Many Christians will say that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses teaches things contrary to the Bible, thus falling into the category of a "cult." On the other hand, Jehovah's Witnesses call themselves Christians and claim that theirs is the only true Christian religion — meaning Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Evangelicals, etc. are all false. So who's telling the truth?
In the past few months I've done quite a bit of research on Jehovah's Witnesses. I've met with several of their members, read many of their magazines and books, and attended one of their Sunday meetings. Below I'll outline a few of the important things I've learned:
1) Jehovah's Witnesses are governed by a religious organization called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS), which has its headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The WBTS was founded in the late 1800's by a man named Charles Taze Russell.
2) The WBTS today claims it is a "prophet" of God, and that it is the only organization on earth today by which God works. Additionally, they claim that only through the publications (books and magazines) of the WBTS can a person understand the Bible. They teach that without the organization's help, truth about God, Jesus, and salvation cannot be known (in other words, reading the Bible alone will not lead you to the truth).
3) Important teachings of the WBTS have changed over the years. For example: They once taught that Jesus was crucified on a cross, but today say it was a "torture stake." They once taught that Jesus was NOT an angel, but today say he is Michael the Archangel.
4) Significant events were falsely predicted by Charles Taze Russell. Russell wrote two books that predicted the battle of Armageddon would take place in 1914, that 1914 would mark the end of Christendom, that 1914 would see the end of "earth's present rulership," and that 1914 was the year the body of Christ was to be completely selected and finished. None of it happened.
5) The second president of the WBTS, J.F.Rutherford, wrote a book in 1920 called "Millions Now Living Will Never Die." In it he falsely predicted that Jehovah's Witnesses could "confidently expect" that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, as well as the prophets mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11, would "visibly" return to earth in 1925. He even built a 10-room house for them in San Diego. No one showed up, and eventually the house was sold.
6) The WBTS publishes it's own version of the Bible, called the New World Translation, which they claim is the most accurate translation ever made. You must understand that the organization will not tell you who were responsible for this translation. In it you will find words added and changed from the original Greek in order to support their doctrines of who God and Jesus are. For example, the NWT translates John 1:1 as saying Jesus was "a god." The word "a" is not in the Greek. In Colossians 1:15-17, the word "other" is inserted four times. Instead of saying "Jesus created all things" as it does in the Greek, the NWT says "Jesus created all OTHER things." They do this to support their teaching that Jesus is not divine, but rather a created being. Greek scholars worldwide say the NWT breaks all the rules.
Like many people, I want to know the truth about who Jesus Christ is. I believe with all my heart that although Jehovah's Witnesses are sincere, and although they appear to have Biblical reasons for what they are being taught by the WBTS, upon closer examination you will find that the organization is in fact a false religion.
I invite you to review some of the links below. Listen to the stories of men and women who once were leaders in the WBTS, but now have left the organization to find Jesus Christ.
May God bless you as you seek the truth.