Origin and History of the Sect⤒🔗

The founding date of this sect can be taken as 1879, when Charles Taze Russell founded Zion's Watchtower, which today is called The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom.

Russell was born on February 16, 1852. He grew up in Calvinistic Congregational Churches in Allegheny and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While still young he rejected the doctrine of hell and this started off his career as leader of the sect. In 1870 he organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh; this class elected him as their "Pastor" in 1876. The movement grew and in 1886 he published the first volume of his Studies in the Scriptures. In 1904 the sixth volume was published.

In 1896 "The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society" was formed. This has become the focal point of the organization, with branches all over the world. In 1908 Brooklyn became the headquarters of the movement and has remained so ever since.

Russell died on October 31, 1916, and in 1917 his successor, J. F. Rutherford, published volume seven of the Studies in the Scriptures, causing a split in the movement. The smaller group, which remained true to Russell, became known as "The Dawn Bible Students Association", while the larger group followed Rutherford in his deviations from, Russell. This group took the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931.

In 1942 Nathan H. Knorr was elected president, after the death of Rutherford. If I am not mistaken, then Knorr died some time ago, which means that they now have a new president. Russell and Rutherford placed themselves very much in the forefront, in speaking and writing. Knorr, however, directed the organization very much from behind a screen; therefore his name is not so well known.

The sect has grown enormously. Their main magazines, The Watchtower and Awake have together more than 100 million copies yearly. They have branches in about 100 countries and they work in another 100 countries as "Missionaries.” Martin says,

During the years 1942-1952, the membership of Jehovah's Witnesses doubled in North America, multiplied fifteen times in South America, twelve times in the Atlantic islands, five times in Asia, seven times in Europe and Africa, and six times in the islands of the Pacific. By 1962 these figures had almost doubled.

Method of Working←⤒🔗

Jehovah's Witnesses are known because they go out (mostly in pairs) from door to door, confronting the people with their doctrines.

They have a Program of Indoctrination←↰⤒🔗

1. Whenever they call at someone's door they try to sell literature (it does not happen often that they give something free of charge).

2. If the response is promising they repeat the visit. This is what they call the "back call.”

3. The following step is a study of one of their works in the home of the prospective proselyte.

4. Next they invite him to attend the services in the Kingdom Hall.

5. After that there are the service meetings.

6. The proselyte has by this stage become quite saturated with their doctrines and is sent out to be active in publishing, as they call the selling of books and tracts.

7. The final step is baptism by immersion, which makes one a full-fledged Jehovah's Witness.

Those seven steps are normally followed; if at a certain stage they discover that there is no progress, they drop the person involved like a hot potato. (I have never been able to talk more than three times with the same Witness. They always find an excuse not to come back anymore, as soon as they find out that you believe what you confess).

Whenever we receive a visit of the Witnesses, we have to keep in mind that their purpose is to sell books, tracts, and magazines. If you buy something, they have achieved one of their purposes, even if you are not a prospective proselyte, because they have made a profit out of you. They exist due to the sale of their publications, and call it the "spoiling of the Egyptians" (cf. Exodus 12:35, 36).

Main Deviations←⤒🔗

The Jehovah's Witnesses cannot be called Christians because they reject the following scriptural teachings: the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the Personality of the Holy Spirit, the Incarnation, the Atonement of Christ, Salvation by Grace, the Bodily Resurrection of Christ and consequently His Bodily Return, the existence of Hell and eternal punishment and the continual existence of man after physical death.

Their Bible←⤒🔗

The Witnesses have published their own Bible, of which the New Testament, called The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures is the best known part. They claim that the human authors of the New Testament did not use the names "Lord" and "God" (Kurios and Theos in Greek), but wrote down the Name of God, the so called tetragrammaton (which consists of the Hebrew consonants YHWH). This name is often rendered Jehovah (although Yahweh would be closer to the original pronunciation).

But among the thousands of copies of the Greek New Testament not one uses the tetragrammaton. According to the Witnesses they are all tampered with. The only "evidence" they have is a papyrus roll, containing part of Deuteronomy in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. This roll retains the letters YHWH and does not translate them by God or Lord.

They say that the copies of the Greek New Testament have been tampered with, but what they do is really the same. They "translate" some Bible passages by changing the meaning of the Greek words or by omitting or inserting some words. This is done wherever their doctrines are contrary to the Biblical teaching.

A Few Examples are Sufficient:←↰⤒🔗

• Colossians 1:16 "By means of him all other things were created.” The word "other" which does not appear in the Greek is inserted in an attempt to make Christ also a created "thing.”

• Although the Greek word parousia can be translated by "presence" in some instances (I Corinthians 16:16; II Corinthians 7:6, 7; Philippians 1:26), in many cases it has to be translated by "coming.” But because they reject the visible return of Christ, the Witnesses always translate it as "presence.”

Their Approach to the Bible←⤒🔗

Their Love of Reasoning←↰⤒🔗

Whenever we meet Jehovah's Witnesses, we will discover that time and again they appeal to reason. This started with Russell, who loved to quote Isaiah 1:18,

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.

According to Martin he,

even went so far as to claim that reason opened up to the intellect the very character of God Himself.

And to the present time we will find in the publications of the Watchtower Society questions such as "Is it reasonable that …?" and statements as "We have good reasons to believe that …"

The basic mistake they make here is that they believe that the unregenerate mind can do this reasoning. But natural man is unable to understand and accept the truth of Christianity so long as God's Grace has not taken hold of him. We must never forget that natural man is lost in trespasses and sins and is completely blind and ignorant. As Hodge said,

The Bible makes eternal life to consist in knowledge, sinfulness is blindness or darkness, the transition from a state of sin to a state of holiness is a transition from darkness into light; men are said to be renewed unto knowledge, i.e. knowledge is the effect of regeneration, conversion is said to be effected by the revelation of Christ; the rejection of Him as the Son of God and Saviour of men is referred to the fact that the eyes of those who believe not are blinded by the god of this world.

But Jehovah's Witnesses, being unregenerate themselves, do not see and accept this. Therefore we can never reason with them, we can only testify of the hope which is in us.

Their Bible Proofs←↰⤒🔗

Their publications are full of Bible texts and at first sight it seems as if they have proved their point. But when we read the whole passage, we discover that in most cases they have quoted out of context. We then see that the real meaning is different from the first impression we got. Whenever we are talking with Jehovah's Witnesses and they quote a Bible passage, we must look up the passage, read it in its context and try to find the real meaning, before we allow them to proceed with their recital.

Their Doctrine of Hell←↰⤒🔗

The fundamental error of the Jehovah's Witnesses is not found in their denial of the divinity of Christ, their rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, or in some of their other heresies. No, all those errors come forth from their denial of the eternal and everlasting punishing of those who reject God. If there is no hell, then there is no real punishment for sin. Then sin is not so terrible after all; then we do not need a Saviour, who is both God and man.

Russell (after reading the works of Ellen G. White) rejected the Bible doctrine of hell, and ever since, the Jehovah's Witnesses have tried to prove that hell is the grave.

In The Truth that leads to Eternal Life they state,

In the Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible the word 'hell' is translated from the Hebrew word Sheol. This word occurs 65 times in all. The King James Version of the Bible, however, translates Sheol 31 times as 'hell', 31 times as 'grave' and 3 times as 'pit'.

What they try to prove is that this word should always be translated as "grave.” But the problem is that it cannot be always translated in this way; neither can it always be translated as "hell.” The word "sheol" in the Old Testament means the place of the unseen dead and it was mainly thought of as the place where the wicked went. Although believers in the O.T. talked about their going to "Sheol", we find the remarkable fact that only of Dathan and Abiram it is said that they went there.

The Watchtower publication Let God Be True states,

The scientists and surgeons have come to the conclusion that man is simply a higher form of animal life, having a more complex organism and capable of exercising faculties beyond those of any of the other forms of animal life.

Man is just an animal and with death everything is finished until the resurrection. They do not believe in consciousness after death. Therefore they have to accept that "Hell is the grave.”

But in Amos 9:2 we see that "they are alive, though they are already physically dead.”

In many other places the word "sheol" refers to a place where there is consciousness after death.

In the N.T. we find much more revealed about life after death. The terms used there are "Hades" (the O.T. Sheol) and "Gehenna.” Gehenna is the real Hell, the place of everlasting torment. N.T. proof for the everlasting punishing is found in Matthew 8:11, 12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; Luke 13:24-28; II Peter 2:17; Jude 13; Revelation 14:9-11; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8.

Martin says,

Jehovah's Witnesses know beyond doubt that if Jesus is Jehovah-God then every one of them is going to a flaming hereafter; and hell they fear above all else. This no doubt explains a great deal of their antagonism to the doctrines of the Trinity and Hell. The Witnesses, it must be remembered, consistently berate the Trinity doctrine as 'of the Devil' and never tire proclaiming that the 'Bible Hell is the grave'. The thought of being punished in unquenchable fire for their disobedience to God is probably the strongest bond that binds the Watchtower's flimsy covers together.

This leads to their next error.

The Denial of the Deity of Christ←⤒🔗

Their View of Christ←↰⤒🔗

Jehovah's Witnesses have gone back to the old Arian heresy. They say that Christ was God's "only-begotten" Son in that He is the only one directly created by Jehovah God; all other things came into existence through Him as God's Chief Agent. But there was a time that He was not.

As a Spirit being He existed in heaven; this Spirit being was changed into a perfect human being (as Adam was before the Fall) and after His death and burial, He was resurrected again as a Spirit and as such He ascended into heaven.

His second "presence" (they do not speak about the second "coming") began in 1914. He is here! But invisibly.

The Person of Christ←↰⤒🔗

The Early Church accepted the Biblical view that Christ was the only-begotten Son of God. Irenaeus wrote:

Therefore we can set aside the objection of them that say, 'If he was born at that time it follows that Christ did not exist before then'. For we have shown that the Son of God did not then begin to exist since he existed with the Father always.

But every time there were heretics who denied that Christ was truly God; others denied that He was truly man. The first centuries saw quite a few struggles against heretics such as the Docetists, who denied that Christ had a real human body; Arius, who asserted "that there was (a time) when the Son was not"; (The words "a time" were not in the original Arian statement, because he knew quite well that the Son was begotten "before time"); and Apollinarius, who denied that Christ had a human soul. The Council of Chalcedon declared in 451 that Christ was truly God and truly man:

One Person, the Eternal Son of God, having a divine and a human nature.

The Humanity of Christ←↰⤒🔗

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ became a perfect human being, as Adam was before the Fall. Because they deny the existence of the soul, they do not only say that He was sinless, but also that His body was a perfect body.

The Bible, however, teaches us that it was a humiliation for Christ that He came "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3). (Becoming human was in itself not a humiliation; otherwise Christ would still be in a state of humiliation.) He became poor, that we might be rich (II Corinthians 8:9); He took upon Him the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7).

We therefore confess that He really assumed "the true human nature with all its infirmities, sin excepted" (Belgic Confession, XVIII).

We also believe that "He has not changed the reality of His Human nature" (B.C., XVIII).

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when Jesus was resurrected, He became a Spirit. The body in which He showed Himself to the disciples was a "materialized body" to prove that he really had been raised from the dead.

Scripture teaches us that every high priest is taken from among men (Hebrews 5:1); Jesus, our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 6:20), our Mediator, is man (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6). The Son of Man will return from heaven to this earth (Matthew 26:64) and the earth will be judged by a man (Acts 17:31).

The Deity of Christ←↰⤒🔗

Although Jehovah's Witnesses are willing to concede that Christ is a god, or even a mighty god, yet they deny that He is Almighty God. They say that Jehovah is Almighty God. Christ, being another person, is created by Jehovah and is therefore not equal and co-eternal with the Father.

We believe that Jesus Christ according to His divine nature is the only begotten Son of God, begotten from eternity, not made, nor created (for then He would be a creature), but co-essential and co-eternal with the Father, the very image of his substance and the effulgence of his glory, equal unto Him in all things.

What is the basis of our belief? Is this really the teaching of the Bible? Many of us often have difficulties when we have to defend our faith over against the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Bible Teaches us Clearly that Christ is God, Because←↰⤒🔗

1. It explicitly asserts the Deity of the Son. John 1:1; 20:28; Philippians 2:6; Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20.

2. It applies divine names to Him. Isaiah 9:6, 40:3 (cf. Matthew 3:3); Jeremiah 23:5, 6; Joel 2:32 (cf, Acts 2:21)

3. It ascribes to Him divine attributes, such as eternal existence, Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 2; Revelations 1:8, 22:13. Omnipresence, Matthew 18:20, 28:20. Omniscience, John. 2:24, 25; Revelations 2:23. Omnipotence, Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 3:21. Immutability, Hebrews 1:10-12, 13:8 all divine attributes, Colossians 2:9.

4. It speaks of Him as doing divine works, such as creation, John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2, 10. Providence, Luke 10:22; John 3:35; Colossians 1:17. The forgiveness of sins, Matthew 9: 2-7; Mark 2:7-10. Resurrection and judgment, Matthew 25:31, 32; Acts 10:42; II Timothy 4:1. The renewal of all things, Philippians 3:21; Revelation 21:5.

5. It accords Him divine honour. John 5:22, 23, 14:1; Hebrews 1:6; Matthew 28:17.

6. Several places in the Old Testament which mention Jehovah are applied in the New Testament to Christ, proving that Jehovah and Christ are one. He is Lord of Lords, Deuteronomy 10:17; Revelation 19:16.

• He is the Rock, Deuteronomy 32:4; 1 Corinthians 10:4.

• He is the Stumbling Block, Isaiah 8:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:8.

• He is the Shepherd, Psalms 23:1; John 10:14.

• He is coming with the Saints, Zechariah 14:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:13.

• He is the Lord of Glory, Psalms 24; 1 Corinthians 2:8.

• He is the First and the Last, Isaiah 48:12; Revelations 22:13.

• He is the One whom Isaiah saw, Isaiah 6:1-10; John. 12:39-41.

Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to accept these Biblical teachings. They have a few texts, which they explain their way, such as "The Father is greater than I" (John 14:28), and they try to reason that the Deity of Christ is impossible, because, "If Jesus was God, then during Jesus' death God was dead in the grave."

The Trinity←↰⤒🔗

Because Jesus is not accepted as equal with the Father, there cannot be such a thing as the Trinity. They state of the Holy Spirit that it is the power of God and see Him as the active force of God, not as a Person.

Because the Trinity cannot be understood by our small human brains, it cannot exist, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses.

We, however, believe in One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Atonement←↰⤒🔗

Adam had sinned and, ever since, all his descendants are born imperfect and sinful; they inherit sin and death from him.

Jesus, the perfect human being, laid down his life as a ransom for many. Not for Adam, because he sinned willfully. There is no ransom for him.

But everyone else can avail himself of this ransom. The only thing they have to do is believe in it, give God credit for it, and demonstrate this conviction by devoting themselves to God and by informing others about the ransom. Then they will have a possibility of receiving eternal life.

This is the doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is very far removed from the Scriptural teaching that Christ's death is a satisfaction for our sins that He took on Himself the curse which lay on us.

We believe that through His death we are justified, that we are reconciled with God. Although the Jehovah's witnesses may use these terms, they give them a completely different meaning.

This is also caused by the fact that a lot of N.T. passages, which we rightly apply to believers, are not applied by the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses to themselves.

Why not? Because there are two different groups of Jehovah's Witnesses.

• The first consists of the 144,000 (Revelation 7:4). They are the children of God, the little flock, the members of Christ's body, the anointed ones. They will not be resurrected with a body, but they will be spirits, who will rule with Christ in heaven. They are the only ones who are allowed to partake of the Lord's Supper. They are the children of God and His heirs. (Romans 8:16, 17). In 1960 there were 13,911 of them.

• The other ones are not born again and never will be. They are the Jonadabs (Jeremiah 35; 2 Kings 10:15, 23; 1 Chronicles 2:55), which do not belong to Israel, but are strangers, who have a certain relation with Israel arid with the God of Israel. They are the "other sheep" (John 10:16). They do not expect to go to heaven. They have been promised everlasting life on earth – at least, if they qualify for it.

They may address Jehovah as 'Our Father', for, during Christ's thousand-year reign, they become the earthly children of the Life-giver Christ Jesus and hence are technically in the position of being 'grandchildren' of God. In Scripture the grandfather is often referred to as “father.”

The 144,000 do not need a Mediator, for they are the body of Christ. For both classes believe that Christ brings them only to the stage where Adam was before the Fall. From there on, they must do it themselves. And they are really not even there, because they are still imperfect. They will be made perfect, if they are obedient to God's commandments. This means for the majority of the Jehovah's Witnesses, if they are obedient to the commandments of the "faithful and wise servant class", as the 144,000 are also called. To whom the "little flock" is responsible is not stated, for they cannot put this down in normal publications.

Both groups will get their everlasting reward, not through faith in the finished work of Christ, but through works. They even say that the offer of Christ is not complete, but that it will be completed by the persecutions of the Jehovah's Witnesses. (This is the reason why a lot of conflicts with Churches and Governments are provoked by the Jehovah's Witnesses.)

The Resurrection of Christ←↰⤒🔗

They believe that Christ was raised from the dead as a spiritual being. "For forty days after that, he materialized as angels before him had done, to show himself alive to his disciples as witnesses." He could not be resurrected as a human being, for that would have meant taking back the ransom price.

They are completely unscriptural here, for

• The tomb was empty (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16; John 20:1-9).

• Jesus showed Thomas the print of the nails, to prove that He was really the one who was crucified (John 20:27).

• His body would be raised (John 2:19-22).

• He will come back with His human body.

Although they will try to explain away many Bible passages concerning the resurrection of Christ, I have never yet met a Jehovah's Witness who could give an answer to John 2:21.

The Last Things←⤒🔗

The Return of Jesus Christ←↰⤒🔗

Because Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ was resurrected as a spirit, they also believe that His return will be as a spirit. In fact, it has happened already. Didn't you know? The Jehovah's Witnesses have been advertising the King and the Kingdom since the First World War. All their meeting halls are called "Kingdom Halls.” In 1914 Christ Jesus was enthroned as King by Jehovah. In the spring of 1918 He came as the messenger of Jehovah to the temple (the earth) and the judgment began of the "house of God" (the 144,000). Those of the Witnesses who had died, from the apostles onward to that date, were resurrected as spirits and went to heaven. The rest of the little flock will be changed into spirits as soon as they die.

The date 1914 was calculated by Russell. In 607 B.C. Zedekiah was brought to Babel and the temple was destroyed; the times of the Gentiles began, which would last seven times (Daniel 4:10-17), which is 2520 years (Revelation 12:6, 14). From 607 B.C. to 1914 is 2520 years.

It is really a pity that the destruction of Jerusalem was in 587 B.C. and not in 607 B.C. (Some scholars say that it was in 586 B.C.)

Aside from the fact that this reckoning is completely wrong, we believe that the Bible clearly teaches a visible return of our Lord. (Titus 2:13; Matthew 24:30; Zechariah 12:10 with Revelation 1:7; Zechariah 14:4 with Acts 1:9-12; 1 Timothy 6:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).

The Resurrections←↰⤒🔗

Jehovah's Witnesses believe in several resurrections.

8. Those of the 144,000 who had died before 1918 were at that moment resurrected. The rest were changed (or will be changed) at death.

9. After Armageddon there will be a series of resurrections.

10. Those Jonadabs who died before Armageddon will be first resurrected.

11. Those witnesses who lived before Christ's coming as a human being will be the next to be resurrected.

12. The most important ones, such as Abraham, Moses, and David, will rule as earthly princes under Christ and His 144,000 spirits.

13. Those persons who "practised vile things" (John 5:27-29) will be the last to be resurrected. They will have a second chance.

Armageddon←↰⤒🔗

Some time in the near future, Satan will bring the nations of the world together and they will fight against Christ and His host. The wicked people will be destroyed forever. Satan will be bound for a literal 1000 years. Those who survive this battle of Armageddon are the people of good will, the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Millennium←↰⤒🔗

During the Millennium sin and its results will be gradually taken away. The children born (those who survive Armageddon will continue to procreate and they will fill the earth) have full opportunity for life. But those who do not want to serve Jehovah will be executed. The unrighteous persons who have been resurrected are instructed in God's law. At the end of the 1000 years Satan has the opportunity to turn mankind against Jehovah. Those who support him will be destroyed (for the second time) together with Satan himself. After this the world everlasting comes. A hell does not exist.

Some Contradictions←↰⤒🔗

The dates mentioned in a previous section are those which the Jehovah's Witnesses believe at the present moment. But they have not always believed those.

Russel first said that Christ came back in 1874; the true believers were then resurrected as spirits; the end of the world would come in 1914. In that time they did not count with a Jonadab class, because there were not so many Witnesses. Russell changed this idea later on and said that Christ returned in 1874 to the upper air and in 1914 to his temple. Rutherford changed the coming to his temple to 1918. Nothing happened and then Rutherford predicted the end of the world for 1925.

W. J. Sehnell writes:

I well remember that in the fall of 1924 my father offered to buy me a much needed suit of clothes. I asked him not to do it since it was only a few months to 1925, and with it would come the Kingdom. This now seems utterly ridiculous to me. Even if the Kingdom as expected had come, I meanwhile very badly needed new clothes.

But 1925 did not bring the Kingdom; the house specially built for the earthly princes (Abraham, David, etc.) remained empty. They dropped the date 1925, holding to 1914 and 1918 in the sense we have seen before.

Some Typical Jehovah's Witnesses' Ideas←⤒🔗

The Cross←↰⤒🔗

The Jehovah's Witnesses are against the cross in every idea or form. According to them Jesus died on a stake, not on a cross. They state that the cross had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau (or T, the initial of his name).” Even if this origin is true, the Bible states that the believers in Ezekiel 9 got a mark on their foreheads (verse 4). The Hebrew text says here literally "set a Tau upon the foreheads of …", and this tau was written at that time in the form of a cross (cf. New Bible Dictionary, p.1346).

Christian Feast Days←↰⤒🔗

Days such as Christmas and Easter are of pagan origin and should therefore not be celebrated, for it is displeasing to God.

Blood Transfusion←↰⤒🔗

Because Leviticus 17:11 states that the life is in the blood and Genesis 9:3,4 says1 that we are not allowed to eat blood, they do not accept blood transfusions. They would rather die or let their children die.

Human Government←↰⤒🔗

According to them, the Anglo-American empire is the seventh world power. The United Nations is the eighth king of Revelation 17. They do not recognize any government; they refuse service in the army and they do not salute the flag (this would foe idolatry). The worst thing is that they themselves are looking for conflicts, because then they will be persecuted.

How to Approach a Jehovah's Witness←⤒🔗

Whenever we meet a Jehovah's Witness, we must make sure that we do not argue about some minor point; neither must we be impressed by the flow of texts which they string together. Talk about the important things, such as the Deity of Christ and show them the Biblical truth from the whole Bible. It is not important that we can win an argument, but we must witness of the hope which is in us. Show them that everyone who believes is a child of God. Tell them and prove it from the Bible that the Holy Spirit "Will dwell in the hearts of everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as his Lord and his God.”

Rev. H. J. Spier wrote a short talk for use in contacts with Jehovah's Witnesses (De Jehovah's getuigen en de Bijbel, p. 138-140). Freely translated it is as follows:

Friend.

They call you a "Jonadab.” This name is taken from the Old Testament; do you understand what I mean by this?

The "Jonadabs" were Rechabites, who lived amongst the Israelites but did not belong to them. This is also the case with you. You do not belong to them. To God's people. To His children. To those for whom there is a place in the house of the Father. To those who go into God's Kingdom. To those who celebrate the Lord's Supper.

That is not for you. They say that you belong to the "other sheep", who will have a happy life on earth. Maybe you don't mind? Why should you want to go to heaven?

One thing, however, is terrible. Namely, that you cannot be a real child of God. For you are not anointed. You do not have the "spirit.” You may stand at the gate and you may look at the others who go inside.

But God's temple, His heavenly sanctuary remains closed for you … You will be placed at the earthly depot, a place of less importance. You belong to the employees, to the labourers – those others, I refer to the 144,000, are your employers, your spiritual rulers, your monarchs.

You are not allowed to determine for yourself what you will believe – those others prompt you in every single word in The Watchtower. Do not try to have your own opinion. That is not allowed. Then you are thrown out.

Somebody is looking at you. That is Jesus Christ. He says: Do not be afraid that you have to stand in the back row. Or that you are relegated to a lesser world. "Behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last" (Luke 13:30).

Friend, Jesus has a very special interest in persons such as you, who are slighted by others. He says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

Listen to Jesus' prayer: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matthew 11:25). Do you belong to those babes? Then you may belong to those who in the Bible are called "the many", who will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11).

I read in the publications of the Jehovah's Witnesses that Abraham is destined for the earth only, that he belongs to those other sheep. But here in the Bible Jesus says otherwise.

They will exclude Abraham. They will also exclude you! But Jesus will let you in. If you only believe in His Name. Then for you too it is stated in black and white that as many has received Him, who believe on His Name, to them He gave power to become sons of God (John 1:12). But you have to believe with your whole heart in Jesus Christ as God's own Son.

Please do not believe in an angel or an archangel.

Believe in Him, who is God-with-us. Then the gate will be opened for you. The gate of God's Kingdom. The gate of Paradise and of the glory of heaven, which will become one.

Then there will be a place for you at the marriage feast of the Lamb. Then Christ will compel you to come into His house (Luke 14:23). This may sound strange to you, but then you may be that faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord shall make ruler over His household (Luke 12:42).

But you have to watch until the Lord comes: do not let yourself be paralysed by the idea that He has returned in secret.

I have received this message from Headquarters, especially for you. And those Headquarters are in heaven, with Christ. And the channel, the only channel, through which this message comes, is the Bible, the Word of God.