Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Accept a Different Gospel?

The apostle Paul called out the Corinthians when he said, “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:4).

We believe the evidence we will present below proves that Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught “another gospel,” one that offers them no hope for a future in heaven with Jesus. Why not take every opportunity to learn about your faith so the next time a Witness knocks at your door you will “be prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have…with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15)?

According to biblical Christianity, “Jesus Christ is God’s perfect son, holy, resurrected, divine (second person of the Trinity), yet also fully human.”[1]

But the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) teaches that Jesus preexisted as the archangel Michael. When Jesus came to earth He became a man, but only a man. He “earned” his immortality as a reward for his “faithful course of action” on earth.”[2] Then, when He died, He once again became the new and improved archangel Michael. At no time was Jesus ever God, or part of any Trinity.

Further, the Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus did not come to earth as the Messiah [Greek, christos] as Luke 2:11 teaches. Rather, He became “the Christ” when He was baptized:

“As regards Jesus, according to the angel’s announcement at his birth in Bethlehem he was to become a ‘Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ When did he become Christ or ‘Anointed One’? After the prophet John the son of priest Zechariah baptized Jesus in the Jordan River....Not at birth, but at thirty years of age Jesus became Christ or ‘Anointed One.’”[3]

While Jehovah’s Witnesses may acknowledge Jesus as “a” god, they reject the notion that He is God Almighty. This is clearly evident in their New World Translation of the Bible, where we read in John 1:1, “the Word [Jesus] was a god.” This translation is not supported by the Greek, which any good lexicon or commentary will tell you. David Reed explains the implications of this change:

“By reducing Jesus Christ to ‘a god,’ the Watchtower places him among the ‘many “gods” and many “lords”’ of 1 Corinthians 8:5—on the same level as Satan, ‘the god of this system of things’ (2 Cor. 4:4, NWT).”[4]

Dr. Wayne House summarizes what the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach about Jesus:

“JWs agree that Jesus was conceived and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life as a perfect human being—no more and no less. He was neither God incarnate nor even a powerful spirit incarnate, but could only be a perfect man in order to serve as a “corresponding ransom” (1 Tim. 2:6 NWT), laying down an equivalent perfect human life for the one Adam forfeited when he sinned.”[5]

In biblical Christianity, salvation is “obtained only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by human effort.”[6]

Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that salvation begins by membership in and obedience to the Watchtower organization. Watchtower magazine for February 15, 1983, explains, “…we must be associated with God’s channel, his organization… to receive everlasting life in the earthly paradise, we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it.”[7]

The Watchtower society identifies three classes of individuals who are “potential heirs” of salvation. First, the “anointed.” This is the class of 144,000 people who are “elect” of God, and have the best (and perhaps only) chance of a future in heaven. However, as Wayne House explains, “In principle, all available openings for this anointed class were filled by 1935; since then newer members were understood to be added to its ranks only through the apostasy of older anointed members.”[8] Despite being “chosen” by God, even the anointed must earn and maintain their salvation through their efforts on behalf of the organization.

All Jehovah’s Witnesses who are not among the “anointed” belong to the second class, the earthly class, or “other sheep.” While these have no hope of spending eternity in heaven, they can, by their continued obedience, gain a place on Paradise Earth.

The final group, the “rest of mankind,” may have a chance to earn salvation after death.

In addition to these three groups, there are the “unsaved,” who have rejected Jehovah’s organization and have no hope of salvation at all. At death they will be annihilated.

Ankerberg and Burroughs explain, the “other sheep”:

“cannot be justified in this life, nor can they be born again. As a result, contrary to the Bible, the average Jehovah’s Witness has no hope of and no interest in ever being born again or going to heaven.”[9]

(To be born again in the Watchtower Society means to be water baptized and anointed by God. This allows the “anointed class” to be re-created by God as spirit creatures after death.)

In his article, “The Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Doctrine of Salvation,” Dr. Ron Rhodes explains exactly what it takes for a Jehovah’s Witness to be “saved”:

“In Jehovah’s Witnesses theology, salvation hinges upon strict obedience to the teachings of the Watchtower Society and active involvement in its diverse programs. … Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that one’s inclusion in the Book of Life is contingent on his or her actions. One should always be “working hard for the reward of eternal life.” These works consist of numerous prohibitions like refraining from blood transfusions, abstaining from birthday celebrations, forgoing holiday festivities, avoiding wearing crosses, and much more.

“Part of the process of ‘working out’ one’s salvation involves faithfully delivering Watchtower literature to people’s doors. The Watchtower magazine says, ‘God requires that prospective subjects of his Kingdom support his government by loyally advocating his Kingdom rule to others.’… Full-time ‘pioneers,’ who are dedicated Jehovah’s Witnesses, may devote more than 100 hours per month to spreading their message through door-to-door preaching and conducting Bible studies in people’s homes.

But even then, after a lifetime of hard work and following all the rules, salvation can still be lost after death. As Dr. Rhodes explains, “Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot be certain about their salvation in this lifetime. Their hope of salvation rests on maintaining a steadfast resistance to sin and faithfully obeying the teachings of the Watchtower Society. However, even with this dedication, they are warned that failing during the future millennial kingdom could result in annihilation.”

What a tragic contrast to biblical Christianity where we have this sure promise from our Savior: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28).

You can learn more about what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in by downloading our Side by Side guides here.

[1] John Ankerberg and Dillon Burroughs, What’s the Big Deal About Other Religions? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), p. 31.

[2] Let God Be True (WBTS, 1946), p. 65; Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1976, p. 495.

[3] Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie, p. 211.

[4] David A. Reed, Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986), p. 71.

[5] H. Wayne House, The Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions (Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition), p. 257.

[6] Ankerberg and Burroughs, Big Deal, p. 31.

[7] Watchtower, February 15, 1983, p. 12.

[8] House, Evangelical Dictionary, p. 257.

[9] Ankerberg and Burroughs, Big Deal, p. 34.