The Jehovah’s Witnesses: Counterfeit Christianity!

The Jehovah’s Witnesses: Counterfeit Christianity!

(Aerial shot of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ vast real estate empire in New York)

In 1884, Charles Taze Russell (a Knights Templar Mason) founded The Zion’s Watchtower Tract Society, now known as The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

Jehovah’s Witnesses see themselves as a modern-day theocratic organisation. Because of this, Witnesses are taught not to vote, salute national flags, or participate in military service. Many Witnesses/conscientious objectors have suffered terribly for their man-made religion. They also refuse to celebrate Christmas and Easter. And in some of their earlier publications, they dubbed Mothers’ Day as being “feminist.”

In 1945 they stated that Witnesses could not receive a blood transfusion. To do so, would be “sinful.” They even refuse to allow doctors to conduct transfusions using their own blood!

Their members are frequently unable and unwilling to reason with non-Witnesses and insist that only their religion can understand the Holy Scriptures. They refuse to pray with non-Witnesses.

They are unable to sell their literature for tax reasons, so donations are requested. (This may not apply in the UK however.)

Throughout the history of the Witnesses, they have repeatedly changed their doctrines, for a total of 148 times!

Prior to 1931, the Witnesses had also gone by the names of Millennial Dawn, People’s Pulpit Association, The Brooklyn Tabernacle, and The International Bible Students Association.

Financial facts

In a publication entitled Comments from the Friends, written by a former Witness, David A. Reeds, information was released concerning the wealth of The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In this publication, he reports that, “The Watchtower headquarters complex in the Brooklyn Heights section of New York City consists of more than thirty buildings with a current real estate value of $185,998,000.”

The report would also go on to show just how handsomely their “theocratic religion” was doing; with figures like $1,247,999,000 being revealed. Apparently this was up to $1.4 billion from just over $1,248,000,000.00 in 1990. The article concluded with: “The figures, not published for the sect’s members, are evidently provided to credit reporting services, so that the firms doing business with the Society will extend credit.”

Membership statistics

At the end of 2001, membership for the Jehovah’s Witnesses was 6,117,666 operating out of 234 countries worldwide. During 2001, Witnesses baptized 235,700 converts worldwide, a decrease from 1996 in which they baptized 366,579 (-103,148).

There are over 500,000 full- and part-time missionaries worldwide, spending 20-30 hours a week proselytizing. Faithful Witnesses must attend all five meetings a week and must fill in and complete a monthly time sheet if they wish to remain in the Witnesses. Hours spent proselytizing worldwide each year is 1.1 billion, yet down from the 1996 figure of 1.4 billion (-3 billion).

I was recently told how 10,000 Catholics in Rome converted over to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, much to the displeasure of their Jesuit pope! Sadly, they have simply switched from one false man-made system to another!

(James witnessing to two Witnesses)

Beliefs

Red: Jehovah’s Witnesses

Black: Biblical Christianity

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jehovah God created His Son: “There was, therefore, a time when Jehovah was all alone in universal space” (Let God Be True, p. 25).

But in John 8:58, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Thus, Jesus, in quoting the I AM from Exodus 3:14, claimed to be the eternal pre-existent God in the flesh!

Every Bible in the world has this reading “I AM,” except their ‘bible’ (New World Translation) which blasphemously says, “I have been.”

Yet, if one turns to John 5:18 in their bible, one will see the deity of Christ beautifully stated: “On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

And if this part of their translation isn’t clear enough, here’s their translation from John 20:28: “In answer Thomas said to him: ‘My Lord and my God’,” and Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for worshipping Him and for correctly affirming Jesus as the Jewish Jehovah of the Bible!

Clearly, these verses were missed out by the heretics Westcott and Hort!

In fact, before I move on, please permit me to share the following and revealing facts about the Anglican apostates Westcott and Hort, whose Greek text the Jehovah’s Witnesses proudly use. These two men were both secret Jesuit provocateurs and rank liberals!

“The danger of our church [Anglicanism] is from atheism, not Romanism.” [emphasis added]

“I am inclined to think that no such state as Eden ever existed.” [emphasis added]

“But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin…my feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable.” [emphasis added]

“Had I been alone, I could have knelt there for hours [at a Marian shrine].” [emphasis added]

“I have been persuaded for many years that Mary-worship and ‘Jesus’-worship have very much in common in their causes and their results.” [emphasis added]

Much more information about this dubious couple of liberal/secret Catholics can be found in the book by David W. Daniels, Did the Catholic Church Give Us the Bible?

Please also see the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation which “accidentally” affirms Christ’s eternal existence. For example, Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus the Mighty God and the eternal Father. And in John 5:18, John 14:9 and Philippians 2:6, His equality to God the Father is clearly found.

It should also be pointed out that in John 1:23, John the Baptist quotes Isaiah 40:3 and tells his audience that he had come to prepare the way for the Lord, that being Jehovah God, who, it turned out to be, was Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

And Paul writes in Philippians 2:11, “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Yet this is taken from Isaiah 45:23, where it speaks of Jehovah God. So, it should be obvious that Jesus is Jehovah God.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 41:4).

Had Jesus not been eternal, He couldn’t claim this title as His own.

Here are also two verses, both from the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation:

“I, Jehovah, the First One; and with the last ones I am the same” (Isaiah 41:4).

“I am the First and the Last, and the living one; and I became dead” (Revelation 1:17-18).

So, it clearly looks to me that there is only one God in the Bible, and that God is Jesus Christ!

May I say that it should be evident to any honest and open-minded individual that the writers of the New Testament made it abundantly clear that Jesus is Jehovah God in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). To deny this will result in one spending eternity in Hell.

And here’s emphatic proof of this, found vividly in the King James Bible: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he [GOD], ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24) [emphasis added].

That Jesus is Michael the Archangel (Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 920). 

The Greek word for firstborn is Prototokos. Whenever this is used of Jesus, it always means in pre-eminence or position of rank (Rom. 8:29), not a physical birth.

Israel, although not the oldest nation on the earth, is called the firstborn of God (Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:9).

King David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, is called God’s firstborn (Psalm 89:20-27).

No angel in the word of God ever received worship, love, and obedience like Jesus rightfully did (Hebrews 1:6-9).

In Matthew 4:7, Jesus said to Satan twice: “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God (New World Translation, p. 1219).

Thomas called Christ: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Thus Thomas called Jesus Jehovah God (New World Translation, p. 1359). And Jesus never corrected him either.

The Witnesses call Jesus a created spirit, the Muslims call Him a Muslim prophet, the Jews reject Him, the Mormons say He is Lucifer’s spirit brother, and the Catholic Church degrades Him with their appalling and awful (not to mention delusional) transubstantiation. Yet the Bible clearly states that He is the world’s only Saviour, and to be the world’s only Saviour, He must be God Almighty, for only God can redeem sinful man! Jesus Christ, in His full majestic glory, is Jehovah God; El Elyon; El Olam; El Roi El; Shaddai; Adonai (Isaiah 43:11; Matthew 1:21), and this is what the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has always believed and stood for, for almost two thousand years now.

Jesus was not crucified on a cross but on a stake.

But the Bible says: “And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). [emphasis added]

Colossians 1:20: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” [emphasis added]

Jesus was resurrected a divine being (J Rutherford, The Harp of God, p, 165).

After Jesus’ resurrection He was raised using His original human body. He was not some super spirit creature, much like the error the disciples initially made in Luke 24:39, but was fully human and fully God (John 20:27). The only reason His disciples had previously been unable to recognize Him was because of their initial lack of faith in His glorious resurrection (Mark 16:11-14; Luke 24:16; Luke 24:31).

This event clearly demonstrates how the Trinity worked in harmony with one another, while working independently:

1) John 2:20-21: Jesus said He would raise up His own body after three days (God the Son)

2) Romans 8:11: The Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (Holy Ghost)

3) Galatians 1:1: God raised Him up (God the Father)

Jehovah (Latin) or Elohiym (Hebrew) [~Yhla] is only singular with no connotations for plurality (Harold J. Berry, 1990).

Jehovah or Elohim can in some places be plural (Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7), and also singular (Matthew 3:17; John 12:28).

“Judge” Rutherford said that Satan is behind Trinitarianism: “Sincere persons who want to know the true God and serve him find it a bit difficult to love and worship a complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God. The clergy who inject such ideas will contradict themselves in the very next breath by stating that God made man in his own image; for certainly no one has ever seen a three-headed human creature” (Let God Be True, p.101-102).   

Man is made in the image of God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-12), and has a triune makeup: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). [emphasis added]

The Trinity is not some Satanic, pagan or even Catholic doctrine, but very much a Biblical one (Psalm 2:7; Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 3:16-17).

They remain the Holy Spirit are God’s active force and therefore becomes an impersonal being (What Does God Require of Us, 1997).  

However, the Holy Spirit is a real Person, with real characteristics (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), and is deity (Acts 5:3-4).

In John 14:16, Jesus promised to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. There are two Greek words for the word “another.” The first is allos, the second is heteros. Allos means another of exactly the same kind, and heteros means another of a different kind. Therefore, the Greek word used of the Holy Spirit in all texts is allos, the same kind, God Almighty, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).

They use the Westcott and Hort corrupt translation of the Scriptures! (New World Translation).

This perverted “bible” has changed over three hundred verses to support their peculiar doctrines. As a result of this tampering, it blasphemes glorious doctrines and truths, such as the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His eternal being (John 1:1; 8:58; 1 Timothy 2:6; Acts 10:36; Colossians 1:16-17; 2:9-10).

When they baptize new converts by full immersion, their formula is: In the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit-directed organisation. They will now become work slaves until Armageddon (1 June 1985, Watchtower magazine). 

The Bible states that people are to be baptized using the Lord’s formula of Matthew 28:19: “In the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Anything else isn’t Biblical, but man-made!

That Adam only died a temporary death in the Garden of Eden.

In Genesis 2:17, God warned Adam that if he ate of the tree of life, he would surely die. There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that this wasn’t temporary, but eternal. However, Adam was granted a very long lifespan, in which he and Eve would populate the earth.

Additionally, JWs believe that salvation is not a gift of God, but one must work to earn it and may lose it, if not caught door-knocking when Armageddon arrives. They have absolutely no assurance of salvation whatsoever, as one member told me personally. Even during the millennial reign of Christ, they can still fail God, and end up in the lake of fire.

This doctrine is almost similar to Roman Catholicism, for they too have no Biblical understanding or assurance of salvation. Yet if one takes the time to study the following passages, they will soon see that salvation is instant (Mark 16:16; Luke 23:43; John 3:16; John 5:24; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9), and eternal (John 10:29; Acts 7:59-60; Romans 8:1; 38-39).

In Romans 4:1-8, the apostle Paul takes great care and time in teaching how a sinner is made righteous before a Holy God: “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

A sinner is only saved through God’s unmerited grace, and by absolutely nothing else (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8).

That salvation is not a gift of God, but one must work to earn it, and may, if not caught door knocking when Armageddon arrives, lose it. They have absolutely no assurance of salvation whatsoever, as one member told me this personally. Even during the millennial reign of Christ, they can still fail God, and end up in the lake of fire.

This doctrine is almost similar to Roman Catholicism, for they too have no Biblical understanding or assurance of salvation. Yet if one takes the time to study the following passages, they will soon see that salvation is instant (Mark 16:16; Luke 23:43; John 3:16; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9), and eternal (John 10:29; Acts 7:59- 60; Rom. 8:1; 38- 39).

In Romans 4:1-8, the apostle Paul takes great care and time in teaching how a sinner is made righteous before a Holy God:

“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

A sinner is only saved through God’s unmerited grace, and absolutely by nothing else (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8).

That a person has one of two possible destinations: 1) The anointed Jehovah’s Witnesses (144,000) will reign with Jehovah God in heaven for all of eternity.

The concept that only 144,000 will reign with Jehovah God comes from Revelation 7:4 and 14:1. However, upon careful reading it soon becomes obvious that the 144,000 are actually Jewish male virgins from the twelve tribes of Israel, sealed by the Holy Spirit for special evangelism, during the Great Tribulation, not the Church age. Therefore, the Witnesses are incorrect to assume that this group refers to them, for Jehovah’s Witnesses are predominantly Gentiles, not Jews, and the Tribulation has yet to occur.

The rest of the faithful Witnesses (not the 144,000) will live forever on paradise earth, but only after immense effort and proselytising on behalf of the faithful Witness.

Two Scriptures are used to teach that endurance and perseverance are essential for entrance to Heaven/salvation (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).

First, the word “endure” can also be translated “to overcome.” In this case, 1 John 5:4 states: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

Therefore, to overcome Satan/the world can be synonymous with Jesus’ clear teaching that the child of God must overcome the evil one, and the apostle Paul affirms this has already occurred for all regenerated children of God: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).

Moreover, Matthew 10:22 and 24:13 could also be interpreted to refer to those living during the Great Tribulation, and therefore their endurance would be essential for them to escape the deception, not in order to be saved from their sins. But again, as we are still living in the Church age, the latter explanation doesn’t relate to anybody living today.

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the second destination is that people who are not members of the Watchtower organisation will be destroyed by Jehovah God and cease to exist. There is no concept of eternal punishment or hell in Watchtower theology, annihilation is the destiny for many (Let God Be True, pp. 90-95).

Jesus gave a very clear and vivid command in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Those people who are not members of the Watchtower organization will be destroyed by Jehovah God and cease to exist. There is no concept of eternal punishment or hell in Watchtower theology, annihilation is the destiny for many (Let God Be True, p. 90-95).

With the doctrine of Hell so clearly affirmed above, please see the following passage of Scripture, where the apostle Paul spoke of eternal punishment, never eternal annihilation: “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) [emphasis added].

Some years ago I witnessed and shared the above from 2 Thessalonians with a Jehovah’s Witness while on the streets of Manchester. And I told him that the term “punished with everlasting destruction” can also be translated to “tortured with everlasting destruction”. At first he would not accept this and returned to active membership with the JWs. Eighteen months later, he left them and got born again! Now he has one of the most popular YouTube channels in the UK which helps JWs all over the world come to the true and saving knowledge of the Biblical Jesus Christ, and to turn away from what the carnal mind of Charles Taze Russell taught and advocated during his lifetime!

Three times in Mark’s Gospel alone, Jesus said the worm would never die (Mark 9:44,46,48).

In Matthew 8:12, the Lord said the following: “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” [emphasis added].

Revelation 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Hell is not some Satanic or even apostate doctrine, but a clear and freighting one for the unrepentant sinner to get to grips with! And please remember, the Lord spoke of Hell more times than Heaven!

Hell is not considered a literal place of torment but a condition (J Rutherford, The Harp of God, p. 51-52). On p. 54, Rutherford states: “Jehovah at no time employs torture but he denounces such doctrine as an abomination in his site.”

This statement once again is not Biblically accurate. As already demonstrated in the above rebuttal, Hell is spoken of as not only being real, but lasting forever: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:41-46) [emphasis added].

Please also see the following verses that affirm Hell is a real and conscious place (Ezekiel 32:19-32; Daniel 12:2; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:10). Therefore, if the sinner is unwilling to receive Jesus’ free gift of salvation (Acts 16:31), then God’s perfect justice is accomplished (Psalm 76:10), and the unrepentant sinner is solely to blame for his/her eternal abode in Hell fire (Deuteronomy 32:3-5).

My heartfelt prayer would be for people to wake up and realize that Hell is real, but was never made for mankind, but for the devil and his fallen angels (Matthew 25:41). Yet, man by his sinful lifestyle sends himself to Hell. The Bible is very clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), but that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

That the soul has no life within itself. Once a person dies the soul ceases to exist. The body, however, sleeps/awaits in the grave for the resurrection (Let God Be True).

There are two ways to try and interrupt this understanding from the Watchtower.

First, if it refers to the unrepentant dead, then the Scripture they will use to prove this would be Ecclesiastes 9:5. Yet with the wider understanding of Scripture, one can easily interpret it to mean that the dead have no knowledge of what is occurring on earth, while they are physically dead. We also know from Luke 16:19-31 that the rich man in Hell was conscious of his surroundings, but was unaware of what was occurring on the earth. All he wanted to do was to return and warn his unrepentant family members of the horrors that awaited them.

Second, there are at least four passages in the New Testament alone that contradict the claim that the soul has no life/consciousness prior to the resurrection (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-25; 2 Timothy 4:8). The apostle Paul was very much of the mind that when he died he would go straight into the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

There is no purgatory either. So, it’s either Heaven or Hell, the choice is yours!

Hidden Shame

Please see a brief transcript from the BBC 1 Panorama programme that aired in the UK on 14 July 2002: “Despite there being a total of 23,720 recorded cases of sexual abuse in the USA, Canada, and Europe in the secret database of Jehovah’s Witnesses, one of their members stated: ‘Focusing on numbers isn’t important.’ ”

To date, campaigners from the US organisation Silent Lambs have heard from 5,000 victims. Bill Bowen (a former Witness) is now calling for JWs to “come clean”: “Once they’re found out, it causes their own members to be deeply disturbed,” he said.

The above shines some much-needed light into world of the Watchtower organisation!

There have also been numerous occasions in the Watchtower’s history in which members have coached their children to lie under oath during divorce custody battles. All this apparently sanctioned and encouraged from their Brooklyn headquarters (please see The Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, 17 October 1989 and The Spokane Review, 5 October 1996).

The Leadership  

Charles Taze Russell

  • Originally a Presbyterian but then joined the Congregationalists. Disillusioned with both groups he opted out and launched his own religion.
  • He was divorced by his wife on the grounds of adultery after she discovered he was having an affair with his young female servant (The Brooklyn Daily Newspaper, 19 February 1912, p. 18).

He appeared in court three times during his life and each time lied under oath (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Rev. John J. Ross and the Eagle; Some Facts and More Facts About the Self-Styled Pastor Charles T. Russell, p. 17).

A full copy of this 5-hour transcript from 1913 is also held on file at the JW’s headquarters in Brooklyn. Staunton was Ross’ attorney and “Judge” Rutherford was Russell’s:

  • Staunton): Do you know the Greek alphabet? (Russell): Oh yes. (Staunton): Can you tell me the correct letters if you see them? (Russell): Some of them; I might make a mistake on some of them. (Staunton): Would you tell me the names of those on top of the page, page 447, I have got here? (Russell): Well, I don’t know that I would be able to. (Staunton): You can’t tell what those letters are? Look at them and see if you know. (Russell): My way [he was interrupted at this point and not allowed to explain]. (Staunton): Are you familiar with the Greek language? (Russell): No. (Staunton): Is it true you were never ordained? (Russell): It is not true. (Staunton): Now, you never were ordained by a bishop, clergyman, presbytery, council, or any body of men living? (Russell), after a long pause, I never was. 

This fascinating and damning transcript comes from a court date on 17 March 1913, in Ontario, Canada (Rev. J.J. Ross, Some Facts and More Facts About the Self-Styled Pastor Charles T. Russell). Not only had Russell twice contradicted himself under oath, but affirmed that he had no understanding whatsoever of the language that the Holy Spirit used to compose the New Testament.

  • Visited Egypt on at least one occasion. He very much believed in pyramidology, a spiritualistic religion. He wrote books on this, and they are classed as occultist (The Watchtower, 15 November 1928, p. 344).
  • Believed in astrology and horoscopes (The Watchtower, 15 November 1928, p. 344).
  • Recommended a book Angels and Women which was apparently written by a medium.
  • Confusion surrounds his death in 1916. Some claim he died on board a transcontinental train, others in a hospital bed, or that the Illuminati murdered him.

Masonic symbols can clearly be seen on his gravestone, and the inscription “Laodicean Church”, the apostate Church, should cause concern to Watchtower members! (The Laodicean Church, of the seven Churches in the book of Revelation is seen as the final and apostate church before Christ’s welcomed return to a fallen and unrepentant earth).

Joseph “Judge” Rutherford

  • Came from a strict Baptist background.
  • Was married with one son.
  • Rumoured to have been a Freemason.
  • Was an alcoholic attorney, who used the title “Judge” to further his “credentials.”
  • Took control of this religion after a power struggle, and forcibly removed four elected members of the Board of Directors, and then swapped them for his own loyalists, thus he became the second leader of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
  • Invented the name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931.
  • Wrote a letter to Hitler praising him for his anti-Anglo/America campaign and his plan to exterminate the Jews (Proclaimers, p. 693).
  • Was very intimidating towards younger members of the Watchtower (The Watchtower, 1 August 1994, p. 23).
  • Was a prolific literary writer and would churn out one book a year. In total, he authored over one hundred books, which have been translated into over eighty languages.
  • On at least three occasions, he was cited for contempt of court (Morgan County Book 13, p. 251, on 8 August 1894 and Cooper County Book 2, p. 376, on 15 May 1895).
  • Sued, along with the board of Jehovah’s Witness directors, for libel in 1939 by an Olin Moyle. They had to pay damages to Moyle of $25,000 (Moyle v. Rutherford et al., 261 App. Div. 968; 26 N.Y.S. 2d 860).
  • Rumoured to have encouraged alcoholic smuggling during the era of prohibition.
  • Apparently turned a blind eye to homosexual activities within the Watchtower organisation, and a brothel in New York of male Witnesses.
  • Owned property in New York, London, and Germany, two Cadillacs and one convertible sedan.
  • Died on 8 January 1942, some say on the grounds of Beth Sarim
  • His wife Mary died in 1962.
  • Little information is known on Malcolm their son.

Nathan Homer Knorr

  • Was also involved in spiritualism.
  • Would be credited for leading the New World Translation committee in 1950-51, under the watchful eye of a Roman Catholic priest, Johannes Greber. Greber was a spiritualist and medium. Incredibly, such untrained scholars felt compelled to undertake such a sacred task of translating the Greek into English.
  • There isn’t one distinguished Bible scholar in the world that condones their heretical bible translation. On the contrary, many have not only distanced themselves from the Watchtower, but some have even reprimanded the Witnesses for printing articles claiming that well-known Christian scholars affirmed their “bible” to be authentic and reliable.
  • Under his leadership, the number of Witnesses grew from 113,000 to 1 million in 80 countries.

Frederick W. Franz

Under Franz, the Witnesses accelerated their proselytising techniques around the globe. This man is credited for the immense amount of literature that they print. Jehovah’s Witnesses churn out more literature than any other group of people in the entire world.

Amazingly however on 24 November 1954 Franz would too find himself being cross-examined under oath concerning his authority and biblical expertise:

Q: Have you also made yourself familiar with Hebrew? A: (Franz) YesQ: So that you have 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. 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 in the second chapter of Genesis? A: You mean here? Yes. No.  (Source, Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, 2003, p. 93.

According to Hebrew scholars, this verse in Genesis 2:4 is not particularly hard to translate, especially not for someone who has sworn under oath that he speaks “seven languages” (The Divine Name That Will Endure, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society).

It should also be pointed out that Franz too was rumoured to have Masonic loyalties (Rhodes scholar) and spiritualistic interests.

Milton G. Henschel

  • In 1996 Henschel, his wife and others travelled to Malta. Upon arrival they checked in to a beautiful and expensive five-star hotel.
  • During their lavish trip to Malta, local Witnesses complained that Henschel had spent little time visiting local Witnesses. One such Witness wrote to Henschel complaining that the average wage in Malta was very low, while Henschel’s hotel bill was $117 per day.
  • Henschel tried to cover up Rutherford’s and the Witnesses’ admiration for Hitler (Dr M. James Penton, Open Letter, 11 August 1995).

Don Alden Adams, leader from 2000-2014

Robert Ciranko, current leader

False prophecies

Rutherford wrote a book called Millions Now Living Will Never Die. In this book, he prophesied that Jesus would return along with King David, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, a house needed to be built to accommodate their return. In this book, Rutherford wrote: “The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914. We may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old to the condition of human perfection” (The Watchtower, 15 July 1924, p. 89). However, their false interpretation of the Second Coming never materialized and, therefore, Rutherford moved into this luxurious mansion at 4440 Braeburn Road, San Diego, California, which had cost the Watchtower $25,000.

Please remember this was during the 1920s/30s depression. It was quietly sold in 1948. However, ex-Witness Frank J. Toth believes this property was predominately built to hide away their drunken president.

In the early 1940s, they declared that Armageddon was imminent and would end the Second World War, defeat the Germans and her allies, and then usher in God’s long-awaited rule on earth (The Watchtower, December 1941). In their book Children, they suggest that marriages, having children and normal living be postponed until after Armageddon.

They later prophesied that God’s Millennial Kingdom would commence in 1975. Again, all plans to continue living normal lives were temporary shelved, i.e., many left their jobs, sold their homes, and dedicated themselves to continuous proselytizing.

In total, Jehovah’s Witnesses theocratic machine has falsely predicted the end of the world five times: 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975 and 1989.

Between 1975 and 1976, thousands of American Witnesses left this cult in utter contempt for the numerous unfulfilled prophecies that never came to pass. Leaders gave flimsy excuses; dates were amended, but again and again, nothing happened.

For anybody who wonders what the Bible says about people who make false prophecies, please see Deuteronomy 18:20-21: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak , or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?”

As we read in the word of God, this sin was so serious that false prophets were to be killed. One must ask the question: If the Witnesses are Bible-based, and if they are God’s true messengers for today, why weren’t Russell or Rutherford stoned for making false prophecies? Or at least, why weren’t they excommunicated?

Witnessing to Witnesses

Here are some helpful tips for Christians to use when witnessing to Witnesses:

  • They are trained in a particular doctrinal system.
  • They are committed to the Society without reservations as God’s channel.
  • They are brainwashed, a fact attested to by many former Witnesses.

Famous members

  • In 2003 the pop star Prince joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was seen door-knocking and being driven around to certain houses, spreading their doctrine, right up until his drug-intoxicated death in 2016.
  • President Eisenhower, who later joined the Freemasons. However, according to Billy Graham’s autobiography Just as I am, p. 205, he states that Eisenhower was saved prior to his death.
  • Tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams.

Hank B. Marvin of The Shadows is still very much part of the JW treadmill, and in his spare time, continues to go door-to-door.

Conclusion

When I first wrote this article in 2004, I made contact with a member of this religion. This man, an ex-Anglican for 25 years and now a Witness for over 30 years, happily and unexpectedly agreed to read this article. So, I printed it off and posted it to him via his local Kingdom Hall (they don’t call their places of worship “churches”). The envelope was personally addressed to him and was marked “private and confidential.” Several weeks passed, and still no word from him. Then one Saturday morning I bumped into him on the street. We exchanged brief pleasantries and then I asked him if he had received it. He said emphatically that he hadn’t, and even named an elder in his congregation, who is responsible for all their post. I reassured him that I had indeed sent it. I could tell he believed me. I should also say that I believed him when he told me that he hadn’t received it.

Then one Saturday morning I bumped into him on the street. We exchanged brief pleasantries and then I asked him if had received it. He said emphatically that he hadn’t, and even named an elder in his congregation, who is responsible for all their post. I reassured him that I had indeed sent it. I could tell he believed me. I should also say that I believed him when he told me that he hadn’t received it.

I told him that it wasn’t acceptable for nosey people to interfere with my parcel or any parcel for that matter, and he agreed with me. Yet what wasn’t known to me at the time was what Walter Martin penned in his classic, cult-buster book: “Witnesses are not only to isolate themselves from those who were once Witnesses and have been disfellowshipped or disassociated but also from anyone who is not a Witness and who attempts to present a view contrary to the Watchtower. No Witness is allowed to read dissenting material, whether it is written by a disgruntled Jehovah Witness, a disfellowshipped or disassociated Witness, or someone who have never been a Witness” (Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 68).

This type of behaviour is clearly affirmed by the Witnesses themselves: “Have no dealings with apostates…For example, what will you do if you receive a letter or some literature, open it, and see right away that it is from an apostate? Will curiosity cause you to read it, just to see what he has to say? You may even reason: “It won’t affect me; I’m too strong in the truth. And besides, if we have the truth, we have nothing to fear. The truth will stand the test. “In thinking this way, some have fed their minds upon apostate reasoning and have fallen prey to serious questioning and doubts” (The Watchtower, 15 March 1986, p. 12).

Did not the Apostle Paul commend those that used Scripture to check what he told them (Acts 17:11)? One might be forgiven for concluding that the Witnesses know only too well that should a saved child of God get the chance to talk to a Witness, real damage could be done, and that is why they make such a fuss about not allowing their members to communicate with those outside of their cult.

In conclusion to this sad saga, one cannot help but see glaring similarities with the old mind-controlling Russian KGB, for they too were always watching one another and intercepting others’ mail. Sadly today, this is exactly what is happening in the cult of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Sources

Daniels D.W. Did the Catholic Church Give Us the Bible, 2012.

Gruss, E.C. Cults and the Occult, 2002.

Martin, W. Kingdom of the Cults, 2003.

Rutherford, J.F. The Harp of God, 1921.

Smith, B.R. Second Warning, 1985.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Aid to Bible Understanding, 1971.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, New World Translation, 1961.

 

 

JGB

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