Responding to Jehovah's Witnesses

“In Matthew 24:15, Jesus mentions the "abomination of desolation." But in the parallel passage, Luke 21:20, He explains what He means — "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near." The early Christians understood this and fled to Pella before the Roman siege. Doesn't this prove the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in the first century?”

“Romans 6:14 says 'sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.' Paul says sin loses its power precisely because you're under grace — not law. If being under law actually keeps sin in control, what does that say about a system built on rules and requirements?”

“Can you show me a single Greek manuscript of the New Testament that contains the name Jehovah? There are over 5,800 Greek manuscripts — do any of them have the Tetragrammaton in the text?”

“In John 20:28, Thomas sees the risen Jesus and says 'My Lord and my God.' Your own NWT says Thomas 'said to him' — directly to Jesus. Jesus doesn't correct him. Why not?”

“In Hebrews 1:8, who is speaking, and who is being spoken to? The Father is speaking about the Son. Now — what does the Father call the Son in this verse?”

“If Jesus is not God, why do we find Christians praying to him in the New Testament? Stephen prays to Jesus as he dies. John says 'Come, Lord Jesus.' Paul pleads with Jesus about his thorn. If this is idolatry, why does the Bible record it approvingly?”

“Can I ask you something personal? Do you know — with certainty — that you have eternal life right now? Not hope, not maybe — know?”

“Your NWT says 'you HAVE BEEN saved through faith' — Ephesians 2:8. Does that sound like something you've already received, or something you're still working toward?”

“Paul says he desires 'the releasing and the being with Christ' — your NWT's own words in Philippians 1:23. If death means unconsciousness, why would Paul prefer death? How is unconsciousness 'far better' than fruitful ministry?”

“Your NWT of Matthew 10:28 says 'do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.' If the soul is just another word for the body or life, how can the body be killed while the soul cannot?”

“In Acts 5:3, Peter says Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. In verse 4, he says 'You have played false, not to men, but to God.' How do you lie to an impersonal force? And why does Peter equate the Spirit with God?”

“In Mark 2, the scribes say 'Who can forgive sins except one, God?' — and your NWT agrees they said it. Then Jesus forgives sins. Does Jesus agree with the scribes' theology, or does he correct it?”

“Your NWT of Isaiah 43:11 says 'besides me there is no saviour.' But Acts 4:12 says salvation is found in no one except Jesus. If there is no saviour besides Jehovah, and Jesus is the saviour — what does that tell you?”

“When Jesus died on the cross, he said 'It is finished.' In your NWT it reads 'It has been accomplished.' The Greek word is tetelestai — a perfect tense verb meaning something completed with permanent results. If the work of atonement is finished, what is left for us to add to it?”

“In 1974, your Kingdom Ministry commended brothers who were selling their homes and pioneering because of 'the short time remaining before the wicked world's end.' After 1975 came and went, the Watchtower said those brothers had been 'running ahead.' Who bears responsibility when people act on what the organisation itself told them to do?”

“In Matthew 24:15-21 Jesus warns about a 'great tribulation.' Did you know Luke records the same conversation? In Luke 21:20 he replaces 'the abomination of desolation' with 'Jerusalem surrounded by armies.' If the parallel account tells us the great tribulation was about Jerusalem's destruction, why does the Watchtower teach it's a future attack on Jehovah's Witnesses?”

“In John 14:9, Jesus tells Philip, 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father also.' Even the NWT keeps that wording. If Jesus is merely God's representative, how could seeing a representative be the same as seeing God himself? Isaiah 40:18 asks, 'To whom will you liken God?' — the answer is no one. Yet Jesus says seeing him IS seeing the Father.”

“At Pentecost, Peter stood up and said 'This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel' about the last days being fulfilled — right then, in the first century. If the last days began at Pentecost, what does that do to 1914?”

“Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you." He didn't say "Come to my organisation." Can I ask — when you pray, when you feel closest to God, is that closeness mediated through an organisation, or is it personal?”

“Did you know that from the 1940s to 1996, the Watchtower required young brothers to refuse alternative civilian service — like hospital work or forestry — and go to prison instead? And that in 1978, the Governing Body itself voted 11 to 5 to change the policy, but one member switched his vote and destroyed the required two-thirds majority? For nearly twenty more years, young men kept going to prison. What does that tell you about how the Governing Body makes decisions?”