Bridge of Reason

Could you agree that it is possible that God would ever require you to believe something to be true that is actually false, on pain of Him irrevocably destroying you?  Titus 1 v 2 (amongst other scriptures) would tell us that God cannot lie and Proverbs 12 v 22 (amongst other scriptures) would tell us that God hates a liar.  So, it would seem inconceivable that He would require us, on pain of death, to believe a lie.  But, this is exactly what the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society teaches, even though they may not put it in that way, or even realise that they teach it.    It is a matter of record that, since its inception in the late 1800s, the Watchtower Society has never got all its doctrine correct at any one time, it has always taught something that later turned out to be false.  By 'false' I mean something that has had to be 'clarified' under their 'brighter light' policy taken from Proverbs 4 v 18.  And by 'clarified' I mean completely cha...

  Last time we saw that only 144,000 have a heavenly hope. Where does that leave the rest of the millions of faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses, the great crowd? “ The key to the identification of the ‘great crowd’ is found within the description of them in Revelation chapter 7 .The vision there presented is concerning persons not in heaven, from where the 'New Jerusalem comes down,' but on earth, among mankind .If the ‘great crowd’ are persons who gain salvation and remain on earth, how could they be said to be 'standing before God's throne and before the Lamb?' (Re 7:9) The position of 'standing' is sometimes used in the Bible to indicate the holding of a favored or approved position in the eyes of the one in whose presence the individual or group stands .It thus appears that the "great crowd" is formed of those persons who have been preserved during that time of wrath and who have been able to "stand" as approved by God and the Lamb.” - I...

  The ‘good news’ of the Watch Tower kingdom is not the Gospel that evangelicals see in the Bible. A fact the Society readily admits: ‘ But the Kingdom witnessing of Jehovah's Witnesses since 1914 has been something far different from what Christendom missionaries have published both before and since 1914.’ - The Watchtower, 1 October 1980, p.28 Of course, the only Gospel is the gospel proclaimed by Jesus in Luke 24:45-48 and Paul at 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. It concerns Jesus' death, his sacrifice for the sin of mankind, his burial and his resurrection. THE WATCHTOWER'S 'GOOD NEWS' According to the Watch Tower interpretation of Luke 12:32 , o nly a 'little flock' inherit the kingdom. Their understanding of Revelation 7:1-8 and Revelation 14:1-5 , limits this little flock to 144,000 who are ‘spiritual Jews.’ ‘ The 12 tribes mentioned in Revelation chapter 7 must refer to this spiritual Israel for several valid reasons. The listing does not match that...

    The Watch Tower Society believes that only Jehovah is God therefore only he is entitled to receive worship. Any other worship is wrong. The Society states: ‘ Most Hebrew and Greek words that can denote worship can also be applied to acts other than worship. However, the context determines in what way the respective words are to be understood.’ - Insight on the Scriptures, vol.2, 1988, p.1211 However, the Society's conclusions are decided in advance. They decide Jesus isn’t God the Son and allow that conclusion to colour every text that mentions Jesus being worshipped. This is not the way to do an open-minded Bible study. History The above position on worship has not always been held by the Society. Today a Jehovah’s Witness must not worship Jesus, but in 1916 they were told that many would worship even Charles Russell: ‘ Charles Taze Russell thou hast, by the Lord, been crowned a king and through the everlasting ages thy name shall be known amongst the people, and thy ...

  In last week’s Watch Tower Wednesday on the Facebook Page we saw i n the Reasoning book, p 328, the question 'How can a person know which religion is right?' They suggest a series of tests, beginning with: '(1) On what are its teachings based? Are they from God, or are they largely from men? (2 Tim. 3:16; Mark 7:7) Ask, for example: Where does the Bible teach that God is a Trinity? Where does it say that the human soul is immortal? '(2) Consider whether it is making known the name of God. Jesus said in prayer to God: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:6) He declared: “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Matt. 4:10) Has your religion taught you that ‘it is Jehovah you must worship’? Have you come to know the Person identified by that name—his purposes, his activities, his qualities—so that you feel you can confidently draw close to him?' Do they hav...

  Under the heading RELIGION in Reasoning From the Scriptures, p.326, the Watch Tower asks, Is belonging to an organised religion necessary? They write: 'Most religious organizations have produced bad fruitage. It is not the fact that groups are organized that is bad. But many have promoted forms of worship that are based on false teachings and are largely ritualistic instead of providing genuine spiritual guidance; they have been misused to control the lives of people for selfish objectives; they have been overly concerned with money collections and ornate houses of worship instead of spiritual values; their members are often hypocritical. Obviously no one who loves righteousness would want to belong to such an organization. But true religion is a refreshing contrast to all of that. Nevertheless, to fulfill the Bible’s requirements, it must be organized.' Quoting 1 Corinthians 1:10 they say: “ Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you ...

  In The Reasoning Book p226 the Watch Tower defines 'Kingdom: 'The Kingdom of God is the expression of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty toward his creatures, or the means used by him to express that sovereignty. This term is used particularly to designate the manifestation of God’s sovereignty through the royal government headed by his Son, Jesus Christ. “Kingdom” may refer to the rulership of the one anointed as King or to the earthly realm ruled by that heavenly government.' They justify their use of 'government' using Isaiah 9 - ' To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder...of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.' Isaiah 9:6,7 The Watch Tower say rulership was given to Jesus (Dan.7:13,14), that by his blood, 'You bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God...' (Rev.5:8,10) an...