Ten years have passed since I wrote Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse, and during that time I have received thousands of letters from readers actually using it in discussions with sect members. Overwhelmingly, they continue to tell me that the book is extremely helpful--that it helps them anticipate the arguments JWs use and to answer these effectively.

However, some letters from readers occasionally tell of Witnesses surprising them with biblical interpretations not discussed in the book. In some cases this involves a new teaching introduced in Watchtower publications during recent years or a new approach suggested for converting non-Witnesses, while in other cases it is simply a matter of an exceptionally well-versed JW digging deeper into the sect's literature and pulling up one of the more obscure arguments published in support of its unorthodox theology. In either case, the Christian has been stumped and has written to me for help.

There are sound biblical answers, of course, for all of the Jehovah's Witness errors--regardless of whether these are the more common errors addressed in Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse, or the newer or deeper arguments not covered there. Having assembled a good number of the latter over the past decade, I feel an obligation now to share them with readers who will find this information useful.

First, though, a word about how the Watchtower Society succeeds in persuading so many followers to accept its twisted interpretations.

The new student is given the impression that he is studying the Bible, but the study material is actually a Watchtower Society publication. Bible verses are quoted, but out of context. Not only is the context omitted, but the verse is actually placed in a different context, namely the context of the Watchtower book.

To grasp how this can change the meaning, think of the entire biblical passage as a cooked turkey breast. Someone cutting into that turkey breast and eating it will know what it tastes like. However, someone who is given just a thin slice smothered with mustard between layers of rye bread will know only what the sandwich tastes like--not the taste of the turkey itself. Similarly, the original flavor or meaning of a Bible verse can be completely lost or changed when sandwiched between introductory words and concluding application in the pages of a Watchtower book.

There is nothing wrong, of course, with reading or consulting materials that discuss and interpret Scripture. The danger lies in replacing Bible-reading with such "study."

That is what Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to do, in practice--the organization's encouragement to "read the Bible" notwithstanding. Their real attitude is exemplified in this presumptuous statement in the December 1, 1981 Watchtower magazine (page 27):

...Jehovah God has also provided his visible organization, his "faithful and discreet slave," made up of spirit-anointed ones, to help Christians in all nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives. Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do.

Depending more on the organization, then, than upon the Bible itself, JWs are likely to accept the organization's interpretation even when this contradicts the plain reading of the text. Keep this in mind. It will help you understand why even the best presentation of scriptural information to a JW may fall on deaf ears. Many Jews who heard Jesus speak in person likewise rejected him in favor of their religious organization. But we have the joy of knowing that all who value truth are his sheep and will hear his voice. (John 10:3-27; 18:37)

For verse-by-verse answers,
select either
OLD TESTAMENT
or NEW TESTAMENT thru Acts
or NEW TESTAMENT Acts thru Revelation

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