During my time of street ministry I observed there to be no other organization so rigorously committed to systematic door to door visitations than that of the Jehovah Witnesses. So organized and effective were they in their work in the three and a half years I was out there, they put the rest of us to shame. And, because of the spiritual vacuum that is so evident in people’s lives, their religion had/has great appeal for people.
Churches were/are not preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The foundations of biblical theology were/are being denied from the highest pulpits in the land as well as in the theological seminaries. But the fact remains that people were/are still looking for some sort of spiritual reality and the J W’s do their extreme best to fill that void. They are utterly fearless in their witnessing and don’t care what anybody says or thinks of them.
Countless times I found myself either a few days ahead or a few days behind J W representatives. So much so, that in my conversations with people they would often question the discrepancies in our belief systems. Puzzled, confused and often angry they would ask, “What is the difference between you both?”
Young married mother, Annette, used to look forward to my visits. It was an opportunity for her to share her everyday problems and confusions – often they were about her husband’s in-laws. I would listen and always endeavour to respond as led by the Holy Spirit. She would say, “I like what you say. That seems to make a lot of sense. You are so different than the Jehovah Witnesses. They make me feel so fearful and guilty.”
Another lady, quite angrily asked, “What is your church doing door knocking? I thought only Jehovah’s Witnesses did that.” I gave her a message from the gospel and a smile came upon her face. Her son was standing with her visiting from the country, so she asked if I could send her two New Testament Bibles, one for her son and another one for his family because, “he had to think about them too!” Then she asked, “What is the difference between you and the Jehovah Witnesses?”
A young lady in her thirties informed me that she was a Jehovah Witness. Having said that, it was apparent she had little knowledge of their teachings. She had numerous Bible translations on the shelf but gave no mention of the J W ‘New World Translation’ Bible as being, “the correct translation.” She claimed Jesus Christ to be God, that He was her Lord and Saviour and that her sins were washed away by His blood. Then she spoke about the peace she had and the purpose the Lord has given her in life. Her question was, “Can you tell me the difference between us?”
An old man, originally from Finland told me he had severe arthritis in his neck. During our time of nearly an hour together he politely listened as I talked of the purpose of Jesus Christ coming to earth, but he would say, “That’s not what the Jehovah Witnesses say.” I mentioned that if he’d allow me to pray for healing in his neck, “Jesus might say something to you in the form of a healing.” Again, “The Jehovah Witnesses said……” I mentioned that Jesus is in heaven today, but that He continues to heal through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Quickly he replied, “The Jehovah Witnesses say there is no such thing as the Trinity. They say the Holy Spirit is not God. Why are you all so different?”
Another practicing J W lady with a welcoming, smiling face invited me inside saying, “I believe the Spirit of God is all around me.” Then she spoke of the guilt she had, “because I have not been praying much lately.” She said she was new to the J W’s but wanted to know the difference between our beliefs. She asked lots of questions in the hour and twenty minutes I was with her. As I was walking down her hallway to leave, there was a ring on her doorbell. She opened her door to two women from her Kingdom Hall. She introduced me to them and told me I was from the local church. Upon hearing this, a religious spirit of anger presented itself within both of them – in their demeanor and in their speech.
I was once in a Christian book shop. A man in his late thirties asked the lady behind the counter some questions on Jesus and the Bible and with each answer she gave, he said, “That’s not what the Jehovah Witnesses say.” Every endeavour on her part brought a similar response from him and this went on for a few minutes. The lady looked at me with an appeal in her eye to take over, so I did.
Instead of answering questions, I decided to ask him some. I said, “What do the Jehovah Witnesses say about……?” When he told me, I would say, “That’s not what the Bible teaches.” Again, “Do the Jehovah Witnesses teach…….?” Regardless of his reply, I was able to tell him what the Bible declares about each matter. At one point he asked me, “What makes you think you people are better than the Jehovah Witnesses and their teachings?” I said, “We don’t think we’re better. But Jesus Christ is.” He then said, “Well tell me the difference between you both.”
I had the pleasure of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with that man, right there. He was seeking God’s reality and power that day and he readily saw his need of Christ to forgive him his sin if he wanted to enter eternity and live with Him forever. He asked me to pray with him and I asked the lady to join us.
A few weeks later I walked back into that shop. I spoke with the lady of our last meeting. She said, “Oh – you’re the one! I was hoping you would come back.” I was surprised at the remark. She told me that the man had an asthma attack and died just a few days after our prayer together.
What is the difference between us both?
- The J W’s deny Jesus Christ as Almighty God Jehovah. We do not.
- They deny the One God Who exists in 3 Persons – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We do not.
- They deny the existence of the Holy Spirit as a Person. We do not.
- They reject the doctrine of the Trinity. We do not.
- They reject the doctrine of hell. We do not.
- They interpret the Bible in the light of their doctrines and books. We do not.
- They interpret the New Testament in the light of the Old Testament. We do the opposite.
- The J W’s claim to be the true prophets of God. They are false prophets.
As a result of these denials, rejections and claims by the Jehovah Witnesses, it matters very little as to what else is different between us – and there are many such differences. But they are all secondary issues. The eight dot-points above are primary issues. Therefore, if we say we are a Christian, each one of us must be sound in our theology on each point. If not, we have nothing to offer anyone who says, “Tell me the difference between you both.” “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end (uttermost part) of the earth.” Acts 1:8.