Questions for Jehovah's witnesses (extensive)

Concerning Jehovah (Yahweh)

If the name Jehovah is so important, then why is it never used in the entire Greek New Testament? If men edited out the proper Name of God, "YHWH", when they copied the New Testament, as only the WTS claims, thereby altering God's Word, then how can we have confidence in ANY of the New Testament? Should we discard the New Testament or the WTS as unreliable?

Concerning Christ

1 Ps 2:7 cites the Father as saying to Jesus, “This day I have begotten Thee”. However, Acts 13:33-34 informs us that Ps 2:7 is expressly fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection. See also Co 1:18, Rev 1:5.

2 If Jesus was executed on a torture stake, with both hands together over his head, as only the WTS teaches, why does Jn 20:25 say "... unless I see in his hands the print of the nailS...", indicating that there was more than one nail used for His Hands? Two nails would have been used if he was crucified on a cross.

3 In Lk 24:36-39 and in Jn 20:26-27, Jesus showed his disciples the wounds in his body as proof of his resurrection. If Jesus' body had been destroyed by God after he died, how could Jesus show the disciples his body which had the wounds in His Hands, Feet, and Side and claim that he is not just a spirit, "because a spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you behold that Ihave" (Lk 24:39)?

4 Who or what does the spirit of Christ (Phil 1:19, Gal 4:6, Rom 8:9) refer to? In Gal 4:6, how is it possible that the Spirit of CHRIST could come into our hearts? How is it possible that the spirit of CHRIST could reside in someone? If what the Watchtower Society teaches is true, how could Paul make this statement if Christ was a spirit person residing in heaven?

5 In Acts 17:31 Paul says, "Because he has set a day in which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by a MAN whom he has appointed, and he has furnished a guarantee to all men in that he has resurrected Him from the dead". Did Paul believe that the future judge of the world, Jesus Christ, would be an immortal MAN or an invisible spirit creature, as only the WTS proclaims?

6 Every true Christian would agree that we should follow the commands of God. In Mk 9:7, God the Father commands us to listento Jesus. Do you follow this command and listen to Jesus? After all, Jesus died for your personal sins (I Jn 2:2, I Pt 2:24). Jesus tells us to go directly to Him (Mt 11:28-30), and the Father commanded us to listen to Jesus. Why? Because JESUS gives useverlasting life (Jn 10:28), and so that JESUS will enter our house and be with us and give us the right to sit on his throne (Rev3:20-21). Do you pray to Jesus as Paul and the early Christians did (I Cor 1:2)? Do you partake of the flesh of Christ as Jesus commanded (Jn 6:51)? If not, then are you following the command of the Father who said "Listen to Him"?

7 In I Jn 4:2-3 we read that "every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God, but is a spirit of antichrist". The Greek word (er-kom-ai, #2064) that is translated as Come in this passage means both, to come and to go. Did Jesus go (i.e. leave the earth) in the flesh?

8 The Watchtower belief is that Michael created all things, became flesh in Jesus’ body, and went back to his old angel body after the resurrection. However, according to the passage of Heb 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." How does the watchtower society reconcile this?

9 You say that Jesus is a lesser god, yet Php 2:6 and Jn 5:18 shows that "He thought it not robbery to be equal with God."

Concerning the Holy Spirit

You say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically speaking in tongues, have been done away with, and you use the passage of I Co 13:8 to prove this. Yet, in the next two verses we read that "When that which is perfect (Jesus) is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." Since Jesus has not returned, how can the gifts of the Holy Spirit be retired? Please take special care to read Mr 3:22-30, esspecially paying close attention to verses 29-30, which say that the unforgivable sin, is to see someone using the gifts of the Spirit (in this instance it was casting out devils), and then to call the Spirit by which they are working, an evil spirit, thereby calling the Holy Spirit, an evil spirit.

Concerning the Trinity

1 Jesus Christ is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 9:6 ("For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us…And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God..."). Jehovah is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 10:20-21. How can this be if there is only ONE God?

2 Furthermore, you say that Jesus created all things, John 1:1-14, Co 1:16 and Heb 1:2, but that He is not God the Father, and therefore the Trinity is a heretical doctrine. Yet in Is 44:24 God calls Himself by His Name, and says, "Thus saith the LORD (Yahweh), thy redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD (Yahweh) that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself;" If Yahweh created all things by Himself, is it a true statement to say that, Jesus helped him? Who is lying? Yahweh and/or Jesus, or the doctrines of the watchtower society?

3 See also Jesus Word's in John 14:8-9, "Phillip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Phillip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

4 How can Yahweh be the first and the last, Is 44:6, 48:12, and Jesus also be the first and the last, Rev 1:17-18, 2:8? Can there be two firsts, and two lasts?

5 All three personages are attributed with the creation of existance. The Father Gen 2:7, Ps 102:25, the Son Jn 1:3, Col 1:16, Heb 1:2, and the Holy Spirit Gen 1:2, Job 33:4, Ps 104:30.

6 Ex 34:14 “For thou shall worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:” Yet Christ accepted worship from many people. From Thomas in Jn 20:28, where he calls Jesus his Lord and his God. The angels worship Him Heb1:6, some wise men Mt 2:11, a leper Mt 8:2, a blind man Jn 9:38, Mary Magdalene Mt 28:9, and His disciples Mt 28:17. The Greek word used for worship, which the NWT translators translate as "obeisance" is the same Greek word which the same translators translate as "worship" when it pertains to the word God, as opposed to Jesus, see "Concerning the New World Translation" #6.

7 In Jn 8:58 Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I am (Ego Eimi)" Why does the NWT read "I have been"? See Greek Englishinterlinear, or "Concerning the New World Translation" #7.

Concerning Israel

1 You say that God is now finished with Israel completely, and that the witnesses are the "spiritual Israel." Yet in Jer 33:25-26, we read, "Thus saith the LORD (Yahweh); If My Covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have Mercy on them." Has God's covenant with day and night been removed? Did God appoint the ordinances of heaven and earth?

2 Ro 11 is Paul’s description of the believers being grafted into the Olive tree, or promised heritage, of Israel. Paul begins this chapter by saying, “I say then, has God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, ofthe tribe of Benjamin.” v.23 “And they (only those jews who did not believe,) also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.”

Concerning the believers

1 If the great crowd is to have everlasting life on paradise EARTH, why does I Th 4:17 say, "...we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR; and thus we shall always be with the Lord"?

2 If Christians are persecuted for the sake of Jehovah's name, why did Christ tell the first Christians that they would be persecuted for the sake of his (Jesus') name instead of Jehovah's (Mt 24:9, Mk 13:13, Lk 21:12 & 17, Jn 15:2 and Acts 9:16)?

Concerning the 144,000

1 Jesus did not limit the number of those admitted into the Kingdom of God to 144,000, Eph.2:19. All who believe in Christ are heirs of the Kingdom, Js 2:5. Ep 3:6 "That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel:" Not replacementheirs, but fellowheirs. Also see Rev 7:9-17, where John describes a multitude, which no man could number standing before the throne of God. v. 15 says that they serve Him day and night in His temple.

2 Heb 11:16, in speaking about some of the faithful people of the Old Testament (Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc.) says, "But now they are reaching out for a better [place], that is, one belonging to heaven..." and,"... their God for He has made a city ready for them. "The footnote on the word "city" refers to HEAVENLY Jerusalem of Heb 12:22 and Rev 21:2. How can this be since according to the teachings of the Watchtower Society, the only people who will go to heaven are the 144,000 spirit anointed who have been chosen from people who lived after Christ died?

3 Rev 7:11 says that "before the throne" is in heaven where "all the angels were standing". Rev 14:2-3 says "And I heard a sound out of heaven ... And they were singing as if a new song before the throne ...". Rev 7:9 says,"... look, a great crowd…standing before the throne...". Rev 7:14-15 says, "...There are the ones that come out of the great tribulation…That is why they are before the throne of God ..." Therefore, if "before the throne " means in heaven (Rev 7:11, 14:2-3), and the "great crowd" is "before the throne" (Rev 7:9, 7:14-15), where does that mean that the great crowd will be? (Rev 7:9 also says that the crowd is innumerable, which is far more than 144,000)

Concerning eternal punishment

You say that there is no such thing as eternal torment, a.k.a. Hell. How do you interpret the clear words of Mt 25:41, II Th 1:8-9, Rev 14:11? You may use the words of Jonah the prophet from Jonah 2:6 when he says "the earth with her bars was around about me for ever", but how can you compare the poetic liscence of a man in deep turmoil, with the clear and intentional Words of our Lord, in Mt 25:41, and Paul, in II Th 1:8-9? Besides, Jonah also describes the "bars of the earth", have you ever seen these bars? See also Heb 6:2.

Concerning the dead

1 If there is no conscious awareness after death, how could the "spirits in prison", who lived during the time of Noah, be preached to by Christ after His death (I Pt 3:18-20) and how could the good news be "declared even unto the dead" (I Pt 4:5-6)? Mt 5:28-29.

2 Referring to Is 14:9-17, if there is no conscious awareness after death, how could Sheol "... become agitated at you in order to meet you on coming in..." (v.9), how could the souls in Sheol "... speak up and say to you..." (v.10-11), how could the souls in Sheol when "...seeing you will gaze even at you; they will give close examination even to you, [saying] This is the man'…"(v. 16-17), and how would you be aware that this was happening?

3 In Jn 8:56, Jesus says, "Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced". Since Abraham died hundreds of years before Jesus said this, how could Jesus say that Abraham "saw it and rejoiced", if there is no conscious awareness after death? Mt 27:52-53.

4 In Lk 20:37-38, how could Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be "all living to Him (God)", since they all died hundreds of years before Jesus said this?

5 If the soul dies when the body dies, how could the "souls" of Rev 6:9-11, who were of those who had been slaughtered (i.e., killed), cry out "with a loud voice, saying: 'Until when Sovereign Lord ..."?

6 If the soul is the body, why does Jesus make a distinction between the body and the soul in Mt 10:28? And in Rev 14:13, how can the dead be "happy" and find "rest", if there is no conscious awareness after death?

7 If the human soul IS the person, how could the soul go out of a person (Gen 35:18) or come back into a person (1 Kn 17:21)?

8 Referring to Lk 12:4-5, what would be left of a person after they were killed that could be thrown into Gehenna?

9 The WTS teaches that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will not reside with Christ in his heavenly kingdom. How then do you explain Mt 8:11 in which Jesus says," But I tell you that many from eastern parts and western parts will come and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens"?

Concerning the Watchtower Society

1 Is it true that the WTS's prophecy that Armageddon will come before "the end of the generation of 1914" (You Can Live ForeverIn Paradise On Earth, pg 154), is no longer taught as "the Truth"? If so, then does this mean that this teaching of the WTS,which they have taught as "the Truth" for decades, was really a false teaching? Since the WTS claims that they are the "onechannel that the Lord is using during the last days of this system of things" (Jehovah's Witnesses-Proclaimers of God's Kingdom,pg 626) and that the governing body is "the mouthpiece of Jehovah God", does this mean that God changed His mind about thisteaching and the definition of "generation"? Has the WTS ever changed their mind before about a teaching that they once taughtas the Truth? The WTS has taught that Armageddon was going to occur in: 1914 - The Time Is At Hand, 1888 (1911 ed.). Pg101, Zion's watchtower, 1/15/1892, pg221918 - The Finished Mystery, 1917, pg 62, 4851925 - Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pg 89-90, Watchtower, 7/15/24, pg 211WWII - Watchtower, 9/15/41, pg 2881975 - Kingdom Ministry, 6/69, pg 3; AWAKE!, 10/8/68, etc.Before the end of the generation of 1914 - You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, pg 154; A WAKE} 10/8/95,pg 4 Since the WTS claimed that their teaching that Armageddon would come before "the end of the generation of 1914" wasJehovah's prophetic word (WT, 5/15/84, pg 6) and "the Creator's promise" (AWAKE! 10/8/95. 9/22/95, 9/8/95, etc. pg 4).therefore speaking "in the name of God" (Deut 18:22), then according to Deut 18:20- 22, doesn't this mean that the WTS is trulya modern day false prophet? See Mt 7:15, 24:11, Mk 13:22, 2 Pet 2:1, 1 Jn 4:1, Rev 19:20, 20:10.

2 On pgs. 66, 69, 211, 423, 560, 648, and 719 of Jehovah's Witnesses--Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, reference is made to TheFinished Mystery, which was the 7th of the Studies in the Scriptures series published by the WTS in 1917 (pg 66, 719), and wasthe major publication of the WTS at that time. On pgs. 88, 648, and 651, a picture of this book appears, complete with the wingeddisk symbol of the Egyptian sun god Ra on its front cover. Is it true that The Finshed Mystery taught that Christ was the Almightyof Rev 1:8 (pg 15), that Christ established a "Church" (pg 17), that Christ returned invisibly in 1874 (pg 54, 60, 68). that the HolySpirit has a personality (pg 57), that the great pyramid of Giza was God's stone witness and was used to predict the year ofArmageddon (pg 60), that Armageddon would definitely occur in the spring of 1918 (pg 62), that Christ was crucified (pg 68), thatLeviathan of the Bible refers to the steam locomotive (pg 85), and that Michael is the Pope of Rome and the angels are hisbishops (pg 188)? According to "current" WTS teachings, Christ returned invisibly in 1914 and in 1918 chose the WTS as hisearthly organization because they were the only ones teaching "the Truth". If this was so, then Jesus would have known theteachings of the WTS as put forth in The Finished Mystery, published in 1917. Do you really think that Jesus would have chosenan organization which taught so many things that were not correct according to "current" WTS teachings and are no longer taught as "the truth"? !!!GET THESE BOOKS!!!

3 In Mt 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to baptize "people of all the nations ...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of theHoly Spirit". Why would the disciples be instructed to baptize in the name of anybody or anything who was not God? Do Jehovah's Witnesses follow the command of Jesus and baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"?

Concerning the New World Translation

1 The NWT translates Jn 1:1 as "... and the Word was WITH God, and the word was a god." How can the Word (Jesus) be "a god"if God says in Deut 32:39, "See now that I -- I am he, and there are NO gods together with me..."?

2 What is the correct spelling of God's proper name, "Yahweh" or "Jehovah"? If Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that Yahweh is moreproper, why do they misspell it "Jehovah"? If the name of God is so important, then should you not only pronounce it correctly,but spell it correctly too?

3 In Col 1:15-17, the NWT inserts the word "other" 4 times even though it is not in the original Greek (See Gr- Engl Interlinear).Why is the word "other" inserted? How would these verses read if the word "other" had not been inserted? What does Scripturesay about adding words to the Bible? See Prov 30:5-6.

4 (a) In Php 2:9, the NWT inserts the word "other" even though it doesn't appear in the original Greek (See Gr-Engl Interlinear). What is the reason for inserting this word? Is the word "Jehovah" a name? See Exo 6:3, Ps 83:18, and Isa 42:8. How would theverse read if the word "other" had not been inserted? What does scripture say about adding words to the Bible? See Prov 30:5-6.If Christians are persecuted for the sake of Jehovah's name, why did Christ tell the first Christians that they would be persecutedfor the sake of his (Jesus') name, instead of Jehovah's (Mt 24:9, Mk 13:13, Lk 21:12 & 17, Jn 15:21, and Acts 9:16)? If the name"Jehovah" is so important, then why does Acts 4:12 say, "There is salvation in no one else; for there is not another name [vs 10 Jesus Christ] under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must get saved"? If the teachings of the WTS arecorrect, would this not have been the logical place for God to have used the name "YHWH" or "Jehovah"? Since the wordJehovah didn't appear until at least the 12th century, and since the term "Jehovah's Witnesses" wasn't used by the WTS until theearly 1930's, doesn't this mean that the first century Christians were not known as "Jehovah's Witnesses"?

4 (b) Then in the next two verses, Php 2:10-11, we read that every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and earth and under theearth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father. If every knee in heaven shall bow, doesthat mean God the Father also? Why not? Because, in Is 45:21-23 Yahweh says "unto Me every knee shall bow, and everytongue shall swear". Yahweh also says in this passage that men will look unto Him to be saved, yet, in Acts 4:12 we learn thatthere is no other Name given under heaven whereby men must be saved. Is Yahweh a Name given under heaven?

5 The NWT translates the Greek word "esti" as "is" in almost every instance in the New Testament (Mt 26:18 & 38, Mk 14:44, Lk 22:38, etc). See Greek-English Interlinear. Why does the NWT translate the same Greek word as "means" in Mt 26:26-28,Mk 14:22-24, and Lk 22:19? Why the inconsistency in the translation of the word "esti"? If the NWT were consistent andtranslated the Greek word "esti" as "is" in these verses, what would these verses say? Why did so many of Jesus' disciplesleave him when he told them they must eat his body in order to have eternal life? See Jn 6:25-69, Mt 26:26-28.

6 In the NWT, every time the Greek word "proskuneo" is used in reference to God, it is translated as "worship" (Rev 5:14, 7:11,11:16, 19:4, Jn 4:20, etc.). Every time "proskuneo" is used in reference to Jesus, it is translated as obeisance (Mt 14:33, 28:9,28:17, Lk 24:52, Heb 1:6, etc.), even though it is the same word in the Greek (see Gr-Engl Interlinear). Especially compare theGreek word "prosekunhsan" used with reference to God in Rev 5:14, 7:11, 11:16, and 19:4 and used with reference to Christ inMt 14:33, 28:9, and 28:17. What is the reason for this inconsistency? If the NWT was consistent in translating "proskuneo" as"worship", how would the verses above referring to Christ read?

7 The NWT translates the Greek words "ego eimi" as "I am" every time it appears (Jn 6:34, 6:41, 8:24, 13:19, 15:5, etc), exceptin Jn 8:58 where it is translated as "I have been". What is the reason for the inconsistency in this translation? If "ego eimi" was translated in Jn 8:58 the same way it is translated in every other verse in which it appears, how would Jn 8:58 read? SeeEx 3:14.

8 The NWT translates the Greek word "kyrios" as "Jehovah" more than 25 times in the New Testament (Mt 3:3, Lk 2:9, Jn 1:23,Acts 21:14, Rom 12:19, Col 1:10, l Thess5:2, 1Pet 1:25, Rev 4:8, etc.). Why is the word "Jehovah" translated when it does notappear in the Greek text? Why is the NWT not consistent in translating kyrios (kurion) as Jehovah in Rom 10:9, I Cor 12:3, Phil2:11, 2 Thess 2:1. and Rev 22:21 (see Gr- Engl Interlinear)?9 In Jn 15:4 the direct Greek translation of what Jesus says is, "remain in Me, and I in you" yet the nWT says "remain inunion with me" why is that? See also Rm 8:10-11. See Greek English interlinear.

9 Jesus uses the phrase "Truly I say to you,..." over 50 times in the Bible. In the NWT, the comma is placed after the word "you"every time except in Lk 23:43, where the comma is placed after the word "today". Why is the comma placed after "today"instead of after "you" in this verse? If the translation of this phrase in Lk 23:43 was consistent with the translation of this phrasein all the other verses in which it appears (see concordance), and the comma was placed after the word "you", how would it read?

Concerning Charles Taze Russell

In the July 1879 edition of Zions watchtower, Russell is quoted as saying the following: "A truth presented by satan himself isjust as true as a truth stated by God. Accept truth wherever you find it, no matter what it contradicts." Jn 8:44, "Ye are of yourfather the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, becausethere is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Concerning false prophecies

1 Deut 18: 20-22 “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in My Name, which I have not commanded him to speak,or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou (Israel) say in thine heart, How shall weknow the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the Name of the LORD, if the thing follow not,nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: thou shallnot be afraid of him.”

2 Charles Taze Russell predicted that God's kingdom would be established on earth in 1914. This, of course, never happened.According to the very word of God’s mouth, Russell is a false prophet. Even though the Jehovah’s witnesses dismiss Russell’sinterpretation of his own prophesy, and say that 1914 was the year Christ’s presence began to reign, rather than was to end, itis still based on a false prophecy. Why would one take a false prophecy and say that the “prophet” was wrong in his interpretation,but the prophecy was real, instead of disavowing the prophecy along with the prophet all together, as Jehovah said so to do.

3 Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who became the president of the Watchtower society following Russell’s death, also triedhis hand at Bible prophecy. Rutherford said that, not only was the old order of things going to pass away in the year 1925, but theold testament patriarchs were going to be resurrected, and usher in Jehovah’s Kingdom. This never happened. Joseph Franklinwas a false prophet.

4 Nathan Knorr, was next in line for Watchtower presidency after Franklin’s death. He predicted that in 1975, the world wouldend, Armageddon would take place, and Christ would set up His millennial kingdom. This never happened. According to the wordof Jehovah Himself, Knorr was a false prophet.