John Ankerberg - The Facts On Jehovahs Witnesses

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

All emphasis (italics) in Scripture quotations has been added by the authors.

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THE FACTS ON JEHOVAHS WITNESSES

Updated edition

Copyright 2002/2008 by The John Ankerberg Theological Research Institute

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ankerberg, John, 1945-

The facts on Jehovahs witnesses / John Ankerberg, John Weldon; updates by Dillon Burroughs.

p. cm.(Facts on series)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7369-2215-9 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-3907-2 (eBook)

1. Jehovahs WitnessesControversial literature. 2. Apologetics. I. Weldon, John. II. Burroughs, Dillon. III. Title.

BX8526.5.A55 2008

289.92dc22

2008001038

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Contents

The Jehovahs Witnesses are a religious movement started by Charles Taze Russell in the late 1870s. In formulating their beliefs, Russell drew from many sources, including the religious teachings of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, Christadelphianism, and his own interpretation of the Bible.

The leaders of the Jehovahs Witnesses are a group of men who head an organization called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, or simply the Watchtower Society, in Brooklyn, New York. This small group wields absolute spiritual authority over the members. To date, the Society has had six presidents, each of whom has left his unique mark on the Societys religion.

Each president of the Jehovahs Witnesses has governed authoritatively. As a result, his period of rule has been marked by his unique personality and Bible interpretation. Thus there have been six distinct periods of the Society: 1) the period of Charles Taze Russell (18721916); 2) the period of Judge Joseph F. Rutherford (19171942); 3) the period of Nathan H. Knorr (19421977); 4) the period of Frederick W. Franz (19771992); 5) the period of Milton G. Henschel (19922000); and 6) the period of Don Adams (2000present).

Because the Witnesses claim that God himself was and is the source or author of all their Bible interpretations and doctrines, it is important to briefly discuss these six periods. Doing so reveals the fact that each president has interpreted the Bible differently or even in contradiction to one or more of the others. Examining the writings of these men clearly shows that the claim of the Jehovahs Witnesses that God is the author of all of the Watchtower Societys doctrines is inaccurate.

Not of God

The Bible teaches that God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB ). This is the first item of evidence that reveals that the Watchtower Society is guided not by God, but by fallible men.

Charles Taze Russell

Examples of this start with Charles Taze Russell, the Societys founder, who wrote a new Bible for the faithful of his day. In it, he claimed the translation came from God through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Russell claimed that a new divine interpreter was needed to understand the Bible properly. And he claimed to be that interpreter.

Yet todays leaders of the Watchtower Society contradict many of Russells doctrines and divine interpretations of Scripture. Apparently, the true divine interpreter has changed. It is now no longer Russell but the Watchtower Society itself. It still claims the same authority Russell did: that only its interpretations of the Bible are authoritative, and if a person studies the Bible alone it will lead to darkness and heresy. For example, a 1981 issue of the Watchtower condemns those who

say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. Through such Bible reading, they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendoms clergy were teaching 100 years ago.

Notice that the Watchtower Society itself declares, as did Russell, that anyone who reads the Bible alone will come to the same beliefs orthodox Christians have always held. Nevertheless, the writings Russell once called indispensable for understanding the Bible (his own) are today largely ignored by the organization he founded.

The problem with reading just the Bible

Cal Lehman, a former 35-year Jehovahs Witness, noted, The more Bible reading I did, without Watchtower publications to stir my thinking, the more errors I began to see in the teachings of the Watchtower. His comment is only one of many such examples.

J.F. Rutherford

Under the direction of the second president, Judge Rutherford, the Watchtower Society became even more authoritarian. Rutherford instituted an era of changes and ignored, altered, or denied hundreds or thousands of Russells teachings. He justified these changes by claiming an ongoing revelation that permitted him to shed new light on Russells ideas.

This is why thousands of faithful followers of Russell, realizing Rutherford had abandoned Russells teaching, left the organization. They still believed Russells claim that he was inspired by God and felt that to change his teachings was to deny God. The broad majority of Witnesses, however, accepted the vast changes without many questions.

Nathan H. Knorr

During the third major era, under the organizational leadership of Nathan H. Knorr, the number of Witnesses grew from 105,000 to about 2.2 million. New stress was placed on training in the Jehovahs Witnesses own interpretations of the Bible. A new Bible translation was produced to support their interpretationsand with it came additional changes in Bible interpretation and doctrine.

Frederick W. Franz

The fourth era, under Frederick W. Franz, could be labeled an era of crisis because thousands of Witnesses began to examine the history of the Watchtower Society independently. As a result, they became convinced that it was not Gods organization and either left it or were disfellowshipped.

President Franzs nephew, Raymond, is an example of one who has left the Watchtower. His book Crisis of Conscience shows why the Watchtower Society cannot be Gods sole channel on earth. His text is an authoritative expos by a key leader familiar with the inner workings of the Watchtower Society. It portrays an authoritarian group of men who go to great lengths to retain their image of divine guidance. Raymond Franz concludes that the Watchtower Society is not of God. He cites evidence that it 1) is antibiblical, 2) has given extensive false prophecies, 3) has changed its teachings and policies, 4) has engaged in lying and cover-ups, and 5) has brought destruction into the lives of some of its members.