The Watchtower
Society and
Jehovah's Witnesses
have been around for over 100 years. Practically all Americans have had
some contact with them, but few people know what they believe. The
information
presented here is drawn from their own books and magazines which they
distribute
publicly. They claim to have the only true religion on earth. This
pamphlet
clearly demonstrates that the God they worship is not the God of the
Bible.
They have another God, another Christ, and another gospel, which is
really
no gospel at all.
God the
Father
The Father
is
Almighty
God. He is not part of
a Trinity.
Jesus was
his only
direct
creation.
His
personal narne is
Jehovah and he should
be addressed by that name.
Prayer and
worship
should
be directed to the
Father.
At one time
they
thought
he lived on the star
Alcyone in the Pleiades constellation.
He limits
his
knowledge
of the future.
He reacts
to
circumstances as they occur.
He is not
omnipotent,
omniscient, or omnipresent
Jesus Christ
He is not
God. He is
not
a person of the Trinity.
He is not equal to God. He is "a god." He is a created being.
God created
everything
else through Jesus.
He was
Michael the
Archangel before coming to
earth.
His life
force was
transferred by holy spirit
to Mary.
When on
earth he was
a
perfect sinless man,
nothing more and nothing less.
He was
raised from
the
dead as Michael the Archangel
without a physical body.
His body
was
dissolved
into gases in the tomb.
He
generated bodies
to
appear to the disciples
after his resurrection. These bodies even included nail holes.
His ransom
consisted
of
giving up his fleshly
body and the right to live forever on earth as a perfect human, which
he
had earned by living a sinless life.
His ransom
paid for
Adam's sin alone. This gives
people the opportunity to earn their salvation by believing in God and
doing good works.
You should
not pray
to or
worship Jesus.
Jesus and
the devil
are
referred to as the "Morning
Stars."
At one time
they
taught
that Jesus returned
invisibly in 1874 to rule the earth. Now they believe he returned
invisibly
in 1914.
He is the
mediator
only
for the "anointed remnant."
He is not mediator for all men.
He died on
a stake,
not a
cross.
The Holy Spirit
It is a
force like
the
wind or electricity.
At one time
they
taught
that holy spirit was
taken away from the remnant in 1918.
The
baptismal formula
followed does not directly
call on holy spirit but rather on "Jehovah's spirit-directed
organization."
The Bible
It is the
inspired
Word
of God.
It is a
closed book
except to the "remnant."
It can only
be
understood
by studying it in
combination with the books put out by the Watchtower Society.
At one time
they said
that reading "Studies
in the Scriptures" by the Society's first president was more profitable
than reading the Bible alone.
A similar
claim was
made
by the Society's second
president about his books.
By reading
the Bible
only, you will believe
what Christendom has taught in its creeds.
Heaven
Only
144,000 go there.
Those who
go to
heaven
will rule with Christ
as kings over those who remain on paradise earth.
At one time
they
taught
that heaven was closed
in 1881, now they believe it closed in the mid 1930s.
Hell
Hell is the
common
grave
of mankind.
It is not a
place of
eternal torment.
Death
Death is
annihilation.
There is no
conscious
existence when you are
dead.
Soul
The "soul"
is the
entire
living person or animal.
It is not an immaterial part of you that continues on after death of
the
body.
Resurrection
God
"remembers"
people
exactly as they were
when they died. (Note: this is not you. It is an exact copy of you.
This
is re-creation, not resurrection.)
Earth
It will
remain
forever.
The
majority of JWs
have
the opportunity to
live on earth forever, instead of going to heaven.
Organization
You must be
associated
with the organization
of Jehovah's Witnesses to survive Armageddon.
"come to
Jehovah's
organization for salvation."
JWs are
baptized in
the
name of "Jehovah's spirit-directed
organization."
You must
follow the
counsel of the organization
and not openly question anything they say.
The
organization is
not
infallibly inspired.
At the same
time, you
must be fully devoted
to obeying the organization.
The
organization is
known
as "mother."
Only the
organization
understands the Bible.
No independent person can.
It is
called a
theocracy,
which means "rule
from God."
Anointed Remnant
Those of
the 144,000
that
are still alive.
They are in
the new
covenant with Jesus as their
mediator.
They must
be born
again.
They will
reign as
associate kings with Jesus
in heaven.
They give
up their
physical bodies and are changed
into spirit creatures when they die.
They are
anointed
with
holy spirit.
Most of
them were
born in
1914 or earlier.
There are
only about
8,000 left.
The remnant
that have
died and gone to heaven
are somehow guiding the work of JWs here on earth.
Governing Body
Twelve men
who are
the
top leaders.
They set
doctrine and
policy.
Their
judgement is
binding on all JWs until
"new light" is received that alters the understanding of a matter.
Likened to
the early
church leaders in Jerusalem.
The Great Crowd
They are
not in the
new
covenant.
They do not
need to
be
born again.
They are
not
justified by
faith.
Jesus is
not their
mediator.
They will
never see
Heaven.
They will
never see
Jesus.
They are
not anointed
with holy spirit.
Are not
God's
children
until passing the final
test at the end of the millennium.
They are
saved by
placing
faith in Jehovah and
the ransom and then assisting the remnant to further the kingdom on
earth.
Communion
Held once a
year.
Only the
surviving
"remnant" may partake. This
is about 8,000 out of current membership of 4,500,000
1914
This was
the year
that
Christ began to rule
invisibly as king towards the earth.
The
generation alive
in
1914 will live to see
Armageddon.
Armageddon.
Early on
they taught
that
it would happen in
Oct. 1914.
They
changed their
prediction to 1915.
Then they
taught it
would
occur in 1918.
They
changed it again
to
1925.
They
changed it again
to
1940's.
They did it
again in
1975.
Only loyal
JWs will
survive Armageddon.
Angels
Angels are
used by
God to
communicate "new light"
to the remnant here on earth.
They help
guide the
preaching work of JWs here
on earth by leading them to call on people who are seeking God.
Before the
Flood,
angels
materialized bodies
and married human women, producing giant, hybrid offspring spoken of as
"Nephilim" in the Old Testament.
Birthdays and Holidays
No
birthdays,
Christmas,
etc.
Blood and Medicine
They cannot
accept
blood
transfusions but they
can accept certain blood factors.
1930's –
1950's they
taught vaccination was
wrong.
1968 – 1980
they
taught
that transplants were
cannibalism.
Minor
children will
be
kidnapped from a hospital
in order to prevent them from receiving blood.
Christendom
Part of
Babylon the
Great
Apostasy
set into
Christianity shortly after
the deaths of the apostles.
All of
Christendom
will
be destroyed at Armageddon.
It teaches
"God-dishonoring doctrines."
Disfellowshipping
People who
have
voluntarily left the group or
who were kicked out cannot be spoken to except as necessary.
Politics
They cannot
salute
the
flag.
They cannot
say the
pledge of allegiance.
They are
pacifists.
They cannot
run for
political office or vote
in elections.
Friends
Worldly
association
is
considered to be dangerous.
Apostates
People who
have left
the
group are known as
apostates.
JWs cannot
talk to
them
or even greet them on
the street.
JWs cannot
read
anything
former members have
written about the organization. It is called "spiritual pornography"
and
"dining at the table of demons."
JWs are
told that
they
must hate apostates.
Opposers
Outsiders
who ask
penetrating questions or try
to reveal the history of the organization are known as opposers.
JWs are not
to have
extended contact with opposers
because it is seen as a waste of time that could be spent in reaching
others.
The Gospel
It is the
message of
the
kingdom which was established
in the heavens in 1914.
By their
own
admission,
it is not the same gospel
preached by the early church.
Blacks and Minorities
For many
years it was
taught that Blacks were
that color as a result of God's curse on Canaan.
The
organization
taught
that Whites were superior
in mental capability to Blacks because God had influenced White society
to bring this about.
Marriage and Children
Several
times in the
history of the organization,
it has counseled its followers to wait until after Armageddon to marry
or have children.
Those
following this
advice have long since
passed child-bearing age.
Justification
It is
currently
taught
that justification is
earned by the "great crowd" by putting faith in God and assisting the
"remnant"
still on the earth. By doing this, the King [Michael, Jesus] will judge
them favorably for assisting his "brothers."
Lying
Lying is
part of
"theocratic war strategy."
A JW can he to someone if they are not entitled to know the truth.
Hate
Jws are
taught that
they
must hate God's enemies,
meaning apostate JWs.
Great Pyramid
For many
years the
Society taught that the Great
Pyramid was the "Bible in stone". They drew parallels between lengths
of
pyramid passages and their own end-times chronology.
Later, they
rejected
the
Great Pyramid and said
that it originates with the devil.
New Light
Periodically
JW
doctrine
will change. This is
known as "new light."
This
adjusting of
doctrine is "the result of
gaining a better understanding of the Bible or fulfilment of prophecy."
This is
seen as proof
that Jehovah is leading
the organization into more accurate knowledge of him
There are
many of
these
changes resulting in
a complete reversal on a specific teaching. JWs must accept the new
viewpoint
without questioning.
Since the
leaders are
not
infallibly inspired,
"new light" may not be right.
Requirements
For
Salvation
The
February 15, 1983
Watchtower identifies
four requirements for salvation.
You must
take in
accurate
knowledge of Jehovah
and his son Jesus.
You must
obey God's
laws.
You must be
associated
with God's channel,
his visible earthly organization.
You must
loyally
advocate
his kingdom rule to
others, primarily through door-to-door witnessing.
Higher Education
For many
years JW
youths
were encouraged to
forego college in order to spend more time going door-to-door.
New light
was
received on
this in 1994 and now
it is up to the young person to decide if they will attend college.
New World Translation
This Bible is
produced by
the Watchtower.
The names of
the
translators and their qualifications
are not available from the Watchtower Society.
Qualified
Hebrew and
Greek
scholars have identified
the New World Translation as an unreliable and corrupted translation.