You'll Never Guess What Terrifies Russia

About every couple of months, I have the privilege of sharing the gospel with Jehovah’s Witnesses. There’s a Kingdom Hall two or three blocks away from my house, so I’ve become quite familiar with a few of them through the years.

It’s easy to get sidetracked in these conversations, but one of the main messages you want to get across is that Jesus is not simply the first and best thing God created. No. Jesus is the Lord God manifested to the world. I’ve demonstrated a couple of the methods I use with Jehovah’s Witnesses to help lead them to this truth (here and here), but I’ve found that what starts to bring down their defenses has nothing to do with Jesus’ divinity.

Though their founder was a false prophet and they have some seriously flawed beliefs about Jesus and other things, Jehovah’s Witnesses are generally really good people. They take the Sermon on the Mount very seriously, probably much more simply and seriously than most evangelicals. Their strict adherence to Matthew 5 is one of the examples they use to prove that they have the truth.

Also, most Jehovah’s Witnesses I speak with have been taught that after the original Apostles died, the beliefs and practices of the Church were corrupted. So, I’ve found that I gain some ground with them when I explain that there are no recorded homicides committed by Christians against unbelievers until after 380CE, when Roman Emperor Theodosius declared that everyone in the Empire must become a Christian. They are equally surprised when they learn that the early Christians were declared enemies of the State and hunted down for their undivided devotion to Jesus and His teaching.

Tertullian, one of many early Christian apologists, elucidated this truth well at the end of the second century.

We are equally forbidden to wish ill, to do ill, to speak ill, to think ill of all men. … If we are enjoined, then, to love our enemies, as I have remarked above, whom have we to hate? If injured, we are forbidden to retaliate, lest we become as bad ourselves: who can suffer injury at our hands? … As those in whom all zeal in the pursuit of glory and honor is dead, we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings; nor is there anything at all more entirely foreign to us than affairs of state. … We are charged with being irreligious towards the Caesars, since we neither propitiate their images nor swear by their genius. We are called enemies of the people. – Tertullian 195CE, ANF Vol. 3, p. 65-67, 196 [CD-ROM]

Clearly, the early Christians posed no physical threat to the Roman Empire. Depending on the transformative power of the gospel, they refused to try to change the world through politics or violent revolutions. And yet, they were furiously persecuted as supposed enemies of the State.

On April 6, 2017, Russia's Supreme Court upheld a decision by a Russian city to ban Jehovah's Witnesses, labeling them an extremist group. The ruling arrived during proceedings on a Justice Ministry suit seeking to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia completely. And why is that?

Time.com states, “Jehovah's Witnesses are pacifists, and their religious beliefs require them to abstain from political activity. They declare allegiance only to God, not to a state or political entity. They do not vote, lobby, protest, or join military. This lack of participation can be seen as a threat if a state demands nationalist and patriotic activity.”

In many respects, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are being viewed as a threat to Russian national security because of their strict interpretation of and adherence to the Sermon on the Mount and other words of Jesus.

Don’t get me wrong. I definitely believe the Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the many cult groups in the world. That being said, when a heretical religious group reflects many of the practices of the early Christians more closely than most modern Western believers, we might want to take some time to assess the hermeneutics that influence our approach toward Jesus’ teachings.  

If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could be challenged and inspired by the way Mahatma Gandhi (a Hindu who rejected the lordship of Jesus) implemented the nonviolent red letters of the New Testament, we Christians should be motivated by the devotion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Just imagine the panic that would break out in the kingdom of darkness if Christians worldwide began to faithfully practice the simple words of Christ!    

Simply Jesus Pt. 23: “Destroy This Temple…”

In my last blog post, I shared a simple strategy for speaking with Jehovah’s Witnesses using four questions and the book of Revelation. Today’s post contains two similar witnessing strategies I’ve used that help prove Jesus and God the Father are one.

Remember, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus was the first creation of God (Jehovah), that Jesus is not therefore God, and that He used to be the archangel Michael before coming to earth as Jesus. Therefore, keeping the conversation centered on the deity of Christ is vital in any discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness. Also, recall that to be most effective with a Jehovah’s Witness, you should let them read all of these Scriptures aloud from their own Bibles.

Finally, as was the case in the previous post, during the dialogue sections I will put the Jehovah’s Witnesses translation first, and then the New American Standard version as a reference.

This first witnessing strategy developed after a Jehovah’s Witness decided to read a section of John 17 to me in an attempt to refute a claim I just made about the divinity of Jesus. When she read verse 11 she stopped in her tracks and tried to change the subject. What follows is a modified version of that conversation.

1a) Say, “Can we please read Genesis 17:1 out loud?”

When Aʹbram was 99 years old, Jehovah appeared to Aʹbram and said to him: “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and prove yourself faultless.” (New World Translation)

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless." (NASB)

1b) Now ask, “What is Jehovah’s (The Lord’s) name in this passage?”

Answer = God Almighty

2a) Say, “Can we please read John 17:11 out loud?

“I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.” (New World Translation)

“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” (NASB)

2b) Ask, “What does Jesus say His name is?”

Answer = The same name as His Father: Jehovah/God Almighty

I’ll give you one more, an apologetic strategy I used in my book:

1) Ask, “Who raised Jesus from the dead?”

(Let them answer = Jehovah/God the Father.)

2a) Ask, “Would you please give me a verse to support that belief?

(There are many, but if they can't think of one, offer Romans 10:9.)

2b) Ask them to read Romans 10:9 out Loud:

For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved. (New World Translation)

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (NASB)

3a) Say, “In John 2, Jesus drove many money changers out of the temple for defrauding and oppressing the people, and it greatly upset the authorities.

3b) Ask, “Will you please read John 2:18-21 out loud?”

Therefore, in response the Jews said to him: “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” Jesus replied to them: “Tear down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said: “This temple was built in 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was talking about the temple of his body. (New World Translation)

The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (NASB)

4) Ask: Who did Jesus say would raise Him from the dead?

Answer = He said He would.

5) Ask: Who raised Jesus from the dead?

Answer = Jesus and Jehovah/God Almighty are one.

These witnessing strategies are not clever “Gotcha” games played to humiliate the Jehovah’s Witness you’re conversing with. They are designed to glorify God. They are structured to reveal the truth that God Himself entered humanity to suffer on our behalf. He didn’t merely send one of His creations.

God Himself came down to rescue us, and we put Him to death. When we see the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ sacrifice, we see Jehovah, we see God Almighty embodying His love for us. And that singular truth makes all the difference in the world. 

Then did the whole creation see clearly that for man’s sake the Judge was condemned, and the Invincible was seen, and the Illimitable was circumscribed, and the Impassible suffered, and the Immortal died, and the Celestial was laid to the grave. … God was put to death, the King of Israel slain. – Melito 170CE, Volume 8, p. 756, 758

Simply Jesus Pt. 22: “I Am the Alpha and the Omega…”

My family is blessed to have a home that is only about a mile from a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall. I really do mean that we are blessed by that fact, not because we are Jehovah’s Witnesses, but because they so frequently come by our door to chat. 

I’ve developed some good relationships with a few of them, and we’ve had numerous long conversations about the divinity of Jesus. That really is one of the most important issues, isn’t it? After all, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus was the first creation of God (Jehovah), that Jesus is not therefore God, and that He used to be the archangel Michael before coming to earth as Jesus.

In speaking with them, one of the most effective witnessing tools has been demonstrating how the book of Revelation unveils Jesus as being one with God the Father and worthy of the same worship He receives.   

What follows did not originate with me. This technique is short, simple and straight forward, and can be used with anyone to prove the divinity of Jesus through the Scriptures. However, to be most effective with a Jehovah’s Witness, you should let them read all of these Scriptures aloud from their own Bibles.

Even though their translations are heavily slanted to their own teachings, they can often still be used to point out the fallacies in their own doctrines. I will put the Jehovah’s Witnesses translation first, and then the New American Standard version as a reference.

Make sure to preface the conversation by asking if they will please allow you to ask them four questions. Politely tell them you are comfortable with them using their Bibles to read from. If at some point during the four questions they try to steer the conversation off topic, gently remind them of their previous agreement, that it won’t take very long, and that you earnestly want to know their answers.

1a) Say, "Will you please read Revelation 1:8 out loud?"

“I am the Alʹpha and the Omeʹga,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.” (New World Translation)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (NASB)

1b) Now ask, "Who does this passage say is the Alpha and the Omega? Answer = Jehovah God (The Lord God Almighty)

2a) Say, "Will you please read Revelation 21:6-7 out loud?

And he said to me: “They have come to pass! I am the Alʹpha and the Omeʹga, the beginning and the end. To anyone thirsting I will give from the spring* of the water of life free. Anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (New World Translation)

Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (NASB)

2b) Now ask, "Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end?

Answer = Jehovah God (The Lord God Almighty)

3a) Say, "Will you please read Revelation 22:12-13 out loud?

“Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to repay each one according to his work. I am the Alʹpha and the Omeʹga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (New World Translation)

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (NASB)

3b) Now ask, "Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end?

Answer = Jehovah God (The Lord God Almighty)

4a) Say, "Will you please read Revelation 1:17-18 out loud?

When I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, and the living one, and I became dead, but look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of the Grave.” (New World Translation)

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (NASB)

4b) Now ask, "When did the Jehovah God die and come back to life?

Answer = Jesus and Jehovah God (The Lord God Almighty) are one.

This is the point where either the light bulbs will go off, or they will get upset and possibly try to leave.

Try to be gentle. Try to not smirk. If your worldview has ever been threatened, you know it is a terribly upsetting feeling. Instead of bathing in the glory of an argument won, offer to pray with them. Offer them a bottle of water from your refrigerator. Invite them to come back the following week to chat.

Don’t be afraid. Jesus will give you the words. The Holy Spirit will help you elegantly weave together various passages of Scripture that demonstrate Jesus’ divinity. He did it for the earliest disciples, and He will also help you be an effective true witness for Him today.

In the Gospel according to John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.” Also in the same: “The Lord said to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands: and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.” … Also in the Apocalypse: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: I will give to him that is athirst, of the fountain of living water freely.”  – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 909-910 [CD-ROM]