The crystal clear teachings of the Word of God will not allow a thorough going Bible Student to embrace the doctrines set forth by the Jehovah's Witnesses. The basic teachings of this sect are in conflict with the Scriptures. Fifteen of their unique doctrinal errors are listed here and constitute sound reasons why no one may unite with the Witnesses and still hold to the truth of God.

1. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE ABSOLUTE, UNIQUE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Scripture demonstrates that the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah, Isaiah 41:4, 44:6 and 48:12 declare that the attribute of being the "first and last" belongs to Jehovah alone.

In Revelation 1:7, 8, 11, 17 and 22 Jesus Christ is shown possessing this very attribute, thereby making Him the Jehovah of these Isaiah passages, and indeed of the entire Old Testament. Isaiah 45:22-25 speaks of a universal worship, which one day all mankind will render unto Jehovah. Phil. 2:9-11 applies this Isaiah passage to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 44:22, 23 sets forth Jehovah as the redeemer. Eph. 1:7 establishes Jesus Christ as this redeemer. In Isaiah 45:24 and 54:17 Jehovah is our righteousness. In 1 Cor. 1:30 Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Isaiah 43:11 reserves for Jehovah alone the work of saving man. "Besides Me there is no Saviour." Titus 2:13 teaches that Jesus Christ is the Saviour, thereby establishing Him as the Jehovah of Isaiah chapter 43. An honest student of the Scripture will read and compare the verses used above.

2. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH THAT JESUS CHRIST IS A CREATED BEING - SIMPLY ANOTHER GOD.

This doctrinal error is achieved through a spurious translation in their New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scripture which renders John 1:1, "And the Word was a god." Isaiah emphatically denies this error in 43:10, 44:6 and 45:5, 21, and shows their translation of John 1:1 to be illegitimate. Four times Jehovah declares the impossibility of there being "another god" or "a god" beside Himself. Every honest student of Scripture must acknowledge the solitary aloneness of Jehovah.

3. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE PERSONALITY AND DIVINITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Of the many Scripture references which demonstrate this to be false John 16:13, 14 is representative. Eight times the Lord Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit by the personal masculine pronoun. The Greek word "Spirit" is neuter but the pronoun employed is not "it" but rather "he" or "himself". Christ was grammatically incorrect, for the pronoun must agree with the noun in gender, but theologically correct in this recognizing the Spirit's personality. Were the Holy Spirit not a person, the pronoun "it" would have been used and the grammar of the passage kept intact. Even the Witnesses' own New World Translation acknowledges the Spirit's personality in the translation of these two verses. The divinity of the Holy Spirit is clearly demonstrated in the following references which the honest student will carefully study: Acts 5:3, 4; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 13:14. In 1 Cor. 12:4-6 the Holy Spirit is called Lord (v.5) and God (v.6). In placing Isaiah 6:8-10 along side of Acts 28:25-27 it becomes evident that the God of Isaiah 6 is the Holy Spirit.

4. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Though the truth of the Trinity is amusing to the Witnesses, nevertheless it constitutes part of the revelation of God. The Bible student discovers there is a Person in Scripture known as the Father, who is God (Eph. 1:2). There is another Person in Scripture called the Son, Jesus, Jesus Christ who is God (Titus 2:13). There is still another Person called the Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God who is God (Acts 5:3,4). The one Greek word theos, "God," is used of all three Persons, thus ascribing the same divinity of each. The careful student also notes the fact of the Trinity in Isaiah 48:16, 17; 28:19 and 2 Cor. 13:14. The conclusion is simply that there is one God manifest in three Persons known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and since each Person is God, the persons are equal.

5. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE BODY, CORPOREAL RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD

False doctrine declares "The man Jesus is dead, only His spirit arose." The witness of Jesus Christ is quite different (Luke 24:36-45). Even a casual glance at v. 39 dispels any doubt concerning the bodily resurrection. Thomas met the physically resurrected Christ (John 20:24-29), as did the other disciples who ate fish with Him (John 21:12-14). Paul testifies to the corporeal resurrection of Jesus Christ in 1 Cor. 15:3-19. The guards at the tomb, the chief priests and Sanhedrin would never have become excited, Matt. 28:11, 15 if "only His spirit arose."

6. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE BODILY VISIBLE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST

They say, "We must not expect Him to come again as a human being" "Coming is properly translated presence and refers to the invisible presence of the Lord." In contrast, a Bible student discovers the truth that Jesus Christ IS coming back again physically, literally. In Revelation 1:7 "every eye shall see Him"; in Thess. 4:16, 17 "the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven"; and in Acts 1:10, 11 He "shall so come in like manner as we have seen Him go into heaven." The testimony of these passages is irrefutable.

7.THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY PRESENCE OF THE BELIEVER WITH CHRIST UPON DEATH

According to 2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:21-24 and Luke 16:20-22, the believer, immediately upon death, passes into the presence of Christ. The body sleeps in the ground (John 11:11-14), awaiting the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-23), while the soul and spirit now separated from the body (Jas. 2:26), pass into heaven.

8. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CHIDE THE BELIEVERS' HOPE OF HEAVEN

John 14:1-3; Phil. 3:20, 21; Pet. 1:3-5; and Rev. 3:21 are but a few of the many passages in Scripture which speak of the "living hope" of being with Christ forever.

9. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE REALITY AND ETERNITY OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT

Scripture teaches that reality of hell. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke more of hell than heaven and informs us that hell is a furnace of fire, (Matt. 13:49-50); a place for Satan and his emissaries, (Matt. 25:41); and unquenchable fire, (Mark 9:42-48); Furthermore, He insisted upon the fact that hell is eternal. The Greek word aionios, which is defined as that which is without end, and which is used to describe the everlasting life mentioned in John 3:16 and the eternity of God in Rom. 16:26 is delibertly used by Christ to describe the duration of hell (Matt. 18:8), and by John in Rev. 14:11. Aionios does not have a double meaning. If it means that God is eternal and the life which the believer receives is eternal, then it must mean that hell is also eternal.

<10. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY THE PERFECT SALVATION OF CHRIST'S CROSS

Without any warrant from Scripture, the Witnesses teach that the Millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth, will afford all mankind from Adam onward conditions, to earn salvation. Where is there a single Bible verse supporting this? The Lord Jesus Christ has purchased our salvation on the Cross, Rom. 3:21-26, and it remains for man to believe and be saved (Eph. 2:8-0 and Acts 16:30, 31). Salvation is wholly apart from human effort (Rom. 3:27, 28).

11. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DENY PATRIOTISM AND SALUTE TO THE FLAG

Scripture enjoins all believers to be loyal citizens. The careful student will see this in Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15 and Matt. 22:21.

12. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ARE CONFUSED ABOUT THE 144,000

Through good works and sincere effort it is the hope of Jehovah's Witness to become the of the 144,00. In the two chapters in which the 144,000 are mentioned, Revelation 7 & 14, the student of Scripture notes that 144,000 are literal Jews of the ancient tribes with no Gentiles among them (7:4-8); are all males (14:4); are virgins (14:4); will minister during the Great Tribulation (14:6-13); and do not earn their office by works but are imagination can sound Biblical interpretation allow a Gentile sect to claim for its devotees a place among the 144,000.

13. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES USE A PERVERTED TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE

The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scripture is a fumbling translation of the New Testament which no reputable Greek scholar will endorse. The Translation has been altered to fit the heresy. For instance, the Greek word for "other," "allos," does not appear in the Greek text of Col. 1:16,17 but is inserted four times in their translation to make Christ appear as part of the creation, and hence fit their doctrine that He is a created son, another god. "...because by means of Him all other things were created." This and dozens of other passages make the New World Translation a travesty of God's Word.

14. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS DOCTRINAL SYSTEM IS BASED UPON THE INTERPRETATIONS OF CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL

In 1874 a Brooklyn haberdasher, Charles Taze Russell, announced that he possessed all the truth. In his many volumes Russell "left scarcely one great truth of fundamental doctrine untouched with his unholy and unwarranted conclusions," (Dr. Wm. E. Biederwolf). As a careful study will reveal, Russell's writings serve as a broad base upon which the Jehovah's Witness structure is erected. Presently the Jehovah's Witnesses are following the fallen conclusions of a rascal who was divorced by his wife, was in trouble in the courts and who fleeced his followers with "miracle wheat" sold at an exorbitant price, which he claimed would produce 15 times as much wheat as an ordinary bushel.

15. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES NEGLECT A VAST AREA OF SCRIPTURE TRUTH

A careful analysis of numerous books, pamphlets and magazines turned out by the Watch Tower Publishers, reveals that only a small percentage of the Bible is used. A mere 6 1/2% of the Scripture is quoted, leaving untouched the rest of the Word of God.

10 things you should know before opening your door to... Jehovah's Witnesses

1) The "Free home Bible study" offered by the Witnesses is actually a study using Watchtower publications, designed to eradicate your current beliefs and prepare you for membership.

2) Once baptized, you must attend five meetings weekly and "declare the good news" door to door on a regular basis. You will report all time spent and the amount of literature that you have placed. (The Watchtower 1/1/92 p.13 reports: 951,870,021 hours of door to door activity was recorded in 1991.)

3) You will not vote, serve in the military or show patriotism. Saluting the flag is considered "unchristian image worship."

4) Receiving blood transfusions and/or donating blood in order to save someone's life is a "violation of Jehovah God's Law".

5) You will disregard academic and career pursuits. Service in "God's organization" leaves little room for "worldly interests".

6) All Holiday's are taboo and considered "pagan celebrations".

7) To increase membership and literature sales, Watchtower leaders have misled followers by predicting "...the end of the world" in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941 and 1975.

8) You must conform to the will of the Society and accept it's teachings without question. Your new beliefs will also include:

a, "Satan is the originator of the trinity doctrine."

b, Jesus was a manifestation of Michael the Archangel.

c, The Holy Spirit is an active force.

d, Only 144,000 will go to heaven.

e, Christ returned "invisibly" in 1914.

f, Hell is the grave, the dead are unconscious.

g, The cross is an immoral pagan symbol.

h, There is no Salvation outside of the Watchtower.

9) If you challenge or reject the fundamental doctrines of the Watchtower, you will be severely ostracized. The consequences of being "disfellowshipped" from an authoritarian closed society can be a devastating experience.

10) Currently there are 4.2 million Witnesses worldwide with a new convert baptized every three minutes. Motivated by fear, members spend their lives in endless labor for the Society with the hope that if enough "good works" are performed they might survive "Armageddon".

These people became Jehovah's Witnesses not only because they failed to critically and thoroughly examine the claim s of the Watchtower - Their first mistake was, when the Witnesses came knocking ...they opened the door.

"Jehovah's Witnesses, A Name I Was Barely Acquainted With" (an article from the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 1: Number 3, 1988) The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron Rhodes.

From the TESTIMONY column: The story of Bob and Debbie Rush and their exodus from the Jehovah's Witnesses.

When Bob and I were first married, we decided to find a church in which to worship. I myself had always felt a drawing towards Jesus Christ, but never knew anything about being "born again." Bob and I attended a movie sponsored by Billy Graham, and we both went forward afterwards. We met a nice couple and they invited us to their church. We were very disappointed after attending for there was no mention of Jesus Christ, nor was the Bible even used. We later attended another church, but did not feel welcome since most of the people seemed in a higher class than us. As more time went by we still had not found a local church to attend.

My in-laws had been visited by two women who were Jehovah's Witnesses, a name I was barely acquainted with. We asked Bob's parents to tell them we wanted to talk with them. They seemed to be sincere people, and offered to have a free Bible study with us. We thought, "There must be a catch to this."

We began to study their books along with the Bible and we studied with them for several months. It seemed as if we were always digressing from the actual book study, since we were so full of questions. As we looked ahead in their book _The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life_ we saw that they did not celebrate Christmas or accept blood transfusions. These were ideas on the Bible that we had never heard before, but everything was explained in a way that seemed logical.

We soon were baptized as JWs, and I can remember wondering if I would be one of the 144,000 in the "Heavenly Class." My friends asked me if I felt any different as I read the Bible, and I said "no." They told me that I was not one of the 144,000 and that I would stay here on the Paradise earth. I was disappointed, but I understood the idea and went on to be the best JW I could be.

Our family began to attend meetings around five times a week. We became very dedicated to the Society and were able to go to district and national conferences three to four times a year. We regularly went out in the service of going door to door witnessing. It was very important to us to be active and continue in good standing. After a few years Bob was appointed a Ministerial Servant, and I also joined the Ministerial School.

Bob received a job offer in California. We wrote to the Society to get their approval to move there, since they taught that we should go to where the "need is greater." They said we were needed more where we were in Indiana, but we had always wanted to live in California so we decided to move. After arriving in California, the job that Bob had lined up fell through. It wasn't long before our savings were depleted and we had to go home.

After going back to our old Kingdom Hall, things seemed different. It was implied that things didn't work out because we had gone against the organization's will. Bob was relieved of his Ministerial Servant position, and from then on it was all downhill. We gradually started going to meetings less frequently, until finally we didn't go all year, except for the annual Memorial Service. We still believed that the JWs had the truth, but thought the problem was with our Kingdom Hall. Only a few people took the time to find out why our family stopped attending. One of those visits was by a sister insisting that I go out in service preaching door to door. She didn't show a concern for me or the difficulties we were having.

Later that year, Bob decided to run for a local public office. He thought this would be all right since another brother in good standing took a position with the city requiring political affiliation and was not disfellowshiped. Needless to say, Bob was disfellowshiped immediately. As time went by, we continued to follow the rules of the Watchtower Society, but we seldom prayed or thought of God.

It was then that our youngest son became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. An elderly lady in the hospital said she would pray for him and even crocheted him a small cross. I appreciated this, but I felt she was one of the lost that would be destroyed at Armageddon. Through this difficulty I realized that I needed God for strength. I began praying for God to give me guidance, and even asked Him to show me if the JWs did not really have the truth.

While at home one evening, my husband accidentally ran across a television program called _The John Ankerberg Show,_ which had some ex-JWs on it. We were shocked to hear about the false prophecies that the JWs have made, including predictions of the world's end in 1914, 1918, 1925, and 1975, and how they had used Johannes Greber (a spirit medium) to back up their teachings. We also were shown what the Bible teaches about false prophets in Deuteronomy 18.

We began reading our Bible and discovered in John 14:6 that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus was the truth that we had previously been seeking in an organization.

*With much help from ex-JWs and Dr. Walter Martin's books, we have both come to find the real truth in Jesus Christ. We are now in our own ministry of helping JWs and those who have left the Society who do not know where to turn.* We want to help alert others to their false doctrines, and encourage Christians to study the cults, so that they can lead others to the true Jesus Christ for salvation.