WATCHTOWER - OCTOBER 1, 1998

 

Page 5: As Eugenia had feared, her family put her out of the house. The Witnesses, however, continued to give her spiritual help.

Correction: True witnesses of God would also have helped her physical needs.

James 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

 

Page 5: She comments: "I was strengthened to take a stand for the truth. I realized that it was something worth fighting for. The welcome I received from Jehovah's Witnesses was so important. I felt loved within the Christian congregation. Getting close to God's organization helped me to overcome the fear of having to stand alone."

Correction: True faith in Jesus Christ eliminates fear which allows us to draw near to God.

Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

Page 6: SOME BASIC BELIEFS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

O Jehovah is the almighty God. His personal name appears more than 7,000 times in the earliest manuscripts of the Bible. - Psalm 83:18.

Note: The Tetragrammaton, YHWH, appears only in the Old Testament. The New Testament declares the name of Jesus as the way to eternal life.

Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

O Jesus Christ is God's Son, who came to earth to give his life for humankind. (John 3:16, 17) Jehovah's Witnesses follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as they are found in the Gospels.

Note: The phrase "God's Son" is not found in the Holy Bible.

Correction: Jehovah's Witnesses do not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

O The name of Jehovah's Witnesses is based on Isaiah 43:10, which says: "You are my witnesses," is the utterance of Jehovah.

Correction: Jesus Christ proclaims that we are to be His witnesses.

Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

O The Kingdom that people pray for in the "Our Father" prayer is a heavenly government that will soon take away all the suffering and pain in the world to make room for the Paradise that the Bible promises. - Isaiah 9:6, 7; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:3, 4.

Correction: Jesus Christ Himself take away all the suffering and pain in the world.

Matthew 25:31-34 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'"

Revelation 21:4-5 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

O Everyone who does the will of God has the opportunity to enjoy the Kingdom blessings eternally. - John 17:3; 1 John 2:17.

Note: The will of the Father is for everyone to place their sincere trust in Jesus Christ.

John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

O Christians must mold their behavior by what the Bible says. They must endeavor to be honest, to live a clean, moral life, and to show love to their neighbor.

Correction: The Holy Spirit will help true Christians to be God-pleasers.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

 

Page 8: God's mercy was highlighted for Moses on Mount Sinai. There, Jehovah revealed himself as "a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth." (Exodus 34:6) This declaration emphasizes that mercy is an intrinsic part of Jehovah's personality.

Webster's definition: Mercy - compassion or forbearance to a offender.

Webster's definition: Grace - unmerited divine assistance given to man for his regeneration.

Note: Before the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world, mercy was granted to man by God. True Christians receive the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

 

Page 8: Of course, God's mercy is not limitless. "By no means will he give exemption from punishment," Moses was told. (Exodus 34:7; 2 Peter 2:9) Nevertheless, "God is love," and mercy is a large facet of that quality. (1 John 4:8; James 3:17)

Note: The grace and love of God are found in Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

 

Page 8: Yes, Jesus placed mercy among the "weightier matters" of God's Law. (Matthew 23:23) In contrast, consider the scribes and Pharisees, whose legalistic notions of justice usually eliminated mercy altogether.

Note: The law was given to guard people until Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world.

Galatians 3:23-25 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

 

Page 9: Some of these feel that the environment of God's household is too restrictive, that Jehovah's watchful eye is more of a hindrance than a protection.

Note: The Watchtower equates Jehovah with its "loving elders."

Page 9: When this happens, elders and others with spiritual qualifications strive to readjust the erring one. (Galatians 6:1)

Note: The Watchtower "loving elders" are similar to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus day.

Page 15: The Jewish religious leaders resembled this older son. They believed that they were loyal to God because they strictly adhered to a code of laws. Granted, obedience is vital. (1 Samuel 15:22) But their overemphasis on works turned worship of God into a bookish routine, a mere shell of devotion with no true spirituality.

 

Page 26: I would stay up all night reading the Bible and Bible literature. I learned that Helen was not suffering in purgatory, as the priest had said, but she was sleeping in death.

Correction: There is conscientious after death.

Revelation 6:9-10 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

 

Page 28: Growing in "accurate knowledge" is crucial to your spiritual progress. 'Taking in knowledge of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ' is an ongoing process, not something that ceases after baptism. - John 17:3

Note: Jehovah is the corporate name of God.

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"

Correction: To know the Father and the Son is not taking in knowledge of them.

John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Correction: To know the Father, you must first know the Son.

John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."

 

Page 30: No doubt you cultivated a measure of closeness to God when you first studied the Bible. You learned that God is not the abstract deity worshiped in Christendom, but a person with a name, Jehovah.

Correction: Eternal life is found in the name of Jesus.

1 John 5:13 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.

 

Page 31: Regularly participating in the field service will benefit you in other ways too. It will enhance your appreciation for the truth, nourish your love for Jehovah and neighbor, and help you to keep focused on the Kingdom hope.

Correction: True Christians place their hope in Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 1:1 ...by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,

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