By James Rochford

According to the official Watchtower Society website (or the Jehovah’s Witnesses), there are roughly 7.5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses on Earth today. In the last decade, the Watchtower Society has published over 20 billion pieces of literature supporting their organization. Comparative religions expert Ron Rhodes writes, “In 1999 the Jehovah’s Witnesses devoted more than 1.1 billion man-hours distributing Watchtower literature and spreading Watchtower doctrines… The Watchtower magazine currently approaches the circulation of Reader’s Digest and TV Guide and easily surpasses the combined total of Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report.”^[1]

Jehovah’s Witnesses meet in what are called “Kingdom Halls.” These are built by volunteer labor (much like the Amish), where 300 volunteers build the structure in 48 hours. Rhodes writes, “On the average, four to six new Kingdom Halls are built each month in the United States.”^[2]

While there are many Jehovah’s Witnesses today, many people wonder how this group relates to classical Christianity. Are Jehovah’s Witnesses just another Christian denomination, or are they a non-Christian sect? Let’s begin with a brief history of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916)

Charles Taze Russell was born in a Presbyterian household. He left the church because of their offensive teachings on predestination and hell. By age 17, he was a self-proclaimed skeptic. In 1870, he joined a group called “the Bible Students.” This small study group eventually grew to reject the Trinity and hell. Russell also came to be obsessed with biblical prophecy. At age 23, he was influenced by an Adventist preacher named Nelson H. Barbour, who believed Christ would return in 1914. He revived his old magazine called the Herald. This eventually turned into Russell publishing his own magazine called Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, which eventually morphed into the current Watchtower magazine.

In this magazine, Russell argued that Christ would return in 1914. He had hundreds of evangelists go door-to-door to distribute his literature espousing this view. After the return of Christ did not occur, “many Jehovah’s Witnesses were extremely disappointed because God’s kingdom had not been set up as promised. They had worked hard spreading the word all over the world, and they were bitterly disillusioned when nothing happened.”^[3] Russell died two years later in 1916.

Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942)

Judge Rutherford was the second president of the Watchtower Society who actually coined the phrase “Jehovah’s Witness” in 1931. He had formerly been an encyclopedia salesman. Because his old job had been so hard, he promised that he would always help door-to-door salesmen by buying their books in the future. When a Jehovah’s Witness came to his door, he took their literature and eventually converted in 1906. Since he was an attorney, he became the lead lawyer in defending Russell in court. After Russell’s death in 1916, Rutherford became president. There was fierce battle for him taking this position. Robert Bowman writes, “Rutherford immediately consolidated his control of the organization and forced out several prominent leaders of the Bible Students.”^[4] He legally forced out board members who didn’t support him—even though they had been appointed for life. Rhodes writes, “[Rutherford] was overbearing and took an authoritarian approach. History reveals that he… had an alcohol problem. He also enjoyed opulent living at Watchtower expense.”^[5]

Following in Russell’s footsteps, Rutherford also came up with his own Bible prophecy about the second coming of Christ. He predicted that this would occur in 1925. He put forth that the OT patriarchs would come back to rule on Earth at this time. Rhodes writes, “In expectation of this event, a magnificent residence called Beth Sarim was constructed in San Diego.”^[6]

Beth Sarim was an absolute mansion. The Watchtower Society spared no expense in lavishing this house in anticipation of the return of these OT saints. However, when the second coming did not occur, the mansion sat empty. Since no one was living in the mansion, Rutherford took it upon himself to stay there; otherwise it would be a real waste! He died of bowel cancer in 1942.

Nathan Knorr (1905-1977)

Nathan Knorr took over after Rutherford as the third president of the Watchtower Society. He did a lot to train the door-to-door evangelists, and he also developed the New World Translation (the official and exclusive translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses). Under Knorr’s presidency, the Watchtower Society made another prediction about the return of Christ. Rhodes writes, “The society’s followers were told that 6,000 years of human history (from the time of Adam and Eve) would come to an end in 1975. Armageddon was to occur that year, and Christ was to set up the Millennial Kingdom of earthly paradise. This prophecy led many Jehovah’s Witnesses to sell their homes and quit their jobs in order to devote all their energy to witnessing to others.”^[7] As a result of this failed prediction, many left the Society. Rhodes writes, “From 1976 to 1978, 390,000 Witnesses left the Watchtower organization.”^[8]

Frederick W. Franz (1893-1992)

Frederick Franz became the fourth president of the Watchtower Society. Franz’s presidency was marked with turmoil for the Society as well. Rhodes writes,

Toward the end of Franz’s reign a crisis developed within the Watchtower Society as many Witnesses began to examine the history of the society independently. Some of those raising questions were prominent leaders, and they were forced out of the organization for their ‘disloyalty.’ One of these was Raymond Franz, former Governing Body member and nephew of the president, and his dismissal was an event newsworthy enough that Time magazine ran a full-page article on it. After being disfellowshiped, Raymond later affirmed that to serve on the Governing Body was disillusioning—something he documented in a book called Crisis of Conscience. He demonstrated in this book that the society is not biblical, has uttered false prophecies, has altered key teachings and policies, and has participated in lying and cover-ups.”^[9]

This was a dark era in the history of the Watchtower Society.

Milton G. Henschel (1920-present)

Milton Henschel was the next president in the Watchtower Society. He tried to amend the false prophecy of 1914 to mean that Christ would return in the lifetimes of those who were alive in 1914. Of course, even this emendation hasn’t helped validate this erroneous prediction.

Critique of the Jehovah’s Witnesses

1. The Watchtower made repeated false prophecies.

The Watchtower Society has made a number of false predictions:^[10]

In 1877: “THE END OF THIS WORLD… is nearer than most men suppose.”

In 1886: “The time is come for Messiah to take the dominion of the earth.”

In 1889: “We present proofs that the setting up of the kingdom of God has already begun… and that ‘the battle of the great day of God almighty’ (Revelation 16:14), which will end in AD 1914 with the complete overthrow of the earth’s present rulership, is already commenced.”

On July 15, 1894: “We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God’s dates not ours. But beat in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble.”

In 1904: “The stress of the great time of trouble will be on us soon, somewhere between 1910 and 1912 culminating with the end of the ‘times of the Gentiles,’ October 1914.”

On May 1, 1914: “There is absolutely no ground for Bible students to question that the consummation of their gospel age is now even at the door… The great crises… that will consume the ecclesiastical heavens and the social earth, is very near.”

In 1930: “The great climax is at hand.”

In 1931: “Armageddon is at hand…”

In 1933: “The incontrovertible proof that the time of deliverance is at hand.”

In 1933: “That [Jehovah] has now opened these prophecies to the understanding of His anointed is evidence that the time of the battle is near; hence the prophecy is of profound interest to the anointed.”

In 1939: “The battle of the great day of God Almighty is very near.”

As we saw above, the Watchtower Society has predicted the second coming of Christ multiple times, and these predictions have all been wrong. Because of these false predictions, the Watchtower Society has lost thousands of its own members. Ankerberg and Weldom write, “Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses have left the Watchtower after having lived through the high expectations and heartbreaking disappointments of these false prophecies.”^[11]

Of course, the Bible gives us a means of identifying false prophecies. Deuteronomy records, “You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord? ²² 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” (Deut. 18:21-22 NIV). Of course, according to this law, if a prophet made false predictions, they were to be put to death (v.20; c.f. Deut. 13:5). While OT laws like these might seem extreme, at least we wouldn’t be plagued with religious hucksters under this method. I would be very cautious to speak authoritatively for God if these were the consequences! For more comments on OT law, see my earlier article titled, “Tips for Interpreting OT Law.”

2. The Watchtower Society is not the only true church of God.

CLAIM: The Watchtower Society believes that it is the only true church on Earth. The Watchtower magazine declares:

“Is not the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel which the Lord has used in dispensing His truth continually since the beginning of the harvest period?”^[12]

“[The] Jehovah’s organization alone, in all the earth, is directed by God’s holy spirit or active force.”^[13]

“We must recognize not only Jehovah God as our Father but his organization as our Mother.”^[14]

“We belong to no earthly organization… We adhere only to that heavenly organization… All the saints now living or that ever lived during this age, belong to our church organization: such are all one church, and there is no other recognized by the Lord.”^[15]

“[A requirement for salvation is] that we be associated with God’s channel, His organization… To receive everlasting life in the earthly paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it.”^[16]

RESPONSE: Our problem with these claims is not that they are exclusive truth claims. Jesus was exclusive in his claims to salvation (Jn. 14:6). So were the apostles (1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 4:12). But these exclusive claims are centered around doctrine—not a church organization. Paul writes of the “one faith” (Eph. 4:5), and Jesus spoke of “one flock” (Jn. 10:16). Whenever a supposed “church” says that you need to belong to their organization for salvation, this is aberrant and anti-biblical teaching.

In addition, it is odd that the Watchtower Society teaches that Christianity ceased to exist for 1,800 years until Charles Taze Russell restored it. Protestant Christians believe that the church has gone through reformations, but not restorations. Jesus said, “The gates of Hades will not overpower [the church]” (Mt. 16:18). If the Jehovah’s Witnesses are correct, then the church was overpowered for 1,800 years without an authentic Christian witness on Earth.

3. The Bible can be interpreted without an organization.

The Watchtower Society teaches that we cannot interpret Scripture without the teaching and interpretation of the Society:

“But if we were to draw away from Jehovah’s organization, there would be no place else to go for salvation and true joy.”^[17]

 “Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication [the Watchtower Society] that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do.”^[18]

“God has not arranged for [His] Word to speak independently or to shine forth life-giving truths by itself. It is through his organization God provides this light.”^[19]

 “Rather we should seek for dependent Bible study, rather than for independent Bible study.”[20]

“The Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as a whole, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.”^[21]

“And while now the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation, the time no doubt will come when the message takes on a harder tone, like a ‘great war cry.’”^[22]

I will admit that the Bible is not totally clear on every issue, but it is essentially clear for the honest reader. For instance, it is difficult to know what Paul means when he refers to those “baptized for the dead” (1 Cor. 15:29), or what the “666” means in the book of Revelation (Rev. 13:18). Daniel the prophet wasn’t even sure how to understand everything in his own book (Dan. 12:8-9; c.f. 1 Pet. 1:10-11), and Peter said that the apostle Paul wrote “some things hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:16). However, while there are some difficult passages in Scripture to be sure, the main message about God, sin, and salvation is abundantly clear.

The Bible was written to the everyday, average members of the church—not just church leaders and scholars. Paul wrote “to have this letter read to all the brethren” (1 Thess. 5:27). He addressed his letter to the Philippians “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). The OT was written for the congregation of Israel—not just the priests (Josh. 1:8), and psalmist claimed it could even make wise the simple (Ps. 19:7). Therefore, even “simple” people should be able to read Scripture. John believed that the average reader could gain eternal life from reading his gospel (Jn. 20:31; 1 Jn. 5:13). Paul claimed that Timothy could gain salvation “from childhood” by reading the OT (2 Tim. 3:14-15; c.f. Mt. 11:25).

If God was really trying to communicate to humans, it makes sense that he would make the main issues very clear for us. In fact, wherever the Bible has been the final authority, Christians have agreed on the main message of Scripture. Often, the Bible isn’t the sole authority. The Bible excoriates raising human tradition or teaching on par with Scripture. Jesus said, “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” ⁹He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition” (Mk. 7:8-9). Therefore, we should be wary of adding onto what Scripture clearly teaches (Rev. 22:18; Deut. 4:2). In fact, if the Bible is so unclear, then why do all orthodox Christians agree on the Apostles Creed? For instance, consider these passages below:

Isaiah writes, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5 NASB). How many gods are there according to this passage? How many different ways could this possibly be interpreted?

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn. 14:6 NASB). How many paths are there to God—many or just one?

Paul writes, “The one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5 NASB). Are we saved through good works or by faith?

The Watchtower even admits that we will arrive at classical Christian doctrine if we read the Bible on our own! In August 15, 1981, The Watchtower condemned those who “say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home… Through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom’s clergy were teaching 100 years ago.”^[23] They’re right. If we didn’t have the Watchtower’s interpretive lens, we would arrive at classical Christian doctrine.

4. Dissent is allowed in healthy Christian churches.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses do not tolerate disagreement or debate. Many of these statements from The Watchtower magazine are even direct implications of brainwashing:

“[The Watchtower is] an organization to direct the minds of God’s people.”^[24]

“Jehovah’s organization… should influence our every decision.”^[25]

“Avoid independent thinking… questioning the counsel that is provided by God’s visible organization.”^[26]

Ankerberg and Weldom write, “Jehovah’s Witnesses are often warned by the Watchtower Society against reading material critical of their faith.”^[27] Walter Martin writes, “Dissent is not permitted and, if discovered, is punished swiftly and completely. Jehovah’s Witnesses are excluded from membership or disfellowshipped not merely for gross, unrepentant immorality or heresy but also for questioning the teachings and authority of the Society.”[28] He adds, “No Witness is allowed to read dissenting material, whether it is written by a disgruntled Jehovah’s Witness, a disfellowshipped or disassociated Witness, or someone who has been a Witness.”[29]

This type of control is anti-biblical. Jesus warned us to “beware of false prophets… You will know them by their fruits” (Mt. 7:15-16). Paul tells us, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment” (1 Cor. 14:29). He instructs us, “Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). How could we “examine everything” if we aren’t allowed to read dissenting materials (c.f. Acts 17:11; 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 Jn. 4:1)? Instead, it is the job of the church community to judge the teaching that they are hearing. As we have already seen, the Bible was given to the members of the church, and it is expected to be interpreted by them.

5. The New World Translation misrepresents the original biblical manuscripts.

The Jehovah’s Witness translation of the Bible

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the New World Translation is an accurate rendering of God’s word, and it is the only true translation of the Bible. All other translations are in error.

RESPONSE: Commentaries have long noted that the New World Translation should rather be titled the New World Perversion.

Dr. William Barclay: “The deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in their New Testament translation…. It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.”^[30]

Dr. Julius Mantey (leading Greek scholar): “I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. In fact, it is not their translation at all. Rather, it is a distortion of the New Testament. The translators used what J. B. Rotherham had translated in 1899, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and teach. That is distortion, not translation.”^[31]

H. H. Rowley: “From beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated.” He called this translation “an insult to the Word of God.”^[32]

Ankerberg and Weldom writes, “The scholarly community has rendered its verdict on the NWT. The Society cannot blame the verdict on alleged Christian bias or ‘Trinitarian bias,’ for even non-Christian scholars of New Testament Greek agree that the NWT is inaccurate.”^[33] Due to these vicious critiques by Greek scholars, the Watchtower has always protected the identity of its translators. They argue that they want to be humble and give the glory to God, rather than the human translators. But this anonymity has made it difficult to check the credentials of the translators of the NWT.

However, when Raymond Franz was disfellowshiped from the Watchtower Society, he gave up the names of the translators. Raymond was the nephew of President Frederick Franz, so he knew the ins and outs of the Watchtower Society. He claimed that Nathan Knorr, Frederick Franz, Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, and Milton Henschel were the translators involved. Rhodes writes, “It quickly became apparent that the committee was completely unqualified for the task [of Bible translation]. Four of the five men in the committee had no Hebrew or Greek. The fifth—Frederick Franz—claimed to know Hebrew and Greek, but upon examination under oath in court of law in Edinburgh, Scotland, was found to fail a simple Hebrew test.”^[34] Likewise, founder Charles Taze Russell didn’t even know basic Greek. Kenneth Boa writes, “Under oath he [Russell] testified that he knew the Greek alphabet, but when he was unable to identify the letters of the alphabet on request, he was forced to retract.”^[35] When Russell was on trial in the Russell v. Ross case, the cross-examination was transcribed like this:[36]

Question (Attorney Staunton): “Do you know the Greek alphabet?”

Answer (Russell): “Oh yes.”

Question (Staunton): “Can you tell me the correct letters if you see them?”

Answer (Russell): “Some of them; I might make a mistake on some of them.”

Question (Staunton): “Would you tell me the names of those on top of the page, page 447, I have got here?”

Answer (Russell): “Well, I don’t know that I would be able to.”

Question (Staunton): “You can’t tell what those letters are? Look at them and see if you know.”

Answer (Russell): “My way” [he was interrupted at this point and not allowed to explain].

Question (Staunton): “Are you familiar with the Greek language?”

Answer (Russell): “No.”

Watchtower President Frederick Franz faced the same fate. His courtroom examination (Nov. 24, 1954) went like this:[37]

Q: Have you also made yourself familiar with Hebrew?

A (Franz): Yes.

Q: So that you have a substantial linguistic apparatus at your command?

A: Yes, for use in my biblical work.

Q: I think you are able to read and follow the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French?

A: Yes.

[Later in the cross-examination…]

Q: You, yourself, read and speak Hebrew, do you?

A: I do not speak Hebrew.

Q: You do not?

A: No.

Q: Can you, yourself, translate that into Hebrew?

A: Which?

Q: That fourth verse of the second chapter of Genesis.

A: You mean here?

Q: Yes.

A: No.

Franz actually dropped out of the University of Cincinnati after his sophomore year. During his time there, he did not study anything related to theological issues.^[38]

6. The Trinity is a core biblical doctrine.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the essential doctrine of the Trinity:

“The obvious conclusion is, therefore, that Satan is the originator of the Trinity doctrine” (Let God be True, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946 ed., 101).[39]

RESPONSE: For a complete defense of the Trinity, see my earlier article titled “Defending the Doctrine of the Trinity.”

7. Jesus is God—not Michael the archangel.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the deity of Christ, claiming Jesus was a created being. Instead, they believe that Jesus was Michael the archangel:

“The true Scriptures speak of God’s Son, the Word, as ‘a god.’ He is a ‘mighty god,’ but not the Almighty God, who is Jehovah” (The Truth Shall Make You Free, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1943, 47).[40]

“In other words, he was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God” (The Kingdom Is at Hand, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1944, 46-47, 49).[41]

RESPONSE: Daniel 10:13 refers to Michael as “one of the chief princes.” This means he is an angel—not God. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus was the creator of the entire angelic order (Col. 1:16). Moreover, angels began to exist in the finite past (Ps. 148:1-5), while Jesus is eternally God (Heb. 13:8). For a full defense of the deity of Christ, see my earlier article titled “Defending the Deity of Christ.”

8. The Bible teaches grace alone—through faith alone—apart from works.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in a salvation by works—not grace through faith:

“In all areas of life, we should be prepared to give our very best. We should not be half-hearted about such vital matters. What is at stake is Jehovah’s approval and our being granted life.”^[42]

“It is obvious that human governments do not want criminals as new citizens. And Jehovah has even higher standards. He requires that we ‘conduct ourselves honestly in all things’ (Hebrews 13:18). If persons do not keep God’s laws, they will not be permitted to live under his kingdom. Today people often pretend to be honest, but they break many laws. However, God can see all things. Nobody can fool him.”^[43]

RESPONSE: For a biblical defense of grace alone, see my earlier article “Do Good People Go to Heaven?”

9. Jesus rose from the dead in a physical body—not a spiritual one.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the literal resurrection of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses dispute amongst themselves over whether Jesus’ body was “dissolved into gases” or taken by Jehovah as a memorial:^[44]

“Therefore the bodies in which Jesus manifested himself to his disciples after his return to life were not the body in which he was nailed to a tree. They were merely materialized for the occasion, resembling on one or two occasions the body in which he died” (The Kingdom Is At Hand, p.259).

“This firstborn from the dead was raised from the grave, not a human creature, but a spirit” (Let God be True, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946 ed., 101).[45]

RESPONSE: The resurrection of Christ was a literal event which the Bible repeatedly teaches. Paul taught that the literal resurrection of Christ was essential for Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:12-19). Even in the NWT (the Jehovah’s Witness translation), Jesus claimed that “his body” would be raised—not his spirit (Jn. 2:19-21).

10. The return of Christ will be physical—not invisible or spiritual.

CLAIM: Because Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the literal and corporeal (bodily) resurrection of Christ, they also deny his literal return in his second coming:

“Christ Jesus returns, not again as a human, but as a glorious spirit person” (Let God be True, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946 ed., 196).[46]

“It does not mean that he [Christ] is on the way or has promised to come, but that he has already arrived and is here” (Let God be True, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946 ed., 198).[47]

RESPONSE: Jesus said, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Mt. 24:30). Revelation 1:7 explains that “every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7). Jesus left the Earth in a literal and bodily way (Acts 1:9), and the angels promised the disciples, “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This does not seem to fit with an invisible or spiritual second coming. Rhodes comments, “Christ’s first coming, which was both bodily and visible, was called an epiphaneia (2 Tim. 1:10). The Second Coming is also an epiphaneia (Titus 2:13).”^[48] Most important of all, Jesus predicted that false teachers would come at the end of human history and would try to mislead believers (Mt. 24:23-24). He said, “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷ “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt. 24:26-27). Jesus’ point is that we don’t have to wonder if he has come back or not; we’ll know it when we see it.

11. Hell will not be annihilation.

CLAIM: Charles Taze Russell initially left the Presbyterian Church because of their teaching on the doctrine of hell. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that hell will actually be annihilation of the soul—not an eternal existence apart from God.

RESPONSE: For a response to this view, see my earlier article titled, “Is Hell Annihilation?”

12. More than 144,000 will be saved.

CLAIM: Jehovah’s Witnesses segregate believers into three separate categories.

First class: These are the 144,000 who rule in the millennial kingdom.

Second class: The 144,000 rule over this class of believers during this time.

Third class: These are people that are given the opportunity to earn salvation after death. They gain the opportunity for salvation in the millennium.

Watchtower literature explains:

“Who and how many are able to enter it [the Kingdom]? The Revelation limits to 144,000 the number that become a part of the kingdom and stand on the heavenly Mount Zion” (Let God be True, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1946 ed., 136).[49]

RESPONSE: Not only is this soteriological teaching completely absent from Scripture, but it also explicitly contradicts Scripture. Jesus taught that “everyone who asks receives” (Mt. 7:8). Paul writes “the righteousness of God has been manifested… ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction” (Rom. 3:21-22).

13. Blood transfusions should not be prevented. This doctrine is deadly and anti-biblical.

Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that their members blood transfusions.[50] They base this doctrine off of the prohibitions of drinking blood that are found in the OT (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:10). Of course, these passages are referring to drinking blood—not receiving it intravenously. Moreover, these passages all refer to drinking animal blood—not human. While human blood is no doubt prohibited by these commands, this is not the original command. Watchtower interpreters are stretching these commands to mean something they were never intended to mean.

This doctrine has led to thousands of children to lose their lives over this deranged and unbiblical doctrine. The Jehovah’s Witness magazine Awake! even boasts about this! In the May 22, 1994 edition, we read, “In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue.”

Application

As we conclude, let’s consider several key aspects in dialoguing with Jehovah’s Witnesses:

First, recognize the differences between Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Many Christians lump Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses together; however, these are very different groups:

Second, realize that they have A LOT at stake if they decide to leave the Watchtower Society. Consider if your wife was a Jehovah’s Witness, your kids were Jehovah’s Witnesses, your boss was a Jehovah’s Witness, and all of your friends were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Consider how difficult this would be to walk away from! In order to reach Jehovah’s Witnesses with the love and message of Christ, we need to help them work through the sociological aspects of their faith—not just the doctrinal issues. For instance, at some point, it might be appropriate to ask them:

“What would you miss the most about the Watchtower Society if you left?”

“What would be the consequences socially or personally for you if you left the Jehovah’s Witness?”

Third, make sure never to call a Jehovah’s Witness a “Russellite.” This term is thought to be pejorative amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Fourth, make sure to define your terms. Jehovah’s Witnesses will often use Christian terms (e.g. grace, God, forgiveness, etc.), but they don’t mean what we mean by these terms. Therefore, it is wise to have the person carefully define what they mean by these stock Christian terms.

Further Reading

Rhodes, Ron. The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.

Boa, Kenneth. Cults, World Religions, and the Occult. Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1990.

Martin, Walter, and Ravi Zacharias (General Editor). The Kingdom of the Cults. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2003.

Bowman, Robert M., Jr. Jehovah’s Witnesses. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1995.

Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon. The Facts on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eugene, Or.: Harvest House, 1998.

These were good introductions on the subject of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Love, Charles. 20 Questions That Jehovah’s Witnesses Cannot Answer. [U.S.]: Xulon, 2005.

Reed, David A. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Answered Verse by Verse. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986.

I didn’t read these books, but they were mentioned frequently in the literature on the subject.

Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience. Atlanta: Commentary, 1983.

This book was a shocking expose from the nephew of President Frederick Franz about the inner practices and beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.