As we begin the Gospel of John, we are immediately faced with the concept that Jesus has been around since the beginning of time. To supplement our Gospel story, an article by Robert Bowman Jr. that gives us some insights into the religious group called the Jehovah’s Witness. As an introduction a summary of the sect is provided by GotQuestions.org
The sect known today as the Jehovah’s Witnesses started out in Pennsylvania in 1870 as a Bible class led by Charles Taze Russell. Russell named his group the “Millennial Dawn Bible Study.” Charles T. Russell began writing a series of books he called “The Millennial Dawn,” which stretched to six volumes before his death and contained much of the theology Jehovah’s Witnesses now hold. After Russell’s death in 1916, Judge J. F. Rutherford, Russell’s friend and successor, wrote the seventh and final volume of the “Millennial Dawn” series, “The Finished Mystery,” in 1917. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was founded in 1886 and quickly became the vehicle through which the “Millennial Dawn” movement began distributing their views to others. The group was known as the “Russellites” until 1931 when, due to a split in the organization, it was renamed the “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The group from which it split became known as the “Bible students.”
Close scrutiny of their doctrinal position on such subjects as the deity of Christ, salvation, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the atonement shows beyond a doubt that they do not hold to orthodox Christian positions on these subjects. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is Michael the archangel, the highest created being. This contradicts many Scriptures which clearly declare Jesus to be God (John 1:1,14, 8:58, 10:30). Jehovah’s Witnesses believe salvation is obtained by a combination of faith, good works, and obedience. This contradicts countless scriptures which declare salvation to be received by grace through faith (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the inanimate power of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the concept of Christ’s substitutionary atonement and instead hold to a ransom theory, that Jesus’ death was a ransom payment for Adam’s sin.
Are the Teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses Compatible with the Bible?
by Robert M. Bowman Jr.
Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) claim to regard the Bible as the absolute Word of God and to base all their beliefs on it. In fact, the teachings of JWs are contrary to the Bible.
The Bible. JWs use a doctored version of the Bible called the New World Translation (nwt). The JW leaders who produced the nwt were not biblical scholars, and it shows. The most obvious difference between the nwt and other Bibles is its use of “Jehovah” in the NT. JWs claim that the NT originally used the Hebrew name YHWH (translated “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”) and that apostate scribes put “Lord” (Gk kurios) in its place. There is no historical or manuscript evidence for this claim.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. JWs teach that the Father alone is Jehovah, the almighty God; that the Son, Jesus Christ, is “a god” (their translation of Jn 1:1) inferior to the Father; and that the “holy spirit” is an impersonal force emanating from God. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God (Jn 1:1; 17:3; 20:28; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Co 3:17–18; Ti 2:13). The Son made everything (Heb 1:10–12) and is to be honored as God (Jn 5:23; Heb 1:6; Rv 5:13). The Holy Spirit is a person, called the “Comforter” or “Helper” (Gk parakletos); He teaches, speaks, and bears witness to Jesus (Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26–27; 16:13–14).
Death, the soul, and eternal punishment. According to JWs, when unsaved human beings die, they cease to exist. There is no intermediate state of the dead and no eternal punishment for the wicked (who are annihilated instead). The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that human beings exist after their deaths as spirits awaiting the resurrection and final judgment (Lk 16:19–31; 23:43; Heb 12:9, 23; Rv 6:9–11). (The nwt mistranslates Lk 23:43 and the Hebrew texts to avoid this implication.) The wicked will suffer eternal punishment (Mt 25:46; Rv 14:9–11; 20:10).
Jesus’ resurrection and return. JWs believe that God “raised” Jesus from the dead as an angelic spirit, with a so-called spirit body. They deny that He will return visibly and personally to earth. Scripture, however, teaches that Jesus rose with the same physical body with which He died, though glorified and immortal, and that His body possessed flesh and bones, hands and feet, and even marks of His crucifixion (Lk 23:49; Jn 2:19–22; 10:17–18; 20:20, 25; Acts 2:24–32). Though He is the second person of the Godhead, Jesus is also a glorified man (Acts 17:31; 1 Co 15:47; 1 Tm 2:5) and He will return personally and bodily to the earth (Acts 1:9–11; 3:19–21; 1 Th 4:16; Heb 9:26–28).
Salvation. JWs view Jesus’ death as providing a “corresponding ransom,” releasing all people in principle from the condemnation due to Adam’s sin. However, to enjoy everlasting life, JWs believe they must not only accept Christ’s ransom but also prove themselves worthy by their works. The Bible’s teaching is quite different. Christians are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Christ, and our good works are the fruit of salvation, not the prerequisite for it (Rm 3:21–28; 5:1–11; Eph 2:8–10; Ti 3:4–8).