It is a common experience to be visited by
the so-called Jehovah's Witnesses.The
zeal of this cult is impressive, although it is not according to knowledge from
the Scriptures (Rom. 10:2).Its
doctrines emanate from their "Governing Body" and are disseminated via their
magazine, The Watchtower.The Watchtower Society is the organization
used to develop these doctrines and spread them across the world.
Because you are likely to be visited by
those who espouse the Watchtower doctrines, you should prepare to answer their
false teachings with challenges from the Scriptures.A general working knowledge of the Bible is
sufficient to expose their errors, so Christians should not need a great deal
of extra preparation.Even so, some preparation
is necessary in order to know something about the false doctrines they
believe.In fact, one particular issue
is sufficient to expose the fallacy of their religion.
When you are visited by Watchtower
disciples, quickly steer the conversation to the identity of Jesus Christ.They are likely to begin their appeal to you
with words about morality or God in general, which may sound agreeable to you
as a Christian, but you should focus the discussion on Jesus.The Watchtower does not believe that Jesus is
God, but rather they describe Him as the Son of God who was created in heaven
by God.They accept that God used Jesus
to create all other things, but they do not accept that Jesus Himself has
existed from eternity.In fact, they
teach that Jesus was the archangel Michael before He was incarnated.Already, you see that these doctrines
concerning Jesus are false, for the Scriptures declare that He is the eternal
God who is equal to the Father rather than an angel (John 1:1; 10:30; Heb.
1:1-14).
As you prove the true identity of Jesus
Christ, there are a few verses of Scripture that will be especially
helpful.The Watchtower has certain
passages that they use often, so it is effective to use some of these to disprove
their own doctrine.They are especially
fond of the books of Isaiah and Revelation.In fact, they take their name from Isaiah 43:10 and 44:8.Also, they place a great emphasis on the name
of God, which is interpreted as Jehovah (in Hebrew יְהֹוָה or YHWH, meaning "I
am"), so make this part of your discussion as well.
A
good starting point is Isaiah 44:6, which states:
"Thus says the LORD, the
King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am
the last, and there is no God besides Me.'"
Compare
this to the words of Jesus in Revelation 1:8, which says,
"I am the Alpha and the
Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty."
He also said that He is the "first and the
last" in verse 17.If there is any
question about whether Jesus was speaking in Revelation 1:8 and 17, then refer
to Revelation 22:13, where Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first
and the last, the beginning and the end."This passage leaves no doubt about who was speaking, for in verse 16,
the speaker affirms, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these
things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright
morning star."Clearly, the same God who
spoke in Isaiah 44:6 also spoke in these verses of Revelation.In these verses, Jesus declared that He is
the eternal God.
Another
good approach to take in your discussion is Jesus' claim to the name
Jehovah.This name for God was revealed
to Moses when God spoke to Him at the burning bush.Notice Exodus 3:14:
God said to Moses, "I AM
WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has
sent me to you.'"
In a clear reference to that passage and
that name, Jesus said to the Jews in John 8:58, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
before Abraham was born, I am." When He
said this, the Jews picked up stones to throw at Him because they perceived His
words to be blasphemy (John 8:59).Their
perception of His words is made clear in John 10.When Jesus said, "I and the Father are one"
in verse 30, they again took up stones to stone Him.When Jesus asked why they had done this, they
said in verse 33, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and
because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."Clearly, Jesus had laid claim to the name
Jehovah and to the identity of God.
By no means are these all of the passages
of Scripture that refute the Watchtower, but these are sufficient to tear down
their most fundamental error.It is also
likely that this subject will bring your conversation with Watchtower disciples
to a close.They are sent to your home
to teach you rather than to have you teach them.Usually, once they perceive that you are not
open to receiving their teaching, they will leave.Just remember that these false teachers are
not Christians, for they do not believe the truth about Jesus.As they leave you, pray that they will turn
to the truth and do not bless them in their error, for "if anyone comes to you
and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not
give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his
evil deeds" (2John 10-11).
