They come to your door, two-by-two, a neatly dressed team of men. They ask if you’re a Christian and imply that they are too. They seem well-versed in Scripture, quoting a wide selection of Bible verses. Yet they sound suspiciously different. They talk a lot about “Jehovah,” not much about Jesus. Pretty soon they’re saying that Christians have got it all wrong. Apparently, only they’ve got it right. It’s all in their Watchtower magazine and their Awake! paper. They want to have a Bible study in your home… Who are they? Jehovah’s Witnesses. Are they true Christians or something else?
Discerning Differences
Discerning differences between true Christianity and the Jehovah’s Witnesses can be tricky because they both use similar language. Jehovah’s Witnesses [JWs], for e.g., call themselves Christians; they say they believe the Bible; JWs declare they look to Jesus as the one who saves us and will give us eternal life. However, by digging deeper, major differences appear between these two faiths that push them worlds apart.
As a principle, marks of a false religion compared to the Christian view relate to five major points. A false religion will differ from the true (orthodox) Christian faith on one or more of the following; they have:
· A different God
· A different Jesus
· A different gospel
· A different afterlife
· A different revelation
Let’s examine the Jehovah’s Witness faith in these areas.
Do JWs have a different God?
Do Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses worship the same God? Many would say so, but this can’t be the case. The primary reason is that Christians believe in a triune God, the Trinity, while JWs definitively do not. The Christian view of God is that there is one God who exists in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Yet, there are not three God’s but one.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, reject this to say there is one God who exists alone as Jehovah. The “Jehovah’s Witnesses official website” at www.watchtower.org devotes a lengthy article to refuting the Trinity, including quoting Yale Univ. Prof. E. Washburn Hopkins, saying “To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown…they say nothing about it.” In addition, the JW article essentially suggests that Christian belief in the Trinity is the apostasy (falling away of true worship of God). JWs Christian belief in the Trinity is part of the “apostasy” which the Bible declared to be coming in future times. In other words, they are rejecting Christianity as a false religion. JWs often challenge Christians with the statement, “where is the term ‘Trinity’ isn’t in the Bible? Show me!” However, the fact that the explicit terms ‘Trinity’ or “triune God’ aren’t in the Bible, does not negate the fact that Scripture portrays God as Trinity. Jehovah’s Witnesses have a different view of God.
Do JWs have a different Jesus?
Jehovah’s Witnesses have a different view of Jesus. They refer to Jesus as the Son of God and also the Savior of the world, just as Christians do; however, there are significant differences. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is not eternal but rather is a created being. JWs allege that Jesus was originally the Archangel Michael (and became Christ upon his virgin birth), and that Jesus is a lesser god compared to God the Father [Jehovah].
The Christian view is that Jesus was not created but rather is the Creator of all and that he is in fact God. John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word [Logos] and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Later in John 1 we find out that this “Word” became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ. JWs arbitrarily change John 1:1 to say “…and the Word was a god.” Based on this tenuous rendering they claim that the “Word” was a kind of angel. JWs have a different Jesus.
Do JWs have a different gospel?
Christianity rightly taught says that salvation and forgiveness of sins are not based on what we do (our good works), but rather by God’s grace. We cannot earn God’s favor or blessing no matter how holy a life we live, because each person is a sinner and therefore unholy. Because Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, placing our faith in him means that our sins are atoned for and we are seen as holy in God’s eyes. We’re saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus’ death on our behalf.
In contrast Jehovah’s Witness believe that grace is merely the opportunity to saved, and that actual salvation is based on works – obeying completely the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. Additionally, Jehovah’s Witnesses recognize two classes of “saved” people: 144,000 fortunate followers who will dwell in heaven, and all the other Jehovah’s Witnesses who will dwell in paradise on earth. JWs are diligently trying to “make the cut” to be in the 144,000; that’s why they knock on doors, distribute JWs Watchtower material, “Awake,” etc. JWs have a different gospel.
Do JWs teach a different afterlife?
As stated above, Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses differ on their views of what happens to people after they die, the “afterlife”. The same is true of hell; Christians hold that hell (the “lake of fire”) is conscious and eternal, while Jehovah’s Witnesses essentially see hell as the common grave of mankind; JWs teach that unbelievers simply cease to exist after death.
Do JWs have a different revelation?
Perhaps the crucial crux to this lies here: where does each faith get their beliefs? Both Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses appeal to the Bible. However, it is not the same Bible! Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the true revelation of God is contained in their version of the Bible kept and produced by the JWs Watchtower Society. JWs allege that all other Bible versions have been tampered with and should be rejected. In addition, JWs teach that only understandings of the Bible promoted by the JWs Watchtower Society are correct, and individual interpretation of the Bible is condemned. In their view, the JWs Watchtower Society is essentially seen as God’s visible representatives on earth, they alone have the true Bible interpretation and their teachings should be obeyed as the voice of God himself. Yet the JWs’ Scripture, their “New World” translation of the Bible, differs at crucial points from the Bible recognized by the vast majority of Bible scholars, Bible teachers and true Christians.
The Christian Bible is now available in multiple English versions (KJV, NIV, ESV, etc) produced by dozens of publishers. They differ in style, vocabulary and complexity, yet they agree in the essential points of the Christian faith. Not surprisingly, the single version published by the Watchtower Society--their “New World translation”--has changed key verses about Jesus and salvation, revealing it as an untrustworthy version. Think of it this way: in court, the same story told by multiple witnesses (with slight variations) would be considered more accurate than a markedly different version of the same events which is told by a single witness. Logic concludes that the Watchtower Society has changed the truth revealed in the Word of God. JWs have a different revelation, a different Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses differ from true Christianity on essential matters.
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