JEHOVA WITNESS – CULT

Introduction
According to Merriam-Webster, a cult is simply a system of religious beliefs and
ritual. In general, a cult is a group that claims to belong to a specific religion but
misrepresents any core teaching that would prevent a believer from being saved
according to that religion. In Christian terms, a cult is "a religious group that denies
one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth." Specifically, it is a group that
claims to be Christian, but whose teaching, if believed, would prevent someone
from having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

The core of the Christian salvation message is that Jesus Christ is both God and
perfect man, that He died and rose again, and that His sacrifice is solely sufficient
to pay for our sins and restore our relationship with God. If any group claims to be
Christian but deviates from this message, they are a cult. While many Christian
sects differ on minor matters, those who teach a different gospel are not Christian.  

JEHOVA WITNESS HISTORY

Jehovah's Witnesses started in 1870 when a man named Charles Taze Russell led Bible studies in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Jehovah's Witnesses movement came out of the Bible Student
movement, also founded by Taze. When Taze began disputing some of the traditional views
within Christianity, the Jehovah's Witnesses were born.

CULTIC CHARACTERISTIC
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was the first creation of God – “was actually a creature of
God”. They do not believe that Jesus is God. With no supporting evidence they believe Jesus was
known as Michael the Archangel before he came to earth and after he went back to heaven. They
insist on denying the clear Biblical teaching that Christ is fully man and fully God (Jn. 1.1, 5.18,
20.27, Col. 2.9, Phil. 2.6-8). Specifically, they deny the oneness of Jesus and God the Father (Jn.
10.30, Jn. 14.7-11) and deny that Jesus is the only way through which we can know God as our
Father (Jn. 14.6).
Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the doctrine of the Trinity — one of the essential doctrines of the
Christian faith. They claim that Jesus is not God. Rather, he was the Archangel Michael through
whom Jehovah created the universe. After his death, he was resurrected as a spirit. He returned
to earth in spirit in 1914, and it is just a matter to time before he along with the angels will
destroy all non-Jehovah’s Witnesses..
From its beginning the Watch Tower Society was a date-setting cult. Throughout the years of its
existence specific and timed prophecies have been made. These have all been proved false and
have thus brought discredit on the organization.
Russell himself was deeply involved in date-setting. He identified 1874 as being the date
marking the end of 6,000 so-called years of human history and expected Christ’s return that year.
It passed and the followers were disillusioned, but they then asserted that Christ had returned in
1874, but invisibly.
APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION
Theologically, the Watchtower Society/Jehovah’s Witnesses is a cult of Christianity — meaning
that it deviates from Christianity’s essential doctrines to such an extent that, despite the
organization’s claims, it falls outside the boundaries of the Christian faith.