Jehovah’s Witnesses
The purpose of this page will be dedicated to expose errors that I find to be very persuasive evidence as showing Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine and theology to be false.
As an early Christian, many years ago, I wanted to do some research to find out what Jehovah’s Witnesses truly believed because I had interaction with some who came to my door from time to time. I did not want to be like everyone else I knew and hide or slam the door in their face or just tell them I was not interested, or even be rude in any way, shape, or form. They are people just like you and I who have differing views, who feel they are doing God’s work, and the least I could do is spend time with them, listen, and above all – love them.
I also interacted with some via social networking and have helped and still help people who have left or are thinking of leaving the organization. I have come to learn that from the outside it seems to be a Christian church, full of loving, compassionate, and friendly people, only wanting to do much good throughout communities. The fact of the matter is that lurking within, is a distorted view of very bizarre beliefs that do not hold any evidential support for their claims, especially biblical claims.
I have had pretty lengthy dialogues with members of Jehovah’s Witnesses using this information. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are very sincere in what they believe, but most do not know the inside errors of what they believe, but worth noting before going any further is that being sincere in believing something does not make what you believe to be true.
If you are a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses who is reading this, I pray that the Lord will open your heart to the truth, and that this information may help you understand the errors. I understand that leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses may in fact disrupt your whole world view and you may end up leaving family and friends behind that are Jehovah’s Witnesses, essentially being “shunned” or "excommunicated," making you feel shamed, but many Jehovah’s Witnesses have done this before you in the past, and will continue to do so in the future, rather wanting to live for the truth and not a lie.
This presentation will only demonstrate errors that I find to be persuasive evidence to show that Jehovah’s Witnesses theology is false. It is my hopeful prayer that this will get you or someone you know and love who is a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses to “examine and test yours or their faith.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
What this page will include is a brief analysis of:
New World Translation/EXPOSED
Mind Control/EXPOSED
Denial of the Bodily Resurrection/EXPOSED
Eternal Existence of the Soul/EXPOSED
Failed Prophecies/EXPOSED
Errors in Theology/EXPOSED
True Stories of Leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization
*Although I have done extensive research and have accumulated a lot of notes on this subject, a lot of the information I am going to share for New World Translation/EXPOSED, Errors in theology/EXPOSED, and Denial of the Bodily Resurrection/EXPOSED will be from:
“Risen Jesus” – The Ministry of Dr. Michael Licona, unless otherwise noted.
Dr. Licona wrote a book called:
“Behold, I Stand At The Door And Knock”
He had no intention of writing the book; he was only sharing the information with church groups. Many within these groups strongly encouraged him to put the information into book form, and he hopes that it proves helpful.
Although “All rights reserved”, he gives permission to print all or part of the publication, provided that fair credit is given to the author.
I am only sharing "in part" from his valuable research that I found to be beneficial resources for this page.
He does extensive research and you are free to download your own copy of “Behold, I Stand At The Door And Knock” at:
https://www.risenjesus.com/wp-content/uploads/behold-i-stand-at-the-door-and-knock.pdf
Check out his ministry as well, he is a phenomenal apologist, and shares quite a bit of useful information.
First, let’s talk about a logical fallacy.
A logical fallacy is an “error of reasoning.” When someone adopts a position, or tries to persuade someone else to adopt a position, based on a bad piece of reasoning, they commit a fallacy.
Many people who are opposed to Jehovah’s Witness theology begin by attacking Charles Taze Russell “character” and seek to discredit his position by discrediting him and reject his “idea’s” just because of his character, which in turn, commits a logical fallacy as both a genetic fallacy and an ad hominem fallacy.
The “genetic fallacy argument” is committed when an idea is either accepted or rejected because of its source, rather than its merit.
The “ad hominem argument” is committed in a like manner.
Logical fallacies of these kind focus not on the evidence for a view but on the character of the person advancing it; they seek to discredit positions by discrediting those who hold them.
It is always important to attack arguments, rather than arguers. On that note, I must admit that it is well attested that Charles Taze Russell had no training or education to justify his interpretation of Scriptures.
He once lied under oath stating that he knew the Greek alphabet, then later stated he was not familiar with the Greek alphabet, proving to be a perjurer in a court of law.
– Russell v. Ross transcript March 17th 1913
This is where it calls Jehovah’s Witnesses interpretation of the Bible as the New World Translation into question. How can it be trusted then? Charles Taze Russell once declared that it would be better to leave the Scriptures unread and read his books rather than to read Scriptures and neglect his books. – The Watchtower, September 15, 1910, page 298
From this perspective, it would then seem to be impossible to understand God’s plan of salvation independent of Russellite theology, and within my studies of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I can boldly conclude that it is a gospel of spiritual confusion, but I’ll get into details with that on this page. So, regardless of logical fallacies of these kind, let’s focus on the supposed evidence for the Jehovah’s Witnesses view, and attack the arguments, rather than the arguer.
History
Founder: Charles Taze Russell 1852-1916
In 1870, at the age of 18, Russell formed a Bible class rejecting the biblical doctrine of hell, whose members eventually made him their pastor. He wrote, traveled, preached, and formed the Watchtower Society, the governing body.
Mr. Russell died in 1916 and was succeeded by Joseph F. Rutherford, who coined the term “Jehovah’s Witnesses” for the group and its corporate name “The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.”
Mr. Rutherford died in 1942 and was succeeded by Nathan H. Knorr, under whose leadership the Watchtower’s own New World Translation of the Bible was produced.
Mr. Knorr died in 1977 and was succeeded by Frederick W. Franz, the spokesman for the translation committee of the New World Translation.
New World Translation/EXPOSED
The New World Translation was completed in portions between 1950 and 1960; the complete volume published in 1961. There have been 4 revisions; the last in 1984.
Greek interlinear New Testament publications:
-The Emphatic Diaglott
-The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (69, revised in 89)
-The interlinear translations use the Westcott and Hort Greek text, their own interlinear translations, and in the case of The Kingdom Interlinear, the New World Translation as a parallel.
EXPOSED:
-The New World Translation committee had no known translators with recognized degrees in Greek or Hebrew exegesis or translation. In fact, Frederick W. Franz, then representing the translation committee and later serving as the Watchtower Society’s 4th president, admitted under oath that he could not translate Genesis 2:4 from Hebrew. - Pursur’s Proof cross examination 11-24-54 p. 7 paragraph B
This in turn is scholastic dishonesty and lack of scholarship.
The New World Translation translates John 1:1 rendered as:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with god, and the Word ‘was a god.”
– There is no recognized translator in the history of Greek exegesis that has ever sanctioned such a grammatical travesty. Such a rendition is an indication of markedly inferior scholarship and finds no basis in New Testament Greek grammar. Both James Moffatt and Edgar Good Speed, liberal translators, render:
John 1:1 – as “The Word was ‘Divine’,”
while most acknowledged authorities read it as “The Word was ‘Deity.’”
When people deny the historical Christian faith and berate those who profess it, they ought to have some scholastic support, and Jehovah’s Witnesses have none.
The New World Translation translates the word hell (sheol) literally as the grave:
“the place where mortals await the resurrection.”
The reality is in the text of the Bible, and unless one recognizes the varieties of meanings of words in different contexts then he is unable to understand the plain meaning of Scripture.
In the Hebrew text the word “lechem” is translated as:
238 times “bread”
1 time as “feast”
21 times as “food”
1 time as “fruit”
5 times as “loaf”
18 times as “meat”
1 time as “provision”
2 times as “victuals”
1 time as “eat”
It is clear that “sheol” has different meanings, which must be decided from the context, not by conjectures of misinformed authors.
- John 20:28: “Thomas answered and said to him: ‘My Lord and my God!’”
After His Resurrection, Jesus appears to doubting Thomas who calls him, “God.”
This is a difficult verse for the Jehovah’s Witnesses because it is so clear. The Jehovah’s Witnesses will respond that either Thomas said, “My Lord” to Jesus, then looked heavenward and said, “My God!” or Thomas was saying it out of exclamation, much like someone today might say “Oh, my God!” when astonished.
However, there are four reasons why the Watchtower response is inadequate:
1. The text says, “Thomas answered and said to him: ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” Thomas was addressing Jesus.
2. In Psalm 35:23 (Septuagint), the same Greek grammatical structure is used as in John 20:28. The Psalmist David says,
“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord.”
Psalm 35:23: ho theos mou kai ho kurios mou.
My God and my Lord.
John 20:28: ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou.
My Lord and my God.
David was addressing one person. His God and his Lord were one and the same. Since the Greek grammatical structure in John 20:28 is the same, Thomas is referring to Jesus as God.
3. Jesus never rebuked Thomas for calling him “God.”
4. It is unlikely that Thomas, a pious Jew who was accustomed to carefully guarding his lips, would take the Lord’s name in vain, especially when he saw the risen Jesus.
Conclusion:
Thomas addresses Jesus as his God. Attempts by the Watchtower to explain this by claiming Thomas was looking heavenward when he said “my God” or that he just uttered the statement as an expression of surprise fails to carefully observe Thomas’ statement “to him,” the similar Greek grammatical structure in Psalm 35:23, that Jesus never rebuked Thomas for calling him God, and the fact that the pious Jew, Thomas, would be unlikely to take the Lord’s name in vain.
The New World Translation translates the Greek words "ego eimi" as "I Am" every time it appears (John 6:34, 6:41, 8:24, 13:19, 15:5, etc.), except in John 8:58 where it is translated as "I have been".
What is the reason for the inconsistency in this translation?
If "ego eimi" was translated in John 8:58 the same way it is translated in every other verse in which it appears, how would John 8:58 read?
Most Jehovah’s Witnesses are plainly unaware of this information.
Mind Control/EXPOSED
Jehovah’s Witnesses are not allowed to study the Bible on their own, to interpret what they read from the Bible for themselves, or to teach directly from the Bible. Rather, they must teach from “approved” Watchtower publications “about” the Bible.
“They must adhere absolutely to the decisions and scriptural understanding of the Society because God has given it this authority over his people.” - The Watchtower May 1st, 1972 p.272
“Avoid independent thinking..”
“Questioning the counsel that is provided by God’s visible organization…”
“Fight against independent thinking..”
-- The Watchtower January 15, 1983 p. 22, 27
“Rather we should seek for dependent Bible study, rather than for independent Bible Study.”
– The Watchtower September 15, 1911
-“He does not impart His Holy Spirit and understanding and appreciation of His Word apart from His visible organization.” – The Watchtower July 1, 1965 p. 391
EXPOSED:
By doing this, it enforces absolute control over its members and it excludes anyone who dares question anything. Their members are taught to defend this view even if it is irrational, unbiblical, and historically inaccurate. No independent thinking is mind control and creates robots.
Denial of The Bodily Resurrection/EXPOSED
Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the biblical doctrine of the physical Resurrection of Jesus.
“..was raised from the grave, not a human creature, but a spirit.” – (Let God Be True, p. 276”
“…God raised him to deathless life as a glorious spirit creature.” – Let God Be True, p.41)
“…because he was resurrected as a spirit creature. Only Thomas would not believe did Jesus appear in a body like that in which he had died.” – Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, p. 144)
“Our Lord’s human body…did not decay or corrupt.. Whether it was dissolved into gases or whether it is still preserved somewhere… no one knows.” – (Studies, 2:129)
“Jesus did not appear in the same form that hing upon the cross, since that body either “dissolved into gases or.. is preserved somewhere as the grand memorial of God’s love.”
– Charles T. Russell (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. V 454)
EXPOSED:
As I go over in the Resurrection Apologetics – Spiritual Resurrection tab counter-argument for this interpretation, which completely violates what the Scripture states, I address and debunk the Spiritual Resurrection Theory.
This is the view that Jesus' Resurrection was not a real physical (bodily) resurrection. Proponents of this theory assert that Christ’s body remained in the grave and His real resurrection was spiritual in nature. It was only told this way to illustrate the truth of spiritual resurrection.
Three thoughts to consider.......
1. A physical body did disappear from the tomb. If it was only a spiritual resurrection, then what happened to the body?
2. The Resurrection accounts are not presented in parabolic or symbolic language, but as hard fact. John 20 is full of what Greek grammarians call "vivid historical present tenses" to stress the historical reality of the Gospel message. The record states Jesus was touched and handled, that He had a body, and that He even ate with the disciples (Luke 24:30, 41; John 21:12). Jesus not only arose, but He arose bodily. He possessed a glorified body which had unique capacities. It was a spiritual body, but it was nevertheless a physical body as well.
3. Jesus could appear in different forms (Mark16:12). He could eat though it was not needed for sustenance (Luke 24:30). He could appear and disappear and could pass through solid objects (John 20:19, 26). He could pass in a moment from one place to another (Luke 24:31). (Philippians 3:21) shows that His body was glorious and unique, but nevertheless, still a body according to which our bodies will one day be fashioned.
I conclude with stating that Jesus had a spiritual, glorified, and yet a physical body of flesh and bone. History shows there was a body in the tomb and it disappeared. The enemies of Jesus were never able to produce the body nor disprove the Resurrection. This would not be the case if Jesus’ Resurrection were just in a spiritual sense and to illustrate “truth.”
To further ellabororate on this, we must understand that Jesus foresaw the unbelief of men in His bodily Resurrection and made an explicit point of saying that He was not a spirit, but flesh and bones and He even went so far as to eat human food to prove that He was identified with humanity as well as deity:
Luke 24:39-44 – “ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Jesus also rebuked the disciples for their unbelief in His physical Resurrection:
Luke 24:25 – “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
and it was the physical Resurrection that confirmed His deity, since only God could voluntarily lay down and take up life at will:
John 2:19-21 – “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.”
He said He would raise up “this temple” and in 3 days (v19) and John says, “He spake of the temple of His body” (v. 21)
Eternal Existence of the Soul/EXPOSED
“At death man’s spirit, his life source, which is sustained by breathing, ‘goes out.’ It no longer exists… When they are dead, both humans and animals are in this same state of complete unconsciousness… that the soul lives on after death is a lie started by the Devil.” – (You Can Live, p.77)
EXPOSED:
To Jehovah’s Witness, death is the cessation of consciousness, or destruction. But there is no single or collective rendering of Greek or Hebrew words in any reputable lexicon or dictionary that will substantiate this view.
Death in the Scriptures is “separation” from the body as in the case of the first death (physical), and separation from God for eternity as in the second death.
Death NEVER means “annihilation”, and Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot bring in one word in context in the original language to make their case.
Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46 New World Translation substitutes the word “breath” for the Greek word “spirit (pneuma). In various contexts, spirit (pneuma) can mean some of the things they hold, but context determines translation, along with grammar, and their transitions quite often do not remain true to either.
Having forced the word “breath” into Matthew’s account to make it appear that Jesus only stopped breathing and did not yield up His “invisible nature” upon dying, Jehovah’s Witnesses plod on Luke’s account, only to be caught in their own trap.
Luke was a learned scholar and master of Greek forces the entire account of Jesus’ words using the correct term spirit (pneuma), instead of “breath” as in Matthew 27:50. Because of this, Watchtowers fabric of manufactured terminology collapses, because Jesus would not have said, “Father, into Your hands I commit my ‘breath”, yet if Jehovah’s Witnesses are consistent, why did they not render the identical Greek term (pneuma) as “breath” both times, for it is a parallel account of the same scene?
The very fact that Jesus dismissed His spirit proves beyond the shadow of a doubt the survival of the human spirit beyond the grave, or as Solomon put it in (Ecclesiastes 12:7) or Paul in Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:8!
Jehovah’s Witnesses have conceived death as being “unconsciousness or extinction," which by definition cannot be found in the Bible. Death in the biblical sense never means extinction or annihilation, and not one word, Greek or Hebrew, in either Testament will be found to say that it does.
Death in the Bible is portrayed as “separation.” – Ezekiel 18:4
-The word “destroy” (‘abad) does not convey the meaning of annihilation or extinction. The term can be rendered validly as, “to reckon as lost, given up as lost, or cast away.” (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:6)
Jehovah’s Witnesses perceive the soul as merely a principle of life, not an entity.
The Bible teaches differently, as the soul departs at the death of the body, that it is not destroyed by physical death, and that it can be restored by God at His discretion. Genesis 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21-22;
Revelation 6:9-11
In Matthew 17 Moses and Elijah are on the Mount of Transfiguration communing with Jesus, yet we know that Moses had been physically dead for centuries, and no record of his Resurrection exists in Scripture.
Jehovah’s Witnesses will claim that this was a “vision,” not a “real” evidence of the souls existence beyond the grave, by pointing to Matthew 17:9, where the English rendition of the Greek (horama) is “vision.”
But the Greek term is translated literally in this context as “that which is seen – “a spectacle”, not a vision.
2 Corinthians 5:1-9, Paul makes it clear that to be absent from the body is to be consciously “present,” or “at home,” with the Lord.
Referring to Acts 7:59, if the spirit of a man has no existence apart from the body, why does Stephen just before his death pray to Jesus to "receive my spirit"?
How could Jesus receive Stephen's spirit if a man's spirit ceases to exist when the body dies?
As you can see, with a fair critique, this doctrine has no biblical support.
Failed Prophecies/EXPOSED
If anyone makes a false prophecy, and they have claimed to be a prophet of God, then they are false prophet and are not to be listened to, as the Bible plainly states over and over again. If Jehovah’s Witnesses is the only true church and are the only true voice of God's Word, then what they say should prove to be true, especially in prophecy. The Watchtower organization has made some predictions in the past that has not come true. This is not a comprehensive list, only some. These are out of Witnesses' literature.
1899 - "...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced,"
- The Time Is at Hand, 1908 edition, p. 101
1914 - Jesus came back not in a physical form, but invisible form.
“The undefeatable purpose of Jehovah God to establish a righteous kingdom in these days was fulfilled in A.D, 1914.” – Let God be True, p.143
“Christ’s return invisible, as he testified that man would not see him again in human form” – p.321
- Jesus denounces the Russellite error that “He ascended as a spirit.” Since He left Earth visibly from the Mount of Olives, it is certain that He will return “visibly” as the Bible teaches: Matthew 24:7-8, 30; 26:63-64; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:7-8
Zechariah 14:4 reveals Jesus as touching the Mount of Olives at His visible return, and the Scriptures teach that this literally corroborates the angelic proclamation of Acts 1:9-12 even to the Lord’s return to the exact location of His ascension, the Mount of Olives (v. 12)
Jesus’ return will be visible and every eye will see Him (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:27-30)
1916 - "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873,"
- The Time Is at Hand, forward, p. ii.
1918 - "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection," - Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89.
1922 - "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914,"
- Watchtower, Sept. 1, 1922, p. 262.
1923 - "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge," - Watchtower, Apr. 1, 1923, p. 106.
1925 - "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year,"
- Watchtower, Jan. 1, 1925, p. 3.
1925 - "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work," - Watchtower, Sept., 1925, p. 262.
1926 - "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything," (Watchtower, p. 232).
1931 - "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing dates," - Vindication, p. 338.
1941 - "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon,"
- Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1941, p. 288.
1968 - "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?.. Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them," - Awake, Oct. 8, 1968.
1968 - "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" - Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1968, p. 494.
1972 - Jehovah's Witnesses Watchtower claimed to be the prophet of God.
IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET - "So does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?...This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses...Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a 'prophet' of God. It is another thing to prove it,"
- Watchtower, Apr. 1, 1972, p. 197). See Deut. 18:21.
EXPOSED:
Jehovah's Witnesses might say that the organization is still “learning.” If that is so, then how can they trust what they are taught now by the Watchtower?
Will what they are being taught now change also?
If the organization did not actually prophesy the end in 1925 and 1975, then how come so many people left the faith immediately afterwards?
"They lost roughly three-quarters of the movement between 1925 and 1928, then suffered huge losses after 1975, when the end didn't come as they had implied over and over again,"
- Jim Penton (ex-Jehovah’s Witness writer on Jehovah's Witnesses for the Encyclopedia Americana.)
Errors in Theology/EXPOSED
Errors in theology/EXPOSED
Holy Spirit
If the Holy Spirit is God's “impersonal active force”, as Jehovah's Witnesses proclaim, why does He directly speak and refer to Himself as "I" and "Me" in:
Acts 13:2 - “As they were publicly ministering to Jehovah and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: “Of all persons set
Bar′na·bas and Saul apart for me for the work to which I have called them.”
How can you lie or as the New World Translation puts it “play false” to an “impersonal active force?”
Acts 5:3 – “But Peter said: “An·a·ni′as, why has Satan emboldened you to play false to the Holy Spirit and to hold back secretly some of the price of the field?”
Jesus an Angel?
“As chief of the angels and next to the Father, he (Christ) was known as the Archangel (highest angel or messenger), whose name, Michael, signifies ‘Who as God’ or ‘God’s Representative’” – (Studies, 5:84)
“…In this office he (Christ) bore another name in heaven, which name is ‘Michael’… Other names were given to the Son in course of time.” – (The Truth, p. 49)
-The Watchtower teaches that before coming to earth, Jesus existed as Michael the Archangel in heaven. This teaching is nowhere found in Scripture. Jehovah's Witnesses will likely point to 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to support this bizarre idea, which states:
“Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."
This proof text doesn't really help make the case. Ask Jehovah's Witnesses to show you where it clearly says that Jesus is Michael the Archangel. They will not be able to, because there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that says so.
Show Jehovah's Witnesses how Michael, when disputing with the devil, "did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' Jude 9.
He did not dare to condemn the devil directly!
And yet we see that Jesus did directly rebuke Satan Matthew 4:10; 16:23.
Just these quick examples are devastating to Jehovah's Witnesses core theology, let's now switch to yet another problem area for Jehovah's Witnesses theology, and that is...
On Love
Clearly, the greatest act of love a person can perform is to sacrifice his life for his friends.
So, then, this begs the question—
If Jehovah never gave His life for us but Jesus did, does that mean that Jesus' love for us is greater than Jehovah's?
If the god of the Jehovah's Witnesses has performed the greatest act of love, the obvious reality is that he hasn't; rather than sacrifice himself, he sent someone else to die in our place (not very loving, if you ask me...).
In the light of this verse of Scripture, the Watchtower seems to be teaching that Jehovah didn't love us as much as one of his creatures.
How is it possible that the love of a created being can be greater than God's love?
If Jesus is God, this verse makes perfect sense.
I do hope that this information has helped you. Please see below for:
True Stories of leaving the Jehovah’s Witness Organization