Jehovah's Witnesses
 ue,
Since you were asking about the 144,000 number with the
Jehovah Witnesses, I'd thought I'd do an article on who these
people are since most of us have had them knocking on our doors
preaching their interpretation of the gospel.
There are serious main differences between their system of
beliefs and those of true Christianity. The differences are so
extreme, this group has to be considered a cult and
false religion.
I'll start out by giving you some basic general facts on who
they are and what they believe in, and then go ahead and
highlight the main differences between their system of beliefs
and those of true Christianity.
Basic Facts of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's witnesses are also known as the "Watchtower
Society" or "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society." They were
officially founded back in 1884 and were initially called the
"Zion's Watchtower and Tract Society." They did not officially
adopt the name of Jehovah's Witnesses until 1931.
They currently claim a worldwide membership of approximately
9 million people in 205 countries. Approximately 4 million of
them live in the United States. They also allege they are
averaging 200,000 new members each year.
They tell their congregation they are the only true sole
Christian religion on the earth today and that only their
interpretation of the Bible is correct. They have their own
interpretation of the Scriptures, which they call the "New
World Translation." As you will see in the differences I will
list below, they are really off in their interpretations.
God the Father will in no way honor or accept this "branch"
of Christianity as one of His own due to some key differences
between their interpretation of the Bible and what I feel are
simply the basics of true Christianity. Here are some of the
main differences.
Main Differences Between Jehovah's
Witnesses and Christianity
1. The Trinity
They do not believe in the Trinity. They believe that Jesus
Christ is St. Michael the archangel. They think the Holy Spirit
is an "impersonal force" and not actually God and Lord
Himself.
They believe that Jesus, as St. Michael the archangel, was
God's first created being. However, our Bible says that Jesus
was never created - but is "co-eternal" with God the Father. In
other words, Jesus has always been just as His Father has
always been. Neither one of Them has ever been created. Here is
the verse from our Bible that specifically proves this
point:
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58)
The words "I AM" are telling us that Jesus "always
was" and thus was never created. This makes both He and God the
Father co-eternal - which means that neither of Them have ever
been created, but have always been in existence.
They believe that the Holy Spirit is an "active force of
almighty God which moves His servants to do His will." Our
Bible specifically tells us that the Holy Spirit is God and
Lord Himself and that He is referred to as "He" in the Bible -
which tells us that He is a Person and not some type of "force"
that God uses.
2. Jesus Coming in the Flesh
They do not believe that Jesus Christ was God coming in the
"flesh" to our earth to save mankind from their sins.
This one right here completely disqualifies them from being a
true branch of Christianity. Here is the verse from our Bible
that nails them on just this one issue alone:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false
prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the
Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit
that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is not of God." (1 John 4:1-4)
Any man, any religion, and any system of belief that does
not preach and believe that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of
God who came down to our earth in the flesh to physically die
on a cross for all of our sins cannot be accepted as anything
that is truly coming from God the Father. End of
discussion!
3. Bodily Resurrection of Jesus
They do not believe in the bodily
resurrection of Jesus. Our Bible tells us that when they went
into the tomb to see if Jesus was still there, that His entire
body was no longer there.
They believe that Jesus was "annihilated" by God, not risen.
They believe that after 3 days from His death, that He was
resurrected as a "spirit creature" rather than being
resurrected having a "glorified spiritual body."
In other words, they are taking out the word "body."
Our Bible tells us that when we die, we will all be given a new
"spiritual body" to encase our souls and spirits. Here
is the verse:
"The body is sown in corruption, it is
raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians
15:42-50)
Put all of these key words together in the above verse, and
we are getting "glorified spiritual bodies" when we die
and enter into heaven just as Jesus was given when He
resurrected on the third day from His crucificxion.
4. 144,000 Witnesses
They believe that only 144,000 people are going to make it
into heaven. They actually believe that most of the 144,000 out
of their group are already in heaven. The rest of the Jehovah's
Witnesses still living can only hope to inherit the earth, not
actually make it into heaven, since this is only reserved for
the special 144,000 chosen ones.
Our Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation that the
144,000 people being talked about are 144,000 Jewish witnesses
that God marks and seals during the 7 year Tribulation to help
proclaim the gospel during this horrific time. The Bible says
that this 144,000 are 12,000 Jews taken from each of the 12
main tribes of Israel. They are called the "firstfruits" of
God, as they are the first set of Jews who get officially saved
and accept Jesus Christ as their true Messiah.
These 144,000 Jewish witnesses are obviously going into
heaven since they are saved, but so does everyone else who
accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Here are three
key Scripture verses proving that the gift of eternal salvation
is for all who will accept it - not just for
144,000 special chosen ones.
"... that WHOEVER believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life." (John 3:15-16)
Notice the word "whoever." This applies to
all who will believe in Jesus and His
sacrificial death on the cross!
"... God our Savior, who desires ALL MEN to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy
2:4)
Notice God the Father is plainly stating that He would like
"all men" to accept the gift of eternal
salvation that is offered through His Son - not just 144,000
specially chosen people.
For "WHOEVER calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." (Romans 10:12)
Again, notice the word "whoever." God is not making
any exceptions either by race, color, creed, or gender. Our
Bible also tells us that God is no respecter of persons and
each person is looked upon equally by our God, not just 144,000
specially chosen people.
5. Hell
They do not believe in a hell where the unsaved and wicked
people will suffer eternal torment. They cannot believe that a
loving God could create such a horrible place of eternal
torment. They tell their followers that hell is the "grave"
where we are buried in when we die, and that the wicked will
simply cease to exist and will not have to suffer any type of
eternal punishment and torment.
Our Bible teaches just the opposite. Our Bible says that
there will be a Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the
1000-year millennium kingdom. All the unsaved and wicked people
will have to appear before the Lord for this final judgment.
This verse says that whoever's name is not written in the Book
of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where
the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever.
The Lake of Fire and Brimstone will be the eventual end of
Satan, all of his demons, the Antichrist, the False Prophet,
and all the rest of unsaved humanity who has ever lived.
I believe this passage is literal interpretation! The Bible
says exactly what it means and there is simply no other way you
can spin or re-interpret these words out of Scripture. The
verse on this is found in Revelation 20:7-15.
Conclusion
As you can see from all of the above main differences,
Jehovah's Witnesses can in no way qualify as a true branch of
Christianity. I personally believe that God the Father will in
no way honor or accept this false religion.
For those of you who are ever led by the Lord to try to
witness or debate with some of these people, this article will
give you some of the basic differences between their false
system of beliefs and those of true Christianity.
 Click here for reprint information
False
Religions and Cults
Islam
Michael Bradley
Bible Teaching and
Bible Commentary,
Over 150 Free Bible
Lessons
Scripture taken from New King James
Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005-2008 by Michael Bradley.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5
License.
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