Born Again What Does it Mean?

 

The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Watchtower magazine, volume 130 no. 7

(ironically published 1st April 2009!)

 

Page 3: “…a current dictionary defines a born-again individual as “a usually Christian person who has made a renewed or confirmed commitment of faith especially after an intense religious experience”… Would you be surprised to learn that the Bible does not agree with that definition?”

 

I wouldn’t be surprised, because this is not what either the Bible or the Christian Church teaches. It is not merely a commitment of faith, but repentance (a change of mind resulting in a change of behaviour) and confession (to God, not man) of sin, asking for forgiveness on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus, who paid the price to enable this to take place. The result is that the old person passes away and new person is born: a change from ‘death’ to ‘life’:

 

…it is you God has made alive, though you were dead in your trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1 (W)

 

Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, [God] made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses.

Colossians 2:13 (W)

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

So the old life has ended and a new life has begun – literally! This is why it is called ‘born again’: it is literally a new birth, a new life. The person’s physical body may remain the same, but the person’s spirit becomes radically different (more on this below) as the next scripture indicates:

 

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

Romans 8:16

 

It is not merely a mental assent to something, or a resolution to be different, but a metamorphosis just as real and transforming as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Contrary to Watchtower teaching, there is something within humans that continues to live on and is conscious after the death of the body:

 

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven… So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:1–2, 6–8

 

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows

2 Corinthians 12:2–3

 

 

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you

Philippians 1:21–24

 

And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

.Luke 23:43

 

As mentioned at the start of this page, the Watchtower version of the Bible wrongly translates this verse:

 

And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

 

Moving the comma to the other side of the word ‘today’ cannot be justified from the Greek text but alters the meaning to fit with JW teaching.

 

So Paul tells us there is something that can be away from the body and with the Lord, in the body or out of the body, which can depart from life in the flesh to be with Christ, which can leave ‘this tabernacle’ and depart; and Jesus said He would be with the thief in Paradise while His body was in the tomb.

 

Also, in Luke 16:19–31 (the experience of Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man after their deaths), Jesus taught that consciousness continues after death. While some may argue about the distinction between spirit and soul (that such a distinction exists is clear from Hebrews 4:12), it is obvious from the above verses that this ‘non-physical’ part of man’s being continues to exist after physical death, and it is this element that is transformed at the new birth.

 

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

 

Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

2 Peter 1:13–15

 

The subject is too large to go into here, but in short the spirit is the God-conscious part of man; the soul is the self-conscious part and the body is the world-conscious part. The spirit is transformed at the new birth; the soul is being changed in this life (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:16), and the body will be changed at the resurrection.

 

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18

 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians  4:16

 

The spirit communicates with God and functions via conscience, for example; the soul functions with the mind, emotions and will; and the body is the physical element, functioning with the five senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight, enabling us to interact with the physical world.

 

The spirit is the spiritual part of man; the body is the physical part of man; the soul is the intermediary between spirit and body, bringing the spiritual into the physical realm (“your Kingdom come on the Earth as it is in Heaven”).

 

A person ruled by their spirit is spiritual (if inhabited by God’s Spirit this will result in righteousness, if inhabited by evil spirit(s) it will result in sin); ruled by their soul is soulish (and driven by the mind or emotions); ruled by their physical desires is carnal (and driven by physical desires).

 

Question: what change has taken place in those people within the Jehovah’s Witnesses who do claim to be born again? If there is no part of us that continues to live after death, then the only thing that is capable of experiencing change is our physical bodies. So in what way do they change when the new birth takes place? Or do they claim the new birth is simply ‘turning over a new leaf’ or the fact that God has now designated that person to be a part of the special group of 144,000? If so, then all the scriptures telling us about the radical change that takes place when becoming born again are meaningless.

 

Although page three of the booklet tells us ‘born again’ only appears once in the New Testament (John 3:3, 7), in a footnote it does give the reference to 1 Peter 1:3, 23, which are two more verses saying the same thing:

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot

see the kingdom of God." ...Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

John 3:3, 7

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...  having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…

1 Peter 1:3, 23

 

Page 5: “Since Jesus viewed the new birth as a matter of such great importance, Christians should make sure that they understand this subject accurately. For example, do you think that a Christian can choose to be born again?”

 

The Watchtower belief system is radically different from what is taught in the Bible, as we shall see as we progress. Hence we find such strange questions as that in the above quote. The people Paul was writing to at Ephesus and Colossi in the quotes above were Christians. These are the people who he said were now alive who had previously been dead: i.e. they had experienced the new birth. The consistent teaching of the New Testament is that a Christian is a person who has been born again. If someone is born again, they are a Christian; if they are not born again, they are not a Christian. So the idea that a Christian can choose to be born again is completely wrong: if he is a Christian, he has been born again.

 

Page 5: “A careful reading of Jesus’ words shows that Jesus did not teach that it is up to man to choose whether to experience the new birth or not.”

 

This is self-evidently untrue, as will be seen in what follows. It is man who chooses whether to repent or not. It is man who chooses whether to be baptised or not. According to Peter in Acts chapter 2 (quoted later) everyone undertaking these two steps will receive the Holy Spirit. So in that sense the initiative comes from man. However, strictly speaking this is not the whole story since the first initiative came from God, who planned and accomplished the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus to make our salvation possible. Having initiated the process He is now waiting for us to respond to Him, and in everyone who does so He performs the miracle of new birth.

 

Page 6: “…when Jesus said you must be “born again,” He was stating a fact, not giving a command.”

 

It makes no difference whether He was stating a fact or giving a command. Either way the effect of His words is the same: it is vitally important that a person is born again; otherwise it is impossible either to see or enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, clearly, it is both necessary and possible for us. Yet the Watchtower in its teaching tells the majority of its followers that they cannot be born again! Presumably they know better than Jesus…

 

“If we keep the expression “from above” in mind, it is not hard to understand why an individual cannot cause his own new birth.”

 

Untrue! It is God who gives us the new birth certainly – we cannot do it ourselves – but it is we who have to present ourselves to Him in order for it to happen. If we do not, it will not happen: if we do, then it will.

 

On page seven in the chapter “What is its Purpose?” we are told:

 

“Thus, one needs to be born again in order to enter into God’s Kingdom, not in order to receive salvation.”

 

Another statement that is untrue: as will be seen in this discussion, salvation is entering into God’s Kingdom. If a person is in God’s Kingdom he is saved: if he is not in God’s Kingdom he is not saved. If one reads the entire chapter of 1 Peter 1 it is clear that the new birth referred to in 1 Peter 1:3, 23 results in salvation. For example, immediately following verse three it is clear that…

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3–5

 

Therefore the new birth, the entrance into God’s Kingdom and the reception of salvation are all different aspects of the same experience. The Watchtower disagrees, however:

 

Page 7: “‘But,’ some may say, ‘are not these two expressions – entering the Kingdom and receiving salvation – referring to the same reward? No, they are not.”

 

I agree! They are not referring to the same reward because neither entering the Kingdom nor receiving salvation is a reward, but a free gift. There is nothing anyone can do to earn salvation; nothing anyone can do to earn entrance into the Kingdom:

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

 

However, there then appears a very deceptive paragraph, giving scripture quotations in support, which in fact do not say what is claimed. Quote:

​

Page 7: “…Christ’s fellow rulers are individuals chosen “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” and will “rule as kings over the earth.” (Revelation 5:9, 10; 20:6) God’s Word further reveals that those who will rule as kings form a “little flock” of 144,000 individuals “who have been brought from the earth.” Luke 12:32; Revelation 14:1, 3.”

 

So let’s look at those scriptures.

 

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

Revelation 5:8–10

 

Translations vary regarding whether the song in this passage refers to the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders who were singing, or to others. Either could be the case, depending on whether the Greek word hemas is translated ‘us’ or ‘them’: either ‘redeemed us’ or ‘redeemed them’. According to Strong’s Greek dictionary, hemas is the Accusative plural of the Greek word ego – ‘I’ or ‘me’, making hemas ‘our’, ‘us’ or ‘we’. If this is the case, then the passage cannot refer to the 144,000. The Watchtower translation translates it ‘them’, but even if this were the case, there is nothing in the context to restrict it to the 144,000: it simply refers to people who were redeemed by Jesus’ blood out of every nation and there is no verse in the New Testament that limits the number of the redeemed to 144,000.

 

 Ἡμᾶς,  hēmas, hay-mas' Accusative plural of G1473; us: - our, us, we.

(Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)

 

However, if the Watchtower are saying that only the 144,000 are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, then the rest really are in trouble! The word ‘redeemed’ has its roots in slavery, where if a slave could get enough money to buy his own freedom, he could ‘redeem’ himself. The Bible teaches that the whole of the human race is born into slavery to Satan as a result of Adam’s sin. Jesus, through His sacrificial death, made it possible for us to be redeemed, the price of which is His blood. The only way for anyone to come out of slavery to Satan and into freedom, is by being redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. If a person is not so freed in this life, he will not be freed in the next either:

 

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.

Revelation 22:11

 

So there is a stark choice: slavery to Satan (i.e. ruled by Satan in his kingdom) or freedom in Christ (i.e. living in God’s Kingdom and under His rule). There is no other alternative. The choice is ours to take now, in this life, which determines our destiny both in this life and the next: repent, be baptised and God will give the gift of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of eternal life; or do not take that step and remain in slavery to Satan in this life and be cast out of God’s presence in the next. In Revelation there is a company too large to number, with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, which could only refer to redemption through Jesus’ blood. So it is obvious the number of the redeemed is not limited to 144,000.

 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands… And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7:9, 14

 

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:6

 

There is nothing in the context of the chapter to restrict this verse to the 144,000. However notice that all those who take part in the first resurrection will rule with Christ. So no Jehovah’s Witnesses who have died will be resurrected until after Christ’s 1,000 year reign, unless they are part of the 144,000, according to their teaching.

 

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Luke 12:32

 

Who was Jesus talking to?

 

Then, turning to His disciples, Jesus said...

Luke 12:22

 

Peter asked if Jesus was referring just to them or to others in Luke 12:41, and in His reply (Luke 12:42–53) Jesus made it clear it was for everyone who continued to obey Him. So there is nothing in the context of this passage to claim that the ‘little flock’ to whom Jesus was speaking here was the 144,000 and no-one else.

 

Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads… They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

Revelation 14:1, 3

 

The 144,000 are identified in Revelation 7:4–8 as Israelis. There can be no doubt about this, as the names of the tribes are specified. So, for example, those Israelis from the tribe of Reuben are such because they can trace their ancestry back to Reuben. If the 144,000 are not Israelis but Jehovah’s Witnesses, on what basis are 12,000 of them of the tribe of Reuben? They certainly can’t trace their ancestry back to Reuben.

 

Furthermore, it couldn’t possibly refer to Jehovah’s Witnesses who lived and died in the 19th and 20th centuries, because the 144,000 are living on the Earth just after the events of the four horsemen, the sun becoming black, the moon becoming like blood and terror in everyone on the Earth (Revelation 6:1–17). They were sealed for their protection before further judgements fell on the Earth, sea and trees.

 

…saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."… They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Revelation 7:3; 9:4

 

The fact that many people claimed by the Watchtower to be a part of the 144,000 have now died is therefore evidence that they are not! While parts of the book of Revelation are not chronological, because there are different descriptions of different time periods, it cannot be claimed that the sealing of the 144,000 is not chronologically where I have described because they are all living on the Earth and sealed at the same time, between the opening of the 6th and 7th seals (Revelation 6:12 and 8:1 respectively).

 

I looked when He opened the sixth seal…

Revelation 6:12

 

When He opened the seventh seal…

Revelation 8:1

 

Furthermore, according to this magazine:

 

Page 9: “…the 3,000 converts were first baptised with water, and then they received the holy spirit.”

 

So by Watchtower reckoning the converts on the day of Pentecost are included in the 144,000. But John’s revelation, which came toward the end of his life while exiled on Patmos, was of events to come in the future. By the time his revelation came some of the 3,000 had already died and of course they all died nearly 2,000 years ago. Since the sealing of the 144,000 takes place while they are alive on the Earth – before the resurrection – these too are then obviously excluded!

 

Question: if Peter was on the Earth today, preached the same sermon as he did on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 responded in repentance and baptism, would they too all be born again? If not, why not? What was so special about the 3,000 in Acts 2 that they should immediately be born again, while others responding in the same way today are not? They did nothing different from anything millions of people since that day have done.

 

In Revelation 14 the 144,000 are present with the Lamb and later we are told about saints on the Earth needing to endure, who are therefore different people from the 144,000 now with the Lamb. So there are saints in addition to the 144,000.

 

Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads… Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus…

Revelation 14:1, 12

 

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:4

 

How many Jehovah’s Witnesses have been beheaded, refused to worship the beast or its image and refused its mark on their foreheads? The answer is none because the mark of the beast, without which no one can buy or sell, has not yet been instituted. When it is, an angel will be seen warning mankind not to accept it, and that certainly has not happened yet. The people who have been martyred in this way will reign with Christ for 1000 years, but the Watchtower says only the 144,000 will do this. Clearly, Revelation 20:4 is contrary to Watchtower teaching!

 

… no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 13:17

 

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

Revelation 14:9–10

 

Page 8: “What then did Jesus mean when He stated that one must be born again to “enter the Kingdom of God?” He meant that one needs to be born again in order to become a ruler with Christ in heaven.”

 

This is a clear case of twisting the meaning of scripture to fit an unscriptural idea. The fact that I entered the United Kingdom when I was born in England as a baby did not mean I became a ruler of the United Kingdom! Clearly I did not: I just became a subject. When Jesus said one must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, He meant one must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, which has nothing to do with whether one rules within it or not. What it does so clearly mean, however, is that until one is born again, one is outside of God’s Kingdom, and even unable to see it. Therefore if he is not born again a person is still in Satan’s kingdom and under his rule – there is no other option.

 

Page 11: “Since the days of the Apostles, God has been choosing from among mankind a limited number of faithful Christians, adopting them as sons.”

 

Untrue! Where is the scriptural basis for this claim? There is absolutely no limit on the number of people who can become God’s sons:

 

However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name…

John 1:12 (W)

 

Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God… children of God…

1 John 5:1–2 (W)

 

Those two scriptures alone are enough to destroy this Watchtower teaching; but they aren’t alone! During the course of writing this paper I have read right through the New Testament, and at the end of this discussion I have listed dozens of scriptures, all of which speak about salvation, redemption through Christ’s blood, being God’s children, etc., none of which make any reference to any limitation regarding the number of people to whom they apply. Nor do they give any distinction between people who are born again and so are God’s children, and others who are saved but not God’s children.

 

In contrast, the Watchtower can only come up with a handful of scriptures in support of its teaching, all of which are clearly either taken out of context or interpreted in a way differently from that which was so obviously intended.

 

The Watchtower error came about historically because they originally said Jehovah’s Witnesses were the 144,000, but when it became apparent that there were going to be more J.W.s than this number, they had to find a way around it. They did this by misusing:

 

And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. Those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.

John 10:16 (W)

 

So the 144,000 became the sheep ‘of this fold’ by this new teaching and everyone else joining the Watchtower became the ‘other sheep’. However, this is quite obviously wrong even from the same verse, since Jesus says

 

“…there will be one flock…”

 

Not two flocks – one flock. This can only mean one thing: the sheep from two different flocks are mingled together so they become one flock and thereafter their origin becomes unimportant and indistinguishable. According to Watchtower teaching there will always be two different flocks; according to Jesus there will only be one flock. And this one flock receives eternal life:

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

John 10:27–28

 

It is obvious from New Testament teaching what Jesus was referring to: ‘This fold’ was the Israeli people to whom He was ministering. E.g. when the Canaanite woman came to Him asking Him to heal her demonised daughter:

 

But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Matthew 15:24 

 

And when He sent his disciples out:

 

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 10:5–6

 

So His earthly ministry was primarily to Israel (although He did respond to requests from ‘foreigners’), but His commission to the disciples after His resurrection was to evangelise the entire world:

 

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15–16

 

These are the sheep ‘not of this fold’. Note, there is no limit or restriction on the number of people to whom this applies in this verse. Nor is there any hint that at some future time after they have become Christians a minority of these will be born again while the majority will not. However, Paul tells us about the uniting of these two flocks into one, this time using the analogy of the two, Israeli and Gentile, becoming one new man:

 

…that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace

Ephesians 2:12–15

 

This theme is continued elsewhere:

 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

 

where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Colossians 3:11

 

However, Paul also says the Israeli nation will ultimately be restored back to God:

 

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB;

Romans 11:25–26

 

This, clearly, is where the 144,000 come from: when “the fullness of the people of the nations has come in” (Watchtower translation) the Israeli people will turn back to God, 144,000 of whom are the group mentioned in Revelation. There is no scriptural justification whatsoever for the Watchtower to claim that JWs are the 144,000, or that the 144,000 are the only ones who are born again, and the very few scriptures they can produce in support of the claim are quite clearly taken out of context and the true meaning distorted. So in Acts, there is just one flock:

 

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Acts 20:28–29

 

On page nine we are told that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is one of two elements that constitute the new birth.

 

Page 9: “…the new birth takes place by a twofold process. Note that Jesus first got baptised with water. Then He received that holy spirit. Similarly the early disciples had first been baptised in water (some by John the Baptiser), and then they received the holy spirit. (John 1:26–36)”

 

However in Acts chapter two:

 

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Acts 2:38–39

 

There is no limitation of 144,000 there! The promise is to all that are far off – which can apply equally to being far off in time as well as distance. If it should be claimed that the limitation is that it only applies to those God calls to Him and God is only going to call 144,000, then:

 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

 

And then He told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15–16

 

Notice there are only people who believe and are saved, and people who do not believe and are condemned: there is no third option. Over and over again, in scripture after scripture, the good news of salvation for as many as will receive it is repeated. The only limitation regarding the number of people who can receive everything God has for us is in the mind of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It certainly cannot be found in the Bible.

 

Note also that according to Acts 2:38–39 the acts of repentance and baptism will be followed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t say ‘might be followed’, or ‘some of you shall receive’. Since the Watchtower says the gift of the Holy Spirit equals the new birth, and the Bible says this gift comes to all who repent and are baptised, their theory about the limitation to 144,000 is clearly wrong.

 

Additionally, they claim that this gift must be given by God and is therefore solely His initiative; but He has promised He will give it to all those who take these two steps. So the idea that man has no part to play in this is also obviously wrong.

 

Page 9: “First a person repents of his sins, turns away from a wrong course, dedicates his life to Jehovah to worship and serve Him, and makes his dedication public by water baptism. Then, if God chooses him to serve as a ruler in His Kingdom, he is anointed with holy spirit.”

 

This is quite clearly unscriptural as we have seen: the promise of the Holy Spirit is to all who repent and are baptised, not just a select few. Furthermore Jesus said that all who believe will receive the Holy Spirit:

 

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:38–39

 

Page 10: “when used as a figure of speech, the word “birth” means “beginning”…”

 

Who says it is a figure of speech? It may serve the Watchtower to claim this, because otherwise it would not fit in with their teaching, but there is no Biblical evidence to justify it. Certainly Nicodemus took it literally, and when he questioned Jesus over the point –

 

“Can a man enter his mother’s womb a second time?”

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Jesus, far from saying

 

“I meant it as a figure of speech”

 

emphasised the fact that He meant it literally:

 

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

John 3:6–7

 

The fact is that the Watchtower insists there is nothing more than the physical body in the makeup of a human, and clearly the physical body cannot be born a second time apart from the resurrection. So they are obliged to interpret Jesus’ words in this way. It is one more case of them bringing their own theories to the Bible and trying to make it support them.

 

The tripartite nature of man is too large a subject to deal with in any kind of depth here (the brief review given earlier will have to do!), so one scripture will have to suffice:

 

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

 

So there are three elements that make up a person ‘wholly’, which therefore must all be different otherwise it is tautology. It is the spirit of man that is born again. The transformation of the physical body will take place at the resurrection.

 

In the chapter ‘What Does it Accomplish?’ (pages 10–11) the description of adoption by God is fair enough, except, of course, for the continued insistence that it only applies to the 144,000. So, for example, when Romans 8:15–16 (quoted earlier) tells us the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children, the booklet makes it clear that it does not apply to those outside of the 144,000. Indeed, this is the insidiousness of the teaching: the powerful promises of Romans 8, for example…

 

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Romans 8:8–9

 

…are denied to everyone outside that limited number. Note from that scripture that only when the Spirit of God dwells in us can we be pleasing to God. So the Watchtower believes most of their followers are not pleasing to God, because His Spirit does not dwell in them!

 

By insisting there are two different types of people who receive salvation – a notion foreign to the teaching of scripture – it imposes a mind-set on its followers that prevents them from applying the scriptures to themselves. Indeed, it is difficult to see what part of the New Testament is left to the vast majority of people seeking to serve the one true God, since in so many cases they are clearly applied by the Watchtower only to the 144,000 who they say are exclusively God’s children.

 

In the following chapter “Rulership for Some, Benefits for Many” we are told:

 

Page 11: “God’s word also states that others besides those who are born again will receive everlasting salvation.”

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Page 12: “…God purposed to save two groups of people – a comparatively small group of rulers living in heaven and a large group of subjects living on earth.”

 

In support of this unscriptural idea we are given just two New Testament scriptures. Here is the first:

 

And He is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours [the small group] only, but also for the whole world’s [the large group]. (Words in brackets theirs)

1 John 2:2 (W)

 

There is absolutely no justification for this interpretation of the verse. What John is so clearly saying is that the salvation they are enjoying is available to the whole world. There are so many scriptures proving this, it is an embarrassment of riches. For the moment we’ll look at one:

 

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only-begotten Son, on order that everyone exercising faith in Him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 (W)

 

The second scripture given in support of the idea is:

 

For the eager expectation of the creation [the large group] is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God [the small group]. (Words in brackets theirs)

Romans 8:19 (W)

 

Once again the context of the verse is ignored in order to distort its true meaning.

 

For we know that all creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together until now.

Romans 8:22 (W)

 

Creation came into bondage as a result of Adam’s sin, with thorns appearing on vegetation, animals turning wild and fighting and consuming each other, and so on. So the whole of creation is groaning in the way verse 22 mentions. To narrow the meaning of the phrases ‘the creation’ in Romans 8:19, or ‘the whole world’ in 1 John 2:2, down only to the ‘large group’ of J.W.s who are not included in the 144,000 is obviously wrong.

 

The same error is made in the only other scripture they give, this time regarding Abraham’s promise:

 

And by means of your Seed [the small group] all the nations of the earth [the large group] will certainly bless themselves. (Words in brackets theirs)

Genesis 22:18 (W)

 

As page 12 shows, Abraham’s seed in the New Testament is primarily Jesus Christ and secondarily through Him, all the sons of God are also Abraham’s seed.

 

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "AND TO YOUR SEED," who is Christ… For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:16, 26, 29

 

As we have already seen, this means everyone who has repented and been baptised, who has therefore received the Holy Spirit. It is nonsense to claim the phrase ‘all the nations of the earth’ refers just to the group of JWs who are not included in the 144,000. Quite obviously, the blessing of all the nations is that Abraham’s seed – Jesus – will be their means of salvation should they choose to accept it.

 

Furthermore, God’s promise to Abraham was that his seed would be so many it would be impossible to count them:

 

Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

Genesis 15:5

 

…blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Gen 22:17

 

Since it is obviously possible to count the 144,000, they cannot be what God is referring to here. However:

 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands… And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7:9, 14

 

If there is any group in the book of Revelation that is likely to qualify to be Abraham’s seed, it is this one. They are from every nation, and God said in Abraham’s seed all the nations of the world would be blessed; and they are too many to number, which is what God said Abraham’s seed would be. In contrast, the 144,000 are not too many to number, and are only from the nation of Israel. So on both counts the 144,000 do not qualify to be uniquely Abraham’s seed. They will certainly be included in the seed, but for God’s promise to Abraham to be true countless others have to be included as well.

 

Page 15: “Jehovah…values human life and the potential that each individual has for repenting and learning to do what is right.”

 

Precisely! That is why God is no respecter of persons:

 

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him

Acts 10:34–35

 

Therefore He places no restriction on the number of people who can become His children. If He had set a restriction of 144,000 on the number of people who could become His children, then He would be respecting persons. To claim, as the Watchtower does, that only 144,000 people will qualify to reach this position is contrary to the teaching of the New Testament that salvation is not by works, but by grace. There is nothing anyone can do to achieve their own salvation: it is by grace through faith. Works follow certainly and they will be rewarded, but they are the result of the new birth, not the cause of it!

 

Furthermore there is no hint of the 144,000 anywhere in the New Testament outside of the book of Revelation, which was written a few decades after the birth of the Church. This means that all the references in the letters to the churches regarding them being sons of God would at that time be taken to apply to everyone in them because there is no teaching anywhere to suggest that only a minority of them were born again sons of God. E.g.

 

You are all, in fact, sons of God, through your faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26 (W)

 

So for example the Romans would understand that the many references to the Holy Spirit within believers were for all of them – not just a select few. This is in stark contrast to the ‘letters’ (Watchtower publications) to the Watchtower ‘churches’ in which they are told these promises do not apply to the vast majority of them! In the Bible, however, we are told that when the Gentiles believed, they were given the Holy Spirit:

 

And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us.

Acts 15:7–8

 

Jesus said,

 

“You must be born again.”

 

The Watchtower twists His words around in this magazine to say,

 

“You cannot be born again”

 

to the vast majority of its followers. Why did Jesus say to Nicodemus “You must be born again?” He makes it very clear: unless a person is born again he can neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God? Well, what is the kingdom of the Queen of England? It is the territory over which she reigns. Likewise, the Kingdom of God is where God reigns. In this the Watchtower is in agreement, as can be seen later. In one sense God reigns everywhere, since as Creator He made it all and holds everything together by His power. However, the Bible says the world lies in the hand of the enemy:

 

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

1 John 5:19

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Jesus said:

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I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
John 14:30 

 

Therefore the world has been hijacked by Satan and become the area of his reign: so we are born into the kingdom of the enemy. It is imperative that we leave that kingdom (i.e. the reign and power of Satan) and enter the Kingdom of God (i.e. the reign and power of God), and the only way we can enter the Kingdom of God according to Jesus in John 3 is by being born again. How is a person born again?

 

…that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:7–8

 

It is not by ‘works’: there is nothing we can do to achieve it. Salvation comes by faith:

 

…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation

Romans 10:9–10

 

What are we being saved from?

 

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Romans 5:9

 

Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

Colossians 3:6

 

Who can be saved?

 

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

John 3:36

 

Notice there is no ‘two-tier’ hierarchy of Christians in any of these verses! You are either saved or you are not. You are either in the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan: the Kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. You are either a sheep or a goat (Matthew 25:32–46); wheat or weed (Matthew 13:24–30). There is no third kingdom and no neutral territory. Every person on the planet is either in God’s Kingdom or Satan’s kingdom: there is no alternative. Should the Watchtower wish to dispute this, I challenge them to produce one single scripture which clearly tells of an alternative to being a member of either of these two Kingdoms. The Bible says:

 

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Ephesians 2:1–3

 

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Ephesians 5:8

 

When Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was told his work would be to turn people from darkness and the authority of Satan to light and an inheritance from God:

 

So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'

Acts 26:15–18

 

This is perhaps the most important point in the whole of this study. The Watchtower tells most of its followers that they are not in the Kingdom of God, because they are not born again. So what Kingdom are they in? There is only one other alternative: the kingdom of Satan! You either have life or you do not have life; you either have Jesus Christ or you do not have Jesus Christ:

 

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life

1 John 5:11–12

 

You can know without any doubt that you have eternal life: if you don’t know, you probably don’t have it!

 

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

1 John 5:13

 

The Watchtower booklet says that God’s Kingdom is the area where God governs:

 

Page 7: “A kingdom is a form of government. So, then, the expression “kingdom of God” means “government of God.””

 

Therefore those outside of God’s Kingdom are outside of His government. So by the Watchtower’s own reasoning the vast majority of their followers, who they say are not born again, are not in God’s Kingdom, not under His government. So they must still be in Satan’s kingdom; still in darkness, still under his government. There is no other alternative. We are either born again, or we are not. We are either children of God or children of Satan:

 

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

John 8:44

 

It is not for me to tell Watchtower supporters what to do; but for myself, if I discovered I was a member of an organisation that told me I was a member of Satan’s kingdom, under his government, and they could give me no means of leaving it, I would be out of there so fast my feet would not touch the ground!

                                                   

While it is true there are rewards for serving God, the new birth and the resulting eternal life is not one of them! Throughout the New Testament we are told this is entirely God’s work, performed in those who turn in faith to Him. The rewards are for those who, having experienced salvation, then go on to serve God faithfully.

 

The awful thing is that in their teaching the Watchtower is preventing its followers from taking the step of faith (see Galatians below) necessary for the new birth to take place, by telling them it does not apply to them.

 

This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Galatians 3:2–3

 

It tells them that the new birth is for the privileged 144,000, and the rest, as long as they work hard enough, can be ‘saved from the wrath to come’ but they will never be sons of God. By so doing, the Watchtower places itself in the category of 2 Corinthians 4:4:

 

…whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

2 Corinthians 4:4

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INDEX

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