Jehovah’s Witnesses False Teachings (Part 2)
Jehovah’s Witnesses: False Teaching (Part 2)
You can read Part 1 here which discusses the founder and the beginnings of the Jehovah’s Witness organization.
Some may ignorantly assume that Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are just another Christian denomination. However, nothing could be further from the truth. JWs deny every key Christian doctrine related to Jesus, salvation, the authority of the Bible, and more. It is crucial for Christians to understand what they believe in order to effectively witness to them.
As you’ll see in the list below, their denial of core and fundamental biblical doctrines is both extensive and alarming. I have also included Scripture references for you to look up to show JW’s why the Bible doesn’t teach that. However, be warned that much mental and linguistic gymnastics will be performed by them as they explain away the evidence.
Denial of Hell: JW’s reject the biblical doctrine of eternal punishment, teaching instead that the wicked simply cease to exist (annihilationism). (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 14:11)
Denial of the Trinity: They are Unitarians, affirming that only the Father (Jehovah) is God and rejecting the triune nature of God. (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Denial of Christ’s Deity: Jesus is not considered God, but rather Michael the Archangel—God’s first and greatest creation. (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Colossians 2:9)
Denial of Christ’s Eternality: Jesus is viewed as a created being, not the eternal Son of God. (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 13:8)
Denial of the Crucifixion: They teach that Jesus died on a torture stake, not a cross. (John 20:25, Matthew 27:40)
Denial of the Bodily Resurrection: Jesus rose spiritually, not physically; they claim His body dissolved, which explains the empty tomb. (Luke 24:39, John 2:19-21)
Denial of Substitutionary Atonement: Christ’s death is described as a "ransom," but not in the biblical, penal-substitutionary sense. (Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24)
Denial of the Personhood of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is regarded as an impersonal force, not the third person of the Trinity. (Acts 5:3-4, Ephesians 4:30)
Denial of Sola Scriptura: The Bible is not the final authority; instead, the Governing Body of the Watch Tower Society dictates doctrine and interpretation. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 17:11)
Denial of Salvation by Grace Alone: Salvation must be earned through faith, works, and loyalty to the Watch Tower organization. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5)
Denial of the Soul’s Immediate Presence with God: They teach “soul sleep,” claiming the dead are unconscious until a future resurrection. (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43)
Denial of Christ’s Visible Second Coming: They teach that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914. (Revelation 1:7, Acts 1:11)
Denial of the True Church: Only Jehovah’s Witnesses under the authority of the Watch Tower are considered God's true people. (1 Corinthians 1:2, John 10:6)
Denial of Christian Liberty: Their legalistic teachings prohibit blood transfusions, military service, political involvement, pledging allegiance, and the celebration of birthdays or holidays. (Galatians 5:1, Romans 14:5-6)
Denial of Eternal Life with Christ for All Believers: Only 144,000 “anointed” go to heaven; the rest hope to live forever on a paradise earth. (Revelation 7:9)
Denial of the Lord’s Supper for All Believers: Only the 144,000 may partake—and only once a year. (1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
Denial of Baptism as a Symbol: Baptism is required for salvation, not a symbolic act of faith. (Romans 4:11)
Denial of Spiritual Gifts: They teach that spiritual gifts ceased with the early church. ( 1 Corinthians 12:7, Romans 12:6)
You might ask, Where in the world do they get such teachings?
The power of the Governing Body to dictate doctrine functions much like the Roman Catholic Pope. In Catholicism, the Church and tradition are placed alongside Scripture as sources of authority—though in practice, the Church and its tradition often outweigh the Scriptures.
For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the same dynamic exists. Whatever the Governing Body in Brooklyn declares to be true becomes “truth.” They even reserve the right to overrule previous teachings of former Governing Bodies under the guise of receiving “new light.”
When you speak with a Jehovah’s Witness, they will often reference their own translation of the Bible and quote from Watch Tower literature.
So how did they arrive at so many doctrinal errors? The answer lies in their corrupted and perverted “translation” of the Scriptures. In the next article in this series, we will examine the theological and textual problems of the New World Translation.
