Jehovah's Witnesses

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).” There is one particular cult, the Jehovah's Witnesses, that denies many truths about the Bible. First, they affirm their unbelief in a literal six day creation by saying they have “no objection to credible scientific research that indicates the earth may be billions of years old.” Secondly, they say that “God does not punish people in hell.” Now, these are just two beliefs, among many great and small, that is not supported by the Bible. However, the worst belief is their denial of the deity of Jesus Christ. They say they do not worship Jesus because “we do not believe that he is Almighty God.” In order to validate their heresy they have even gone so far as to rewrite the Bible. For example, in John 14:1 the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” However, they rewrite this to say “and the Word was a god.” In Colossians 2:9, the Bible says, “For in Him (Jesus) all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” But, they rewrite it to say, “it is in him that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily.” So, instead of Jesus being God in the flesh, He is a god with a “divine quality.” It is almost comical to read if it weren’t so dangerous. I find it interesting that on their website they say that the online version of their Bible “translation” was revised as recently as 2013. To me this is because they are continuing to find truth that denies their own beliefs and have to keep rewriting it. But, I submit that there will be another “revised” version to come. This is because there are still some scriptures in their “translation” that affirm the deity of Jesus Christ. 

In John 20:27-29, their translation reads, “Next he said to Thomas: “Put your finger here, and see my hands, and take your hand and stick it into my side, and stop doubting but believe.” In answer Thomas said to him: “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen me, have you believed? Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.” They forgot to rewrite the reaction of Thomas to encountering the risen Christ. He clearly says, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus didn’t correct him, but affirmed Thomas’ belief in Him as Lord and God. Jesus also said that those of us, who have not seen Him, but accept Him as our Lord and God are also blessed! Yet, there is one passage that even true Christians don’t often refer to that affirms the deity of Jesus Christ. It is in Revelation 1:17-18. Again, from their “translation” it reads, “When I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, and the living one, and I became dead, but look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of the Grave.” John is describing who it is he saw in his vision and he quotes the Lord as saying, “I am the First and the Last, and the living one.” Who is the First and the Last? This is God. You may also here phrases like the “Alpha and the Omega” when referring to God. This is the same thing here. But, the key is the next thing He says. He says, “I became dead, but look! I am living forever and ever.” The question must be asked, “When did God die?” It clearly says “I became dead.” The only time God died was when Jesus died at the cross! In their own “translation” they have the words of Jesus Christ Himself affirming His own deity that He is in fact God, yet they continue to deny that He is God! If He is not God, but just a man like you and me, or any other created being, then what is the point of putting faith in Him? There is no point in it. You can see that despite their efforts, this cult still cannot suffocate the true word of God. As certain people like to say, “The Devil is a lie!” In order to keep his lies going I suspect there will be another revision coming soon in their false “translation” of the Bible. Saints, let us pray for those who believe the lies of the devil and let us also trust the Lord to help us rightly handle His Word so that we can stand against false teachings about our Lord and our God, Jesus Christ.