WHO ARE THE JEHOVAHS WITNESSES AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE??? The sect known today as the Jehovahs 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 Jehovahs Witnesses now hold. After Russells death in 1916, Judge J. F. Rutherford, Russells 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 Jehovahs Witnesses. The group from which it split became known as the Bible students. What do Jehovahs Witnesses believe? 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. Jehovahs 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). Jehovahs 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). Jehovahs Witnesses reject the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the inanimate power of God. Jehovahs Witnesses reject the concept of Christs substitutionary atonement and instead hold to a ransom theory, that Jesus death was a ransom payment for Adams sin. How do the Jehovahs Witnesses justify these unbiblical doctrines? First, they claim that the church has corrupted the Bible over the centuries; thus, they have re-translated the Bible into what they call the New World Translation. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society altered the text of the Bible to make it fit their false doctrine, rather than basing their doctrine on what the Bible actually teaches. The New World Translation has gone through numerous editions, as the Jehovahs Witnesses discover more and more Scriptures that contradict their doctrines. The Watchtower bases its beliefs and doctrines on the original and expanded teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and their successors. The governing body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the only body in the cult that claims authority to interpret Scripture. In other words, what the governing body says concerning any scriptural passage is viewed as the last word, and independent thinking is strongly discouraged. This is in direct opposition to Pauls admonition to Timothy (and to us as well) to study to be approved by God, so that we need not be ashamed as we correctly handle the Word of God. This admonition, found in 2 Timothy 2:15, is a clear instruction from God to each of His children to be like the Berean Christians, who searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things they were being taught lined up with the Word. There is probably no religious group that is more faithful than the Jehovahs Witnesses at getting their message out. Unfortunately, the message is full of distortions, deceptions, and false doctrine. May God open the eyes of the Jehovahs Witnesses to the truth of the gospel and the true teaching of Gods Word.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 06:39:10 +0000
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