I’m starting a new blog series to identify the major fake religions in the world and the false gods they promote. Satan is the god of this world and he has sponsored every one of the world’s fake religions in an effort to confuse the masses and lead people away from the truth of God and his saving grace. To the nonbeliever the Bible is foolishness. Satan has blinded the nonbeliever to the truth of God’s Word. Satan has been doing a pretty good job of it because the vast majority of the people on earth have been completely fooled by Satan and without a witness for the truth of God they’ll follow those satanic cults straight to hell when they die and they’ll ultimately wind up in the lake of fire for all eternity. There’s only one God and Jehovah is his name. God has many names and all of them can be used to worship him. Christianity is the only true religion. Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is the only path to salvation and eternal life in heaven. All of the other world religions are fakes and all the other gods are false. Let’s discuss those fake religions:
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement started in the 1870’s in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh). A group of Bible students led by Charles Taze Russell started having regular Bible study and they started publishing their findings in a journal which was called, “The Watch Tower – Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom.” From that small beginning this cult has grown to over eight and a half million followers. They have over 120,000 congregations in virtually every country in the world. Jehovah’s Witnesses put a priority on witnessing for the faith and gaining new converts. Jehovah’s Witnesses is a top down religion with all doctrinal decisions made by the governing body at denomination headquarters. All of the followers are expected to toe the line and obey whatever the governing body decides. They even have their own Bible translation and study guide to tell you what the Bible says, in their opinion. Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to the New Testament as the Greek Scriptures and the Old Testament as the Hebrew Scriptures.
Luke 1:47 – (Mary speaking about Jesus) – And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
John 1:1,14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe? They believe God the Father is named Jehovah and he is the only God. They believe Jesus Christ is his firstborn son and inferior to God and, in fact, was created by God. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe since God created Jesus he had a beginning and cannot be eternal and is therefore not divine. If Jesus doesn’t have eternal life neither do we. They also believe the Holy Spirit is not a person but is God’s active force. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the triune Godhead, but that Jehovah alone is God. They also don’t believe in a physical hell where sinners are punished forever. They don’t think a loving God could be so cruel as to punish someone forever. Jehovah’s Witnesses ignore parts of the Bible that don’t agree with their preconceived notions of how things are.
John 14:9 – (Jesus speaking) – He who has seen Me has seen the Father.
John 10:30 – (Jesus speaking) – I and My Father are one.
John 5:28-28 – (Jesus speaking) – Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do believe Jesus came to earth and died for the sins of men. They insist Jesus died on a stake and not a cross because they believe the cross is a pagan symbol. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus was resurrected spiritually but not bodily and that God has appointed Jesus to judge all men for their sins. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in annihilationism; that when a person dies their existence stops, that God “uncreated” them. There is no need for hell if everyone is destroyed at death. God can remember each person and he will resurrect some of them at his discretion, which they think God will do for the 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses who have been anointed by God. Jehovah’s Witnesses point to the following two Scriptures to prove everyone is destroyed at death:
Ecclesiastes 9:5 – For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 – Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
There are hundreds of Scriptures in the Bible that refute the two Scriptures above that were misinterpreted and taken out of context. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the “end times” started in 1914 when they say Satan was thrown to earth by God. They believe when the end comes only 144,000 people will go to heaven to rule the world with Christ. These 144,000 people who will go to heaven will all be Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are referred to as the “anointed.” These anointed know who they are from God and they self-identify themselves to the church and only they are allowed to partake of the bread and wine at the annual memorial to Christ’s death. That means the majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t anointed and bound for heaven but will spend eternity in paradise on earth. When Jesus does establish his kingdom on earth he will destroy all non-witnesses.
John 6:47 – (Jesus speaking) – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
John 11:25-26 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be the only true religion and therefore they refuse all relations with other religious denominations. They believe the Bible doesn’t belong to individuals and cannot be properly understood without guidance by the “governing body” of the church. Loyalty to the “governing body” is equated to be the same thing as loyalty to God. They don’t believe God is omnipresent but has a set location in heaven. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus and the archangel Michael are the same person and hell is nothing more than the, “common grave of mankind.”
Psalm 86:13 – For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depth of Sheol.
Psalm 16:10 – For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
For Jehovah’s Witnesses salvation is dependent on complying with a set of conditions for entry into heaven. You must be baptized. You must have accurate knowledge of Bible truth (their version). You must adhere to God’s standard of conduct and morality (their view). You must always use the name “Jehovah” for God in worship. You must be a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses church. You must actively support (financially) the “anointed” members who will make up the 144,000 who will go to heaven to help Jesus rule. Jehovah’s Witnesses discourage higher education for their members in favor of them preparing to preach for the faith in order to gain new members.
Isaiah 42:8 – I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another.
Matthew 10:28 – (Jesus speaking) – And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Like all fake religions, Jehovah’s Witnesses pull out single verses of Scripture that are vague and twist it to mean what they want it to mean. They don’t look at the surrounding verses to try to understand the true context of the verse or verses and the true meaning. They never verify their spiritual truths elsewhere in the Bible. Spiritual truths and doctrines of faith are always mentions multiple times and in multiple places in the Bible to make sure we don’t miss them. They also conveniently ignore information in the Bible that contradicts their preconceived beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses say you must address God only as “Jehovah” when you worship him or you won’t go to heaven. God has many names and we are free to use any of them to worship God. Jehovah’s Witnesses say there is no physical hell (sheol) based on the following two Scriptures yet they ignore where the Bible mentions a physical hell over 300 times:
Psalm 37:9 – For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 145:20 – The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
The same Hebrew word “karath”, translated “cut off” in Psalm 37:9 is also used in reference to the crucifixion of the Messiah as prophesied in Daniel 9:26. Christ was certainly not annihilated at Calvary. In Psalm 145:20 the identical Hebrew word rendered “destroy” is found describing the punishment of both Egypt (Ex. 10:7) and Israel (Hosea 13:9), neither of which nation has yet to suffer annihilation. The Bible refutes the theory of annihilation in numerous places:
Matthew 25:46 – (Jesus speaking about unbelievers) – And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Revelation 14:11 – And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
Theologians and Bible scholars have studied the Bible for 2000 years and it’s highly unlikely any new spiritual truths will emerge at this late stage. Are we to believe a novice group of Bible study students stumbled upon previously undiscovered truths about God? It’s preposterous! Every scripture used to support the tenets of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith has been taken out of context and are therefore not valid. They are by definition a fake religion. Jehovah’s Witnesses totally ignore the thousands of Scriptures where a capitalized pronoun or other name refers to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as divine persons. How on earth Jehovah’s Witnesses can honestly say Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not the equal of God is beyond me. They are unaware that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God.
Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.
Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
We’ve seen how flimsy the doctrinal evidence is for the Jehovah’s Witnesses position on the destruction of all flesh upon death and the existence of hell. That same superficial effort applies to all their spiritual positions. The Bible has numerous Scriptures that make it clear Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both divine and a part of the triune Godhead. If Jesus was not resurrected bodily then we have no hope of resurrection for ourselves. The Bible refutes the unscriptural doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus’ resurrection was in spirit only. The Jehovah’s Witnesses just don’t get it. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The 144,000 men of God mentioned in the Bible are clearly Jewish men who preach the gospel in the end times and not the anointed of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. The Bible is clear there will be millions of believers in heaven and not just 144,000. If you don’t believe Jesus Christ is God you won’t see heaven so all Jehovah’s Witnesses are headed to hell.
2 Peter 2:4 – God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.