How I Became A Christian?

Gods’ Deliverance from a cult

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations," Jeremiah 1:5

        There was a prophetic word in the late 1980’s in a large Vineyard church that many Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons were going to start coming to the Lord of their own accord.  I believe that I am an answer to that prophetic word.  There is great power in a person's name.  I believe that God ordains names according to His purpose for that person's life.  Well, as my dad was looking through a book of names he felt like God wanted him to name me Jeremiah because it said that the name "Jeremiah" means appointed by YAH or God.  I believe that God gives gifts and talents to all people before they are born that are part of their natural character and that they develop these throughout life.  Every person has the choice to follow their God-given ability or seek their own way.  God's gifts are irrevocable.  I believe according to the word of God that those God calls He equips, and that those that He FOREKNEW, HE PREDESTINED.  Predestination is nothing more or less than God blessing what He knew would happen.  He has given all people the ability to reason and choose between right and wrong.  God lays the plans He has before your life and allows you to choose to walk in it or not. God's plan for one's life is revealed through prayer, bible study and obedience to the impressions that God lays upon one's heart.  It is all about grace and mercy, not merit.  God freely gives to all that ask. He will draw near to all who draw near to Him.  

        I come from a mixed religious background.  My mom was a nominal Christian but became a Jehovah's Witness when I was 4 years old.  My dad was raised Catholic but rebelled and got into drugs and the New Age movement.  My mom had influence over my upbringing, morally and socially.  I was taught, “Bad association spoils useful habits.”  I wasn’t allowed to play sports or have non-Jehovah's Witness friends.  I never celebrated my birthday and I didn’t get to participate in holidays like Christmas or other social or fun events.  I was raised in an abusive home that sent mixed signals - one of doing the right thing and another of doing the wrong thing.  It was so bad at some points that in elementary school the principal would know me by first name within the first month of school.  I was always fighting at school.  I was also devoted to God but still torn between the conflicting messages from my parents.  At one point I was having bible studies with kids at school and the teacher told me not to so I flipped him off and cussed him out.  I got a whipping from the principal for that one. That was back when they still practiced corporal punishment.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart," Jeremiah 29:11-13

        I was raised to be a Jehovah's Witness by my mom most of my life.  My dad was a nominal Catholic but he later got involved with New Age spirituality.  My mom was 15 and my dad was 17 when I was conceived.   They got married over a year latter.  They were young and irresponsible and not mature enough to handle the pressures or the responsibility of marriage.  However, they married out of family pressure, feelings of obligation and, on my mom's part,  wanting me to have a father.  My dad was not a Jehovah's Witness.  My mom brought me to the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall and trained me in the ways of the Jehovah's Witnesses.  She even had me going door to door at a young age.  I had no reason to doubt what I was taught -  the Jehovah's Witnesses were nice people and I was doing God's work.  Or so I thought!  God, however, had different plans for my life.  When I was eight I knew the bible so well my mom would ask me how to spell hard words.   One day after this I remember waking up from my nap with this desire to go to heaven.  So I asked my mom, “How can I go to heaven?”.   My mom told me I had to be one of the 144,000. And so like any curious kid I asked, “What makes them so special.”  She said, “Because they know the Bible real well.” I said, “Who are the 144,000?” and my mom told me that Brother Brown was one.  He was overseer in our church.  This happened to be a Tuesday and we had Kingdom Ministry School that night and I remember still having this desire that I wanted to go to heaven.  When we got to church I remember walking near the front of the church. And as I was at the front of the church by the stage I remember looking back, seeing Brother Brown still with the desire to go to heaven fresh on my mind.  So, I asked God to give me the knowledge of the truth like that elder.  Then God convicted my heart and I said, "Teach me your truth whatever it is because I want to go to heaven!".  I believe that this was the beginning of a life in pursuit of God and His truth.  I believe this occurrence was a vital part leading toward my ultimate salvation and faith in Jesus Christ.  Sometime during this time period my family went back to Iowa to visit family and we went to my grandma's sister, Ruth, who used to be a Jehovah’s Witness.  My mom told me she was an apostate and inside I felt something I liked -  it was cool. I feel like she had prayed for me and has continued to pray for me and my mom and the rest of our family. I never talked to her but I felt something different that gave me this desire to have what she had.

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever, " Isaiah 9:6-7

        By the time I was age twelve I had read the Bible two and a half times through. About this time God started dealing with me on a deeper level.  I was half way through the Bible again reading Isaiah 9:6 which calls Jesus "The Mighty God," and "The Eternal Father."  And I started to wonder what kind of kid is this - He is "The Mighty God", "The Eternal Father" and “His government shall know no end.”  That’s a powerful kid.  I started praying about it and God spoke to me.  He told me that this was talking about Jesus and that if my Bible calls Jesus God then He is God.  He reminded me about the JW teaching that there is one true God, according to Deuteronomy 6:4, "Jehovah our God is one Lord.".  God reminded me that there is "one true God" and in fact the Bible here was calling Jesus God.  I felt like God said if my scripture calls Jesus God, He is God.  So I did not argue that but I knew the JW's taught otherwise, I accepted it as truth but I had questions.  So I walked out of my room and I asked my mom how could the JW's believe that Jesus was a created archangel -  it made no sense when Scripture called Him "Eternal Father" and "Mighty God." She pulled out the JW book, ‘Reasoning from the Scriptures” and tried to explain it away, saying that Jesus is The Mighty God and Jehovah is The Almighty God.  In my little mind, however,  that would make Jesus a false God because there is Only One True God and if Jesus is God, He is God. She then showed me that the Bible calls Satan the god of this system of things. That did not deter me, Satan was just a figurative god.  Isaiah 9:6, however, was literal, "The Mighty God."  Then she went further and denied the divinity of Jesus, making him an archangel because of one Scripture that says He spoke with the voice of an archangel. They also demoted him to a created being using only 1 Thessalonians 4:16.  Neither one of those statements made sense if He was still the "Eternal Father."  Eternal means He could not have been created. So I asked “how could he be Eternal Father and you say He was created?  Eternal means from eternity to eternity - He is, was and always will be Father.  That means He could not be created. He is eternal."

        My mom could not explain it to me so she took me to one of he elders to help me out.  I knew he was going to try to explain away Jesus being God by illustrating the difference between Jehovah, the Almighty and Jesus, the Mighty God.  Therefore, I decided to ask him how they believed Jesus was a created archangel when He is called the "Eternal Father." Speculation does not line up against the weight of Scripture.  At the age of twelve I was out-thinking adults, but only by the power of God.  So when we got there I asked him "If Jesus is ‘Eternal Father’, that means from eternity to eternity He is Father.  How can you say He is a created archangel?".  To me it made no sense that one Scripture said that he spoke with the voice of an archangel and they thought He was an archangel.  As a kid I could impersonate a lot of voices.  If I talked like ET, it didn't make me ET.  This seemed childish to me but I still didn't have it all together.  I was still trying to listen to God.  Especially when I was talking to them, I was asking for God's help.  The elder started trying to explain the difference between Almighty God, Jehovah and Mighty God, Jesus. He was not making any sense, he was simply trying to prove a point with a liberal allegorical theology, saying the exact same thing my mom had already said. Their doctrine says every time a Scripture says something that is in opposition to their doctrine, it is figurative.  This is basically allegorical teaching. Contrary to a recent book they wrote called, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is beneficial for teaching, reproving and setting things straight." They left out the part "...that the man of God may be fully equipped."  It did not make sense if they said all Scripture is inspired why can’t they and why don't they and why didn’t they take it literally.  The elder would not answer my question - he just kept talking about their allegorical beliefs, and I believe God just protected my heart.  Then the elder said, "you will not understand all things now.  You must trust us, it will work out in time."  I had a strong belief to respect my elders so I just said "'Yeah! Uh huh!" repeatedly until he was satisfied.  He ended up saying, "Yeah, you won't understand everything, you will have to just accept it."  I said "Uh huh, yeah."  He was more or less proving my point that you can't understand why Jesus is God - you have to just accept it.  I kept it to myself because I did not want to be manipulated into some untruth.  This debate, I believe, is in answer to the prayer I prayed when I was eight.  That was like my first personal altar call I guess.  I am not sure what you want to call it.  God worked with me in His own sovereign way.

        In those early years, God taught me to pray before I read His Word and He would touch me and change me.  I remember one day at school I wanted to tell people about God because of what I was feeling.  It was awesome.  I was feeling the power of God inside me and I hadn't fully gotten delivered from all the JW stuff - I was still going to their church, not knowing what to do since I was still only about twelve to thirteen.  So I went out witnessing that afternoon with the JW’s.  My whole face, body, and everything was dead - I could not smile, laugh, nothing.  I had no life - it was the opposite of what I felt at school and when I was away from my parents’ house and away from the JW’s.  I knew that there was something wrong.  When I was in one JW service I felt God call me to lift my hands and worship him.  I felt awkward because JW's don't do that and yet, I felt called to worship God.  It was another one of those soul-rending occasions of seeking God to find out what He wanted for my life.  The Bible does tell us to lift holy hands and worship Jesus. There was one instance, when I was about 15 – 16 years old, when we drove past a church that was experiencing revival.  My mom warned me not to go there - she said they were demonic.  I felt like asking what was wrong with it, because my spirit felt drawn towards what I felt was God, but I decided not to.  I thought it would cause more problems. God's Spirit was dealing with me, although I had not been to a Christian Church or had any idea what they believed.  I had not been informed of what they believed but I felt strangely drawn to them.  I was told they were apostates, which meant absolutely nothing to me. 

        My family didn’t communicate and I couldn’t have friends, so I would go walking alone to escape the pain, neglect and abuse my family dished out.  I remember one time feeling desperate and alone.  I had heard about prayer but I didn't really know what it was, so I just decided to talk to God like He was a real being. I started praying, “God are you really there?  I feel lonely and hurt.  I need your help.”  This started to become a way to vent and feel important.  By the time I was a freshman in high school, my dad was having multiple affairs.  Then my mom decided to get even and she had an affair.  When the Jehovah's Witnesses found out, my mom got disfellowshiped from the Kingdom Hall and we quit going to the meetings.   My mom had separated with my dad twice because of all the affairs and the fighting.  She kept saying she wanted us to have a dad, and she would go back with him.  I finally said, “Mom, he is no good for you, we don’t need him.  You need to divorce him and go on.  He is no good for us.  He is an alcoholic. He is abusive and he has had a lot of affairs.  What is going to keep him from having another affair?”  I tried to help my mom through that time and to help her make the right decision, because I didn't want my mom to go through any more pain and I didn't want to go through the abuse.  At this stage, it was really hard, even though I would not admit it at the time. God made it somewhat easier: He showed me a Scripture in the Old Testament that the oldest son was to take charge if the dad was gone.  Therefore, I took responsibility in encouraging my mom and sister.  That was pretty hard - my mom hated guys and took it out on me.  During the divorce neither of us kids wanted to go with my dad because he was an abusive drunk. My dad always had marijuana plants in the house and got locked up for marijuana possession a couple of times.  My dad did speed and other drugs, too.  After all this stuff happened I started to rebel.  Going through the divorce was tough - all kinds of accusations were flying and both my parents we trying to use us as pawns.  Trying to escape from the pain, I started stealing , vandalizing, drinking, doing drugs and hanging with the wrong crowd.  I got locked up a couple of nights for theft and violence and had to do community service.  I went from hanging out with gang members at one point to hanging out with the gothic crowd.  We would play Rifts and Dungeons and Dragons.  I started seeking supernatural power and got involved with Indian spiritualism - finding my spirit animals and all that stuff.  I felt like it was wrong and evil, so I didn’t get too deep into it.  I was testing to see if it was real and it was, but I wanted the good side, not the bad.

I remember one time John Jacobs and "The Power Team" came to my high school.  Of course they broke bricks and led us through the sinners’ prayer.  I felt God there but my beliefs were not challenged.  I believed in Jesus as the Son of God who died for my sins.  I told one of my friends afterwards, "Hey, I know about that stuff. I am a Christian." He said, "Really.  What church do you go to?".  I said, "The Kingdom Hall, I am a Jehovah’s Witness."  He walked off real quick and that is the last time I heard from him.  I was ripe for the picking, I was open, hungry for truth and I didn't have any bias.  I just wanted God and my friend well lets just say he was a powerful evangelist the James Two Type of Evangelist never heard, seen or thought of, out of sight, and out of mind... note the tinge of sarcasm. Even though a lost person cannot come to Jesus without a preacher. This illustrates what C.P Wagner calls the "Follow up Gap," after massive crusades there are allot of new converts with no where to go and no personal discipleship. These new converts are usually left to be swallowed up by the cares of the world. We must find out how to follow up more completely. One of my favorite things is nature. I always enjoyed nature and the beauty of what God created it always brought me nearer to him. This is why since I was in the fifth grade I found art and draw picture of Gods creation to inspire me. Art was my major from fifth grade until my first year of college. This is one of the things that helped me hold unto God as He changed my worldview. During a time when who I believed God was changed to who God really was. I knew God was real and I knew if there was something wrong it was with my view of God not with God. Because I know and knew God was and is unchangeable.

        I respected my moms’ wishes to be a Jehovah's Witness out of honor until I was eighteen. When I was about to turn 18 my mom said, “If you go back to the Kingdom Hall I will.” That put allot of responsibility on me and I took it seriously. So I started asking God whether I should be Jehovah's Witness or a Christian. So, I started having Jehovah's Witness book studies again and followed their regimen of book studies, meetings, training and door knocking.  I remember some time about this time I was walking back and forth outside the Kingdom Hall after church asking God whether I should be baptized as a J.W or a Christian. and a friend of mine asked me what I was doing and I said, "Praying about whether I should get baptized as a Jehovah's Witness or a Christian?" He replied, "Why would you even wonder about that." He said this because we were all forced to believe that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was Gods one true church, that is was The Truth and that everything else was Apostate. Well I explained to the brother that I had allot of disagreements with what they were teaching and I don't think I could be a Jehovah's Witness. That was the one of the last times I ever went to a Kingdom Hall. After that I had this feeling  that God wanted me to be a Christian. While still living under my mom's roof a friend of mine who was one of my Karate instructors asked me if I wanted to go to church with him. I said I couldn't because my mom wouldn't let me and he left me alone after that. I had taken up martial arts to be able to defend myself more efficiently because growing up in Oceanside with all the gang activity and violence I had been through allot of fights and had gotten beaten up a couple times. Coupled with the abuse of my father I decided to learn how to defend myself and I put my heart into it. I was dedicated to learn how to defend myself using against larger assailants envisioning my father pummeling me to the ground and multiple opponents because of the gang members that would mess with me. I was still having my Watchtower Bible and Tract Society studies during this time and the brother I was studying with threatened to disfellowship me if I didn’t stop doing martial arts. "I said were is that is the bible." He said, "Just do it." I said "Why?" He said, "Just do it." In good conscious, I could not just follow orders without scripture backing up what was being proclaimed as truth, at least not without scripture backing it up. 

        Not long after I turned Twenty one of my friends went with his friend to church one weekend and the next weekend I asked if I could go be because I felt like going. The first church I ever went to was Family fellowship Church of Oceanside. It is an Pentecostal Church, I felt God there but the worship was awkward. I was raised in the southern California so I grew up listening to rap, and the worship music sounded like rock. It was okay with my spirit but it  wasn't what is was used to. It gave me a headache so I went outside until it was done. I came back in when the sermon started. The preaching was good and mellow and I actually was able to stay awake. It felt good, I felt Jesus in it. I felt like this was my home church, but I was not ready to listen to that kind of music. So, I started going to a home cell church. It was a small group of Christians that met in a home. They had acoustic guitars and did allot of the mellow Vineyard Praise and Worship Music. It was mellow enough for me and after a while I started catching the groove of it. I loved the home church, it was focused on healing, they did a little prayer counseling with me. During this time I got injured real bad in my Karate I had torn both of my rotator cuffs and I was useless I quite my job because I couldn't work. During this time I started going through clinical depression because of the abuse as a child, family pressures, I was failing at school, I got injured and couldn't work or do my pride and joy, Martial Arts. I didn't know what was going on but I was real sick and the doctors couldn't find a physical cause they realized that I was so depressed that my bodies was getting sick. Not long after this I got locked up in a mental institution for trying to commit suicide because I felt like my life was over, I couldn't do anything right, my dad threatened to beat me up and leave me in the dessert to die, my parents were using me as a pawn in their bitter divorce battle, I couldn't live up to either of their expectations and my fiancé was cold and careless. During my night in the mental institution I was crying out to God and I was thinking about what religion I was and what God wanted me to be. I was still fighting the indoctrination that the Jehovah's Witnesses were The Truth but I felt like the church I was going to was The Truth. That night pinned to the bed drugged up crying out to God. God told me that "I am a Christian." No long after this I heard about a healing crusade by Wayman Mitchell the founder of "Potters house." The miracle crusade was cool. When brother Mitchell was preaching He used the name "Jehovah Rapha" which I thought was awesome. He used God's divine name which at the time I thought Christians didn't use enough. He explained healing, sin, repentance and salvation. He talked about Adam and Eve, the fall, the provision for their sin, sacrificial atonement, then the ultimate atonement once for all sins,  Jesus on the cross. He shared How God had to shed animals blood to cover their naked bodies, and how Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and that he was alive, present, and here to heal today. Everyone shouted I thought it was exciting. At the end he gave the alter call, I gave my life to The LORD for the first time at an official alter call on August 27, 1996. I went up on stage to get prayer for healing. While Brother Mitchell was praying I felt burning in my shoulders but I didn't think anything of it because when my shoulders hurt they would feel like that. God healed me, I got healed of two torn rotator cuffs. It was awesome. The day before I went I could not drive a block without asking my fiancé to drive however the day after I drove from Oceanside California to Rancho Bernardo California and back twice in my 1978 V.W bus that had no power steering. It was awesome I was totally healed. I had to test whether I was healed or not so I went home and was tossing around a foot ball with the kids in the apartments. If you know anything about torn rotator cuffs you know this is amazing.  

        At this point I started going to the library to study all the different religions, denominations and church history to find out what I believed and why. I used the bible as my number one source lining it all up with what the word of God says. I had a hard time leaving the JW’S because the told you it was the truth and that God would judge me and that they would disfellowship me. So, I didn’t want to miss God so I figure if the JW truth was truth it would hold up to testing. So, I used the Kingdom interlinear along with Vines and Strongs to see what the original intent of the writers was. I found scriptures like and looking into the Greek I found that the JW bible didn’t hold up to there own literature.  I found scripture like these:

• John 1:1 The word was God.

• John 20:28 were Thomas Called Jesus My Lord and My God

• Titus 2:13 Our great God and savior Jesus Christ.

• Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel-"God with us" Matthew 1:23

• Acts 20:28 The church which God purchased with His own blood

• Philippians 2:6 Christ being in the very nature God.

Even the Kingdom Interlinear Translation didn't agree with their doctrine. So, I continued to pray and seek God's will for my life. I was no longer bound by the lies that if I left what they called "The Truth," I was damned. I knew that what they taught was a lie so I choose to follow the Lord and His word. I ended up going back to the Family Fellowship Church and got filled with the spirit of God and received the gift of prophecy. I was feeling the call to ministry started looking for a bible college to attend. I received my prayer language a few months later at Southwestern Assemblies of God University during a Campus Day Chapel Service.  During this time of Renewal of my soul, I got an urgent impression from the Holy Spirit to start witnessing. Soon after my church started an outreach to downtown. That wasn't enough for me I started witnessing to people at the bus stops and at school. I began to do the work God has called every Christian to do to proclaim the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ. The best is yet to come, what God has started he will complete and I thank God from whence I came but I also praise Him for were I am headed. God is good and His love and faithfulness endure forever.

Part 3 the History of the JW Cult

Jehovah’s Witnesses History & Hysteria

        Charles Taze Russell founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses a.k.a. watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Mr. Russell was born to a Presbyterian mother and a Roman Catholic father. Brother Russell had a hard time comprehending predestination, hell, and the trinity, so he started his own bible study. Later he got involved with the seventh day Adventist and this is when he started getting mixed up with errant end-time prophecy. The Founder of the Adventist persuaded the as of yet religiously uneducated Bother Russell into believing that Jesus returned invisibly in 1875 and that the end of the world would be 1914. Later this prophecy would change to Jesus return being in 1878 and the end of the world being in 1918. These time measurements were based upon some pyramid structure that had nothing to do with the bible but somehow they were using it to justify their end time prophecies. Charles did not start attending a bible college until 1890 and then left because he disagreed with the teachers view of eternity, hell, the trinity, predestination, etc…

        About the time of Mr. Russell’s death around 1919 Judge Rutherford took over the watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Judge Rutherford changed the end time prophecies to 1925, 1929, and 1935. Judge Rutherford made a Mansion in San Diego for elijah, Moses, and enoch who were supposed to return which he was caught living in when he died. In 1935 Judge Rutherford added a new errant theology to the cults doctrine in the form of a sermon "many now living shall never die." In this sermon he made the claim that only 144,000 will go to heaven and that those hearing his message were the 144,000 and that everyone else would live on a paradise earth. Rutherford also concocted the name "Jehovah’s Witnesses," To make a clear definition between J.W.s and so-called "apostate Christianity" as he called it because the cult was loosing many converts to Christians witnessing to them.

        Franz The next head prophet of the now named "Jehovah’s Witnesses" cult changed the end time prophecies again to 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975. The watchtower again prophesied the end time to be 1985. The bible clearly tells us that if one presumes to call on the name of Jehovah claiming to be a prophet of The LORD and it does not come to pass very clearly shows us that they are a false prophet. J.W. definitely fit into this category. In 1975 the WBTS started working on their own paraphrase version of the bible because they were sick and tired of Christians converting JWS because all the bibles that were in production contradicted their doctrine. So they set about writing there own interpretation of scripture that left out the deity and divinity of Jesus, hell, and anything else that contradicted there doctrine. They also started to say that blood transfusion is a sin because the bible tells us not to drink the blood of animals sacrificed to idols. They also started to not practice Christmas or any other holidays. IF you disobey any of their rules they will dis-fellowship you.

        Jehovah’s Witnesses are a hard-line dogmatic cult who believe they are the only true church and the only true prophet only through whom God speaks today even though all their prophecies have failed to come to pass. JWs are very slick and well programmed/Trained and don’t know it. They all are taught out of the same books and given the same phrases and stuff to study. They seem really nice and dress really sharp. You would think they are a real and upstanding people but if you only knew how far from the truth their doctrine and practice are from the word of God. JWs go from door to door and to bus stops leaving their literature. They always start talking about how bad society is, Telling you that Jehovah’s Day of Judgment is to come on this world, they offer you the hope of a paradise earth, and ask if you would like to partake in a free home bible study. They do not share salvation in Jesus, redemption the preach judgment, bibles studies and the JWs way without offer the tormented soul with hope except for saying they can go to a paradise earth. They do not tell this tormented soul how they can get to the paradise earth. JWs are effective at rationally psychologically manipulating a possible convert into revelation of there sin without offering Jesus by power of the Holy Spirit as the healer, regenerator, or meander of their soul.. JWs are efficient at causing a possible convert to feel the need for hope and they give hope a paradise earth and then offer a free bible study. However they do not offer true biblical salvation, conversion, hope or relationship with Jesus. a person except by obeying the JWs regulations, through bibles studies, witnessing, and baptism. Jehovah’s Witnesses are highly effective a Psychological manipulation techniques and use them with devastating accuracy. JWs have no personal relationship with Jesus, no heavenly hope, no salvation experience, and no true judgment of Sin. If turning to dirt is all we had to look forward to for our sin and earth as our hope we would not have any reason to stop sinning we would just continue to sin. This view leaves no justice, nor any reward for our choice to deny God and separate ourselves from Gods presence.

What makes JWs WBTS a cult?

    JW's Appear to be a loving people. JW's Do not allow and can be disfellowshipped for the following; Participating in sports, Getting involved in Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween and other cultural activities, Birthdays, and non-JW friends. WBTS is a dead Formalistic Religion that denies the power of God. JWs claim to be the only true church and only true way to salvation. They are strong in faith and practice and preach "The great day of Jehovah’s wrath," and judgment. They give the prospective convert no redemption for the soul, salvation experience, release or relief for the torment of their souls. JW salvation is not biblical salvation of repentance and faith in Jesus precious atonement only but rather read JW books, have bibles studies, follow WBTS orders without questions, learn doctrines, and witness. They have no personnel experience with or relationship with Jesus. They never come to repentance and acceptance of Jesus atonement. JWs are highly effective at psychological manipulation through "Peer pressure," "Exploitation of expectations," and "The power suggestion." Here is an example of How a JW would use psychological manipulation techniques to win a possible convert. i.e. JW speaking "Hi my name is Johnny. I am a Jehovah’s Witness and we were out here just sharing the good news. Have you noticed on the news lately that the world seems to be in allot of trouble?" Possible Convert speaking "Yeah! My husbands overseas and might have to fight in a war." JW "I know what you talking about. The bible talks of a time when there will be no more wars anymore. Doesn’t that sound good to you?" P.C. "Yeah. I wish my husband were home right now!" (Christians note but what does the bible say I must do to get there, Ephesians 2:8-10. Here a Christian would want to offer Jesus as the hope but JWs well lets go on.) JW "Do you know that the bible tells us that we can live on a paradise earth. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?" (Christians note heaven sounds a lot better to me) P.C. "Yeah, what can I do to have that." JW "Would you like to start a free in home bible study." P.C. "Sure." JW suggest the future hope of peace, and then offer a bible study without relieving the persons need for a savior to come satisfy, heal, and deliver the persons soul. The JW will suggest a hope of a paradise earth were there will no longer be troubles and then they use peer pressure to exploit the possible converts expectations by offering a free personal in home bible study to give an solution to the problem. However the biblical solution is simple; repent and receive Jesus as your personal Master, Lord and Savior and live for Him and He will give you the seal of the Holy Spirit and you shall go to heaven. JWs give a false hope and no redemption except in theory, Jesus died for us but there is no personal encounter with a living Jesus. (Acts 2:38,39; 3:19; 4:12; Rom 10:9-10).

        JW Salvation is by works whether you must go door to door, have a bible study, attend church, You must live sacrificially, also you must obeying all the society says even when it contradicts scripture. JW bible doctrine is allegorical teaching, everything becomes figurative if it is not in their doctrine. They do allot of Eisogesis, trying to use a cross-section approach to biblical interpretation out of context. i.e. JWs will use "John 3:16 + Rev 7:9 + Luke 12:32 + Rev 14:1,3=" to say only 144,000 can go to heaven. Which none of those scripture say that only 144,000 can go to heaven inspite of John 1:12,18; 3:3-18: 2 Pet 3:9; Rev 7:9-10; 19:1. They will also try to mis-interpret Isa 9:6 + Eph 6:12 + John 1:1 + 1 Thes 4:16 = to say that Jesus is Michael the Archangel. That makes no sense, no were in anyone of those text does it say Jesus is an angel fof any sort. The voice of an archangel does not make one and archangel. If I speak like "Tweedy Bird" that does not make me "Tweedy Bird." They say this inspite of the fact that Isa 9:6/10:22; Rev 1:5-8/Zech 12:10; Heb 1:3,5,6,8,10; 13:8; John 1:18; 8:58; 10:30-33,38; 14:6-9; 20:28-31; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; Jer 23:5-6 call Jesus God. Some how they miss scripture all together and come up with there own interpretation.

        JWs preach judgment with no redemption of the soul, and no hope of going to heaven. Causing ones soul to feel despaired and do not give them Jesus the savior but the WBTS as the only way out. The people do works because they have to and have no rest for their souls. JWs claim that the 144,000 were not Jews but rather the people Rutherford preached to and that they were sealed in 1935. Leaving the rest of us with no heavenly hope we can either become dust or live on a paradise earth. No one gets to go to heaven now we get to live on the earth. There is no punishment for sin. There is no real reason to follow them except to escape Gods judgment. There is no hope preached except paradise earth. They have no assurance of salvation. They do not receive the Holy Spirit at a seal for their salvation. The Holy Spirit is not a person but an active force and is only received through receiving their doctrine. The only way to go to a paradise earth is to either be a good person or obey JW society. JW's use fear of disfellowshipping from what they call "Gods only true church" to control people.

False Prophecies

      Do the Witnesses claim to be the prophet of God? Yes, they do.

In 1972 the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower claimed to be the prophet of God.

IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET" -- "So does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?...This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses...Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a ‘prophet' of God. It is another thing to prove it." The Watchtower, 4/1/72 (See Deut. 18:21)

1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874," Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.

1899 "...the ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).

1916 "The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 10000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873." The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward).

1918 "Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.

1922 "The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914." The Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262.

1923 "Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures. As to Noah, the Christian now has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." The Watchtower, PAGE 106 4/1/23.

1925 "The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year." The Watchtower, 1/1/25, page. 3.

1925 "It is to be expected that Satan will try to inject into the minds of the consecrated, the thought that 1925 should see an end to the work." The Watchtower, Sept, 1925 page 262.

1926 "Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything." The Watchtower, page 232.

1931 "There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1917, 1918, and 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time...and they also learned to quit fixing dates." Vindication, page 338.

1941 "Receiving the gift, the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon." The Watchtower, 9/15/41, page 288.

1968 "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an ‘end to the world', even announcing a specific date. Yet nothing happened. The ‘end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing?..Missing from such people were God's truths and evidence that he was using and guiding them." Awake, 10/8/68.

1968 "Why are you looking forward to 1975?" The Watchtower, 8/15/68, page 494.

Dangerous deceptions

        Because JWs have their scriptures memorized and they are professional at using their scripture and interpretations of scripture fast, rampant, and out of context. If you do not know how to think contextually, hermeneutically, historically, and exegetically you will get confused. They are so effective at throwing a billion scriptures at you out of context it almost sounds like they are right unless you understand proper bible study techniques. Of course bible study is for all not just the elite but if you take scripture out of context it can be bent to mean anything you want it to. JWs hop from verse to verse so fast that they can make your head spin you will end up getting so scripture tied up and confused they will start sounding right to you. Here they have succeeded at one of the main stages of psychological manipulation by sending rapid information at you mind so fast in an confrontational yet calm manner wearing your senses and guard down. This is done so that you will except there believe as truth without question because you no longer have any explanation nor defenses. They seem right to you because you no longer have any defense. Next they will try to get you reading their books and start going to their meetings. In which there is allot of psychological manipulative information coming into the persons soul causing the person to except their doctrines as truth without question. Also in their meetings and books they continually call the religion the truth. They say this so much that the person thinks they are in the truth and are not willing to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. It seems logical but sense when did logic save a soul. Salvation is by grace through faith in the precious blood of Jesus alone in accordance to your act of repentance by your renouncing your prior sinful life and turning to follow Jesus.

Intercede for their souls

        Pray that God will bring Divine Revelation of His truth through His word by His spirit. Pray that God will cause them to doubt the society and seek Gods truth even though they are taught not to search out truth for themselves. Pray that they will seek independent thought to hear from God themselves on all matters of doctrine in Gods word and through prayer. Pray that they will learn to study scripture Hermeneutically, Contextually, Historically, and Grammatically. God revealed Himself to me through His word by bible study and prayer. Eventually God lead me to attend a Christian church and I have been faithfully serving Jesus as my personal Master, Lord and Savior ever since. The only way that they will come to know of Jesus as personal Lord, Master and Savior is by supernatural revelation. You can argue with them until you are blue in the face and that will not work. The spirit of God must draw and convert them. Pray that God will supernaturally reveal Himself to them. Pray that God will raise up in the Orthodox Protestant Evangelical Christian Church Outreach, deliverance, mentoring, and discipleship ministries to reach the JWs, Mormons, Muslims and other cults. The church in general does not know how to deal with someone who’s world comes crashing down. It is rough when you loose you God and everything you believe in so intensely many ex-JWs and ex-Mormons become agnostics and atheists because they can not handle the paradigm shift, there whole world view being turned upside down. Pray for the Christians they must know what they believe, why and how to rightly divide the word of truth before trying to witness to a JW, Mormon, Muslim or any other hard-line dogmatic cult. Whether dealing with JWs or not it is essential to every Christians walk for them to know what they believe, why the believe, how to defend it and how to rightly divide the word of truth.

Part 4 Biblical Apologetics to JW doctrine

The New World Mis-Translation

        There is a major misinterpretation and mistranslation problem with the Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation, it is a anti-Trinitarian biased paraphrased bible called New World Translation. This is why it is important to find a good translation of the bible and learn how to study the original languages, texts, contexts, and historical surroundings. The above scriptural discussions make it clear that according to proper translation and interpretation of scripture there are major flaws, deceits and manipulations in the JW church when it comes to the doctrine of the tri-unity.

Continued scriptural study

        JWs' believe that Jesus is The Mighty God and Jehovah is The Almighty God. When in Isa 10:22 it calls Yahweh or Jehovah is the Mighty God also if you look at Zech 12:10 in the original Hebrew along with Rev 1:7-8 It calls Jesus The Almighty the one the have pierced whom every eye shall see return. The Old Testament refers to Yahweh as The GOD of God, KING of kings, and LORD of Lords. (Dan 2:47; Duet 10:17). Then NEW Testament calls Jesus the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords. (Matt 27:37; John 19:14; 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 19:16). Yahweh is called the alpha and Omega (Isa 41:4) and so is Jesus referred to as the Alpha and Omega. (Rev 1:8; 22:13). JWs' deny the deity and divinity of Jesus and demote him to being the created creator Michael the glorified archangel because of one scripture that says he shall descend with the shout os an archangel, 1 Thes 4:16. As Jesus descends there is going to be a trumpet blast and an archangel shouting. Jesus can not be Michael the archangel because Jesus watched Lucifer get thrown out of heaven when Michael the Archangel threw satan Lucifer out. (Luke 10:18; John 12:31). You can not watch yourself do something while you are doing it. In the light of scripture none of the doctrines make any sense if Jesus is eternal, without beginning or end. (Heb 13:8/Isa 9:6; John 17:5; 1:1-3; Isa 41:4; Rev 1:8; 22:13). Revelation 1:7-8,17 along with Zechariah 12:10 refer to Jesus as The Almighty God, and Isaiah 10:22 refers to Jehovah as The Mighty God. This shows the equality in the deity of The Father and The Son. Jesus said "I and the father are one,...They picked up stones to stone him...'Because he a mere man claimed to be God,'...He abides in me and I in him." This pretty clearly states that Jesus claimed to be God and the Pharisee's wanted to kill Him because of it. John 10:30,33,38. "If you have seen me you have seen the father" John 14:6-9. Jesus is clearly calling Himself God. What but none can see the father and live? Jacob wrestles with theophanies and says he saw God's face. (Gen 32:30). "Jesus is truly God manifest in the flesh, He is the image, the likeness of his glory, true God from true God, begotten (meaning chosen) not made." Let god be true and every man a liar.

Jesus the Creator

        How can Jesus be Eternal and JWs say He is the created creator. (Isa 9:6; John 1:1-3,18; 10:30-34,38; 14:6-9; 17:5; Heb 13:8). When the word of God says Yahweh alone created and sustains the universe but the New Testament Tells us Jesus created and sustains the universe, Heb 1:3; John 1:1-3; Col 1:13-20. According to Gen 1 GOD Elohim Created everything moreover John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:13-21; and Hebrews 1:3 maintain Jesus created it all. SO did God lie and say He created everything and yet only created Jesus who created everything? No the word of God is true and every man a liar Jesus is God and God did truly create everything and stills sustains it all. Jesus being the eternal means that from eternity to eternity He is was and that He has not and will not change. That Jesus is the Eternal, the same yesterday today and forever, unchanging the eternal Son, Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 13:8; John 17:5. Jesus could not be created. He just is eternal father. How can Jesus be a created archangel if He is eternal? That makes no sense. It makes no sense that one scripture says that Jesus will shout with the voice of an archangel and JWs use this scripture alone to say Jesus is a archangel. As a kid I could impersonate allot of voice If I talked like E.T. It didn't make me E.T. This seems childish to me. Then going they say since satan is a figurative god Jesus is a figurative god also which makes no cense. satan is callef the prince and god of this age, Jesus is called Mighty God, God, Lord, and God that is pretty literal. (Isa 9:6; John 1:1,18; 10:18; Rom 9:5; 1 Cor 12:4-6; Eph 4:4-6; Tit 2:13; Heb 1:8,10; 2 John 1:9; Jude 1:4). Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus is mighty God, that Jehovah's is almighty God, that satan is a figurative god so that, and Jesus is a god so that makes Jesus a figurative God. What kind of addition is that 30 + 60 - 0 + 15 = 0. What that makes no sense. Let us look at that argument a little closer. I gave Yahweh the numeric value of 60 because He is Almighty God in the JW opinion. I gave Jesus the mighty God the numerical value of 30 because the demote Him to Mighty God so I gave him half the value of Yahweh at a 30. I gave satan 0 since he is nothing anyways just figurative god of the system of things in both of our books. Then I gave Their version of Jesus a god a 15 because they limited Him to "a god" making lesser than mighty God now He is no longer mighty God but "a god." Do you see how the use scripture out of context to manipulate you to the point of acceptance of their doctrine pretty effective if you have no clue what's up. I am just using simple math to make a simple point which you shall see in a moment. Let us add these together almighty God = + 60, mighty God = + 30, satan = - 0, Jesus = + 15. I added all of them except satan who is a 0 anyway because he is negative and Jesus and God are positive. SO let us add this up 30 + 60 - 0 + 15 = 105 but somehow JWs get 0. If Jesus is The Mighty God That is pretty literal, If Jesus is a god that is pretty literal. according to the math in a logical line of reasoning Jesus is 105 that makes Him 150% God, if you do the math. He is a God. Whether or not JWs acknowledge His Deity and Divinity Jesus is God, Because the weight of scripture calls Jesus God He is God let us look. Some reason or another because satan is a figurative god of this system of things JWs figure that Jesus is a figurative god (2 Cor 4:4). satan is not Jesus and Jesus is not satan those two scriptures do not relate. Talk about faulty thinking. Scary misrepresentation of Gods word to support their anti-Trinitarian bias.

Allegorical teaching one of the biggest biblical heresies in the church at large.

        JWs say that everything that contradicts there doctrine is allegorical. Every time I have ran into a JW and I have showed them a scripture says something apposing their doctrine they reply saying "Thats figurative." Contrary to a recent book they wrote call "All scripture are inspired of God beneficial for teaching, reproving and setting things straight." They left out the part "That the man of God may be fully equipped." The word of God is all we need. It doesn't make sense if they say all scripture are inspired why can't they and why don't they take it literal.

Eternal Glory in heaven for all who call upon the name of the Lord!

        JWs also believe only the 144,000 thousand could go to heaven because (even though Matt 25:46; John 3:16; John 1:12; 3-16; 20:31; Acts 3:28-29; Rom 10:9-17; Rev 5:9-14; 19:1; say that heaven is for any and everyone who wants to go to heaven and that the great crowd will be in heaven praising Jesus Rev 19:1; 7:8; 5:9-14). From dust to dust is you body but your soul shall live on in heaven or hell. (Num 16:30,33,35; Psalms 55:15; 25:46; Mark 9:38-48, Luke 16:19-31; 13:1-5; Rev 7:9; 19:1,20. 21:8; 21:19; Acts 17:30; 2:4,17,38,39; 3:19; 4:12,30-33; Gal 2:18; 3:24; 1 John 3:6-10,15,16; Rom 3:10; 23; 5:6,8; 6:23; 3:19,27-28,31; Gal 2:26; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 1:6,8,10; 13:8; James 2:14-26)

Why did Jesus Pray to God if He is God

        Most JWS attack saying if Jesus is God why did He pray to Himself? They may ask, Why did Jesus pray to the Father? (John 17). They forget that there are three distinct separate individual persons in the Godhead and they do not necessarily have to be in the same place at the same time, The Father was in heaven and The Son was on the earth. They are not one person but two and Jesus was setting the example for us. As a man He needed to pray to the Father. Jesus was both God and man (Col. 2:9; John 8:58 with Ex. 3:14). There are the two natures to Christ's' incarnation and that is why scripture has tow types of wording concerning Jesus: His deity the divine-side, His Fathers side, and His human-side, His mothers side. JWs purposely ignore, overlook, change, and manipulate the scriptures that point to Christ's divinity and deity they concentrate on the scriptures that describe His human nature in a way that makes Him sound less than God instead of taking His human side or nature in accordance with the whole content, purpose and intent of scripture.

Debating with a lack of knowledge and from a biased point of view

        JWs will also respond or to try to convince you of there belief by saying "Why did Jesus say the Father was greater than He (John 14:28)?" Simply Jesus choose to become a man He was still fully God but know he was fully man. Jesus said this because of His relationship in the Godhead to the father and His position on the earth as God in the flesh was limited and much lesser than God at that point. Jesus had momentarily step down to a position a little lower than the angels until Jesus fulfilled His mission on earth to return to His former position before He (Jesus) created the universe and the fullness there of, Heb 2:7; John 17:5. Jesus earthly and relational position in the Godhead is different than that of God, not His nature. Jesus is one essence with God but uniguely seperate and individual united in Godhead and purpose. It says in Heb. 2:9 that Jesus is made for a little while lower than the angels; that is, when He became a man. The Father sent the Son (1 John 4:10). This is were Jesus was begotten fulfilling the psalmist prophetic psalm (Psa 2:7) who under inspiration of the spirit of God said "Today I have begotten thee." At the point of King Davids writing Jesus had already created the universe with God so Jesus was not a created being when He was called the only begotten or one and only but rather He was the chosen one chosen to fulfill the task of the incarnation of a perfect holy God in the flesh of man fully tempted but fully victorious as the triumphant king who will soon return for His bride. 

Attacking the Deity and Divinity of Christ a common tool of cults and satan!

        JWs may also say 'Why did Jesus say, 'Why call me good, only God is good?'(Luke 18:19)?' Jesus was confirming His own deity because what He was doing was good. JWs may reply 'Why did Jesus say that He could only do those things that He saw the Father do? (John 5:19).' This verse proves the divinity of Christ, not that He wasn't God but that He is deity with the full power of God, the actual fullness of God, equal with God, co-eternal, co-equal, sharing the same essence with God, Phil 2:6-10. However He choose to give that up to be like you and me so He could redeem us and only perfection can save imperfection and only God is perfect. Who can do the same things God the Father can do? Can an angel? Or could a man? Neither. Angels and humans do not have the ability to create something new out of nothing. Jesus does however have that ability which no creation has the ability Jesus is the creator. Jesus, says He could do whatever He saw the Father do. "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." John 14:6-9 says "If you have seen me you have seen my father." John 10:30-33 the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because He claimed to be God. Luke 18:19 helps us understand the unity in the Godhead the facts that The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost can not operate seperate of each other. In Jesus dual nature He was fully man as well as fully God and as a man He can not do anything without God and He will show His humanity.

JWs mistranslation of John 1:1

        JWs mistranslate John 1:1: "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was a god." IS Satan is a true god or a false god? A false god of course. Is Jesus is a true god or a false god? (Isa 9:6; 10:22; Jer 25:5-6; Zech 12:10; Matt 28:19; John 1:1,18; 8:58; 10:30-33,38; 14:6-9; 20:28; Rom 9:5; 1 Cor 12:4-6; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 4:4-6; Tit 2:13; Heb 1:3,5,6,8,10). If Jesus is God then there is Only One True God with three separate persons of The One True God. If Jesus is a false God we are deceived and Jesus is a false messiah and we all are on are way to hell. JWs may even say there are two Gods saying, "Yes there are two Gods, but Jesus is not the Almighty God, He is only the mighty god. And besides, there are those in the Bible who are called gods but really aren't as satan is the god of this system of things." The problem with this is that the OT declares that every God besides Jehovah is a false God and that there is Only One True God. God says to have no other God before Him (Exodus 20:3) because they are not by nature gods (Gal 4:8). So did God lie when He inspired the bible saying Jesus was God or as Jehovahs Witnesses say 'a mighty god.' However the word of God says "THE MIGHTY GOD." (Isa 9:6). Let GOD be true and every man a liar.

JWS mis-translation of Col 1:15

        The JWS use Col 1:15: to say Jesus is the first created being. This verse talking about Jesus says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." The J.W.'s maintain that "firstborn" means first created. This cannot be the case because... There is a Greek word for "first created" and it is not used here. "First born" is proto, "first," with tikto "to bring forth, bear, produce." There is no word used in the N.T. for "first created." However, if there were, the construction would be proto, "first," with ktizo "to create." And this is not the construction used in Col 1:15. Firstborn can certainly mean the first one born in a family. However, it can also mean preeminence. If you look at Jeremiah 31:9 you will see that the firstborn title is attributed to one of the tribes of Israel. "They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son." Here we see God called Ephriam His first born but is he Gods first created or first born? NO, he is not, he is a prominent, chosen, selected person for a special task by God. We must understand biblical culture and historical context as essential to proper biblical interpretation. The text must be used hermanuetically in its context using proper exegesis to understand the bible as it was written then and how that applies today. Firstborn was a title, not only of the first born male, but also of preeminence which is precisely what is occurring when it is said that Jesus is the firstborn. Col. 1:15-17 The J.W. Bible adds a few words here that change the meaning. The NWT reads, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist," (Their word "[other]" is in their Bible with the brackets. They maintain that they know it isn't in the original Greek Scriptures but the word is implied and should be there.) Instead of refuting the bad translation, simply ask them if this means that Jesus created everything. They will say yes. Review this and be very clear and get them to admit that it was Jesus who created everything. Then turn to... Isaiah 44:24 "This is what the LORD says -- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself." If Jesus created everything, then why does it say that the Lord (Jehovah in the Hebrew) did it by Himself? The only answer is that Jehovah is not simply the name of the Father, but that it is the name of God the Trinity. Therefore, since Jesus is God in flesh, it could be said that Jesus created all things and that Jehovah did it alone. You can also ask them to try to read the section of verses and omit the word "other". You will find it to be an interesting experience. John 8:58 in the J.W. Bible says, "...Before Abraham came into existence, I have been." They have translated the present tense ego eimi, in the Greek, into the perfect tense, I have been. Though this can be done rarely in the N.T., it is not correct here because Jesus was quoting the O.T. verse of Exodus 3:14 where God was telling Moses who He was: "God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you."'" Jesus was purposely using the divine title: I AM. The J.W. won't agree. So ask him if Jesus was saying that He "had been" before Abraham, then why does it say in the next verse that the Jews pick up stones to kill him? Additionally, about 250 years B.C. the Jews translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. It is called the Septuagint, also known as LXX. In the Septuagint Exodus 3:14 is translated in the Greek in a present tense, i.e., I AM... The correct translation is, therefore, "Before Abraham was, I AM." If this verse should really be translated as "I have been" then why did the Jews want to kill Jesus? The answer is simple: They knew He was claiming to be God, see the next example. E. - John 10:30-34 is a section of verses where the Pharisees say that Jesus is making Himself out to be God (v. 33). "I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." You can say, "See, even the Jews knew He was claiming to be God. The J.W. (if he's quick enough) will say something like, "Jesus wasn't God, the Jew's only thought that Jesus was claiming to be God." Then you can say, "Oh, I see. Then let me get this right. You agree with the Pharisees, Jesus wasn't God? Is that correct? The J.W. will not like it that he agrees with a Pharisee. The following group of scriptures strongly suggests a plurality within the Godhead. These verses are translated correctly in the J.W. Bible so you can encourage them to use it. The NIV is not as literal in its translation in the Amos verses, so I recommend using either the King James or the New American Standard Bible when doing your own. Gen. 1:26, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . . " They will say that angels are the ones who helped God make man. However, there is no scriptural evidence for that. God is the only creator. You can also take him to Col. 1:15-17 where it says that Jesus is the creator of all things--including man. Gen. 19:24, "Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven." Is this saying there are two Lords, two Jehovah's? Amos 4:10-11, "‘I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses, and I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me,' declares the LORD. ‘I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah . . . '" Jehovah is the one talking and He says, "I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah..." Very interesting. Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me . . . ‘" See also, Isaiah 48:16. If you are reading these verses to a J.W. he might say something like, "Are you trying to show the Trinity from these verses?" You can then say, "You got the Trinity out of these? That's very interesting." John 20:25 says, "The other disciples therefore were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, ‘Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe'" (NASB). The J.W.'s deny that Jesus was crucified on a cross. They say it happened on a torture stake where His wrists were put together over His head and a single nail was put through both. If that is true, then why does Thomas say "Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails..." In the Greek the word used here for "nails", helos, is in the plural. Therefore, there was more than one nail used in the hands of the crucifixion of Christ. How many firsts and lasts are there? In the Bible God is called the first and last and so is Jesus. Since God says there is no God apart from Him and Jesus and God are both addressed by the same title, then that poses a problem for the J.W. Isaiah 44:6, "This is what the LORD says -- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Revelation 1:7,8, "And they will look upon Him the one they have pierced... I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:17-18, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Obviously, Rev. 1:17-18 can only refer to Jesus. Revelation 22:12-13, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Here, both the "Alpha and the Omega" and the "First and the Last" are said to be one and the same. Also, at this point go to Titus 2:13 where it says that Jesus is the one who is coming soon, therefore, Jesus and Jehovah are the same. Col. 1:15-17 - The word "other" is inserted 4 times. It is not in the original Greek, nor is it implied. This is a section where Jesus is described as being the creator of all things. Since the J.W. organization believes that Jesus is created, they have inserted the word "other" to show that Jesus was before all "other" things, implying that He is created. There are two Greek words for "other": heteros, and allos. The first means another of a different kind, and the second means another of the same kind. Neither is used at all in this section of scripture. The J.W.'s have changed the Bible to make it fit their aberrant theology. Zech. 12:10 - In this verse God is speaking and says "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zech. 12:10). The J.W.'s change the word "me" to "the one" so that it says in their Bible, "...they will look upon the one whom they have pierced..." Since the J.W.'s deny that Jesus is God in flesh, then Zech. 12:10 would present obvious problems--so they changed it. John 1:1 - They mistranslate the verse as "a god." Again it is because they deny who Jesus is and must change the Bible to make it agree with their theology. The J.W. version is this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." Heb. 1:6 - In this verse they translate the Greek word for worship , proskuneo, as "obeisance." Obeisance is a word that means to honor, show respect, even bow down before someone. Since Jesus, to them, is created, then he cannot be worshiped. They have also done this in other verses concerning Jesus, i.e., Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9. Heb. 1:8 - This is a verse where God the Father is calling Jesus God: "But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.'" Since the J.W.'s don't agree with that they have changed the Bible, yet again, to agree with their theology. They have translated the verse as "...God is your throne..." The problem with the J.W. translation is that this verse is a quote from Psalm 45:6 which, from the Hebrew, can only be translated as "...Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." To justify their N.T. translation they actually changed the O.T. verse to agree with their theology, too! The NWT translation is horrible. It has changed the text to suit its own theological bias in many places. The NWT is corrupted by the Watchtower's unbiblical, unchristian bias. There is no historian that will deny the bible, or that Jesus walked the earth. There are records from Rome that acknowledge Jesus, to have lived, died, rose, and proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and that Christianity grew out of this movement. That Christian touched all of Roman and foreign life. If the fact is that Jesus is real and that he had an impact on the world other than just with His word's alone. He is who He claimed to be, The Messiah. What he taught is truth. Jesus is "The Way, The Truth, and The Life. no one can come to The Father except threw" Him John 14:6. You must understand that Jesus is GOD manifest in the flesh Gen 1:1-3,26; 3:27; 11:6-8; 18:1-3; Ex 3:1-16; Duet 6:4; 2 Chron 15:3; Is 6:1,3,8-9; 7:14; 9:6; 10:21; 12:2; 40:3, 10-26; 41:10; 43:10-11; 44:6. 24; 45:12,23,24; 46:8-11; 48:12,16; 54:5; 55:6-7; 57:15; Psa 23:1; 24:8; 27:1; 110:1; 112:1; 139:1-6; Zech 12:10; 13:6; 14:4-5,9; Micah 5:2; Jer 10:10; 12:13; 23:6; Matt 1:21,23; 3:3,16-17;6:9; 7:11; 13:49-42; 22:13; 28:18-20; Mark 1:3,14-15; 2:7; 9:43-48; 12:29,32; Luke 1:18-20; 47,76; 3:4,22; 8:39; 16:22-31;John 1:1-4,12,14,18,20,23,28,29,49; 2;19-23; 4:1-5,14; 5:17-32; 6:35,41,48,51; 8:12,17-18,24,28,58; 10:7,11,30-33,38; 12:41; 13:19; 14: 6-14,16,17; 15;26; 16:7-11; 17:1-5,11,15,21; 18:4-6;19:37; 20:25,28-31; Acts 1:8; 4:12; 5:3-4; 7:59; 13:2; 20;28; Rom 5:8;9:5; 10:9-14; 11:33-39;14:11; 1 Cor 2:8; 8:6; 12:4-6; 15:1-8;2 Cor 3:17,18; 13:14; Eph 1:20; 2:18; 3:8; 4:4-6; Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15-19; 2:2-9;1 Thess 4:16; 1 Tim 1:1; 3:16; 6:15; Titus 1:3; 2:13; 3:6; Heb 1:3,6,8,10,12;4:15; 5:6; 12:2,8; 13:3,8; 1 Peter 1:8; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 1:23; 2:11, 22-27; 4:15; 5:1,7-8,20-21; 2 John 9; Jude 4; Rev 1:7-8,11,17; 3:14; 4:8-11;5:6-14; 7:9; 17:14; 19:1. He Claimed to be God in John 10:30-33,38. When He said "Before Abraham was I Am" John 8:58; Ex 3:14. The words Here was Ego Eimi in Greek that means I AM, I EXIST. The same Ego Eimi used in Exodus 3:2,6,14 to describe the name Yahweh (yah[ct] weh which mean I AM THAT I AM). The Greek Septuagint (LXX) of the Old Testament translated by 70-72 Jews, 200 B.C. There is Only One true God Jer 10:10; 1 John 5:20; John 1:1-3; 10:30-38; 14:6-9; 17:3. If scripture Calls Jesus God He is God or you call GOD a liar! Let God be true and every man a liar Rom 3:4. God is the only real thing, we are here today gone tomorrow James 4:14. "Heaven and earth may pass away but (Jesus) word abideth forever" Mark 13:31. That means that if you do not obey His words you will hear them echoing for all eternity. Life is like a Chess game now YOU HAVE A CHOICE!!! Hi here is more info. It does address his questions if you have time to read. John 1:1 This is one of the most famous verses to debate among the Jehovah's Witnesses. Their contention is that Jesus is not God in flesh, but Michael the archangel who became a man. Since Jesus, to them, is not divine, then John 1:1 cannot say that Jesus is God; hence, they have added the word "a" to the verse. The correct translation for this verse is "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Note that there is no "a" before the final word "God." The Jehovah's Witnesses are incorrect in their translation of this verse for several reasons: Christianity teaches monotheism: the belief that there is only one God. If Jesus is a god, then their translation would mean there are two gods? They often respond, "Yes. But they add that Jesus is not the Almighty God. He is only the mighty god. And besides, there are those in the Bible who are called gods but really aren't." To this I tell them, "Yes, there are those that are called gods in scripture (Psalm 82:6), but the Bible is quite clear that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5, etc.). Since we know that there is only one true God, then every God besides the true God, Jehovah, is a false god. If Jesus is "a god" is he a true god or a false god? God says to have no other God before Him (Exodus 20:3) because they are not by nature gods (Gal. 4:8). Is Jesus a god or not? John was a strict Jew, a monotheist. Do you really think that John would be saying that there was another God besides Jehovah, even if it were Jesus? Being raised a good Jew, John would never believe that there was more than one God. He knew there was only one God. Also, as a good Old Testament believer, there is no way he would say that Jesus was a false god. 3.Sometimes a J.W. will say that in the Greek, John 1:1 can have the word "a" in front of it. I ask them, "Have you studied Greek?" They say, "The Watchtower has scholars who know the Greek and I believe them. They say it can be translated this way." I say, "Then because the Greek does not have the word "a" in its vocabulary, then the "a" must be implied when tranlsating, right?" They usually say, "Yes, that is right." "Well then, in John 1:6 it says the same thing in the Greek but you don't translate it according to what you believe. It says in John 1:6, "There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God" (NWT). Why isn't it translated "a god" since the construction is the same as in John 1:1?" 4.Did you know that in the Greek in John 20:28 it literally says, "The lord of me, and the god of me." There, Thomas was addressing Jesus? Now, tell me. If Jesus was not God, but "a" god, then shouldn't he have corrected Thomas? But He did not. Why not? Usually, the J.W. will say it is because Thomas was so stunned by Jesus' appearance, that he swore. I tell them, "Then Thomas, a devout man of God, swore in front of Jesus and used the Lord's name in vain?" You mean he sinned right in front of Jesus and Jesus didn't correct him? John 8:58 "Jesus said to them: "Most truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into existence, I have been" (New World Translation). Since to a Jehovah's Witness Jesus is not God, then there cannot be any verses in the Bible that would remotely hint at Jesus being divine. John 8:58 is a verse that they had to change in order to justify their doctrinal position. The correct translation of John 8:58 is, "Before Abraham was, I am." The Jehovah's Witnesses have changed the words of Jesus in this verse to say what it does not say. "I have been," grammatically, is the 'perfect tense.' By contrast, past tense would be "I was." Future tense would be "I will be." Present tense would be, "I am." In this verse, in the Greek, the original tense is in the present. The Greek words are "ego eimi." Literally, this is "I am." This is the present active indicative first person singular, not the perfect active indicative first person singular. The natural and correct translation is "I am.' Additionally, you can say to the J.W.: If Jesus were really saying, "I have been," then why would the Pharisees want to kill him (v. 59)? Since blasphemy, or calling yourself God, was punishable by death, isn't this a confirmation that Jesus was saying "I am" and that the Jew's understood what he was saying? Around 250 B.C., the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into the Greek. This translation is called the Septuagint which is also known as the LXX. In John 8:58, Jesus was quoting the Septuagint in Exodus 3:14 where Moses was at the burning bush and asked God what His name was. God answered and said, "Ego eimi, ho on." Translated this is, "I am the Being One. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was..." Before Abraham, was Moses. God said, "I AM..." The Jews knew that when Jesus said, "I AM," particularly in the context of saying "Before Abraham...", that Jesus was identifying Himself as the One at the burning bush. That is why they wanted to kill Him, because He was identifying Himself as the divine "I AM." Jesus did not switch tenses in the middle of his sentence for no reason. The word "was" in this verse is in the aorist tense (past tense). "I am" is in the present tense. If Jesus wanted to be consistent why didn't he use past tenses? The aorist (I was), the perfect (I have been), and the pluperfect (I had been) all deal with the past, yet Jesus chose to deliberately change the tense and use the present. He used a past tense verb when describing Abraham, but a present tense verb when describing Himself. He deliberately brought attention to the words, "I AM." The Pharisees understood this and tried to kill Him for saying He was God. The J.W. will deny that Jesus claimed to be God so I take him to John 10:30-33 and read to them out of their own Bible: "I and the Father are one." Once more the Jews lifted up stones to stone him. Jesus replied to them: "I displayed to you many fine works from the Father. For which of those works are you stoning me?" The Jews answered him: "We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy, even because you, although being a man, make yourself a god." (Funny, they agree with John in verse 1:1 where Jesus was "a god.") I tell them, "See even here the Pharisees understood that Jesus was claiming to be God." They usually reply, "No. They misunderstood Jesus. They only thought that he was claiming to be God." I say, "So the Pharisees misunderstood him and they were saying that Jesus was not God or a god, right?" "Right," replies the J.W. "I get it now," I say, "You agree with the Pharisees. Jesus is not God. Interesting." "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exists." The New World Translation The New World Translation not only miss interprets various scriptures, it also adds words to verses to make them agree with their theology. Col. 1:15-17 fits both categories. First of all the J.W.'s interpret the word "firstborn" to mean "first created." This is not correct because there is a Greek word of "first created" and it is not used. The Greek for firstborn is proto with tikto: firstborn. The Greek for firstcreated would be proto with ktizo: first created. Paul did not use the second but the first. Second, the biblical use of the word "firstborn" is most interesting. It can mean the first born child in a family (Luke 2:7), but it can also mean "pre-eminence." In Psalm 89:20, 27 it says, "I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him...I also shall make him My first-born" (NASB). As you can see, David, who was the last one born in his family was called the firstborn by God. This is a title of preeminence here. Third, firstborn is a title that is transferable: Gen. 41:51-52, "And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" (NASB) Jer. 31:9, "...for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn (NASB)." Scripture best interprets scripture. Firstborn does not mean first created, it is a title of preeminence, and it is transferable. The Jehovah's Witnesses should consider this when they examine Col. 1:15. Col. 1:16-17 In the NWT, the word "other" is added four times. This is done because in J.W. theology, Jesus is the first-created thing among God's creation. Although "other" is added in brackets, which means that the NWT acknowledges that it is not in the Greek, it is, nevertheless, added. This shows the J.W. bias dominating the biblical text. There exists two Greek words for "other": allos which means another of the same kind; and heteros which means another of a different kind. Paul could have used either here if he want to show that Jesus was "another" created thing. But he did not. Ask a J.W. to read the text without saying the word "other." He will have difficulty. After he has done so, ask him what he thinks the text is saying without the word "other" added in. It will be an interesting discussion. The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is the first created being. They teach that through Jesus, all other things were created. Basically, they maintain that God created Jesus and then Jesus created all other things. Afterall, according to their theology and their Bible, since Jesus is not God, that is a logical conclusion. However, that position based on Col. 1:16-17 presents a theological problem for the Jehovah's Witness. In Isaiah 44:24 God says, "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, 'I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone'" (NASB). If the Jehovah's Witness is correct, then how is it possible for the LORD (YHWH, or Jehovah) to stretch out the heavens alone and yet Jesus, "the first created thing," be the one who did it? They can't both be true. In actuality, Jehovah is the name of God. God is a trinity, and therefore Jesus can be the creator of all things and YHWH can do it by himself. Hebrews 1:6 "But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: 'And let all God's angels do obeisance to him" The New World Translation. The problem with this verse in the J.W. Bible is with the word "obeisance." In the Greek, the word is "proskuneo." It means, worship; fall down and worship, kneel, bow low, obeisance. Obeisance means, "bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame." Where this is certainly applicable to Jesus, "obeisance" does not carry sufficiently the act of worship. Jesus said in Matthew 4:10 that you should worship (proskuneo) God only. The J.W.'s, assuming that Jesus is not God, have translated the Greek word "proskuneo" as obeisance where ever it refers to Jesus. For proof, consider Matt. 2:2; 2:11; 14:33; 28:9; and John 9:35-38 in the NWT. Since the J.W.'s believe that Jesus is an angel, he cannot be worhsipped. But consider this: In Acts 10:25-26 it says, "And when it came about that Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, 'Stand up; I too am just a man'" (NASB). Here, Cornelius bows down before Peter. The Greek word there is "proskuneo." Peter knew that this homage is to be given to God alone. Jesus, undoubtedly, knew the same thing. Yet, when they bow down before Jesus, He does not rebuke them. Why? Because Jesus is worthy of worship. He is God in flesh. The Watchtower taught that Jesus was to be worshipped. Oddly enough, denying worship of Jesus is not what the Watchtower Organization has always taught. On page 216 of the July 15, 1898 edition of the Watchtower magazine it says: "Question: The fact that our Lord received worship is claimed by some to be an evidence that while on earth he was God the Father disguised in a body of flesh and not really a man. Was he really worshiped, or is the translation faulty? Answer: Yes, we believe our Lord Jesus while on earth was really worshiped, and properly so...It was proper for our Lord to receive worship in view of his having been the only begotten of the Father, and his agent in the creation of all things, including man." The J.W. will probably answer this the same way he would with the false prophecies made by the Watchtower Magazine. He would say that "the light is getting brighter." This means that the early Watchtowers did not have the same information and light that the present Watchtower writers do. They made errors in the past, but no more." Well true Christianity is the light and it is founded on the rock and we are staying the same rooted in Gods word. Gods word is unchanging. But if this were so, then how can the J.W. trust what is being said now? If the doctrines have changed before, what's to prevent them from changing again? How can a J.W. be sure that what he is believing now won't be changed later? Hebrews 1:8 and Psalm 45:6 "But with reference to the Son: 'God is your throne forever and ever, and [the] scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness'" The New World Translation. In this particularly interesting verse, God is addressing the Son. The Greek construction of Hebrews 1:8 allows the text to be translated in two legitimate ways: "God is your throne forever and ever...." and" Thy Throne O God, is forever and ever..." But because of the Watchtower presupposition that Jesus is not God, the translation must be the first one. Yet, all other Bibles do not translate it the way the NWT does. All other Bibles translate it the second way. Why? Because in actuality, though either translation is entirely legitimate, only one is possible. This is because Heb. 1:8 is a quote from Psalm 45:6 which says: "Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom" (NASB). Psalm 45:6 was written in Hebrew. The Hebrew does not have the same linguistic issues as the Greek. Psalm 45:6 can only be translated one way: Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever..." Therefore, since Hebrews 1:8 is a quote from Psalm 45:6, it must be translated in accordance with the O.T. quote. But, the NWT does not do that. To support their errant extra-biblical false prophetic doctrine, the Watchtower organization has even changed the Hebrew translation to make it agree with their theology. There is absolutely no way this can be justified other than to say that the Watchtower organization is scholastically dishonest or forthright. They fall in-line with the many other false christ's of our time.

What does this all mean to me and how does it apply to me?

        The Only way to be cleansed from your sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ, in His life, death and resurrection. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us, signing the pardon of all who believe on His name (John 3:16; Rom 5:8). We have no righteousness and must come to God pleading the righteousness of Christ (Eph 2:8), Upon sincere repentance, and a whole-hearted acceptance of Christ, we are justified before God (I John 1:9), The change which takes place in the heart and life at conversion is a very real one. (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20;1 Peter 1:18,19) Salvation is received through repentance toward God and personal growing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life. (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Rom 10:13-15; Eph 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7) The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. (Rom 8:16) The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. (Eph 4:24; Titus 2:12)Sanctification is once and for all at the new birth, instantaneous as well as progressive in nature. At the time of conversion, God Himself spiritually sets the believer apart according to His word completely breaking all chains of sin and restoring Gods kingdom dominion to whom ever will call upon His name. Then the believer is also commanded to separate himself from the world unto a holy God by by choice through the washing himself daily with the Word and in prayer, perfecting a life of personal holiness in relationship with Jesus. It is the will of God that we walk in the Spirit daily. We should show spiritual fruit as evidence of a Spirit-filled life. The fruit of the Spirit is the divine nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Pattern Son for every believer. (Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 John 3:1-3; Matt 5:48; 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 6:11-7:1; Gal 5:16; Eph 5:25-27; Col 3:8-13; 1 Thes 5:23; Heb 9:12; 12:14; Jas 1:27; 1 Pet 1:15, 16; 1 John 2:15-17; Heb 6:1; Eph 4:30-32; I Cor 12:1-11; 13; Gal 5:22).

What promise do I have to overcome all this and live in the blessings of God?

        The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. The filling or empowering of the Holy Spirit, often a conscious experience, for ministry today. The Holy spirit is present ministry in modern times and in the full expression and exercise of all the biblical gifts of the Spirit along with laying on of hands for healing, recognition, revelation, activation, and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve in the Church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to every believer and need to be discovered, activated and exercised to fulfill their divine purpose of blessing the body of Christ. The experience of the Holy Spirit Baptism being separate from and subsequent to conversion, the Johanine Pentecost. The primary and most significant initial physical evidences of the Baptism in The Holy Spirit to other believers is speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. The fruit of a genuine Pentecost is the writing of the law of God upon one's heart. There is one new birth or Johanine pentecost, one Baptism in The Holy Ghost and many subsequent re-fillings, or re-immersions. (Mark 16:16-20; Luke 4:40; 10:34; 13:13; 2 Tim 1:6; Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-4,39; 10:44-46; 19:6; 28:8; Gal 3:14-15; 4:6; 5:16,22; Eph 5:17-18; Col 1:27; Ex 19:1; Lev 23:15-22; Rom 8:9-10; 28-29; 1 Cor 12:3-13,29; 14:1,39; 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Pet 1:3-4; 1 John 3:1-3; John 16:7; 14:26; 20:21-27)