Tag Archives: Revelation

What to Say When a Jehovah’s Witness Knocks on Your Door

JW door(My wife took this picture of our interaction to remember to pray for them)

The doorbell rang on Saturday morning. As I walked to the door, my two middle daughters (ages 3 and 6) scampered along with me. As I opened the door, there were two females. One was in her mid to late forties, while the other was just starting her teen years. I knew exactly who they were the moment I locked eyes with them: Jehovah’s Witnesses!

Over the years, I have been approached by Jehovah’s Witnesses many different times. It was always groups of two or three people, usually an older person along with someone who was learning how to go “door to door” and reach the world for Jehovah. Before I opened my mouth, I prayed silently that this would be a moment for these two women that would change their eternal destiny.

“You’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, aren’t you?” This is how our conversation started. They did not know that they had knocked on the door of a pastor who had actually taught about their form of religion in a class called “Cults and other World Religions.” I was ready to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Many people wonder whether or not Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians. The answer is a definite “no” when you ask them what they believe about basic, orthodox Christianity. Jehovah’s Witnesses and traditional, historical Christianity do not have much in common when you look at what is taught by each side. In this article, I am going to give you a few main topics to talk with Jehovah’s Witnesses about so that when you are approached by a JW, you will be comfortable interacting with them. You should burn with a desire for them to see the truth of the Bible so that they realize what they believe is not only false, but will send them to hell.

Jehovah’s Witnesses will probably bring up all of these topics in the course of your conversation. Here is how I answered them from a biblical perspective. Please read through all four. The last one is the most important and has really shaken them to their core. Topic #4 is worth the entire read in this article. But all of these topics will come up with a JW if you talk long enough with them.

Topic #1: Who exactly is Jehovah?

JW cross

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe in Jehovah and only He is God.

Christian’s Response: I also believe in Jehovah (Yahweh), but I believe that Jesus and Jehovah are the same God. Let’s look at these verses that prove that Jesus is fully God:

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).

Jesus even said that “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).

“In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God” (John 1:1).

You will have a hard time convincing a Jehovah’s Witness with the verse in John 1:1 because their leadership has translated it “the Word was a god.” But this is an inappropriate translation. If you talk with any Greek scholar, you will find that one should never place an “a” before the word god in this context. As you can see, this is why it is difficult to really talk through truth with someone who has been misinformed about the Bible.

A response you will probably hear from a Jehovah’s Witness when you try to tell them that Jesus is God is this verse:

Jesus stated himself that “the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).

Does this mean that Jesus is denying His godhood? No, it doesn’t. You cannot use just one verse to try to prove your point. That is why I presented several verses a few paragraphs above. But the lady that Saturday morning just kept repeating this one verse. She was taught this one verse and apparently none of the other ones. And too often, we forget to look at the context of the verse that becomes a proof text. In this context, Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit to the apostles after the resurrection. Jesus says repeatedly that He is doing the Father’s will, implying that He is somehow subservient to the Father. The question then becomes how can Jesus be equal to God when by His own admission He is subservient to the will of God? The answer lies within the nature of the incarnation (i.e. when Jesus became man and came to this earth).

During the incarnation, Jesus was temporarily “made lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:9), which refers to Jesus’ status. The doctrine of the incarnation says that Jesus took on human flesh. By taking on human nature, Jesus didn’t relinquish His divine nature. How do we reconcile the fact that the second Person (Jesus) of the Trinity is fully divine yet fully human and by definition lower than the angels? The answer is found in Philippians 2:5-11. When Jesus took on human form, something amazing and mysterious happened: “Christ made Himself nothing.” What does this mean? Jesus voluntarily made Himself different as He was on this earth. Somehow, someway, Jesus gave some things up to become a servant unto death on the cross. This “emptying” included following the will of His Father in heaven. And remember, subservience in role does not equate to subservience in essence.

You will most likely talk through this topic most of the time. You believe that Jesus is God, but they deny that Jesus is fully God. This is why topic #4 will put all of this together! Read the others first.

Topic #2: The Trinity

JW trinity

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe in one God called Jehovah and you believe in three gods.

Christian’s Response: I believe in the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. All three persons are one God. They are mysteriously separate and yet one at the same time. Let’s look at these verses which teach the Trinity:

“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Thomas said to Him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)!

“You’ve lied to the Holy Spirit…You’ve not lied just to human beings but to God” (Acts 5:3-4).

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor [Holy Spirit; John 14:26], Mighty God, Everlasting Father [Father; 14:16], Prince of Peace [Jesus; John 14:27]” (Isaiah 9:6).

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus states that He is of the same essence of His heavenly Father. When Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, he cried out that Jesus was now his God. And we see in the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit can be lied to and there is a direct reference to the Holy Spirit being referred to as God.

These last two verses don’t say the word Trinity, but they do present three distinct persons in the form of God. These first two topics connect with each other and one must accept the deity of Jesus before they will accept the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity can really trip up many people who want to believe. As Christians, we must be humble about this and state clearly that the Trinity is a mystery that we must accept in faith. There is biblical evidence, but we do not know exactly how it all works.

Topic #3: The 144,000

JW paradise

Jehovah’s Witness: We believe that only 144,000 believers will go to heaven. The rest of us will stay here on paradise earth.

Christian’s Response: It appears that the 144,000 in Revelation 7 are referring to actual tribes of Israel. Each of the tribes represents 12,000, possibly hinting towards the idea that this number is symbolic and that during the Great Tribulation God will save a large number of Jews who rejected Jesus earlier in their life. There also seems to be another group of people who are believers and this multitude cannot even be counted (Revelation 7:9). To say that there are only 144,000 individuals going to heaven totally disregards the rules of biblical interpretation.

I would like to talk about your three main leaders and their false prophecies. Here are four examples:

False Prophesy #1: The return of Jesus Christ in 1914. Charles T. Russell, the man who founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses, calculated when Jesus Christ was going to return to this earth: 1874. When Jesus didn’t show up, he changed the year to 1914. When 1914 came and went, he redefined the second coming of Jesus to mean that Jesus came invisibly as a spirit in 1914 to help set up his organization.

False Prophesy #2: Return of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob between 1925-1929. Joseph Franklin Rutherford, the second main leader of Jehovah’s Witnesses, prophesied that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would return to this earth to promote the kingdom of God between 1925-1929. He built a large mansion in San Diego for these three patriarchs to live in when they arrived. But by the end of 1929, they never showed up, so Rutherford moved into the mansion himself and lived there until he died in 1942.

False Prophesy #3: The 144,000. After Rutherford became president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1917, he started prophesying that Armageddon was right around the corner. To increase membership, he taught that only 144,000 people were going to make it to heaven. By 1935 they grew larger than 144,000 people. Heaven was filled and Armageddon had yet to occur. Another revelation came to Rutherford: everyone who became a Jehovah’s Witness before 1935 would go to heaven, while everyone who became a Jehovah’s Witness after 1935 would stay here on earth and live in a new paradise.

False Prophesy #4: Armageddon is coming in 1975. Nathan H. Knorr, the third main leader, prophesied that in 1975 Armageddon would come to usher in the end of the age. In 1976 and 1977 over one million Jehovah’s Witnesses left the organization because of this false prophecy.

The first three leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Organization were all false prophets. This would be like having Paul, John and Peter give specific predictions in the early church and none of them are fulfilled. It would dishearten all the followers to the point of asking: “Is this really the right way to God and heaven?” If your main leaders have falsely predicted future events that have not come to pass, then how can you trust them with other teachings? Try your best to help them see that their own leaders are deceiving them. It will feel like it is impossible, but you have God on your side who wants these wonderful people to see the light so that they will no longer be led astray by falsehood.

Topic #4: The Book of Revelation

Christian: Can I show you a few verses in the book of Revelation?

Jehovah’s Witness: Sure, I love that book!

After talking through the first three topics, I felt like it was time to use a few verses in Revelation. I knew that this would make these two ladies run from my house, but it was time to present to them some powerful truth about Jesus. I asked the forty-something lady to turn in her Bible to Revelation 1:8. I always use their New World Translation because they will be much more comfortable with that. I even asked her to read it:

JW alpha omega“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I asked her who was speaking. Who is the Alpha and Omega? She responded with a resounding, “Jehovah God.” I told her that she was right and I asked her to turn to Revelation 21:5-7.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

“Who is this?” I asked. Once again, she stated that Alpha and Omega is Jehovah God. “Could you turn to Revelation 22:13 and read it?”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

By this time, she was losing patience with me, but told me again that the Alpha and Omega refers to Jehovah God. I asked her if she could turn to one last passage. I had her read it out loud. It is Revelation 1:17.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”

I had her stop at verse 17 and asked her, “Who is the First and the Last? She said that the First and the Last is Alpha and Omega, who is Jehovah God. Then I had her read verse 18:

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

“When did Jehovah die?” I looked her in the eye and asked her this question. She just stared at the page and then looked at me. And then she kept repeating, “Jehovah never died! Jehovah never died!” I told her that this is referring to Jesus and that Jesus is Jehovah God and that He died on the cross for our sins! She had no answer. She told me that she was not familiar with these passages and that it was time for her to go. I could tell that she was frazzled. She gave a bewildered and concern look to her daughter as they walked away. As she was walking away, I pleaded with her to study the verses and ask God to show her the truth about Jesus. I shut the door and that was it. I had won the argument, but I also had a sick feeling in my stomach. Here was a wonderful lady and a young girl who were headed in the wrong direction. Their blindness kept them from understanding the truth. I prayed for them, that this interaction might shake them in such a way that they will find the truth and the truth will set them free!

Are You Ready?

This week I am starting a three-week sermon series called “The Signs of the End.”  One of the things I am going to emphasize is that the Bible clearly teaches that there will be a time in the future when the world will experience horrific events.  Our hearts were crushed when we witnessed the terrorism at the Boston Marathon and the catastrophic destruction of the Oklahoma tornadoes.  It seems like these events happen on a regular basis in our lives now.  But these events are only a microcosm of what is to come.  In the Bible, the books called Daniel and Revelation depict a period of time called “The Great Tribulation” that lasts for seven years.  Utterly unthinkable things happen during this seven-year period.  We are told in Matthew 24 that God shortened this time to only seven years because if it would go on any longer no one would survive.

The words written about “The Great Tribulation” are to be a warning to us right now.  These prophecies were written to place fear within our hearts so that we turn away from the evil that tries to entangle us and instead turn towards God.  But, I also believe that the Bible will be just as useful to people during this tribulation as it is right now.  People will be able to read the book of Revelation and then go outside and see these events unfold before their very eyes.

During this seven-year tribulation, horrible events will take place.  You will not want to be living on this planet during this time period.  To prove my point, allow me to give you eight of them.

The worst famine ever.  This famine will inflate prices to astronomical levels.  For example, someone would have to work an entire day to afford just a small amount of wheat.  And this amount wouldn’t even be enough to feed your own family.  Therefore, working hard for your food will be futile.

Wars, plagues and wild beasts will kill one-fourth of the world’s population.  In Revelation 6:8, we are told that Death and Hades were given power to kill off a fourth of the world’s population. Today, we have over six billion people on this planet.  For argument’s sake, lets say that one billion Christians are raptured and will not be a part of this tribulation.  That means that in this one event, over one billion people will die.  Millions of people will die because of war.  Millions of people will die from disease.  And millions of people will die by being attacked by lions, and tigers and bears.

One third of the land and water on earth will be destroyed.  Trees and green grass will be burned up from falling hail (that is made up of fire mixed with blood).  A large meteorite will fall into the sea and then a different one will fall into the freshwater lakes and rivers.  This will cause part of the sea to turn into blood and kill off many sea creatures.  One third of the lakes and rivers will be poisoned and many people will die because the water is undrinkable.  Later on in the seven-year period, much of the ocean and freshwater lakes and rivers turn to blood.

Locusts torment the unsaved for five months. The description of scorpion-like locusts sounds like it is from a science fiction movie.  These locusts will be able to sting like scorpions.  The locusts were not allowed to kill anyone, but only torment people for five months.  “And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them” (Revelation 9:6).

 Two hundred million soldiers kill one-third of the world’s population.  Years ago China claimed to have an army of two hundred million (Time, May 21, 1965, p. 35).  Could this be a reference to China’s role in the end times?  Possibly, but this army could be made up of several different nations, so it might not be one individual nation.  While that is mere speculation, we can estimate that over one and a half billion people will be killed by this army.  The destruction is unthinkable.  The prophetic book of Joel describes the dread that will come over the people as they anticipate the approach of this army.

Boils.  Everyone who will follow the Antichrist will develop loathsome and malignant sores on their body.  During my freshman year of college, I developed a boil under my left armpit.  It was so painful, I couldn’t let any clothing touch it.  It was that painful.  I had to sleep a certain way to make sure the boil didn’t touch anything.  I can’t imagine having my body filled with boils.  The pain will be unbearable.

One hundred pound hail will fall on people.  We have all seen a hail storm at some point in our lives.  But the hail we see is small compared to what is described in Revelation.  We would be amazed if we saw dime sized hail.  But during the seven-year tribulation, hundred pounders will fall from the sky.  Gigantic hail will kill people.  These large ice balls will make homes look like Swiss cheese.

Two hundred miles of blood.  At the end of the seven-year tribulation, Jesus Christ will come down on a white horse and destroy every single evil human on the planet.  The destruction of human life is so great that blood will be seen for almost two hundred miles and will be four to five feet high.  What a horrible end to a tragic seven years.

So what do we do with all this info?  We could ignore it.  Most people do.  Possibly until it is too late.  Or we could allow it to motivate us to change.  If all this stuff is true and will happen someday, you want to avoid it!  But how can you avoid it?  God makes a promise to us that if we are a follower of Jesus Christ, then He will keep us from the hour of trial (the Great Tribulation) that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth (Revelation 3:10).

How do you become a follower of Jesus Christ?  You first have to believe.  You believe in your heart that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  You believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is alive and has the power over sin and death and is able to forgive you of all your sins (past, present, future).  But you can’t just believe in your heart.  You need to confess that Jesus Christ is the leader of your life.  That He is the one who is in control over you.

Are you ready?  Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of your sins?  Have you confessed to others that Jesus Christ is your leader?  If you can answer yes to those questions, then God will save you.  He will save you from the coming “Great Tribulation.”  He will save you from eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire.  He will make sure you spend eternity with Him on the New Heaven and the New Earth.  It is your choice.  Are you ready?