The views of Charles Taze Russell and subsequent Jehovah’s Witness leaders regarding the doctrines of Biblical Christianity are not new; for the most part, they are recent spins on the Arian heresy of the early 4th century and other more recent Scripture-twisting views. Specifically, every Christian should reject the Watchtower’s claims to be the only true church because of its numerous unbiblical views. Ten false doctrines of the Watchtower are being highlighted in this three-part series.

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JW False Doctrine 4: Christ’s atonement denied.

What the Watchtower says:

• Jesus had to “earn” immortality: “Christ Jesus was first to receive immortality as a reward for his faithful course on earth….” (Let God be True, p. 74). “Finishing his earthly course free from flaw in any sense of the word, Jesus was acknowledged by God as justified. He was thus the only man who, through test, stood firmly and positively just, or righteous before God on his own merit…. Jesus Christ, after his faithful course until death was ‘made alive in the spirit,’ given immortality and incorruption” (Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 431).

• JW’s teach that Jesus, fully human but in no way divine, died on a Roman torture stake to exonerate the name of Jehovah and to give mankind an opportunity to earn a place in Paradise Earth. At death, Jesus the man ceased to exist, and three days later Jehovah recreated Jesus as Michael the archangel.

• “The atonement is a ransom paid to Jehovah God by Christ Jesus and is applicable to all who accept it in righteousness. In brief, the death of Jesus removed the effects of Adam’s sin on his offspring and laid the foundation of the New World of righteousness including the Millennium of Christ’s reign.” (Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, p. 52)

• “Jesus died as a “ransom sacrifice” to buy back what Adam lost: the right to perfect life on earth” (10 Questions & Answers on Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 7).

What the Bible teaches:

• Christ’s death at Calvary paid our sin debt and purchased our salvation so that everlasting life is received by grace through faith in the Person and work of Jesus (John 3:16; 5:24; Rom. 4:4-5; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

JW False Doctrine 5: Christ’s bodily resurrection denied.

What the Watchtower says:

• “This firstborn from the dead was raised from the grave, not a human creature, but a spirit.”  (Let God Be True, p. 276)
• JW’s teach that at death, Jesus the man ceased to exist, and three days later Jehovah recreated Jesus as Michael the archangel.
• JW’s must deny Jesus’ bodily resurrection to justify their belief that He returned invisibly in 1914 and is working behind the scenes to prepare the world for Armageddon and the institution of His millennial reign.
• JW’s teach that Jesus was created as Michael the archangel, then recreated as Jesus the man, then recreated as Michael the archangel.
• Russell stated, “The man Jesus is dead, forever dead” (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 5, p. 454). The body of Jesus, whether, as they claim, it was dissolved into gases or preserved as a future memorial, was not what was raised from the dead (The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 264).
•  “At death, Jesus’ human body was ‘disposed’ of by God’s power, and Michael rose from the dead as the ‘resurrected Jesus Christ.’ Since angels are invisible, Jesus fabricated physical bodies resembling His original body to convince His disciples that He had rise from the dead. Since 1914, when Jesus’ ‘invisible presence’ on earth began, He has been reigning from heaven, awaiting the future battle of Armageddon in which He will rid the earth of human governments and set up ‘Paradise’ under ‘Jehovah’s Kingdom government arrangement'” (10 Questions & Answers on Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 4).

What the Bible teaches:

• Jesus rose physically from the dead (Matt. 12:38-40; 28:5-10; Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:4-8; 1 Peter 1:18-21).

JW False Doctrine 6: Christ’s physical return one day denied.

What the Watchtower says:

• “Since 1914, when Jesus’ ‘invisible presence’ on earth began, He has been reigning from heaven, awaiting the future battle of Armageddon in which He will rid the earth of human governments dn set up ‘Paradise’ under ‘Jehovah’s Kingdom government arrangement'” (10 Questions & Answers on Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 4).
• “Christ Jesus returns, not again as a human, but as a glorious spirit person.”  (Let God Be True, p. 196)
• “Some wrongfully expect a literal fulfillment of the symbolic statements of the Bible. Such hope to see the glorified Jesus coming seated on a white cloud where every human eye will see him … Since no earthly men have ever seen the Father … neither will they see the glorified Son.” (Let God Be True, p. 186)
• “Jesus returned to earth in 1914, has expelled Satan from Heaven and is proceeding to overthrow Satan’s organization, establish the Theocratic Millennial Kingdom, and vindicate the name of Jehovah God.  He did not return in a physical form and is invisible as the Logos.”  (Walter Martin, summarizing the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kingdom of the Cults, p. 52)

What the Bible teaches:

• Jesus is coming back physically and visibly one day (Matt. 24:29-31; John 14:3; Titus 2:13; Rev. 19:11-14).

Next: False doctrines 7-10 of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

More resources:

The Jehovah’s Witnesses: An Overview

Comparing Christianity to the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Key Mistranslations of the New World Translation