OUR SINCERE
PLEA TO OUR FRIENDS
IN THE
JEHOVAHS
WITNESSES ORGANIZATION
The churches
of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
Origin and History
It is with no
personal
ill-will that we plead with Jehovahs Witnesses to consider some of
their
history and their teaching that contradicts the Bible. They do not
hesitate to
attack that with which they do not agree. In their book, Let God Be
True,
p. 221, we read, false principles of all religions are attacked by
Jehovahs Witnesses
Officially known as
the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the Jehovahs Witnesses are a
product of
the life work of Charles Taze Russell. Mr. Russell was born in the town
of
Allegheny, now part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 16, 1852.
While
still in his teens and without formal theological education he
organized a
Bible class and became their pastor. In 1879 he founded the magazine,
Zions
Watchtower, in which he published his own unique interpretation of
the
Bible.
In 1886 Mr. Russell
published
the first volume of seven books (six were written by Russell) entitled The
Millennial Dawn. These were later renamed Studies in the
Scriptures.
Mr. Russell was in frequent clashes with the courts and he did not
always come
out of these ordeals unscathed. He perjured himself in court, and his
wife was
given a decree of divorce because the Judge of the High Court of
Ontario opined
that no woman of ordinary sensibility could live with a man of so much
egotism
and arrogance (Jan Karel Van Baalan, The Chaos of the Cults,
p.
259).
Several months
after the
death of Mr. Russell in 1916, the societys legal counselor, Joseph
Franklin
Rutherford, became the second President of the Watchtower Society. The
name of
Jehovahs Witnesses was not adopted until July 26, 1931, at the
international
assembly in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Rutherford not only moved the Societys
headquarters to Brooklyn, he also established theocratic control with
the
power to make all policy decisions.
In 1920, Judge
Rutherford
published a book entitled, Millions Now Living Will Never Die.
In this
book he prophesied: Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925
will mark
the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old,
particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, to
the
condition of human perfection. (pp. 89, 90). On page 88, he said
that they
would be Fully restored to perfect humanity and made the visible
representatives of the new order of things on the earth. As you
know, 1925
is now come and gone and this prophecy has completely failed.
Yet, Mr. Rutherford
said, the
above mentioned people were to be visible. Therefore, the prophecy
was false
and that makes Mr. Rutherford a false prophet. The Bible says, "And
you
may say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has
not
spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing
does not
come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not
spoken. The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (Deut.
18:21-22).
After the death of
Mr.
Rutherford in 1942 he was succeeded by Nathan H. Knorr. It was during
Mr.
Knorrs presidency that the society produced its own English
Translation of the
Bible entitled The New World Translation of Holy Scriptures. This
translation was produced entirely by Jehovahs Witnesses, specifically
for
Jehovahs Witnesses, making them the first to produce their own entire
Bible. A
careful study of this translation will reveal the potential of a
translation to
mislead, the extent to which the doctrinal errors of translators may be
inserted into the text of their work, and the degree to which some will
go in
an attempt to force the Word of God to conform to their heresies.
During their
earlier history
the Witnesses used the King James Version, the American Standard
Version, and
the Emphatic Diaglott, until the Watchtower Society published their own
New
World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Their New Testament was first
released in 1950; the entire Bible was published in 1961, with second
and third
revisions being issued in 1970 and 1971.
Frederick W. Franz
became the
new president of the Watchtower after the death of Mr. Knorr in 1977.
Mr. Franz
is currently conducting business in Knorrs manner.
This organization,
the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, was unknown to Christ and the
apostles, is
not found in the New Testament, and was never heard of in the first
century. It
didnt come into existence until the time of Mr. Charles Taze Russell
in the
1800s. Therefore, it could not be the church of the Lord established
in the
first century.
Source of Authority and
Attitude Toward
the Bible
There are no
articles of
faith or authoritative doctrinal statements issued by the Watchtower.
Their
theological views are found in their various publications, including
the Watchtower
and Awake. The doctrine that proceeds from these works is
considered
authoritative. They contend their ultimate source of authority is the
Bible: To
let God be found true means to let God have the say as to what is the
truth
that sets men free. It means to accept His word, the Bible, as the
truth. Hence,
in this book, our appeal is to the Bible for the truth. Our obligation
is to
back up what is said herein by quotations from the Bible for proof of
truthfulness and reliability. (Let God Be True, 1946, p.
9).
However, their real
attitude
toward the Bible is clearly revealed by Mr. Russell in the following
comment: If
the six volumes of Scripture Studies are practically the Bible,
topically
arranged with Bible proof texts given, we might not improperly name the
volumes
the Bible in an arranged form, that is to say, they are not mere
comments on
the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself. Furthermore, not
only do
we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by
itself,
but we see, also, that if anyone lays the Scripture Studies aside, even
after
he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has
read
them for ten years if he then lays them aside and ignores them and
goes to
the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our
experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the
other
hand, if he had merely read the Scripture Studies with their references
and had
not read a page of the Bible as such, he would be in the light at the
end of
two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures.
(Charles
Taze Russell, The Watchtower, September 15, 1910, p. 298). Mr. Russell
thinks
very highly of himself. Does he know more than God?
This attitude
toward the
Scriptures is totally contrary to what the Bible teaches. The apostle
Paul
wrote: that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery,
as I
wrote before in brief. By referring to
this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of
Christ (Eph
3:3-4). Paul also wrote: All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for
correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be
adequate,
equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The apostle Peter
wrote: seeing
that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life
and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own
glory and
excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and
magnificent
promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of {the}
divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust
(2 Pet.
1:3-4).
Did mankind have to
wait
until Charles Taze Russell was born and began the Watchtower Bible and
Tract
Society to learn the truth? Surely, common sense tells us that people
do not
need this organization to be able to read, understand and obey the word
of God.
Furthermore, even a causal reading of their teachings reveals that they
misquote publications and authors, taking statements out of context in
a number
of places in order to make a case for their heresies.
Some Prominent Doctrines of
Jehovahs
Witnesses
The
Godhead:
Jehovahs Witnesses teach that only God, the Father, is Deity. Christ
is viewed
as the first of Gods created sons, and the other sons were created
through
Christ: as Gods Chief Agent. Before Christ came to the earth He
was known
as the Word, Gods spokesman (John 1:3, 10, 14; Col. 1:15-17)
(The
Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, pp. 47-48). The Holy Spirit, they
add is
not a person, but Gods active force (Ibid., p. 24).
In the book, United
in
Worship of the Only True God, the Witnesses affirm, To fellow
Christians the apostle Paul wrote that, even though there are many who
are
called gods, there is actually to us one God the Father.and there is
one Lord,
Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 8:5-6). The one God to whom Paul referred is
Jehovah,
the Creator of all things (Deut. 6:4; Rev. 4:11) (p. 12). They
draw
conclusions unwarranted by the text and affirm that only the Father is
truly
God. (Request the tract, What is the Biblical Teaching on the
Godhead?)
The
Deity of Jesus: They teach
that Jesus was a created being rather than an eternal
being. In their tract, Should You Believe in the Trinity, they
write, But
was it (the pre-human existence of Jesus) as one of the
persons in an
almighty, external triune Godhead? No, for the Bible plainly states
that in his
pre-human existence, Jesus was a created being, just as angels were
spirit
beings created by God. Neither the angels nor Jesus had existed before
their creation
(p.14). (Request the tract, Was Jesus a Created Being?)
The
Nature of Christs Kingdom:
Jehovahs Witnesses are wrong both in the time of
the kingdoms establishment as well as the nature of the
kingdom
belonging to Christ. They teach that the kingdom of Christ was not
established
until the year AD 1914. The undefeatable purpose of Jehovah God to
establish a righteous kingdom in these last days was fulfilled in AD
1914
(The Kingdom of God in Let God be True, pp. 143-144). The manner is which they arrived at this date
is based upon an erroneous application of Ezekiel 21:27 and a
mishandling of
Daniel 9.
They distinguish
between the
church and the kingdom. J. F. Rutherford, one of their presidents,
stated, The
church of Christ consists of Jesus Christ the head and the 144,000
members of
his body (Rutherford, J.F., The Harp of God, 1921, p.
279). Concerning
the 144,000 they state, These are the only ones whom Jehovah God
takes to
heaven with his Son. All others who gain
life in His new world will live in paradise restored here on earth
(From Paradise
Lost to Paradise Regained, 1958, p. 153). (Request
the tract, What is the Nature of
Christs Kingdom?
Everlasting
Punishment: The Watchtower
denies the existence of hell as a
place of everlasting punishment for the wicked. They argue, The
doctrine of a burning hell where the
wicked are tortured eternally after death cannot be true mainly for
four
reasons: (1) It is wholly unscriptural, (2) It is unreasonable, (3)It
is
contrary to Gods love, and (4) It is repugnant to justice (Let
God Be
True, p. 9).
In anticipation of
this false
teaching the Holy Spirit guided Paul to write: For after all it is
{only}
just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and {to
give}
relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus
shall be
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing
out
retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey
the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of
His
power (2 Thess. 1:6-9).
In the book of
Matthew Jesus
spoke of eternal punishment and eternal life in the same context: And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt. 25:46). The
doctrine of everlasting punishment is neither contrary to God's love
nor justice,
as the Watchtower claims. Jesus Christ has taken the sins of the world
upon
Himself and offers everlasting life to all who will receive the free
gift of
God. If people reject His offer then they must sufferer the penalty for
their
own sin. (Request the tract Is Hell a Place of Everlasting
Punishment)
There are many more
false
doctrines advanced by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, such as:
ManHis
Nature and Death; Sin and Salvation; Baptism; The New World Translation
of The
Holy Scriptures, etc. It is our sincere and firm conviction that the
doctrines
taught by the so-called Jehovahs Witnesses constitutes a system of
infidelity.
Our Sincere Plea to Our
Friends In The
Jehovahs Witnesses Organization
We feel it is our
duty to have
this frank and open study. Please study these thoughts in the same
spirit of love
in which they are written. We are concerned only with serving the Lord
Jesus
Christ according to His divine word as revealed in the New Testament
and we
plead for everyone to do the same. We will be happy to discuss these
words with
anyone. If there is a reputable teacher for the Jehovah Witnesses who
is
willing to discuss our differences in an open forum or public debate we
will be
happy to work out the arrangements and discuss these matters. The Bible
teaches
that Gods people are both to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15) and to
defend that
Gospel when it is attacked by various teachers of error (Jude 3; 1 Pet.
3:15;
Phil. 1:15; 1 John 4:1).