Ambassador; Noun: an authorized messenger or representative. Usually an official of the highest rank sent for a specific mission.
Christ’s Example: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)
Our Command:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15)
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 28:19)
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”” (Romans 10:14-15)
Concerning Non-believers:
“With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:17-19)
Today’s Topic: Jehovah Witnesses & the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (WTB&TS)
Facts about the founders and leaders:
· Charles T. Russell founded the Jehovah’s Witness movement in the late 1800’s. As a teen he rejected his Presbyterian roots, joined a more liberal Congregational Church, & then left this group as well. He denied that Christ was God, as well as the biblical teachings on hell and eternal punishment. Russell had no Bible training, but borrowed and built upon various teachings that were popular at the time. For example, Adventism influenced his denial of hell, and aroused his interest in endtime prophecies. From this he also borrowed the belief that Christ returned invisibly to the world in 1874, and that 1914 was the year the world would be destroyed
· In 1879 Russell started his own magazine, Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence (now known as The Watchtower), to promote his doctrines. People were drawn to Russell's sensational endtime predictions, and the organization grew.
· In 1906 Russell's wife successfully sued for divorce because of "his conceit, egotism, domination and improper conduct in relation to other women," and won a settlement of $6,036. The court severely censured Russell and called his conduct "insulting," "domineering" and "overbearing" to a degree which made life intolerable to a sensitive Christian woman.
· In 1913, Russell unsuccessfully sued The Brooklyn Daily Eagle for libel when that paper exposed his fraudulent attempts to sell ordinary wheat at the exorbitant price of $60 a bushel, claiming it was "Miracle Wheat.''
· He claimed and warned dramatically that Armageddon would strike in 1914. When 1914 came and went, he changed the date to 1915. Russell died in 1916, leaving his followers doubting and confused by his predictive failures.
“For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:31-33)
The Bible warns us that many false prophets will come claiming to speak for God (Matthew 7:15; 1John 4: 1). Thankfully, it also provides a practical test for identifying false prophets. Deuteronomy 18:22 says: “If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.”
· In 1916 Joseph Franklin Rutherford then took control of the organization. He also used the threat of Armageddon to intimidate JWs. He published a book which predicted that in 1918 God would destroy churches and millions of their members, and claimed that by 1920 every kingdom would be swallowed up in anarchy. Rutherford taught that the only way to escape the impending judgment and destruction was to join the Watchtower organization.
· Under the leadership of Nathan H. Knorr the WT Society put away date setting for a time and switched to a different strategy. Since many of their teachings could be refuted by key verses in the King James Bible, Knorr set out to publish a different Bible for JWs to use. Called the New World Translation (NWT), it blatantly altered many verses to support Watchtower doctrine. The single best example of this is John 1: 1, which in the King James Version clearly declares Jesus' deity-"the Word was God." JWs deny the deity of Christ, so the NWT renders this phrase "the Word was a god." The translation committee responsible for the NWT was kept anonymous, undoubtedly to cover up their complete lack of scholarly qualifications. None of the men who worked on this project had any formal training in the biblical languages, except for Frederick Franz. He was chairman of the committee and had studied Greek for two years at the University of Cincinnati without graduating, and was only self-taught in Hebrew. After Knorr's death, Franz became the Watchtower Society's new President.
Facts about the cult:
· They aren’t allowed to participate in the following: taking blood transfusions, celebrating birthdays or holidays (including Christmas, Easter, and Mother's Day), voting, flag saluting, or military service. Through these restrictions, they build a wall between themselves and the rest of society
· They claim to be the “only organization God is using today to teach His truth and speak for Him. “
Non-biblical Beliefs
· The Nature of God. The Bible teaches that there is only one true God (Isa.43:10-11; 44:6,8). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are identified as distinct Persons within the one Triune Godhead (Matt.3:16-17; 2 Cor.13:14). Throughout the New Testament the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father are separately identified as God. Each has divine attributes and acts as God (Son: Mark 2:5-12; John 20:28; Heb. l :8; Holy Spirit: Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17-18).
They deny the triune nature of God and teach that such a belief is inspired by Satan and teaches that Jehovah, the name of the one true God, corresponds only to God the Father. JWs also deny that Jesus is God (see next point). They deny the Holy Spirit is a person, and instead teach he is merely God's active force, similar to electricity.
· Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, and is the Creator of all things (John 1: 1 -3,14; Col.1: 16). While never less than God, at the appointed time He laid aside the glory He shared with the Father and took on a human nature (John 17:3-5; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 2:9). Following his death, Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave, appeared to and was recognized in his body by over 500 people. This fact was crucial to both the preaching and faith of the early church (Luke 24:39; John 2:19-21; I Cor. 15:6, 14).
They deny the deity of Jesus Christ and teach that Jesus is a created being who existed as Michael the archangel before being born as a perfect man. JWs believe that after Jesus was buried, God disposed of his physical body. He was raised a spiritual creature and "materialized" to make himself visible. Now in heaven he is once again known as Michael the archangel.
· Salvation. The Bible teaches that the atoning work of Christ alone provides the solution for man's sin problem. Jesus Christ took the personal sins of all men-past, present and future-in his own body on the tree (I Pet. 2:24), and as perfect God and perfect man he fully met the demands of Divine justice for us (Rom. 3:22-26). Therefore, any and all who receive him by simple faith (John 1:12; Acts 16:31), can be forgiven, declared righteous and restored to fellowship with God (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:24-26).
They teach that only an elite group of Witnesses, known as "the 144,000," or the "anointed ones" are presently credited with Christ's righteousness. Only the 144,000 are born again and expect to reign with Christ in heaven. For the vast majority of remaining JWs, known as the "other sheep" or the "great crowd," the atoning sacrifice of Christ only provides a chance at eternal life on earth.
· The Bible also teaches that we are saved by grace alone apart from any self-righteous works (Eph.2:8-9). There is nothing we can do to contribute to our salvation because apart from Jesus Christ we are "dead in our sins" (Eph. 2:1,5).
They teach that salvation "will depend on one's works." A person must first "come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation and then comply with everything they teach. In this way, a relationship with the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, rather than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is presented as the basis of salvation.
· The Soul & Eternal Punishment. The Bible teaches that the human soul continues to exist consciously after death (Is.14:9-11; Luke 16:19-31; Rev 6:9-11). Those who have rejected God's gift of eternal life will suffer conscious eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41,46; Rev. 14:10,11; 20:10,15).
They deny eternal punishment and teach that the soul cannot exist apart from the body. JWs believe that death ends all conscious existence. Hell refers to the grave and those who are ultimately judged by God will be annihilated and simply cease to exist.
· The Bible. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit's anointing enables individual Christians to understand God's Word and properly apply it to their lives ( I John 2:27).
They teach that the Bible can only be interpreted by the Watchtower Society and no individual can learn the truth apart from them.
Conclusion
In a sense they are more like lost sheep than ravenous wolves, because they’ve been deceived by an organization with a history of false prophecies and doctrines. JWs truly believe that if they leave the Watchtower Society they will be destroyed at Armageddon. They need our love and compassion, and our desire for them, as for everyone else, should be that they come to a true knowledge of what the Bible teaches, and the understanding that Jesus Christ alone can guarantee salvation. Only through a personal relationship with him can we receive forgiveness and eternal life.
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