I have known several Jehovah’s Witnesses during my life, and most of them are sincere, honest people, fully persuaded in what they believe is the absolute Truth. Unfortunately, they take their teachings, not from the Bible, but from their own New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
Charles Taze Russell began the teachings of the JW in 1872. He had trouble with hell being a literal place of punishment, and with the Trinity, the Deity of Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit. He started The Herald of the Morning magazine teaching his Antichrist ideas as Truth. He renamed his magazine as The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom, and is now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. After his death, others have carried his teachings forward, renaming the organization as Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are somewhere around 7 million JWs today. Each issue of The Watchtower Magazine has a print run of 42 million copies. The Awake! brochure has a print run of 41 million copies. They both are distributed in 236 countries.
30 Strange Teachings of JWs –
1-Jesus Christ is a ‘created being’, who at one time did not even exist.
2-Jesus is not to be worshiped or prayed to. He is only the angel Michael.
3-The Holy Spirit is just God’s active force, just like gravity.
4-Heaven is only for select Jehovah’s Witnesses. The majority will live on the New Earth.
5-Heaven is limited to only 144,000 JWs.
6-All other churches and religions are considered False Teachings.
7-There is no hell, nor punishment. Hell is just simply the grave.
8-Salvation is earned only by being a loyal JW.
9-Jesus’ Second Coming happened in 1914, secretly.
10-Jesus did not rise from the dead bodily, but as a spirit.
11-Jesus was equal to Adam – just a man.
12-God is not Omnipresent, nor Omniscient.
13-They are forbidden to marry non-Jehovah’s Witnesses.
14-They are forbidden to read anti-Jehovah’s Witness material.
15-They are forbidden to interpret the Bible without Watch Tower Literature to explain it.
16-They must go door-to-door, weekly, to gain converts.
17-They must attend five meetings weekly.
18-They must forgo vacations to attend annual conventions.
19-Only faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses will survive Armageddon.
20-If you have a non-JW spouse, your first loyalty is to the elders of JW.
21-Only Jehovah’s Witnesses prayers are heard by God.
22-They must never enter a church building.
23-They are forbidden to wear Christian Jewelry.
24-They are forbidden to attend a funeral of an ex-JW member.
25-They are forbidden to accept Christmas Gifts.
26-They are forbidden to celebrate any Christian Holidays.
27-They are forbidden to salute the Flag.
28-They are forbidden to say God Bless You, when someone sneezes.
29-They are forbidden to donate blood or their organs.
30-Only approved, Official Sexual Practices are allowed in marriage.
Thank God there are JWs who have seen the Truth that is in Christ and have come out of the dark, false Antichrist teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. You can read a few of their testimonies by clicking on this link. Jehovah Witnesses Testimonies
A few Questions to ask a Jehovah’s Witness-
1-Why does the New Testament always lift up Jesus Christ’s name, never Jehovah’s name. (see 1 Corinthians 1:2,10; 5:4-5, 6:11; Colossians 3:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 3:6; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 2:13; Matthew 18:20; Acts 1:8, 3:16, 4:10, 12, 17-18, 5:28, 41, 8:16, 9:15-16, 10:43, 16:18, 11:26).
2-In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus Christ is called the “everlasting Father”, meaning “Father of Eternity”. Only God can be the possessor, or Father of Eternity. Doesn’t this make Christ to be God?
3-Since Jehovah is called “Mighty God” (Isaiah 10:21), just as Jesus is called “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6), doesn’t this mean that Jesus is Jehovah and not a lesser deity?
4-Do you believe that Jesus is “I am” Jehovah God? (JW: No). Then you will die in your sins. “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24).
Further Questions can be found at CARM. Questions For Jehovah Witnesses
The bottom line is, unless God draws a person’s heart toward Christ, and unless that person chooses by their own Free Will to respond to that drawing, JWs and just plain sinners will never understand what you and I as Christians are talking about in our personal relationship with our Lord!
We need to pray for the JWs, and all other unsaved souls, that God will open their eyes to understand the Light and Truth that is in Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father and the only means of redemption from our sins. Heaven and Hell are real places and we have the choice of where we want to dwell for eternity – with or without God.
No man is lost until God takes their last breath away from their lungs. We need to pray for them up until that moment, and leave them in the hands of God, who only can know the hearts of mankind! God does answer prayer in mysterious ways, per the testimonies of former JWs, and Atheists, and Muslims, and Mormons, and Occult Practitioners, and Psychics, and Satanists, and the list can go on. God is the God of the Impossible; and Christ is the Finisher of our Faith, as well as the Author. Only He knows when to give a soul over to a reprobate mind and say, “Have your will!”