Skip to main content

Posts

Featured post

Witnesses of...Jehovah?

  Jehovahā€™s Witnesses were originally members of Charles Russellā€™s Bible Student Movement . It was in 1931, under the leadership of Joseph Rutherford, who had seized control of the movement, that they became Jehovahā€™s Witnesses. Isaiah 43:10 is the organisationā€™s apologetic for being Witnesses of Jehovah: ā€œ You are my witnesses,ā€™ declares Jehovah, ā€˜Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and have faith in meā€¦ā€™ On the face of it that seems reasonable enough. However, the Watch Tower Society is a Restorationist as well as an Adventist movement and claim to have restored Jehovahā€™s Organisation of the 1 st Century. While they emphasise how the early church was organised, they seem to have misunderstood what they were organised to do. In the above linked article, they write: ā€˜ Jesus made Godā€™s name known.   In prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus said: ā€œI have made your name known.ā€ ( John 17:26 ) In line with Jesusā€™ example, Jehovahā€™s organization does eve...
Recent posts

The Dangers of Adding to the Bible: Guest Post by Jacob Lambert

T oday, when we come across Jehovahā€™s Witnesses and Mormons we find that they are led by a group of people who hold unquestioned authority. Members of this group know this, some even believe it themselves. This puts them in a powerful position, even to the point where they can create their own Bible. Two examples are the J oseph S mith Translation of the Mormons and the N ew W orld T ranslation of the Jehovahā€™s Witnesses. T hey can add words into their own Bible, words that are not in other, respectable, translations. F or example, in the Greek, C olossians 1:1 6 say s that J esus created all things: ā€˜ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities ā€“ all things were created through him and for him.ā€™ Col.1:15,16, ESV Jehovahā€™s Witnesses say that this runs counter to their understanding that Jesus is Godā€™s first creat...

Resurrection or Cloning?

  In the film ā€œThe Sixth Dayā€, based in the near future where cloning of pets is allowed but not of humans, the main character, Adam, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, wakes up in a taxi, not knowing how he got there.   He travels home only to see another man inside with his family; this man looks exactly like him.   Before being able to confront the imposter, Adam is attacked by unknown assailants and has to run.   This being an Arnie movie there are lots of shoot outs and the body count is high as Adam attempts to find out what is going on. It turns out that he has been cloned and the cloning company is trying to clear up the loose ends.   Spoiler alert; it turns out he is the clone and the other Adam is the original.   The story highlights some problems with the Watchtowerā€™s ideas about ā€˜resurrectionā€™.   They teach that, at death, who we are ceases to exist; there is no soul or spirit that survives death, nothing of our essence continues on. ...

The Times of the Gentiles - by Dawn Partington

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that ā€œthe times of the gentilesā€ is a time period of 2,520 years, beginning in 607BC and ending in AD1914. According to their doctrine, Jesus was enthroned as King in AD1914 when the ā€œgentile timesā€ ended. 1. Only one verse in scripture mentions ā€œthe times of the gentilesā€: 'They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.'  Luke 21:24 NIV. The Jehovah's Witness organisation has linked this one verse with other prophetic passages to calculate the supposed length of these ā€œgentile timesā€, notably a time period which began hundreds of years before the incarnation and ended over 1900 years after it. 2. Simple examination of the text of Luke 21 reveals what Jesus was referring to when he used the phrase ā€œthe times of the gentilesā€. Let's look at the passage together and distil this into four points which you may...

The Stages of Faith

You have left a cult, or you are helping someone come out; so what comes next? The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: 'But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.' 1 Cor.3:1,2 There is a process of growth every Christian needs if they are to come to full maturity in Christ. The same is true for Christians coming out of cults. What are stages of this growth? How might we think about, and identify where people are in this process of sanctification? How are we to help them move on and grow further, from the milk to the meat? Recorded at the Reachout Trust Conference, September, 2024.  

Telling the Truth Means You Don't Need to Remember What You've Said Before!

  Telling the truth means you donā€™t need to remember what you've said before is a valuable expression to note as it can help us to separate the lies from the truth.   The Watchtower is famous for the vast amounts of literature and information it pumps out to its members.   In recent years the number of written items has reduced, being replaced by visual media mostly on JW Broadcasting, but the sheer volume seems to be remaining the same.  This can sometimes result in slip ups in what pronouncements are made by the Governing Body. During the recent 2024 Annual Meeting of the Jehovahā€™s Witnesses (available for viewing on JW Broadcasting) an announcement was made, by the Governing Body member Gerrit Losch, that two new members were being added to the Governing Body.   Those new members are Jode Jedele and Jacob Rumph who are both somewhat younger than most of the present members of the body, Rumph now being the youngest at 52.   Losch welcomed these new me...

How Will Jehovah Forgive Us

  The June 2022 Watchtower Article 24 titled ā€œ Jehovahā€”The Greatest Forgiver ā€ attempts to paint a picture of Jehovah as a wise, just, and knowledgeable judge ā€“ which, of course He is.  However, it also shows Him as a judge who has a number of requirements before He will forgive.  The article quotes numerous Old Testament scriptures showing that Jehovah will forgive our transgressions and agrees that this forgiveness is made possible through Jesus dying for our sins, though it doesnā€™t mention the covenant this sacrifice generated. As Christians we would understand that Jesusā€™ sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, pays for our sins so that a just God can be merciful and forgive them; the price for those sins has already been paid (1 Cor 6 v 20, Heb 9 v 22). In contrast, the Watchtower article talks of there being other requirements for Jehovahā€™s forgiveness.  It states that, before Jehovah will decide to offer forgiveness, ā€œ He needs to be able to consider...