Awake! magazine even acknowledged that vaccinations seem to have caused a decrease in diseases. [Doesn’t it make you wonder how parents of children who had died as a result of not being vaccinated in those early years felt when the WS (the “voice of God”) suddenly reversed its position?]

We find another example in the Watchtower Society’s change of position on organ transplants. The November 15, 1967 issue of The Watchtower magazine said organ transplants amounted to cannibalism and are not appropriate for Christians. The next year’s issue of Awake! magazine agreed that all organ transplants are cannibalism. The WS banned organ transplants for some 13 years, during which time many Jehovah’s Witnesses died or suffered greatly as a result of not having such treatment. But the WS changed its position when the medical benefits of transplants became a proven fact. The March 15, 1980 issue of The Watchtower magazine said organ transplants are not necessarily cannibalistic and began allowing them.

In view of such changes through the years, the Watchtower Society’s claim to be the voice of God on earth is a shallow one. It is clear that the Society is a human institution that does not truly speak for God.

It is also worth noting that during the Watchtower presidency of Frederick Franz (1977—1992), there developed a crisis within the Watchtower Society as many Witnesses began to personally examine the history of the Society. Some of those raising questions were prominent leaders who were soon forced out of the Watchtower organization for their disloyalty. One of these was Raymond Franz, former Governing Body member of the Watchtower Society and nephew of the president–an event newsworthy enough that Time magazine ran a full-page article about it. Raymond, after being disfellowshiped, later affirmed that service on the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society was truly disillusioning, which he documented in a book called Crisis of Conscience. He demonstrated that the Society is not biblical, has uttered false prophecies, has altered key teachings and policies, and has participated in lying and cover-ups. (Though Crisis of Conscience is not a Christian book, it does provide plenty of information against the Watchtower Society. You might consider reading it.)

Jehovah’s Witnesses consider Crisis of Conscience to be “apostate literature” since it was written by a former Witness. Use the book to gather important information, but do not hand it to them on the doorstep. They will not read it.

The Bible instructs us to test truth claims by Scripture, not by an external organization such as the Watchtower Society. Acts 17:11, for example, encourages us to follow the lead of the Bereans by testing religious claims against the Bible. They knew that the Bible is the only measuring stick for truth: “The Bereans…received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

A key Bible passage that relates to this is 2 Timothy 3:15-17. The apostle Paul notes “how from infancy you [Timothy] have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thor-oughly equipped for every good work.” Jewish boys formally began studying the Old Testament Scriptures when they were five years of age. Timothy had been taught the Scriptures by his mother and grandmother beginning at this age. And Scripture alone was sufficient to provide Timothy the necessary wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ. The Scriptures alone are the ultimate source of spiritual knowledge.

Notice that 2 Timothy 3:16,17 does not tell us that Scripture as seen through the lens of the Watchtower Society is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,” and so forth. It is Scripture alone that does these things. And the reason Scripture can do these things is that “all Scripture is inspired by God” (verse 16). The word “inspired” means “God-breathed.” Scripture is sufficient because its source is God. Watch-tower literature, by contrast, comes from human wisdom.

The Watchtower Society (WS) misinterprets Bible verses to support its authority.

Unlike biblical prophets, the WS has a history of false prophecies.

The WS has changed its position on important issues through the years.

The Bible says to test all truth claims by Scripture alone.

For further facts on the Watchtower Society as a human institution that does not truly speak for God, I invite you to consult my book Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, pp. 23-48, 339-75.

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Excerpted from The 10 Most Important Things You Can Say to A Jehovah's Witness ByRon Rhodes. Copyright © 2001 by Harvest House Publishers. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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