Post by pitbull on Dec 12, 2005 9:28:31 GMT -5
Jehovah¡¦s Witnesses Fact Sheet
In 1870, at the age of eighteen, an ex-Congregationalist by the name of Charles Taze Russell started a Bible class in Pittsburgh. In 1876, the class elected Russell as their Pastor.
He founded the "Herald of the Morning" in 1879, which eventually developed into what is known today as "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom." Today this publication has grown to over seventeen million copies per month in over one hundred languages.
In 1884, Russell incorporated the "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" at Pittsburgh. Today this organization has branches in over one hundred countries, and it has missionary works in over two hundred and fifty. With over one-half million volunteer workers, the Jehovah's Witnesses have become a serious threat to Bible believers throughout the world.
Russell died in 1916, and Judge J.F. Rutherford took over the Society's leadership. It was under Rutherford's leadership that the group took the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," and Society headquarters moved to Brooklyn. Rutherford died in 1942, and Nathan Knorr took control and boosted the membership to over two million. In 1961, the Society published its own "translation" of the scriptures, called "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures." Knorr died in 1977. As of 1996, the president of the Watchtower Society was Milton Henschel. The main heresies taught by Jehovah¡¦s Witnesses are as follow [as well as the Biblical passages that condemn them]:
1. Annihilation ¡V Matthew 25:41; Luke 16:24
2. Denial of the Deity of Christ ¡V Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 10:30; etc.
3. Denial of the Deity of the Holy Spirit ¡V Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30; John. 14:16, 26; 16:8-14; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, etc.
4. Denial of Eternal Security ¡V John 5:24; 6:37; 10:28-29; I John 5:11-13; Romans 8:38-39; Philippians 1:6
5. Denial of a Literal Burning Hell ¡V Deuteronomy 32:22; Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9; 25:41; Luke 16:22-24; James 3:6; Revelation 14:11
6. Denial of Literal Second Coming of Christ ¡V Matthew 24:30; Luke 24:39; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7
7. Denial of the Physical Resurrection of Christ ¡V Luke 24:38-39; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
8. Denial of the Trinity ¡V Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7
9. Salvation Through Works ¡V Galatians 2:16; 3:22; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5
10. True Church Theory ¡V Ephesians 4:4; 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18-24; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 19:7; 5:9-10; 21:9
Techniques To Help Win A Jehovah¡¦s Witness To Christ
You will probably meet a Jehovah¡¦s Witness at your home. They are very much involved in door-to-door evangelism. They also pass out a lot of literature that is published by the Watch Tower Tract Society. There are two things that you can do to help gain a foothold with them.
First, offer to accept and read their literature only if they accept and read yours. Be sure to have plenty of good Gospel tracts and perhaps some counter-cult literature ready to give them. Generally, they are forbidden to take material but every now and then you will find one who will take it.
Second, do not ask them if they know whether or not they are going to Heaven. They believe only 144,000 are going to Heaven and the best they can do is to earn the right to live on the new earth. Instead ask them if they are saved.
Then you can offer to exchange Bibles with them [they keep all their notes to answer questions there]. Take their ¡§New World Translation¡¨ bible and show them how to get saved. The best bet is to show them the explain to them the ¡§Roman¡¦s Road¡¨:
Romans 3:23 „³ Romans 6:23 „³ Romans 5:8 „³ Romans 10:9-10, 13.
You can also take them to John 3:16-18 to show them the same thing. No matter which you use, they need to realize:
1. That we are all sinners.
2. That there is a penalty for our sins that we have earned [i.e. wages], which includes a literal and fiery Hell.
3. That that God loves us and because this Christ paid the penalty for our sins.
4. That Christ is the only way to get saved.
5. That works [religion, getting baptized, joining a church, giving a tithe, being good to family and friends, being a law-abiding citizen, helping our neighbors, living a clean life, doing good deeds, etc.] will not get us saved.
6. That we need to prayfully repent of our sins and ask Jesus to save us.
In 1870, at the age of eighteen, an ex-Congregationalist by the name of Charles Taze Russell started a Bible class in Pittsburgh. In 1876, the class elected Russell as their Pastor.
He founded the "Herald of the Morning" in 1879, which eventually developed into what is known today as "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom." Today this publication has grown to over seventeen million copies per month in over one hundred languages.
In 1884, Russell incorporated the "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" at Pittsburgh. Today this organization has branches in over one hundred countries, and it has missionary works in over two hundred and fifty. With over one-half million volunteer workers, the Jehovah's Witnesses have become a serious threat to Bible believers throughout the world.
Russell died in 1916, and Judge J.F. Rutherford took over the Society's leadership. It was under Rutherford's leadership that the group took the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," and Society headquarters moved to Brooklyn. Rutherford died in 1942, and Nathan Knorr took control and boosted the membership to over two million. In 1961, the Society published its own "translation" of the scriptures, called "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures." Knorr died in 1977. As of 1996, the president of the Watchtower Society was Milton Henschel. The main heresies taught by Jehovah¡¦s Witnesses are as follow [as well as the Biblical passages that condemn them]:
1. Annihilation ¡V Matthew 25:41; Luke 16:24
2. Denial of the Deity of Christ ¡V Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 10:30; etc.
3. Denial of the Deity of the Holy Spirit ¡V Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30; John. 14:16, 26; 16:8-14; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, etc.
4. Denial of Eternal Security ¡V John 5:24; 6:37; 10:28-29; I John 5:11-13; Romans 8:38-39; Philippians 1:6
5. Denial of a Literal Burning Hell ¡V Deuteronomy 32:22; Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9; 25:41; Luke 16:22-24; James 3:6; Revelation 14:11
6. Denial of Literal Second Coming of Christ ¡V Matthew 24:30; Luke 24:39; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7
7. Denial of the Physical Resurrection of Christ ¡V Luke 24:38-39; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
8. Denial of the Trinity ¡V Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7
9. Salvation Through Works ¡V Galatians 2:16; 3:22; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5
10. True Church Theory ¡V Ephesians 4:4; 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18-24; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 19:7; 5:9-10; 21:9
Techniques To Help Win A Jehovah¡¦s Witness To Christ
You will probably meet a Jehovah¡¦s Witness at your home. They are very much involved in door-to-door evangelism. They also pass out a lot of literature that is published by the Watch Tower Tract Society. There are two things that you can do to help gain a foothold with them.
First, offer to accept and read their literature only if they accept and read yours. Be sure to have plenty of good Gospel tracts and perhaps some counter-cult literature ready to give them. Generally, they are forbidden to take material but every now and then you will find one who will take it.
Second, do not ask them if they know whether or not they are going to Heaven. They believe only 144,000 are going to Heaven and the best they can do is to earn the right to live on the new earth. Instead ask them if they are saved.
Then you can offer to exchange Bibles with them [they keep all their notes to answer questions there]. Take their ¡§New World Translation¡¨ bible and show them how to get saved. The best bet is to show them the explain to them the ¡§Roman¡¦s Road¡¨:
Romans 3:23 „³ Romans 6:23 „³ Romans 5:8 „³ Romans 10:9-10, 13.
You can also take them to John 3:16-18 to show them the same thing. No matter which you use, they need to realize:
1. That we are all sinners.
2. That there is a penalty for our sins that we have earned [i.e. wages], which includes a literal and fiery Hell.
3. That that God loves us and because this Christ paid the penalty for our sins.
4. That Christ is the only way to get saved.
5. That works [religion, getting baptized, joining a church, giving a tithe, being good to family and friends, being a law-abiding citizen, helping our neighbors, living a clean life, doing good deeds, etc.] will not get us saved.
6. That we need to prayfully repent of our sins and ask Jesus to save us.