Jehovah's Witnesses - Cults & The Occult Lesson # 4

Moore's Corner Church

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I think it was around 2006, I was living in Greenfield. I had just bought a house and one day

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I heard a knock on the door. So I looked and it was two women who wanted to talk to me about kind of the state of the world and the direction the world and our country was headed.

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And they offered me a magazine and I knew right away they were Jehovah's Witnesses.

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The Mormons, you can kind of tell it's usually two guys and they have a white shirt and a black tie or something like that.

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But these two women, they talked to me about how the end of the world was approaching.

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And I didn't disagree. Actually, I didn't disagree with the things that they were saying, but I knew enough, even as a new

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Christian at the time, I knew enough to know we didn't believe the same thing. So I forget exactly how the conversation went, but it was something to the effect that I said, well,

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I believe that if you trust in Jesus as your Lord and savior, you go to heaven.

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And if somebody rejects Christ, they go to hell and that's where they objected.

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So I learned on that day that number one, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is

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God in human flesh. And number two, they do not believe in hell.

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And then number three, based on that, I realized we have two different gospels. We have two different ways of salvation.

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So I took their magazine and they went on their way, but because I took the magazine in a month or two, whenever it was, they came back.

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And I tried to convert them and they tried to convert me and neither one of us were successful.

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But I appreciated this much that we both or the three of us understood that we did not share the same faith.

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We did not share the same beliefs. We viewed each other as the mission field.

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So this evening, we're going to be studying the Jehovah's Witnesses. What do they believe?

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What did they teach? And now I said, I had appreciated one thing about them that we understood we were not part of the same religion.

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Remember a couple of weeks ago, we talked about the Mormons. The Mormons now, today, they have a different way of approaching this.

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Mormons, oftentimes, when they knock on your door, they want to find common ground and they want to be accepted as just another

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Christian denomination. So the thing, again, I appreciated about the

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Jehovah's Witnesses, they weren't trying to ignore all the differences. They thought that I needed salvation and I thought and think that they need salvation.

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That's actually a good start. Because if you think that everybody's already saved and everybody's already going to heaven, as long as you take a step in the right direction, as long as you believe something and you're sincere, then you're fine.

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I mean, that's the problem with the day and age we're living in. Just one comment on the

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Mormons. When I talked about them, there's that popular evangelical

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TV series or it's popular within evangelicalism, The Chosen, right, by Dallas Jenkins.

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And he says that Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, evangelicals, we all believe in the same

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Jesus. And yeah, Jehovah's Witnesses, they don't try to make that argument.

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They think we are lost and I think they need to place their trust in the true

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Jesus. So all of this that we're learning about, it isn't to just run them down or to say, hey, they're wrong.

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The purpose of this is to understand where they're coming from so that hopefully we can teach them, if we ever have opportunity, we can teach them the truth.

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But it's helpful to know what these other religions believe. So let's start where they came from.

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Originally, they were not known as Jehovah's Witnesses. They were first called Bible students who studied under a self -appointed pastor named, who knows the name of the founder,

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Charles Taze Russell. Okay, Russell dropped out of school when he was 14 years old.

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He was never ordained. Like I said, he's a self -appointed pastor, but he attracted quite a following after he got into publishing where he started what is called the

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Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. That's in the late 1800s. He formed this group in Brooklyn, New York.

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So he started this movement of Bible students and they became known as the

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Jehovah's Witnesses later on. So the Bible student movement was one of many restorationist movements within the 1800s.

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There's a lot of religious fervor in the 19th century. So there was the Mormons, the

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Jehovah's Witnesses. There's the Church of Christ, also known as the Campbellites. All of these different groups, they believed that they were the ones restoring true

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Christianity to the earth. So basically, the Jehovah's Witnesses then and now, they believe they are the only true

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Christians on earth. And if you're not a Jehovah's Witness, you're damned. I mean, that's what they believe.

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So Charles Taze Russell, what he wanted, he wanted a form of Christianity that denied that Jesus was

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God in human flesh, and he wanted a form of Christianity that taught or had rejected the doctrine of hell.

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So Jesus, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, I wanna see who knew this. Raise your hand if you knew this.

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They believe that Jesus was originally created as the Archangel Michael.

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Who knew that? Okay. Also, again, they believe there is no such place as hell.

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They believe that man, they believe we do not have a soul or a spirit. They would say we are a soul, but we don't have a soul.

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Therefore, when a person dies, they simply go out of existence, and tied into that is their denial of hell.

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So this is basically what is called annihilationism. So if you die lost, I mean, that's it.

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You just cease to exist. And really, they don't even believe in heaven in this sense.

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They don't believe they're going to heaven. Jehovah's Witnesses, knock on your door. They don't believe they're going to heaven.

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Heaven is a place for an elite group of this group called the 144 ,000.

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So only 144 ,000 elite Jehovah's Witnesses get to heaven.

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Every other Jehovah's Witness who ends up redeemed, they get to inherit a paradise earth.

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And even then, there's a probationary period to see if they pass the test. That would be what we understand as the millennium.

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And if they don't pass the test, they get annihilated too. So there's not a lot of hope in this religion, because you can never really know if you're saved or if you're going to fail, and then

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Jehovah's going to just annihilate you. So it's really a workspace salvation, the bottom line.

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So Charles Taze Russell, because he did not agree with any of the churches, he started his own church and began holding

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Bible studies, which along with his publication known as Zion's Watchtower, this laid the groundwork for their new religion.

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So we're going to watch a video, I think about eight minutes long. And this kind of talks about the founder,

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Charles Taze Russell, and then his successor. So this is just discussing the origins of the movement.

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So let's watch the Jehovah's Witness.

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This is from a channel called Jeremiah Films, in case you want to look for it later.

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In 1879, Russell, then 27 years of age, was so passionately convinced these prophetic dates were given by God that he sold his prosperous clothing business and struck out in a new direction.

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With very little education or theological background, he began printing the magazine,

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Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Known today as the

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Watchtower, this publication, which has grown from an initial printing of 6 ,000 to well over 288 million copies annually, dictates all major doctrines to Jehovah's Witnesses.

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During his lifetime, Russell authored a vast amount of literature, including a series of volumes entitled

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Studies in the Scriptures. According to Russell, no one could understand the

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Bible without these books, and reading the Bible alone would lead only to spiritual darkness.

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One of Russell's teachings was that Egypt's Great Pyramid was designed and placed there by God as his second witness next to the

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Bible. It would be an instrument to reveal his great plan of the ages for mankind.

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This measurement indicates the length of the year, the weight of the earth, the distance to the sun, et cetera.

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Russell believed his dates and chronology were confirmed by the measurements of the interior passageways of the

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Great Pyramid. According to Russell, the passageways verified 1914 as the year the world would end.

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Finally, 1914 came. Russell and his followers were not raptured from the earth, and the end had not come.

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John Knight, who was 15 years old at the time, remembers what came next.

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Well, when 1914 came, of course, we had to change our views, just like we had to change views later.

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The date was pushed forward to 1915, then 1918.

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Certainly, Armageddon was just around the corner. But in 1916,

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Charles Taze Russell died, sick, weary, and disappointed.

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A massive stone pyramid stands today at his gravesite as an embarrassing reminder of his false prophecies.

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Through hard -fisted inside political manipulation, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a

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Missouri lawyer who had given himself the title of the great lawyer and the title of judge, became the second president of the

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Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1917. In 1918,

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Judge Rutherford's lecture, entitled Millions Now Living Will Never Die, was the beginning of a worldwide recruiting effort called the

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Millions Campaign. Not too surprisingly, it proclaimed the coming destruction of the existing world.

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It would happen soon, in 1925. Based upon the promises set forth in the divine word, we must reach the positive and indisputable conclusion that millions now living will never die.

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In 1920, the Millions Book was published. In it, Rutherford claimed the

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Bible proved that in 1925, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and other faithful men of old were to be resurrected to rule henceforth as princes on the new

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Paradise Earth. Fully convinced that Rutherford's prophecy was true, many witnesses sold their homes and businesses and took to the road.

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Living in cars and trucks like itinerant peddlers, they spread the warning. As 1925 drew closer, some farmers even refused to plant crops because they believed the end was at hand.

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Finally, 1925 came, and as in 1914, nothing happened.

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Once again, the Watchtower Society's prophecy had proven false. As Russell had done,

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Rutherford doggedly held to the story that the end was just around the corner. In 1929, the judge had this palatial mansion constructed.

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It was deeded to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so they and other ancient worthies would have a place to live when they were resurrected.

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Located in an exclusive district of San Diego, it was given the name Beth Sarim, Hebrew for House of the

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Princes. The Great Depression.

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But Rutherford lived like a millionaire, spending the winter months at Beth Sarim, summering in Europe.

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As Americans suffered through poverty and deprivation, Rutherford enjoyed the use of two 16 -cylinder

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Cadillacs. Under Rutherford, the

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Watchtower Bible and Tract Society became a well -oiled corporation. New books, literature, and tracts poured forth in a flood to be sold door -to -door by faithful witnesses.

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He drove his followers to labor hard for the Lord. He advised young couples not to marry, but to put all their energies into proclaiming the kingdom.

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Even portable phonographs were utilized at the doorstep. Because the people have been induced to believe that Christianity and religion are the same thing.

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Around the world, zealous witnesses paraded in front of churches on Sunday mornings, bearing placards with the slogan, religion is a snare and a racket.

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Keeping up with the times, the society constructed its own radio station. And by 1933, there were 403 stations nationwide broadcasting

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Rutherford's abusive railings against the clergy, politicians, and what he referred to as the greedy commercialists.

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On the radio and in print, he continually stressed that the end of the world was just months away.

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The end finally came, but only for Rutherford. In 1942, he died of Beth Sarin, the house he had built as a luxurious testimony to God's name.

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In retrospect, perhaps the only testimony this lovely mansion ever gave was to the cash value of false prophecy.

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In 1948, the society quietly sold the property, covering up an embarrassing chapter in its history.

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Today, most modern Jehovah's Witnesses are unaware that Beth Sarin ever existed. With Rutherford's passing, the flamboyant era of charismatic personalities passed as well.

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Okay, let's go through some of the distinctives of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and we'll try to compare what they believe and teach to what the scripture says.

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First, because it's in the name, Jehovah's Witnesses, they believe that there is only one correct name for God, and obviously that name they say is

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Jehovah. Some of you are aware that there's a debate now of whether or not

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Jehovah is the correct rendering. The only Bible translation I'm aware of that has

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Jehovah in it is the King James Version, maybe some of the older versions. But today, a lot of people think the correct name would be

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Yahweh. But really, that's a whole other subject. I don't wanna make too big of an issue about that because I don't think anyone is 100 % certain about how the divine name was originally pronounced.

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But that is a big deal for them, that God's true name is

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Jehovah. But it's also a big deal for them that Jesus is not

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Jehovah. I believe, Christians believe, Orthodox Christianity, Evangelical Christianity, even

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Roman Catholicism, Protestants, we all agree that Jesus is

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Jehovah God in human flesh. They do not believe that. And to reflect that, let's turn to John chapter one.

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To reflect that, they have their own corrupt Bible translation called the

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New World Translation, and I have it right here. Okay, so it's called the

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New World Translation of the scriptures. So you're turning to John chapter one. Some of you are aware of this difference because if you're gonna go to a passage in the

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Bible to prove that Jesus is God, there's no better verse to turn to than John chapter one, verse one.

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Look at what it says. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was

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God. And then if you skip down to verse 14, it tells us who the word is.

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It says the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So the word clearly is a reference to Jesus Christ.

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This is what John referred to Jesus as the word. So that's a big problem for the witnesses because the

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Bible says that the word was God. You see that in John 1 .1?

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In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. So how did the

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Jehovah's Witnesses get around that? Well, we'll just put out our own version of the Bible. So here's what their translation says.

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In the beginning, the word was, and the word was with God, and the word was a

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God. Just put that letter A in. So Jesus was a

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God, which really begs the question, well, wait a minute, how many gods are there? Because they'll tell you they only believe that there's one

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God, and that's Jehovah. So how is Jesus a God? Right, that's kind of a problem.

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But the bottom line is they don't believe that he's God in human flesh. Again, they believe he is the

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Archangel Michael. So he is a God, lowercase g in a different sense.

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So what do they have? They have a different Jesus. So the

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Jesus the Jehovah's Witnesses preach is a different Jesus. You know, the Apostle Paul in 2

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Corinthians 11, he warned about those who come to you and preach a different Jesus.

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And it causes people to receive a different spirit, and of course, it's a different gospel.

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Now, a lot of people know the Jehovah's Witnesses for these things, that they don't celebrate birthdays, right, they don't celebrate holidays.

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They will not join the military, and they would refuse to salute the flag.

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That's what people often know about the Witnesses. I would say in light of eternity, those things are the least of their problems, because they also deny the

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Trinity. Obviously, if they deny the deity of Christ, they have to deny the Trinity, that God is not

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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So what do they do with the Holy Spirit? They say the Holy Spirit is not a person, the

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Spirit is just God's impersonal force. So they deny the Trinity, they deny the true nature of Christ.

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They have a works -based salvation, where they say, yes, you do need to believe in Jesus, but you need to follow the dictates of the

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Watchtower Organization. So those men in Brooklyn, New York, they're gonna tell you how to live, and if you don't do what they say, you're out, and you cannot be saved.

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They also deny that Jesus rose bodily from the dead. They believe that he rose spiritually.

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Of course, remember, on one occasion, Jesus said, you know, handle me, touch me, because a spirit does not have flesh and bone, as you see that I have.

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Also, they, so they wouldn't like this, they wouldn't like the flag in here, because that's idolatry, they would say.

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And they also wouldn't like one other thing in this sanctuary, what would that be?

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Cross. Yeah, the cross, they say, is an idol.

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Now, if there is somebody who bows down and worships a piece of wood, then

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I would agree, but I don't think too many, none of us worship the cross.

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But they don't even believe that Jesus died on the cross. They believe that he died, yeah, on a pole, that he died on a torture stake.

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As you saw in the video, they have predicted the return of Christ multiple times.

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And this is one of those, like, don't people learn, because everyone who sets a date for the return of Christ, when it doesn't happen, which, of course, it's not gonna happen, what do they do?

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They set another date, and another date, and another date. So that, in and of itself, really proves that the group is led and was founded by a false teacher.

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You cannot predict the return of Jesus and set a date, and then have it not happen, and still claim to be preaching the truth.

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So 1914 was the most well -known date. I think the last date they set, from what

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I understand, was 1975, when that didn't happen. A lot of them, you know, they woke up and left the group.

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I don't think the witnesses have been the same since. You know, Mormonism, I think,

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I don't know if they're growing. The Seventh -day Adventists, we're gonna look at them, I think, next week. They are growing.

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Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't believe, are growing. Not like they used to. I pulled this offline from gutquestions .org.

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So if you ever look for biblical resources online, I have found that website to be pretty reliable.

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gutquestions .org. This is what they write about the year, this prediction in 1914.

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With regard to the year 1914, it is worth noting that prior to 1914,

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Jehovah's Witnesses believed the following. And they basically believed that God was present with his people.

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And I think there was another date that they predicted even before that, but I couldn't confirm it elsewhere.

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But they taught, the Watchtower Group, or Charles Taze Russell, he taught that the times of the

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Gentiles would end in 1914, resulting in the

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Battle of Armageddon, the fall of false religion, and the end of all earthly governments.

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Now, something did happen around 1914. World War I. So you can imagine when that started, like, oh, wow, you know, maybe they're onto something, but obviously that wasn't the case.

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This was from a July 15th edition of the Watchtower Magazine put out in 1894.

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So they did predict Armageddon, the end of the world, the return of Christ in 1914. In hindsight, the

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Jehovah's Witnesses, obviously they had to admit that they were wrong, but they just made adjustments.

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So they retained the view that in 1914, that was a correct date, something actually did take place.

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It was just invisible. This is, nobody saw it. So according to the

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Witnesses, you know, funny how that always happens. According to the Jehovah's Witnesses, 1914 did not mark the literal coming of Christ, but his invisible presence.

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And only those with eyes of understanding could perceive what is going on.

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Oh, no. Yeah, they need Joseph Smith's magic glasses.

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See that? You're gonna get me in trouble, Ray. But again, only the hundred and four, and I know we laugh, but like when you think about people are trapped in this false system and they're being deceived.

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And of course, during the depression, they're giving all their money and they have nothing. And the leader is living in a mansion during the depression.

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It really is a sad situation. So again, they believe that only the 144 ,000 get to heaven.

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And even if you are a Jehovah's Witness, even if you are faithful, that doesn't even guarantee you that you're saved because you have to keep following the rules.

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So if you stop knocking doors, or if you celebrate your birthday, or if you get a blood transfusion, this is one of their big teachings.

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If you need a blood transfusion or else you're gonna die, if you take that transfusion, you forfeit eternal life.

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So there's no security within this religion, no assurance of salvation, even within the group.

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And of course, outside the group, nobody can be saved. They say that God, turn to Matthew 24, if you would.

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They say that God has put the Watchtower Organization, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

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They say that God has put the Watchtower in charge of God's people here on earth.

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And they actually claim that Matthew 24, verse 45 is speaking of them.

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So they say this verse actually is referring to the Watchtower Organization.

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I bet you never saw that before in this verse. Well, there's a reason you never saw it, but look at Matthew 24, 45.

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Jesus said, who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season.

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Now, how they came to the conclusion that this is talking about the Watchtower Organization, I mean, who knows?

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When you're running a cult, you can just make up whatever you want and people have to follow it.

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People have to obey it. But they will say that, yeah, Jehovah put the Watchtower Organization in charge.

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They are the faithful and wise servant. You might be thinking to yourself, but how do they believe this?

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Like none of this is biblical. So how can they not see that this is so unbiblical?

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Well, it's simple. Jehovah's witnesses are told that the Bible cannot be understood except without the

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Watchtower to interpret it. They're not the only group that does that, right? We're gonna talk about the

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Seventh -day Adventist. They had a similar teaching, but there's a church today that has a similar teaching, and that's the

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Roman Catholic Church. Throughout their history, we all know this. They discouraged,

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Catholics were discouraged from reading the Bible because you can't understand the Bible. You need the Pope in the church to interpret it for you.

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And you have to keep working for your salvation, keep working and working, and you never really know because the truth has to be passed down by headquarters.

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See, we believe that a person, and I get it, when everyone's reading the

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Bible on their own, yeah, it does lead to people drawing false conclusions. I get it. I mean, that's gonna happen no matter what.

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But we actually believe you can read the Bible and understand it. Like the average person just who knows the

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English language or another language you read, we believe that you can understand the scripture. When Jesus said, believe in me,

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I think we can understand that. And it's about the death on the cross, his death and resurrection that has purchased everlasting life.

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I don't think it's that hard to understand. So with the Jehovah's Witnesses, what does this amount to?

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Bottom line, the scripture is not the final authority. And this is always the biggest issue with the cults.

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Not only do they have a different Jesus, the scripture is not their final authority. The leaders in Brooklyn, New York, or Charles Taze Russell, or Judge Rutherford is the final authority.

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So these are mainly doctrinal issues, but as we know, right, doctrine, what?

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Doctrine determines practice. So with this thing about blood transfusions, how would they even get that?

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Well, in the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded not, it's actually in the New Testament too, forbidden from eating blood, right?

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You say, well, why would they eat blood to begin with? But they stretched that out to where you can't ingest blood, therefore you can't take blood even in a transfusion.

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They say, if you get a transfusion, you cannot enter Jehovah's kingdom.

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So obviously many Jehovah's Witnesses, because of this practice, it's a doctrine that leads to a practice.

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Many Jehovah's Witnesses have what? They died, and even children have died.

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Their lives could have been saved, but they refused the transfusion because they thought that would forfeit eternal life.

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There's one story in that clip, the full video. There's a couple parents, mother and father, they had a child who was sick.

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The child needed a blood transfusion, but they're Jehovah's Witnesses, they're not allowed to get one.

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So they told the doctor, listen, I realize our daughter might die, but we cannot get the transfusion.

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Well, somebody had gone to the courts and there was a court order and the police showed up and said, this child is getting the transfusion, whether you want it or not.

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And the Jehovah's Witnesses and the parents are telling the story. The elders showed up at the hospital and they said, well,

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I don't care what it takes, we need to take the kid, sneak, we got a helicopter ready, if we need it, we need to sneak the child out of the hospital.

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And of course, they're like, that's illegal, we're gonna get in trouble. And the parents refused to do it. And they said, from that point forward, they were shunned.

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The witnesses would have nothing to do with them. And according to the father, one of the elders on the way by said,

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I hope your daughter gets hepatitis from the blood. Now, I realize that's anecdotal and in theory, you can't prove all that, but there are plenty of ex -witnesses who have told stories about, yeah, they're gonna die.

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And they said, we couldn't get the transfusion, but if you get it, they will have nothing to do with you.

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You will be completely shunned. So I think that's probably the most heart -wrenching story that I saw in all of this.

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So just to recap, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that man has a soul, they deny hell, they really deny heaven too, except for the 144 ,000.

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They deny the Trinity, they deny that Christ is divine. And when they say

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Jesus was here on earth, they say he was just a perfect man. He was the

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Archangel Michael before that, but while on earth, Jesus was just a perfect man.

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And after he ascended into heaven, he once again became the Archangel Michael.

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And the people, they say the people of this earth will never see Jesus again.

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Now, is that true? Okay, how do we know that? Because Acts chapter one, remember when

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Jesus ascended, the angel said that he's gonna come back just like he went up. And Revelation chapter one, verse seven says that when

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Jesus returns, what? Every, what? Every eye will see him.

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But according to them, only the 144 ,000 will get to be with Jehovah.

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He will never be seen by the people of this earth. So just a few practical things you should know.

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They monitor home sales. So if you move, if you buy a new house, they keep track of all of that.

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So if you move, just plan on sometime in the first year, you're probably gonna get a knock on the door.

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During COVID, the Jehovah's Witnesses stopped knocking for a couple of years and they sent letters.

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Who got a letter during that time? I got a letter. They are still continuing the legacy of their group's founder by publishing two magazines.

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One is called Watchtower, the other is called Awake. So sometimes they'll go into a doctor's office or a dentist's office and just kind of drop one of their magazines off and leave, just hoping that someone will pick it up.

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When they come to your door, what you need to know is they are prepared. When they come to your house, they're ready.

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They attend up to five, and I think this is mandatory, but five hours per week of meetings.

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So they are very well trained. The chances are, if they knock on your door, they're more prepared than you are.

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Usually they go out, well, almost always, it's two by two. And the thing to know, usually it's one mature witness that's been around for a while and then they'll have one student.

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So sometimes it might be helpful to identify, okay, that's the student, I'm gonna talk to them.

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How should we interact with them? If I were to poll you and get your opinions, you'd probably get a few different answers.

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I'm just gonna give you my take on this. They do seem very nice.

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When they knock, and of course they would, and they're not gonna be rude, they're trying to win you over. And I don't doubt that Jehovah's Witnesses generally speaking, just in human contact, one -on -one,

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I don't doubt that many of them are nice people, but you don't go to heaven for being nice.

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Or you don't go to heaven, you're not saved because you seem nice. If you tell them, here's the thing, if you tell, because some of you would be inclined to do this maybe, or you feel tempted to do it.

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Well, maybe I shouldn't say that, but if you tell them, hey, I'm a Christian, then just slam the door right in their face or you sick the dog on them, right?

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This would only reinforce that, hey, these people are of the world, they do not have the love of Christ.

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So if you're rude to them, see, that just proves that you're not a Christian. So I would suggest being kind in the way you talk to them.

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So in conclusion, if you get to talk with a Jehovah's Witness, someone who knows the

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Bible, if you are accustomed to evangelizing people, if you believe that you can do it and you have that experience,

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I would say just plant some seeds, give your personal testimony. But no matter what you do, bring the word of God to bear.

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Say, well, the Bible says this, the scripture says this. I told you a couple of weeks ago with the

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Mormons, okay, if the Mormons knock on my door, have some things prepared. This is the verse

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I'm gonna go to, here's what I'm gonna say. Because they're prepared, it's good for us to be prepared, but always bring the word of God to bear.

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Tell them about who Jesus is, what the Bible says. Now, if you don't feel equipped, because I know some people would say,

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I don't know that I'm up to this. I think it's okay to say, you know, I'm a

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Christian, I belong to Moores Corner Church or whatever, I'll pray for you, but thank you, I'm not interested.

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Here's one thing you don't wanna do. You don't want to invite them in and give them a cold, and this is what a lot of people do, well,

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Christ said to give them a cold glass of water, you know, in his name or something. What you don't wanna do is invite them in, give them something to drink and then wish them well.

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Whatever you do, do not say, okay, God bless you, have a nice day. That's one thing you don't wanna do.

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You wanna be nice, but don't be overly nice and wish them Godspeed.

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Why? 2 John 10, verse 11, the apostle says, if there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine that is the true doctrine of Christ, receive him what?

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Not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him

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Godspeed, or as we might say, God bless you, becomes a partaker of his evil deeds.

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You can rationalize it in your mind all you want. Don't we believe the word of God is our authority?

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The word of God says, don't bring them in, don't say, hey, God bless you, have a nice day.

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I would try to talk to them, but I would hammer away at the authority of scripture and the true nature of Christ.

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He's the son of God, God in human flesh. He died on the cross for our sins. And I might bring up this verse, 1

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John 5, 13, and let them know you can have peace with God and you can have the peace of God in your heart that surpasses all understanding.

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You can be saved and you can know that you're saved. Why? Because the scripture says so.

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And I don't think their version tampers with this verse too much. 1

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John 5, 13 says, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God.

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Remember, they're caught up in a false religion. Only Christ can deliver them from that false system.

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So now that we have the information, hopefully the Lord could use one of us to bring that about so that they might actually be saved and have both peace with God and the peace of God.