"Response To A Jehovah Witness"
About 2 years ago a Jehovah Witness pass my door and we had a wonderful conversation. Well, it wasn't long after that when I received a letter in the mail from her defending her stand. Well, as a Christian Apologist, I needed to defend my faith also. Below is my response to her letter. If I should find her letter anytime soon, I will be sure to add that to my site as well. If there are Witnesses that you've been trying to witness to, here's a great place to start.
______________________________________________________________________________
Mrs. (JH Witness),
In response to your letter concerning our conversation a number of months ago, I have written the following:
I too know quite well to avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain (Titus 3:9). I write back to you as one sent by God to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3). I have been commission to sanctify the Lord God in my heart and to be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask of me a reason of the hope that is in me with meekness and fear (I Peter 3:15). I shall deal with a few thoughts in this paper including the Trinity.
FACTS I’VE FOUND ABOUT YOU ALL:
1. You have accepted the Organization as the Prophet of God.
2. You have accepted the Organization as God's sole channel for His truth.
3. You believe that to reject the Organization is to reject God.
4. You believe that only the Organization can interpret the Bible; as individuals they are unable to do so.
5. You believe the Watchtower Magazine contains God's truth, directed by Him, through the Organization.
In contradiction to Christianity, you all also teach:
1. That Jesus is a created being/a creature.
2. That Jesus is actually Michael the Archangel
3. That Jesus was not resurrected bodily, but as a spirit being.
4. That Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 (secretly to the Organization)
5. That Jesus was only a man when on earth, not the Word Become flesh.
6. That the Holy Spirit is only an active force, not the person of God.
7. That Hell is simply the grave.
7. That Heaven's doors is open to only 144,000.
8. That the majority of Witnesses must remain on earth.
9. That salvation is found only through the Organization.
10. That one must be maintained energetic works for the Organization until the end when he/she may merit eternal life on a paradise earth.
11. That Satan is the author of the doctrine of the Trinity.
12. That Jesus cannot be given worship, but only honor as Jehovah's first creation.
This of course is what we believe:
1. The Trinity.
2. The Omnipresence of God.
3. The Deity of Christ.
4. The dual nature of Christ.
5. The bodily resurrection of Christ.
6. The visible return of Christ.
7. The person of God the Holy Spirit.
8. The Promise of Heaven to all believers.
9. The necessity of the New Birth for all believers.
10. The Lord's Supper for all believers.
11. The conscious Eternal Punishment of the lost.
The Bible Teaches the Truth...
1. That God exists in a Trinity of three eternal and co-equal persons: Father (Romans 1:7), Son (John 20:28) and Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3,4 and I John 5:7).
2. Jesus is no less than God in human flesh (Colossians 2:9).
3. God, the Holy Spirit, is the third member of the Holy Trinity (Matt. 28:19; Acts 13:2).
4. Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave (John 2:20,21; Luke 24:39).
5. Jesus is visibly coming again to set up His Kingdom on earth (Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:8; Rev. 1:7).
6. Salvation is in the person of Jesus Christ and comes through faith in Him. (Acts 16:31). It's the work of God for man, not a work of man for God (Titus 3:4-6).
7. Jesus was and should be worshipped (John 20:26-28; Matt. 2:10-12, 14:33)
OTHER PERTINENT FACTS:
I believe that to validate something as important as one’s eternal destiny, it is a must to deal with the origin of the belief that one is following.
Here’s what I found concerning your faith:
A man named Charles T. Russell who was the founding father of The Jehovah’s Witnesses began the Watchtower Society. He was raised in a Congregational Church in Pennsylvania. As he grew up, Russell said there were certain things that he did not like in the Bible. He said he did not like the teaching of hell or eternal judgment, and the teaching of the Trinity. He said it wasn't rational, he could not understand it.
Russell began to develop his own theology, which he began to publish in a series of volumes called Study in Scripture. Later, in 1879, he began to publish the Watchtower Magazine In 1884, he incorporated the organization in Pennsylvania, as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and in 1909, Russell moved its Headquarters to in Brooklyn, New York, where they have remained to this day.
Russell is the founding father of the Watchtower. Early in his ministry, he calculated
it out and determined that Jesus Christ was going to return visibly to this earth and for many years he prophesied that Christ was going to return in 1874. When Christ did not show up he changed his calculations and for many more years prophesied Christ's return in the year 1914. 1914 came and went and again, Jesus Christ failed to show up.
Russell was not to be disheartened. He redefined the second coming of Jesus Christ and said that Jesus Christ had returned invisibly as an invisible spirit, a ghost, in 1914 to help set up his organization.
He died in 1916 having proven to be a false prophet. The Watchtower Organization was then taken over in 1917 by a very dynamic leader, a man named Joseph Franklin Rutherford. It was under Rutherford's leadership that the Watchtower was built into that great theocratic giant we know today.
I can clearly see now why you all don't celebrate Christmas because they deny the incarnation of Jesus Christ. And why you don't celebrate the Resurrection because you deny the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It was also under Rutherford's leadership, in 1931, that they changed their name to The Jehovah’s Witnesses. He said they were doing this to vindicate the True name of Jehovah, claiming that Jesus Christ was not God, that the Holy Spirit was not God, and that Jehovah alone was God.
As Christians, we have no problem with the term, Jehovah. It is simply an Old Testament identification for God. Actually, the Jews never pronounce the name of God and while writing in Hebrew, you did not use vowels, only consonants, The Jews spelled it, Yhwh, the name of God. Most likely it would have been pronounced Yahweh, but it has been anglicized as Jehovah, simply referring to the Old Testament identification for God.
Rutherford was also famous for his many prophecies. In fact, he prophesied that the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were going to return visibly to this earth to help promote the Kingdom of God. He was so sure of this that he built a large palatial mansion in San Diego, California, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to live in when he said they were going to return sometime before 1929.
1929 came and went and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never showed up. That's when Rutherford moved into the mansion himself and lived there until he died in 1942. ~ Died also having proven himself likewise to be a false prophet.
The Organization was then taken over in 1942 by a man named Nathan H. Knorr. It was under Knorr's leadership that the organization developed their strong missionary outreach all over the world. It was also under his leadership that they did their own translation of the Bible, which they call "The New World Translation."
Your organization claims that seven Greek scholars in the Watchtower did this translation. However it become quite apparent that there are gross errors in this translation. In an attempt to get more data on the translation, Ron wrote the headquarters in Brooklyn, asking them for the names of their scholars, in order to verify their credentials.
He received a most interesting letter back from them. It said, "We do not make known the names of our scholars because we want to maintain their humility." It was since discovered who the seven were. It turned out that not one of the seven had ever studied Greek in his life, and wouldn't know an alpha from beta if it bit him.
In fact, only three of the seven had even finished high school. Of those three only one went on to College. His name was Fredrick Franz, the same man who is now the President of the Jehovah's Witnesses. He dropped out of College after the first semester in 1913 because Russell told him Christ was returning in 1914. The New World Translation is a farce, It was created as a conscious attempt to make the Bible appear to fit their preconceived theology.
The new translation was just part of the problems waiting ahead for Nathan H. Knorr. I would have thought that he had learned a good lesson about false prophets from his predecessors. The man did withstand the urge for many years, but finally, in 1966 he could no longer resist and Nathan H. Knorr also began to prophesy through the Watchtower and Awake Magazines. His first major prophecy was that the year 1975 was going to be the end of the age and Armageddon was going to occur. Obviously 1975 has
come and gone and Armageddon did not occur. It was just too big a lie to weave a new tale around.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses understood what God had said, in Deut. 18:20-22, where He gave us the Biblical test for a Prophet.
"But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?"
If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." (Deut. 18: 20- 22 )
In 1975 through 1977, over two and a half million to three million Jehovah's Witnesses left the Watchtower, deeply disillusioned with the organization that claimed to be the voice of God on earth, but had proven again and again to be a false prophet.
Knorr, also proven to be a false prophet, died in 1977. The organization is now run by a very aged gentleman named Frederick Franz who’s been their leading theologian over the last 60 years.
This is one reason why I find it very difficult to believe your Doctrine. It’s Source. Now, I believe that all of my facts are correct and if indeed they are surely even you would have to re-evaluate your very own stance.
Below is the TRINITY defended in the Holy Scriptures:
DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
GOD'S THREE-IN-ONENESS
THE DOCTRINE DEFINED
The word "trinity" is not found in the Bible. But the concept of the Trinity is all over the Bible. The Westminster Confession states,
In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit [Chap 2 sec. 3]
God is one in essence and three in person. In other words, the Bible affirms that there is only One God . . .but this God exists in three "persons". In other words, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are not three gods but only one God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. They are distinct but one.
It's important to clarify. I am not saying there are three Gods. Neither am I saying that God has three "forms" like steam, water, and ice. This is a heresy called modalism. In this heresy, God is pictured as moving from one "mode" to the other. However, God is the Father, Son and Spirit at the same time and at all times. Also I am not saying that the three persons of the Trinity are pieces of God. That would mean that the Father was 1/3 God, the Son 1/3 God and the Spirit 1/3 God. There is one God . . . this one God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Spirit at the same time.
Someone stated it right when they said, "If you try to explain the Trinity, you will lose your mind. But if you deny it, you will lose your soul." The concept itself is indeed a mystery in which Jesus himself is the fullness.
Col 2:8-10
8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9. For in him {Christ} dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
EVIDENCE FOR THE TRINITY
These are some examples of the Trinity of God. The conclusion is obvious:
I) There is only one true God:
OT: Exod 8:10; Deut 4:35; 6:4; 2Sam 7:22; 1Ki 8:60; Neh 9:6; Ps 18:31; Isa 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5f,14,18,21; 46:9
NT: John 5:44; 17:3; 1Cor 8:4-5; 1Tim 2:5.
II) The Father is God:
OT: Deut 32:6; Ps 89:26; Isa 63:16; 64:8; Mal 1:6; 2:10
NT: Matt 6:9; John 6:27; Gal 1:1-3; Eph 4:6; 5:20; 6:23; Phil 2:11; 4:20; Col 3:17; Jude 1.
III) The Son is God:
1) Called God or Ascribed Deity:
OT: Gen 19:24; Ps 45:7; Isa 7:14; 9:6; Jer 23:5f; Zech 2:10-3:2; 12:10
NT: Matt 1:22f; John 1:1; 5:18; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rom 8:9; 9:5; Phil 2:5-9; Col 2:9; 1Tim 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:3,8f; 2Pet 1:1; 1John 5:20.
Luke 22:66-71
66. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying,
67. Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
68. And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
69. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
70. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
71. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.
2) Spoke and Acted as God:
Omnipresent: Matt 18:20; 28:20; John 1:48; 3:13.
Omniscient: Matt 11:27; 12:25; Mark 2:8; Luke 9:46; 11:17; John 4:16-18.
Foretold the future: Matt 16:21; 24:18f,25; 26:21-25,31-35; Mark 14:30; John 6:64,70f; 21:18f (cp. Isa 41:21-23).
Omnipotent: Rev 1:8; 3:7.
Sovereign: Matt 17:24-27; 28:18.
Controlled the weather: Matt 14:32; Mark 4:39-41 (cp. Job 38:25-38; Ps 135:7).
Incomprehensible: Matt 11:27.
Holy: Josh 5:13-15 (cp. Exod 3:5f); John 8:46.
Gave commandments: Matt 5:27f,31f.
Forgave sin: Mark 2:5-11; Luke 7:47.
Love: Matt 20:28; John 15:13.
3) Ascribed Attributes of God:
Omnipresent: Eph 1:22f; 4:10.
Omniscient: John 2:23-25; 16:30; 21:17.
Omnipotent: Phil 3:20f.
Sovereign: Acts 10:36.
Eternal: Isa 9:6; Mic 5:2; John 1:1; 17:5,24; Col 1:17; Heb 7:3.
Immutable: Heb 1:8-12; 13:8.
Preeminent: Col 1:18 (cp. Ps 97:9; 148:13).
Good: John 7:12.
Holy: Matt 26:59f; Mark 4:36-41; Luke 5:1-11; 2Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; Rev 1:17.
Righteous: Luke 23:47; 2Cor 5:21; 1John 2:1.
Just: Zech 9:9.
Wrath: Rev 6:15-17 (cp. 11:17f).
Grace, Mercy, and Love: Matt 9:36; 14:14; John 13:1; 1Thes 5:28.
4) Does Acts of God:
Creates and Sustains: Gen 1:1; Isa 44:24; John 44:24; John 1:13; Col 1:16f; Heb 1:2f.
Gives life: Gen 2:7; 1Tim 6:13; John 1:4; 5:21; 11:25; Acts 3:15.
Judges: Ps 96:13; John 5:22f; Rom 14:10; 2Tim 4:1; Heb 13:4.
Redeems: Ps 130:7f; Isa 43:25; 44:22; Eph 1:7; Titus Heb 9:12-15; 1Pet 1:18f.
Saves: Isa 45:22; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 16:30f; 1Tim 1:15; Heb 12:2.
Fills the hungry soul: Ps 107:9; John 6:48-51.
Calms the storm: Ps 107:29; Matt 8:26.
5) Treated Like God:
Worshipped: Josh 5:13-15; Matt 14:33; 28:9,17; John 9:38; Phil 2:10f; Heb 1:6; 2Peter 3:18; Rev 5:8-14 (ct. Acts12:20-23; 14:8-15; Rev 19:10).
Receives Divine service: Rev 22:3f (cp. Exod 20:3-5; Matt 4:10).
Prayed to: Acts 7:59f; 2Cor 12:8; 1John 5:13-15.
6) Theophanies = Christophanies:
(Appearances of God in the OT are actually appearances of Christ.)
John 1:18; 6:46; 12:41; Isa 6:1-8; Josh 5:13-6:2 (cp. Numb 13:1f).
7) The Angel of the LORD and the LORD:
2Sam 24:16f; 1Chr 21:15f,27; Zech 1:12.
Gen 22:1f,11f,15f; 28:10-22; 31:11-13; 48:15f
Exod 3:2,4/ Exod 13:21; 14:19.
Exod 20:1; Deut 1:6-8; Judg 2:1.
Judg 6:12-15/ Judg 13:21f.
8) Titles of Deity:
The Alpha and the Omega; The First and the Last: Isa 44:6; Rev 1:8,11,17f; 2:8; 21:6; 22:12-17.
King of kings; Lords of lords: Deut 10:17; Ps 136:3; 1Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16.
I AM: Exod 3:14; Deut 32:39; Isa 43:10; Hos 13:4; Joel 2:27; Matt 14:27; Mark 6:50; John 8:24,58
Judge: Ps 94:2; 2Tim 4:8; Heb 12;23; Jam 5:9.
Savior: Isa 43:11; Hos 13:4; 1Tim 1:1; 2:3; 2Tim 1:10; Titus 1:3f; 2:10,13f; 3:4,6.
Shepherd: Ps 23:1; Ezek 34:11-16; John 10:11,14; Heb 13:20; Rev 7:17.
Majestic: Luke 9:43; 2Pet 1:16.
IV) The Holy Spirit is a Person:
(A self-conscious Being capable of thought, will, and interaction with others.)
1) Acts 13:1-5:
Speaks, commands and calls: verse 2
Refers to himself with personal pronouns: "to Me" and "I" - verse 2
Sends out missionaries: verse 4.
2) Elsewhere in the Book of Acts:
Inspired Scripture: 1:16.
Is lied to: 5:3.
Bears witness: 5:32.
Instructs: 8:29.
Comforts: 9:31.
Tells and sends: 10:19f; 11:12.
Confirms: 15:28.
Forbids: 16:6f.
Testifies: 20:23.
Makes overseers: 20:28.
Prophesies: 28:25.
3) Elsewhere in the Bible:
Hovers: Gen 1:2 (cp. Deut 32:11).
Sends: Isa 48:16.
Speaks for believers: Matt 10:16-20.
Teaches: Luke 12:12.
Assures, leads, bears witness, and enables: Rom 8:14-17.
Loves: Rom 15:30.
Searches: 1Cor 2:10f.
Wills: 1Cor 12:11.
Fellowships: 2Cor 13:14; Phil 2:1.
Grieves: Eph 4:30.
Instructs: 1Tim 4:1.
Witnesses: Heb 10:15-18.
Is insulted: Heb 10:29.
Commands: Rev 22:17.
4) John 14:16:
The Spirit is "another Helper" (Greek: allos parakletos) besides Jesus (1John 2:1, "Advocate" in Greek is parakletos). See also Rom 8:26f,34.
V) The Holy Spirit is God:
1) Equated with God:
Exod 29:45f; Haggai 2:5.
Acts 5:3,4.
Rom 5:5; 2Thes 3:5.
1Cor 12:6,11,18.
2Cor 3:17.
2) The Temple of God = The Temple of the Holy Spirit:
1Cor 3:16; 6:19; 2Cor 6:16; Eph 3:19; 5:18.
3) Possesses Attributes of God:
Omnipresent: Ps 139:7-10.
Omniscient: 1Cor 2:10f.
Foretells the future: Acts 1:16; 20:22f; 21:33.
Omnipotent: Luke 1:35-37.
Eternal: Heb 9:14.
Good: Ps 143:10.
Holy: Rom 1:4.
Grace: Zech 12:10; Heb 10:29.
4) Does the Works of God:
Creates: Job 26:13.
Forms humans: Gen 2:7; Job 33:4.
Calls into ministry: Matt 9:38; Acts 13:2; 20:28.
Inspired Scripture: 2Tim 3:16; 2Pet 1:20f; Rev 1:1; 2:7.
Gives eternal life: John 3;3-8; Titus 3:5; 1John 5:11.
5) The Holy Spirit's Words are Equated with God’s Words:
Lev 16:1-34; Heb 9:7f.
Isa 6:9f; Acts 28:25-27.
Jer 31:33f; Heb 10:15f.
VI) The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct from each other:
1) In the OT:
Gen 1:2,26f; 11:7; Neh 9:20; Ps 2:1-9; Prov 30:4; Isa 6:8; 48:16; 63:11.
2) In the Gospels:
Matt 3:16; 4:1,6; 11:25-27; 12:32f; 14:23; 16:16f; 17:5; 26:39; 27:46; 28:18f.
Mark 1:1,8; 13:32; 15:34.
Luke 2:49; 4:18; 6:12; 11:13; 23:34,46.
John 1:1f; 3:16f; 5:19f,30; 6:27,37-46; 8:17f; 11:41f: 13:1; 14:6,16,26; 15:26; 16:13f; 17:1,24; 20:17,21f,30f.
3) In the Book of Acts:
2:22-36; 3:13-15; 4:24-30; 7:55f; 10:34-42; 13:33-37; 15:8; 17:30f; 20:21.
4) Elsewhere in the NT:
Rom 1:1-9; 1Cor 1:1-9; 2:10f; 2Cor 5:18-21; 13:14; Gal 4:4-6; Eph 2:18; Phil 2:5-11; Col 2:2; 1Thes 4:8; Heb 1:1-8; 2:17; 5:5-10; 7:25; 9:14; 1John 1:3; 2John 3; Jude 1; Rev 1:1-6.
There are so many more scriptures I am sure that I can pull up to confirm the Christian doctrine but that’s no longer necessary at this moment.
I do want to leave you with one thought in mind. Suppose everything you believe is correct ~ yet I die an unbeliever. What is my plight… Since of course according to your believe there is no consciousness after death? Then let’s suppose again, this time that I am correct and everything you believed your entire life was false … it shivers me to think of your impending judgment. I take the time to write this letter, not to be judgmental, I’m sure we all have faults. I write out of compassion and love. I’m concerned about you and every other religion that similarly denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God says that He loved us so much that he gave his only begotten Son ~ that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
In fact the whole bible, is simply a divine love story. Unfortunately, for those who don’t believe, there is only one real way to please the Father and that is through his dear Son.
Acts 4:12 states that salvation can only be found in one name given under heaven ~ that name of course Lord Jesus.
Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 8:23-24
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Finally Romans 10:9 says,
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
AGAPE,
In Expectation of His Return,
Rickey
Minister Rickey E. Macklin