Paul Carden - 10 Questions and Answers on Jehovahs Witnesses: Key Beliefs, Practics, and History

• Russell shifted the date for the end of the world from 1914 to 1915, then to 1918.
• Early Watchtower publications claimed that the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, foretold dates for the end of the world, based on the lengths of its passageways. When these dates failed, the measurements were lengthened to accommodate new dates.
• Russells successor was Judge Joseph Rutherford (18691942). He moved the date for the worlds end to 1925, proclaimed that Millions Now Living Will Never Die! and built a house in San Diego for the anticipated return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and other ancient worthies.
• Rutherford taught that Jehovah governs his universe from Alcyone (a star system in the Pleiades cluster) and that black skin is a sign of the biblical curse on Cain.

The Tetragrammaton, Gods holy name as written in Hebrew

The Bible Teaches

Though the Jehovahs Witnesses insist on calling God Jehovah in prayer, in the Lords Prayer Jesus tells us to address God as Father (Matt. 6:9-13). (The name Jehovah does not appear in the Lords Prayer, even in the NWT .) For Jesus, sanctifying Gods name has more to do with honoring what it stands for than with pronouncing His name. He also shows that His disciples are now adopted into Gods family. As sons of God they now have the right to call God Father, whereas before they could only refer to Him by His formal titles or name.

The Watchtower may be justified in rendering Gods name as Jehovah in its version of the Old Testament, but not in inserting it 237 times in the New Testament. Of the 5,000 Greek manuscripts we possess today of the New Testament, not a single one contains Gods full name. (The expression Hallelujah in Revelation 19:1-6 contains a shortened form of the name, Jah.) In this respect, the NWT is guilty of adding to Gods Word by inserting His name where it doesnt belong in the text. By inserting Jehovah where there is no evidence that the New Testament writers used Gods name, the New World Translation distorts Jesus identity by creating an artificial distinction between Him and Jehovah God.

You Should Also Know

Pronouncing the Name

The original, ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament were written in Hebrewall in consonants, with no vowels. Later, when scholars added vowel points (markings to indicate pronunciation) to the Hebrew text, no one could be sure what vowels to put into Gods name, which is transliterated in English as YHWH. For centuries, when Scripture was read aloud by the Jews their custom has been to keep Gods name holy by saying Adonai (Lord) instead of pronouncing it. So, scholars chose to insert the vowel points of Adonai (Lord) into YHWH, rendering it YaHoWaH or Jehovah.

Is the Trinity Really a Pagan Doctrine?

The Watchtower Claims

Worshiping Three Gods