Jehovah
Witnesses-Part 1
All religious groups are guilty of allowing tradition to overrule the
truth of the Word of God, but some are founded upon the traditions of men and
therefore are trusting upon men's ideas for the salvation of their soul! These
religious groups which many label as cults are the ones we will be studying in
the upcoming messages for it is necessary to reveal their errors by magnifying
the Word of God!
The dictionary definition of cult is a good place to start: "1. A
system or community of religious worship and ritual, 2. A religion or religious
sect generally considered to be extremist or bogus 3. Obsessive devotion or
veneration for a person, principle, or ideal, especially when regarded as a
fad." taken from The American Heritage Dictionary.
These definitions accurately describe the
major cults we will be covering
especially definition number two for the majority of the cults found in
the USA today have an obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, usually
the one who began the cult and established the system of beliefs held by it's
adherents/members.
One of the most prominent cults found in the USA is the Jehovah's
Witnesses. This group fits the dictionary definition of a cult precisely. A
system of religious worship which is extreme or bogus with veneration for a
person or ideal.
The Jehovah's Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell in the
1870's. He published a magazine called
'Zion's Watch Tower' later called 'The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'
having a circulation of two million a month by
the 1950's.
He was denounced by a Baptist pastor as an anti-Christian and anti-Bible
fraud causing Russell to sue for 'defamatory libel'. Russell lost the suit and
in turn was convicted for perjury! His dishonesty and lack of morals is on the
record in the police court of Hamilton, Ontario December 9, 1912!
When he died in 1916 'The Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society' was taken
over by Joseph Franklin Rutherford who was Russell's attorney. He introduced the
false idea that each member was one of Jehovah's final witnesses to the
nations, hence, the Jehovah's Witnesses'. The movement spread rapidly under his
leadership as he produced over 100 books and pamphlets translated into many
languages. Rutherford died in 1944.
Their name is falsely premised upon Isaiah 43:10-12 because these verses
in context are addressed to the people of Israel (Isaiah 43:1). But, the
born-again Bible believer is commanded in Acts 1:8 by the Lord Jesus Christ to
be witnesses unto Him, our Savior and Lord!
Acts 1:22, 2:32 & 3:15 also teach the Christian to be witnesses of
the Lord's resurrection, however the Jehovah's Witnesses instead deny the
physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ making them the Jehovah 'false'
Witnesses which they have been since the beginning of their religious
existence!
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