Let's turn to Galatians chapter number one this evening, the book of Galatians, the chapter one, we welcome you. Thank you for joining with us on a beautiful spring evening, and it is a holiday week for some, and I trust that many will return to us next week, but we're glad that you're here, and so let's read from Galatians chapter one, and we'll begin at the verse number one. Paul, an apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. And all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of Galatia, grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, He might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed as we said before so I say now again if any man preach any other gospel unto you that not ye have received let him be accursed. We'll end our reading at the verse number nine there of the book of Galatians and the chapter number one. Through the penmanship of the apostle Paul God is very clear with regard to his judgment on those who would pervert the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and preach a counterfeit gospel. Such is said to be accursed of God. We read that in the verse number eight. But though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you. Let him be accursed. And again in verse nine, as we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be Accursed. The word accursed means devoted to destruction. Devoted to destruction. All leaders and propagators of false religions will therefore find themselves on that final day accursed of God, having deceived millions if not billions of souls with regard to God and his way of salvation. A way that is certainly set forth clearly for us within the pages of the Scriptures of truth. Now, as I indicated on the Lord's Day Pass, I want to consider a cult that boasts of having a global following of almost 8.7 million people and has missionaries in 239 countries. You imagine how many missionaries we have and the number that we have as a denomination, the countries that are reached with regard to our small assembly and our church. We certainly do not reach 239 countries. According to their own published figures in Great Britain, this cult has 140,000 followers who assemble in 1,611 congregations. In Ireland, There are 7,341 adherents who meet in 120 congregations. The cult that I want to speak about this evening are known as the Russellites. You maybe know them better by a different name, the Jehovah Witnesses. I want you to think with me with regard to this cult, this false religion. There are a number of matters I want to speak about. I want you to think about, first of all, their history and their background. Really, their history revolves around three key personalities. The Russellites, or the Jehovah Witnesses, was a movement that was established, formed, founded by a man by the name of Charles Taze Russell. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1852. Charles's parents were Presbyterians and they were of Scots-Irish descent. Young Charles, he took exception to the Bible's teaching on two doctrines, the doctrines of predestination and the doctrine of eternal punishment. And so at the age of 17, he left, as it were, his roots, his Presbyterian roots, and he went to a basement hall and he heard some views on Second Adventism from a man by the name of Jonas Weldell. Russell would join the group, but he disliked again the Adventist view with regard to Christ's second coming. They taught that Christ, as we teach, was going to come again in the flesh. But Charles didn't agree with that. He believed that the second coming of Christ would be more spiritual in nature than actual physical in nature. And thus, he broke his ties with that Adventist group and he launched out into his own. He was then joined by another disillusioned Adventist, a man by the name of Barber. And as a result of them two men coming together, they decided to publish a monthly magazine that was called Herald of the Morning. Because of disagreements between those men, and I trust that you can see maybe a little connecting theme there, it seems to be that Charles Russell really didn't get on with anybody. And brethren and sisters, you'll find that. You'll find that at times within the work of God that there will be people and they just seem to move here, there and everywhere. And they eventually go into error. They eventually go into error. Well, they parted their ways. There was a disagreement. And as a result, Russell then produced his own magazine. He published it in 1879 and it was known as Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Today that magazine is simply known as the Watchtower Magazine. Charles Tez Russell died in 1916 and he was succeeded by an attorney, a lawyer by the name of Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford. During his days, the movement was called the Dawn Bible Students Association. But in 1939, Rutherford claimed that an angel appeared to him and told him that he needed to change the name of the organization. And that was done on the basis of words that we find in Isaiah chapter number 43, if you want to turn there, in the verses 10 and 13. Isaiah chapter 43 verses 10 and 13. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, or saith Jehovah, my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Verse number 13. Verse number 12, I have declared and I have saved, I have showed when there was no strange God among you. Therefore, ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Jehovah witnesses, the witnesses of Jehovah. And thus this angelic appearance was, according to Rutherford, the momentum or the very thing that caused him to change the name of the organization. Now Rutherford died in 1942 and he was replaced by a man called Nathan Homer Knorr. Knorr probably dealt more to build the Watchtower Movement than any other of its previous leaders. When he became the leader of the Watchtower Movement it totaled some 115,000 people but by the time that he had left, it had totaled over two million people. Imagine that, the swell of the organization during his leadership. It was during his leadership that the New World Translation of the Bible was produced in 1961. And we'll get onto that at the end of the message. He died in 1977. So that's a little bit about the background. Really, it's history as a cult revolves around these three men, Russell, Rutherford, and Knorr. What is the structure of the Jehovah Witness movement? Well, each Jehovah Witness assembly is organized under a hierarchical leadership. Believes itself to be an extension of God's heavenly kingdom on earth. Each congregation is served by a group of locally recommended meal elders who really take the responsibility for the congregational government, the meeting times, speakers, conducting meetings, as well as judicial committees to decide really disciplinary action for breaches of the scriptural law within the assembly. But overseeing those local congregations, there is what is known as the governing body. And really that functions under six committees. They carry out various administrative functions. There is what is known as the personnel committee. Really that committee arranges for volunteers to serve in the organization's headquarters as well as in its worldwide branches. There is then secondly the publishing committee and that really supervises the printing, the publishing and the shipping of literature as well as legal matters involved in printing such as obtaining property for printing facilities. There is the service committee, really supervises the evangelistic activity of the Jehovah Witness movement. There is the teaching committee, really involved in arranging congregational meetings, circuit assemblies, regional and international conventions, as well as various schools for elders and ministerial servants, pioneers and missionaries. There is the writing committee, supervises the writing and translation of all the material published by the Watchtower Society and will respond to questions about scriptural and doctrine and moral issues, specific problems within congregations and the standing of members within congregations. Then finally there is the Coordinators Committee. It deals with emergencies, disaster relief and other matters such as investigations. as it were, a veil of secrecy really over the Jehovah Witness movement. It seems to be that their finances, it seems to be it's very hard to actually gauge how much they're worth, as it were, as an organisation. It seems to be that they're very reluctant to release such information to the government. But that's really simply a brief background. We don't want to go into much, really, its history and its structure, but really want to drill down into their doctrine. What do they believe? And more importantly, what do they not believe? I want to think of that under a number of headings. First of all, I want us to think about what they believe about God. There are a number of subtopics that would really radiate out from this overarching subject matter of God. Let me think first of all about the Jehovah Witnesses and their teaching on the Trinity. the Trinity. Whenever the Westminster Confession of Faith was drawn up, formulated in the 17th century, Westminster divines, they wrote in chapter 2 and section 3, in the unity of the Godhead there be three persons. One substance, power and eternity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. In that definition, the divines were simply setting forth the biblical teaching of the Trinity. That fundamental doctrine of Christianity that affirms, yes, that there is only one true God, But in the unity of the Godhead, there are three co-eternal and co-equal persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are Trinitarian. We are Trinitarians. We believe in the Trinity, Dutch reformed theologians. Hermann Bavnick, he said this, every theological error results from or upon deeper reflection is traceable to a departure in the doctrine of the Trinity. He places every theological error at the doorstep of a departure from the doctrine of the Trinity. And such is true with the Jehovah Witnesses. They do not believe in the triune God. They believe that really the Trinity came from an ancient Babylonian paganism, Charles Russell. this founder of the Jehovah Witnesses, he said this about the Trinity. How the great adversary, speaking of Satan, ever succeeded in fostering it, speaking of the Trinity, upon the Lord's people to bewilder and to mystify them and to render the Word of God none effect is the real mystery. He went on to say, the obvious conclusion, therefore, is that Satan is the originator of the Trinity doctrine. Satan is the originator of the Trinity doctrine. The JWs, they'll employ verses such as that one so familiar to us there in Deuteronomy 6 verse 4. They use it to refute the Trinity. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. is one lord now this verse clearly sets forth obviously that there is only one god and yet taken in isolation yes they can form their unitarianism believing that there is only one god but yet they leave aside other verses of Scripture that remind us that there are three persons within the Godhead. There are three persons that are ascribed the title God in the Scripture. We have God the Father, we have God the Son, and we have God the Holy Spirit. There are three separate persons who are called God, as I said, and they have attributes that only God can have take for example that great word there at the very first at the very beginning of the word of god genesis chapter one and the verse number one in the beginning in the beginning god it is the word elohim plural in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth the word god there is in the plural The word created is in the singular. God and his three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, involved in the creation of the world. And thus it goes on to say, when God created man, let us make man in our image. Us speaking of a plurality of persons within the Godhead, speaking, communicating one with another. Communication is an attribute of personality, of existence. And they spoke one to another within the Godhead. Let us make man in our image, they said. And so, This thought that there is no Trinity, this thought that God is only but one God is refuriated. Matthew 18 verse 19, all three persons of the Godhead are referred to there equally in dignity and in authority. Sorry, Matthew 28, verse 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There's the three persons within the Godhead. And there are other passages. Let me quote them to you. 2 Corinthians 13, verse 14. 1 Peter 1, verse 2. Ephesians 2, 18. Jude, verse 20 and 21. Isaiah 48 and the verse 16, all referring to a plurality within the Godhead, and so the Trinity, they deny the Trinity. But what about their teaching about Jesus Christ? You'll find this, brethren and sisters, as we go through all of these false religions, you'll find that they will always make error, they will always diverge from Scripture when it comes to the person of Jesus Christ. That's why Christ asks, what think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? It's always a test. And so you always take them to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, to summarize what the Jehovah Witnesses believe, they believe that Jesus Christ was Jehovah's first creation. They actually believe him to be Michael the archangel. Jesus Christ, they believe, is Michael the archangel. They believe that Jesus Christ came to earth as a man. that he forsook his angelic position in heaven, and he lived and he died only as a man. They believe that he rose again from the dead, but not in body, but rather as a spirit, with his own physical body being destroyed by Jehovah. He ascended back to heaven as a spirit creature, and he then assumed again the position of Michael the archangel. And so they believe that Jesus Christ is no more, no less than simply an archangel. They do not believe him to be the Son of God. However, biblical Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son. We only have to go to the Savior's baptism when heaven opens and the voice from heaven declares from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. We read other scriptures concerning God being the only begotten. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that word there in Genesis, or John 3, verse 16, only begotten Son, is monogenes, and it literally means unique or one of a kind, one of a kind, the unique Son of God. That's who was given, the one of a kind was given to us. Jesus Christ is not the chief prince, as they would say, one of the chief princes, Daniel 10 verse 13. But rather, he is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. Now, the Jehovah Witness may take you to Colossians 1 verse 15. There we read that Jesus Christ is the firstborn of creation. And they will say, well, there you go. He's the firstborn of creation. He was created. He wasn't the eternal son. But there was a time when he did not exist, and then the Father created him. He is the firstborn of creation. But is that the interpretation that we give to Colossians 1, verse 15? Well, the word there, and you'll not need to know it anyway, but I'll give it to you anyway. It's the Greek word prototekos. It simply means first in rank, preeminent one, heir. The word carries the idea of of positional preeminence, of positional supremacy. Jesus Christ being termed as the firstborn of creation is given this title in the sense that he is positionally preeminent over creation and is supremely governing over the governor over all things. I believe that one of the best ways to establish the doctrine of the Trinity is, and thereby to correct the thinking of the Jehovah Witnesses, is to get them to establish that Jesus Christ is God. If that can be established from Scripture, if we can establish that Jesus Christ is God, then the Jehovah Witness will have to affirm that there is more than one person within the Godhead. There's not only Jehovah, as it were, the Father, but there is also Jesus Christ, the Son, and automatically then God, the Holy Spirit. And so there is the need then to establish, is Jesus Christ God? And there's various ways that we can do that. First of all, divine attributes are attributed to Jesus Christ. John 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Who is this Word? This is the Word of whom we read off later on in the chapter, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. This is speaking of Jesus Christ. And so we have eternity. Something that is given only to God. An attribute that belongs to God. This infinite eternal one. Eternity is attributed to God. Immutability is attributed to God. Hebrews 1 verse 12. What about those lovely words there in Hebrews 13 verse 8? Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday and today and forever. He's the same. He never changes. This attribute of immutability. What about His on my presence? Matthew 28, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And though Jesus Christ said, I am with you always, even on to the end of the world. I'm with thee, my on my presence. That cannot be said of an angel, of a man, of a being, created being. On my presence. his attributes divine works are attributed to christ will run through these creation colossians 1 15 preservation hebrews 113 he's upholding all things by the word of his power Does an angel do that? No. This is God. All miracles prove Christ's deity. His resurrection proves that He is the Son of God. Salvation, what a work that is. And that work, who's that attributed to? Who does Jonah attribute salvation to? He attributes it to Jehovah. Salvation, he said, is of the Lord, is of Jehovah. But Jesus Christ said, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. I shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And so we have salvation attributed to Jehovah, but salvation is attributed to Jesus Christ. Who is this imposter, the Jehovah Witness should ask? He's claiming to be a savior, the one who sees, but only Jehovah sees. Ah, therefore, this must be Jehovah. This must be Jehovah. Worship is directed to Christ. Do you remember whenever John tried to worship the angel in the book of the Revelation? What did the angel do? The angel said, no, don't worship me, worship God. because worship is to be directed to God and God alone. Hebrews 1 verse 6, and again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he said, let all the angels of God worship him. And they did worship him. Do you remember there in Bethlehem's, Judea's hills? They worshiped him, they sang his praises. This is a good day, they said, a day of glad tidings. And then accompanying the angel there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. The angels worshipped him because he was no angel. He was the firstborn, the first begotten of God. And so they err on the doctrine of Jesus Christ. What about on the doctrine of God the Holy Spirit? Well, the Jehovah Witnesses, they teach that the Holy Spirit is what is known as an impersonal force, or they call the Holy Spirit an active force. In the New World Translation, which is the Bible of the Jehovah Witnesses, the word Spirit is never capitalized. However, as we note from Scripture, there are personal works or acts attributed to the Spirit of God. He comforts, He guides, He leads. These are things that only persons or people beings can do, not forces, not impersonal active forces. He speaks of himself there in Acts chapter 10 in the verse 19, Acts 13 in the verse number 2. They're sent out by the Holy Spirit, the disciples, the missionaries, Paul and Barnabas. The Spirit of God sends them out. He sent them out, we're told. You see that he is personally distinct from the Father and Son. Along with denying his personality, they deny his deity. They speak of him as the invisible force of Almighty God. However, there are many verses that we could point to. Isaiah 6, verse 9, Jehovah speaks, and then that is repeated in Acts chapter 28, verse 26 and 27. Jehovah is speaking here, but then in Acts 28, it is attributed to the Spirit of God, those words. And so the Spirit of God is speaking words that are attributed to Jehovah. Trust that makes sense. Isaiah 6 verse 9, Jehovah speaks the words, but then these words are attributed to the Spirit of God in Acts chapter 28. And therefore, the Holy Spirit is indicating that He is Jehovah. He is God. Other divine attributes are attributed to Him, but we have thought about that in previous studies. Now, what about their teaching on salvation? In understanding the Jehovah Witnesses' concept of salvation, one must realize that there are two distinct groups within the organization, and these two groups are saved differently. The first group is known as the anointed class. They're also known as John's class, or the bride class, or the little flock. This group is supposedly comprised of the 144,000 witnesses spoken of there in the book of the Revelation. In Watchtower theology, only members of the anointed class are born again, sanctified and looking to the heavenly home. These chosen ones will reign from heaven with Jesus during the millennial kingdom. But according to Judge Rutherford, leader of the organization, after the death of Russell, he said that that group had already been completed in 1935. So you have no hope being in heaven if you're going to become a Jehovah Witnesses because that's now closed. The 140 are now all brought in. The second class is referred to other sheep or the great crowd. This group really comprises of the vast majority of Witnesses and based, listen to it, based on their works as well as their connection with and their faithfulness to the Jehovah's organization, they are given the opportunity of eternal life on paradise earth after Armageddon and the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. You see, the Jehovah Witnesses believe that salvation requires faith in Christ. We would say amen to that. We believe that. But, they go on to say that they also believe that salvation not only requires faith in Christ, but association with God's organization, which they refer to as their organization, and obedience to its rules. And so they add to faith alone And they add their association, their affiliation with the Jehovah Witness movement, and also the obedience of them with regard to all of its rules and all of its dictates. And so they add to the work of Christ, and they add their own works. And that's true of every false religion. The true biblical religion is the work of Christ alone. That's sufficient to reconcile the sinner to God, but not for false religion. There must be an add-on, the add-on of our works and our efforts in order to merit salvation, in order to merit a place in heaven. This requirement of obedience to the rules of the Jehovah Witness movement really, brethren and sisters, nullifies the gospel. Salvation in the Scripture is based upon God's unmerited favor and not on our works and not on our performance. We're not going to heaven because we've come to prayer meeting tonight. or because we'll go on to the open air and preach there or hand out gospel tracts, or be involved in the Sunday school work or children's work. We're saved by grace and by grace alone. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith. Titus 3, verses 4 through to 8, they speak to us about how we're saved on the ground of grace and the mercy of God. Good works are the fruit, they're not the basis of salvation. It's the fruit, not the root. Quickly, time is away. The soul of man, they don't believe that there's a part of man that continues to exist consciously after death. They insist that human beings entirely cease to exist at the moment of physical death, and thus they are annihilationists. They're annihilationists, they deny that that humans have a soul or any spiritual component to their being. They claim, and I quote, the soul is the entire creature, not something inside that survives the death of the body. Therefore, according to the JWs, man doesn't have a soul, man is a soul. He doesn't have a soul, but he is a soul. The JWs believe the term soul simply means living, breathing, a physical being. However, the Scriptures teach something different. Yes, there is a physical component to man, this is our body, but there is also a spiritual component to man, the body, the soul. You think of what Jesus Christ said. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10 verse 28, and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. So how does the Jehovah Witness get around that? If they deny the existence of the soul, Jesus Christ spoke of those two constituent parts, the physical part, the spiritual part. Scripture speaks about the immortality of the soul. After death, thank God, we as God's people will go to be with Christ. The soul will be with Christ. The body will be buried to be reunited at the resurrection and embodying soul in the new glorified body will enjoy heaven for all of eternity. But the soul of the believer is in as unconscious woe in hell. Luke chapter 16. And so that follows on. If they don't believe in the soul, they also don't believe in hell and eternal punishment. Remember Charles Taze Russell? Remember he didn't like his upbringing, two doctrines, predestination and eternal punishment. Well, he has made sure that he's done away with eternal punishment and hell. They do not believe in a place of eternal punishment. Let me quote Charles Russell. His studies in scriptures, volume one, page 128. Eternal torture is nowhere suggested in the Old Testament scriptures. And only a few statements in the New Testament can be so misconstrued as to appear to teach it. In his book, Let God Be True, Russell said this, the doctrine of burning hell, where the wicked are tortured eternally after death, cannot be true. I looked up on their official website, there was a question asked, is hell a place of eternal suffering? The reply is given, no. The article went on to say, the idea of eternal torment is repugnant to God. Such an idea is contrary to the Bible's teaching that God is love. He wants us to worship him out of love, not fear of eternal torment. And thus, like many other religions, They place the attribute of God's love as his principal attribute, but we know that God's principal attribute is his holiness, his holiness. We learn, Matthew 5, Luke 16, Matthew 25, Jude 7, Revelation 4, Revelation 20, we read and we learn that hell is a real place of conscious, eternal suffering. Let's think about then, finally, the Word of God. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was published in 1961. Now, that New World Translation is unique in that it is the first intentional systematic effort at producing a complete version of the Bible that is edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing with the Grips doctrine. You see, the Jehovah Witnesses, they started to realize something very, very quickly. It's hard to believe that their beliefs contradicted Scripture. But instead of changing their beliefs to correlate with Scripture, they changed the Scriptures to correlate with their beliefs. And so they simply produced their own Bible. They produced their own Scriptures in order that it would agree with their beliefs. And so the New World Translation, they don't believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross. They'll talk about him on a torture stake, because they don't believe that he died on a cross. The New World Translation doesn't translate the word Sheol, Hades, Gehenna as hell, because they don't believe in hell. But the most well-known perversion is there in John 1, verse 1. I've already quoted the verse. The original Greek, it reads, and the word was God. But the New World Translation renders that phrase, the Word was our God. The Word was our God. To intentionally change the rendering of the original text to conform to Jehovah Witness theology is to contravene the teaching of Revelation 22, verse 18 and 19. When you add to the book, when you take away from the book, so the curse of God is upon such a person. And thus it proves that the New World Translation is not a faithful translation of the Word of God. You can research all this on the internet. I don't have time to go through all of the various issues with the New World Translation. Those are but simply a few. You know, brethren, sisters, The Jehovah Witness believes that he needs, she needs to do those many hours in the door, knocking doors, in order to merit salvation. That's her works. They're obeying their organization. Brethren and sisters, thank God we don't have to spend hours on the doors to secure salvation because, brethren and sisters, Jesus Christ spent three hours. Well, six. But in those three hours of darkness, He spent those hours and he endured the curse and the wrath of God of sin for you and me upon the tree. And as a result of him hanging on the tree, salvation was secured, secured for us at tremendous cost. And so let's pray, pray that God will enlighten the eyes of the understanding of those who adhere to the Jehovah Witnesses and the Jehovah Witness movement, they'll come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and as their Savior, and that they will rest, as we have, in the finished work of Christ, and then be delivered from the blindness and the darkness that they find themselves in. Thank God there are those within our own denomination They have been delivered from the movement. I think of Armin Tomassian's mother-in-law, Armin Tomassian's wife. She was Jehovah Witness. And his mother-in-law delivered, thank God, from the darkness and the ignorance and brought to new life in Jesus Christ. May God deliver such in these days for Christ's sake. Amen. That's Brian prayer. Father in heaven, bless thy word and instruct us ever. Lord, may we ever pray, may we labor. Oh, how busy they are. In spreading a false gospel, how lazy we are at times in spreading the true gospel. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me. Make me zealous for Thee, I pray, in Christ's precious name.