Saturday, April 20, 2019

Holy Scriptures that reject Jehovah's Witnesses' innovations

Seeing as how I was raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion since I was about 5 years old or so, I thought it would be beneficial to expose their contradictions to Holy Scripture in order to help others to be able to defend themselves from Jehovah's Witnesses,  who try to claim to be the only true followers of the Bible while condemning everyone else as being followers of men and the devil.  I will use seven of the most glaring contradicting Scriptures to their doctrines to contrast the ancient Faith to this late 19th century offshoot of Darby and innovating dispensationalists. 

First and most clear is John 20:28 where Holy Thomas exclaims to our Savior, "My Lord and my God."  This statement that has always been held to explain the deep theological understanding that was only fully expressed at the end of St. John the Theologian's Holy Gospel, clearly shows that only after all things had been fulfilled concerning the Life, Death, and Resurrections of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, was man able to understand that Jesus was God, redeeming man in the flesh.  To call a creation "My God" would have been idolatry and makes the Arian argument, that JWs have resurrected, null and void because they claim that we commit idolatry for worshipping Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet it is they that have to admit that St. Thomas called a creation his God.  

We also have the account in St. Matthew 17:3 where we are privileged to hear of Christ's Holy Transfiguration, "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him (Jesus)."  The whole theology of the JWs is shattered with this event alone, as are many Protestant theologies that claim that the dead have no dealing with this world.  JWs would like to make this event purely made up because it is too contradicting to their false teachings, but there is no indication that this event was fictitious but rather its similarities to Christ's Holy Baptism only solidify that the event was literal.  We hear God the Father exclaim that He is well pleased with His Son and that the three there with Christ should hear Him.  How is it then that our Lord and God, Jesus Christ was talking to the Holy Fathers Moses and Elijah if they are non-existent as advocates of soul-sleep teach?  What business did our Lord have talking to these Holy Old Testament Saints?  Clearly, the three exalted Apostles were instructed that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets as represented by Moses and Elijah respectively.  But there is more to it than this, because we see that there is a conversation going on between them, signifying the communion with God that we hope to enjoy for all eternity that was begun once the Holy Incarnation occurred.  The fact that they were for a moment shown to be three and then suddenly only Christ was present indicates surely that it was Christ that was being spoken of by the Father, but it also indicates that we all will be one in Christ.

Another strong opposition to the JW doctrine is recorded by St. Luke 24:39 "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."  JWs teach that Jesus did not have a bodily resurrection, but rather only was raised as a spirit creature.  They go as far as to teach that His holy Body vanished into thin air.  This teaching contradicts the whole Gospel message and the point of our Lord's Incarnation.  As St. Luke expresses, our Lord wanted to make very clear that He had risen in the flesh, to give assurance to all of His followers that we too will rise in the flesh at His glorious second coming.  Our whole faith is based on the fact that the Word of God ascended into Heaven in the flesh, raising man from earth to Heaven.  We are able to share in this by Holy Baptism if we die to the old man and live as brothers of Christ.  As the Holy Fathers said, "God became man so that man might become God."  We are made gods by adoption.  

Then we have Saint Paul writing to the Colossians 2:12 "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."  Jehovah's witnesses teach that they must be baptized to demonstrate their dedication to God in front of witnesses, a concept clearly taken from Protestant theology.  They err tremendously however when they claim that the great crowd of other sheep that will not receive the kingdom of Heaven must be baptized.  Holy Scripture always indicates that baptism is burial with our Lord and God Jesus Christ, so that we also will rise with Him and be where He is always, in the Heavens.  To be consistent, they would need to stop baptizing those of the great crowd (the great majority of all JWs), but they know to do this would not sit well with all of those that have been doing so for many years now. 

And then there is the Eucharistic situation at John 6:53 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."
Like Protestants, they deny that the Eucharist that Christ instructs His Faithful to celebrate is really the Body and Blood of Christ.  But to make things even worse, the vast majority of JWs refuse to even eat of the "symbols" of Christ's Body and Blood.  They claim that only those of the "anointed class" may partake of the "emblems".  In no way can this scripture be read to say that there can be life for those of the great crowd to not eat the body and blood of Jesus.  We know as Faithful Slaves of Christ, that only His Body and Blood is nourishment for us who have been born in Sin, but died to the old man and raised in Christ.  All other food is transitory and finds it way to the toilet.

Then there is the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah 44:24 "Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself."  Clearly God is making the point that there is none other that makes anything but Him alone.  Then in the New Testament we know that our Lord Jesus Christ says that He made the Heavens and Earth.  We as Trinitarians have no problem with this because we believe that Jesus is of one essence with the Father.  But JWs believe that Jesus is a creature, therefore teaching that Isaiah was wrong when he said that God made all things alone and by Himself.

And finally we have the problem of the supposed apostasy of the Church that JWs and many Protestants believe in, when St. Matthew 28:20 clearly quotes our Lord saying, "and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."  Our Lord set up His Church before He died and rose from the dead.  This Church has existed since then in the Holy Orthodox Church, but unfortunately has been muddied by all of the schisms and heresies that have developed over the years.  Many born today have no clue about the Holy Orthodox Church, but believe lies that have been hurled at Her by ignorant people.  JWs think that Christ lied about being with His Bride until the end of the world, and rather teach that it apostatized after the first century and it is only since 1918 that Christ chose the JWs as the only organization that was teaching truth, leaving 1800 years of mankind without His Presence.  

Hopefully it is very clear that the JW religion does not follow Scripture when it contradicts their presupposed doctrines and that only in the Holy Orthodox Church are all Scriptures able to be fully understood in the way in which the Holy Spirit inspired the Faithful to write.  May we be ever humble and thankful for being worthy to be instructed by Christ's Bride about such important topics and not deceived as many of our fellow man have been.  May we all be corrected according to the measure of Christ and be found worthy to be called into the presence of God.  Amen.


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