Cults Pt. 2 Jehovah's Witnesses. Pastor Benjamin Foster 8/28/24

all right well we are glad for our uh weekly Bible study here at the Divine Encounter Church and we welcome you that are going to be joining in and being a part of this uh we are continuing on with our series from last week dealing with c groups so this should be an exciting teaching uh this should this should be something that will give you some insight and will help you uh to be a more effective witness for Jesus Christ that's what it's all about we want to be more effective for Jesus we want to know the word we want to know how to defend the word we want to understand uh God's word in a deeper way and how to uh be apologist that is Defenders those that defend the faith Divine Encounter Church our web address is www. divine encounter church.net we meet on the campus of the Wasau Community College on Sundays at 3 pm and on most Sundays we meet in the Morris Lawrence building room ml150 that's 4 800 East Heron River Drive that's Ann Arbor 48105 again that's an Arbor Michigan 48105 if you're watching this video today and you're enjoying and you enjoy the teaching I want you to like it subscribe to it and share it put some comments uh in the comment field as well this will help that this message will spread and more people will be able to hear it so we're just uh looking for ways to make sure that more people can hear the word of God praise God so we want to go to First Timothy chapter 4 today 1 Timothy chapter 4 starting at the first verse and this is part of our cult Series this is Cults part two we're dealing with the Jehovah's Witnesses and that's again that's first Timothy chapter 4 starting at verse one where it reads now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils speaking lies in hypocrisy having their conscience seared with a hot iron okay and so uh this is directly related with cult groups is directly related with cult groups let's open up with a word of prayer dear heavenly father in Jesus name we thank you for our Bible study for this week and this time that you have afforded us to look into your holy word now dear father be with us in our Bible study open our eyes and our ears so we can behold wondrous things from your word help us to remember it to understand it and to live by it let your anointing and Grace be upon me in an abundance so that I can be highly effective in Jesus name amen all right and so uh this passage in first Timothy is letting you know that some people are going to depart from the faith they're not going to hold on to the end some people are going to start out strong they're going to start out living for the Lord but they're not going to hold on they're going to give up they're going to fall away okay some shall depart from the faith why are they gon to depart because they're gonna give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils this is what is going to happen in the latter times we know the latter times is the dispensation which we are living in because the latter times according to the Bible the New Testament began uh at the day of Pentecost when God poured out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost and Peter preached and said this is that which Joel spoke of that God is gonna pour out his Spirit on All Flesh and your sons and daughters are going to prophesy your young men are going to see Visions your old men are going to dream dreams Peter made it very clear that this is at in the last times so we are in the last times that's the dispensation that we are living in we're in the last times okay and uh we don't know when Jesus is going to return but we know he's coming back we know that Jesus is coming back and we have great excitement about that reality that at any moment Christ can return looking forward to his imminent return we have much to look forward to okay and so uh that's that's something to be excited about the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again and we are living in the last days the last days uh before the return of the Lord and so the different CAU groups what happens with them is that seducing Spirits work through the different cult groups seducing spirits that lure people in and pull people behind them like the proverbial Pi Piper did this is what uh these CAU groups do they lure people in okay by the use by the means of seducing spirits that work with them okay what you've got to realize is is that we are involved in a spiritual battle and because we are involved in a spiritual battle there are is not only that we have God that is in this battle and his angels that are in this battle but we have another side and the other side is the spirits of Darkness that are a part of the Demonic world the spirits that oppose God and his Christ the spirits uh that seduce men that work along with cult groups and cause men to get all mixed up and deceived so that they don't follow the truth cult groups would not survive if they did not have the support of these seducing spirits that's how they survive that's how they in every generation deceive people and lure people away from the truth and get them caught up into a bundle of Lies that's how it happens they function and they have success because of the functioning and the operation of seducing Spirits spirits that seduce and deceive the hearts of those that are simple this is what happens okay so people are going to be giving heed according to Paul he said now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith and he said they're going to be giving heed to s ucing spirits and doctrines of devils so how else do people get mixed up and deceived how else well one way is seducing Spirits are in operation but another way that people get deceived is through doctrines of devils doctrines that demons originate doctrines that demons put out there in order to deceive people and these doctrines these teachings that's what doctrines are their teachings they are specially designed by the evil one to Allure people and to attract people and to get people all mixed up get people all mixed up so that they cannot see the truth so this is the way it works folks this is how it works you got seducing spirits and then you have doctrines of devils these doctrines of devils uh are very very deceptive these doctrines of devils crafted and designed by the devil and his demons to trip you up to mix you up to cause you to stumble and to go astray and I'm sad to say that I've witnessed people from my generation get caught up in caught groups and fall away from Jesus Christ I've witnessed it people that uh started out in the faith started out doing what was right but with time with time and because they weren't diligent to get into the word and to really know the word for themselves they were captivated and allured and deceived by seducing spirits and doctrines of devils so this is what I am seeking to help uh the listeners with I'm seeking to help you to make sure that you don't get mixed I don't want to see you get mixed up I don't want to see you fall the way I want to see you make it to the end and uh if you're out there and you've not uh come to Faith in Jesus Christ I'm trying to help you too because I'm trying to make sure that you don't go in the direction uh the false teachings of these various cult groups in the first place but that instead you go to the truth and that is Jesus Christ Jesus Christ God's truth okay the revelation of Truth so uh a c let me go ahead and Define a CT again in case you didn't hear last week's teaching I want to Define it again a c is a group of people that are gathered about a specific person or person's misinterpretation of the Bible they're submitted to they're gathered around it they they're organized around a specific or person's misinterpretation of the Bible if it's not an individual person sometimes it's an entire organization that has crafted false doctrines these are doctrines that are clearly in error these are doctrines that are clearly just not sound or true these are doctrines that go in the exact opposite direction of Truth and if you just know the basics of the Bible you'll be able to refute these people and so we want to talk today about Jehovah's Witnesses because Jehovah's Witnesses are a very zealous group that I'm sure pretty much anyone uh uh who has been living for a good say 20 years of time you you've encountered Jehovah's Witnesses they're a very zealous group they go door too they're in your airports and on various street corners and they are very zealous for their false Doctrine uh you know and uh it's sad it's quite sad that a group like that that has something that is not even true can be so zealous and passionate about it to deceive many people whereas we in the church we have the truth but very few of us have the Zeal and the passion and the boldness to go out and to make it known we got the truth in the church in the True Church of Jesus Christ we have the truth God has given us the truth but we've got to make sure that we do our part to help others to grasp that truth it's sad that we are allowing people like the Mormons or the which is also referred to as the LDS church uh and the uh Jehovah's Witnesses in the Hebrew is isites it's sad that we're allowing such groups to do more as far as leading people to a lie than we're doing sometimes to lead people to the truth we've got to get more zealous we got to get new life new Zeal new Vigor we got to get some new energy about ourselves so we can help somebody we got to do something to stop the deception curtail the deception stop people from being led astray and God has given us all that we need to do it Hallelujah he's given us his holy spirit he's given us his word he's given us the truth so CS are gathered around people or organizations now with the Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses today they are gathered around the Watchtower bible and track Society I think is what they call it the Watchtower bible and track Society this is the group that uh basically sits uh in the position that Jesus ought to be sitting in they sit in his position and they basically spew out the LIE and the false doctrines that uh are causing people to be deceived that's what this group does that's what this organization does they spew out these lies and they print out literature and send it out to the adherence of the Jehovah's Witness belief system and they fuel their deception and give them the ammunition that they need in order to deceive many and in order to stay deceived themselves and so that is the organization that is basically standing in the position of Jesus Christ and whether they want to admit it or not that society that presides over the Jehovah's Witnesses is more important in their eyes than the Bible and then God that organization is more important they're looking to that organization as though that organ organization was God they're looking to that organization as though that organization has all the answers but the truth is only God has all the answers and we must go to the word of God if we want the truth but see they're going to another group and this is what you always have to recognize with cult groups they will always put someone else in the position of the Bible or in the position of Jesus Christ they always will replace Jesus and the Bible in some way okay they all always do it as we learned last week with the LDS church Joseph Smith has replaced the Bible he's more important to them than the Bible Joseph Smith in the LDS church is more important to them than Jesus they look to Joseph Smith over Jesus Christ and with the Jehovah's Witnesses they're looking to the Watchtower Society they're looking to them instead of Jesus so this is the danger of these uh groups and so the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses was Charles taaz Russell okay born in the mid 1800s Charles ta Russell okay he was a man of great controversy in his day if you look at the newspaper articles from that day and time articles that were written relating to him they let you know that he was a controversial character he was not someone that everyone just agreed with no they they recognized this man had issues okay he was a man of great controversy in his day and time he was a man who was not even ordained by any Organization no organization ordained him but yet he was calling himself a he was called a pastor but he wasn't ordained and so the organization that he founded was the only organization that recognized him as a spiritual leader that was the only organization that really recognized him and gave him some kind of clout or status the organization that he himself formed okay so uh he was not ordained at all and his writings Russell said concerning his own writings that his writings were more important for a person to read than the Bible this is what he himself said his writings were more important for a person to read than the Bible and so uh that is quite a statement when you get to the place where that you think that that what you have to say is more important than the Bible you have gone way way too far you've gone way too far and this is what happened with Russell you began to think that that uh the Bible just didn't have the value that he had that his writings had Russell uh claimed to know Greek he would claim that yeah I can I can read Greek I know no Greek but when he was confronted uh with a writing in Greek and told to read it he was forced to admit that he could not read a word of it he was forced to admit it okay uh and the basic principle is this also if you read his history and look into what his his personal conduct how he behaved and the things that he did you would have to conclude that Russell was a charlatan that's it he was a charlatan he deceived people he was a deceiver he was not a person that of Integrity so uh if you want to understand whether or not a group is a cult or not the way that you can find out is you got to start with their founder you start with their founder and you can see by looking at Russell gives you clear evidence that there's something wrong with this organization because he himself the founder was a sharp charlan could not be trusted and Jehovah's Witnesses use the new world translation of the Bible today okay they use the new world translation of the Bible now this is a translation that is unique to the Jehovah's Witnesses all the other uh any other group out there will not accept this New World Translation as being authentic the only group that accepts it as authentic is the Jehovah's Witnesses why because the Jehovah's Witnesses in translating from the Greek they took Liberties to translate uh the Bible in a manner such that it would agree with their Doctrine they didn't just translate it word for word with accuracy from the Greek they didn't do that no but instead what they did is they said well let's change some things here and there we know the Greek doesn't really say this but we're gonna take Liberty to just change it and anyone who is a Greek scholar that knows the Greek and reads and studies the Greek and Hebrew will tell you that the new world trans is in no way reliable no scholar of the word of God genuine scholar is going to receive it only that small group the Jehovah's Witnesses receive that translation okay they've taken Liberties to translate it in a manner that suits them and so the new world translation being rejected by the scholars and people that know and only being received by the Jehovah's Witnesses is powerful evidence that you cannot trust what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach because if their Bible is off and it's not translated with Integrity then their Doctrine is going to be off too their Doctrine is going to be just as shaky as that New World Translation right with Jehovah's Witnesses they teach that Jesus is not God he's not Divine they reject the Divinity of Jesus Christ they don't believe that he is is uh the uh only begotten of the father they don't believe that they don't believe that he is the Divine word of God they reject that the main thing to remember is this they don't believe that Jesus is God they don't believe in his divinity the basic definition of Christianity is uh uh of Christians are people that worship Jesus Christ as uh God they don't worship Jesus in the Jehovah's Witness organization and I call it an organization because it's definitely not a church okay and that in that organization they don't they don't worship Jesus they don't bow the knee to him they won't do it they've been deceived and it is interesting that Jehovah's Witnesses they won't even let you pray for them if they are serious they'll tell you nope no no you can't pray over me okay I had some Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door recently in the last maybe month and before they left I said let me pray for you let me pray for you because I said oh you you guys are claiming that you Christians because that's what they were telling me yeah we're Christians we're Christians and I saidwell that's a surprise because in previous times you you clearly would state that you are not Christians but now Jehovah's Witnesses are saying we're Christians we're Christians so I put them to the test I said okay well uh since you're Christians let me pray for you those people they got out of there they did not want me pray praying for them see it was a revelation of the spirit that's in them if you were a genuine Christian you shouldn't have a problem with another Christian praying for you they know that in their heart of hearts that they don't believe the same things that we believe and so they got going quickly and when I started pushing them say hey let me pray for you they got going they they did not want anything to do with that prayer didn't want anything to do with it okay why would you reject prayer if you really believe that uh I am a Christian and that you are a Christian that's what they were trying to convince me said yeah we both are Christians so they don't believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ okay but St John chapter one makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is divine because St John refers to Jesus as the word of God he says in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made and then later on in that same chapter uh it says uh and the Word was made flesh speaking of Jesus Christ the word of God it says and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth so uh Jesus the word of God was manifest In the Flesh he was manifest In the Flesh and he dwelt Among Us came amongst man okay and uh so they reject that they don't want to believe that at all and uh that is part of their very downfall uh they believe that Jesus is actually a creation of God that's what they believe if you really really examine what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe concerning Jesus they believe that Jesus is a creation of God he's not God he's a creation of God and that's the problem that's one of the major problems that they have they deny his divinity they won't receive him for who he really is okay uh concerning Jesus the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is an agent that is used by God to create all other things that's what they say concerning Jesus they say Jesus is an agent that God used to create all other things but he's not Divine he's not to be worshiped they reject his divinity Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jesus is Michael the Archangel that's what they believe concerning Jesus Jesus is Michael the Archangel he's not uh who he said he was they reject the testimony that Jesus gave concerning himself they reject the things that Jesus said about himself and they say no Jesus is Michael the Archangel they still teach that to this day uh and another thing that they teach is that God is Not Triune that God is not a Triune being but the Bible makes it very clear that we as human beings are made in the image of God and we as human beings have a Triune nature we have a we are Spirit beings just like God is a spirit we are Spirit beings we possess a when we live in a body we are Triune beings made in the image and in the likeness of God but they reject the Triune nature of God the Bible speaks about how that there are three that bear record in heaven the Father the word and the spirit and these three are one Bible makes that very clear these three are one one being but eternally exist in three persons so we don't serve three Gods we serve one God but he is a Triune being he is a trinity that's the nature of God uh the Jehovah's Witnesses teach now this this is something that uh is really really a crucial I mean all of these things that I'm speaking of a crucial but this one right here really stands out to me they teach that Jesus was raised from death but not physically but only spiritually say no Jesus was not physically raised from Death they don't believe in a bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ see they don't believe in his bodily Resurrection the Bible makes it very clear that this is a part of the very Essentials of the Gospel that Jesus Christ suffered under pontious pilate he was crucified he was buried and on the third day he was risen from the dead and gave evidence to the fact that he was raised from the dead by showing himself alive to over 500 Brethren at once and the Bible makes it very clear that for a 40-day time period Jesus uh showed himself to be alive and risen Dead with many infallible proofs many infallible proofs Jesus gave to verify his resurrection and the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus ate with his disciples after his resurrection and by eating with his disciples he was giving clear evidence that he was physically risen from the dead and when Thomas uh doubted the resurrection of Jesus when Jesus encountered Thomas Jesus said here put your hand uh in my side and uh be not doubting but believing you gave Thomas the chance to touch him and feel for himself and he made it very clear I'm not a spirit being but I am a physical uh being bodily resurrected for you and Thomas got a chance to reach out his hand and to touch him and to feel for himself self got clear evidence that this was a bodily Resurrection Jesus was physically risen from the dead to be risen from the dead only in spirit is not a really a miracle because we are Spirit beings that's not really a miracle to be risen from the dead spiritually but when someone comes back from the dead by and you look and and they looked inside of the Tomb and they couldn't find a body no body was there they looked in there and they saw the angel standing there and they saw the linen clothes wrapped up neatly see that's evidence of a bodily Resurrection ction I wouldn't be so excited if it was just a spiritual Resurrection doesn't really show you that much doesn't really show you that much but this was a bodily Resurrection Jesus got up from the grave Jesus defeated death and because he defeated death that gives me a reason to trust him as being a unique human being in the history of mankind who achieves something that no other human being before him or after him uh has achieved and that is to defeat death by his own power to defeat death by his own power you see there uh we do have the example of Enoch and Elijah who didn't see death okay they didn't they didn't die but the thing about Enoch and Elijah uh is that they didn't do it by their own power it was God's power that gave them victory over death it was the power of God but Jesus did it by his own power it was his own power because he is God and the scripture says and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness God was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world received up into glory god was manifested in the flesh okay this is what you got to realize this is we're not just telling we're not just speaking about something uh that uh is purely human in nature but we're speaking about something that is divine in nature something that is Supernatural in nature something that is above the plane of the physical reality okay Jesus was raised from Death physically and another false doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses is that the second coming of Jesus was an invisible spiritual presence that began in 1914 this is what they believe the second coming of Jesus was an invisible spiritual presence that began back in 1914 so they don't believe that we have the Blessed hope today that we are looking forward to today they don't believe in that nope they don't believe the Bible when it says that every eye shall see him and they shall look upon Him whom they pierced they don't believe it the Bible makes it very clear that that's going to be the nature of the return of the Son of God when he returns every eye is going to see him it's gonna be like the lightning which flashes and everybody can see it this is the nature of the return of Jesus Christ God is going to make sure that everybody can see it he's coming again Hallelujah he's coming again it's not going to be some hidden thing it's not something that started in 1914 nope he's coming like a thief in the night if he if it's if it started in 1914 then H it's not like a thief in the night because it's something that's ongoing and happening very gradually and progressively is not like a thief in the night but because of the fact that it is going to happen suddenly and uh people are not going to be able to uh make changes at the last uh minute because it's going to be so sudden it's gonna be like a thief in the night people are going to be stuck with the decision that they made they going to be stuck okay and and uh so that's what people have to realize okay that's what people have to understand concerning the Jehovah's Witnesses and the second coming of Jesus Christ uh so it's not something that is happening gradually the second coming of Christ no it's not it's not like like that at all you look at tittus chapter 2 uh where it talks about the second coming of Christ uh it says for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the Glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ so the Blessed hope is the Glorious appearing of the great God okay that's when Jesus Christ the great God is going to appear before all and every eye is going to see him the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there is no eternal hell there's no eternal torment for the wicked they instead believe that the wicked are going to be annihilated in essence they're going to be cut off they're just going to be annihilated but the Bible makes it very very clear and Jesus himself made it very clear that hell is a place of eternal torment Jesus described it as a place where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched see why would he warn about the fact that the worm there doesn't die and the fire is not quen if it was not a place of eternal torment no hell is a place that is of eternal torment so just look through the Bible you'll see it very plainly and very clearly okay hell is real and Jesus warned that uh if your eye offends you he said pluck it out it's better for you to to enter with one eye uh into heaven than to end up in in hell where there fire where their worm doesn't die and their fire is not quenched he wouldn't have warned about the fact that the fire is not quenched he wouldn't have warned about it if it was not an eternal place it's in a place of eternal torment and then we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus the rich man was begging for some for an opportunity uh to somehow go back and warn his brothers about the torment that he was in uh the rich man was in torment in the Flames According To Jesus and Lazarus was being comforted with Abraham he was with Abraham in the in the regions of paradise and but this rich man who did not have any concern for Lazarus this rich man was in torment and he said can I just go back he want he wished that he had a chance to go back and he wished that somebody could go back and and talk to his brothers and warn his brothers about the Eternal tor mment of Hell another thing that the Jehovah Witness Jehovah's Witnesses believe that is erroneous is they believe that the holy spirit is not a Divine person okay he's not Divine they don't believe that he's a person either but they believe that the holy spirit is is mainly just a force that's how they perceive the Holy Spirit he's just kind of a force that's out there but he's not a person and uh he's not Divine see they don't believe in the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit speaks to us he communicates with us he is the paraclete he is uh our Advocate he's he's the one that God has sent to work with us okay to help us out on our journey of Faith he's the helper okay or per the paraclete in the Greek that's what he is he's the helper he helps us out shows us the way and helps us to succeed uh in our journey of faith and he reminds us of things that we need to remember okay uh he brings back to our memory things that we need to remember the Holy Spirit shows us things to come so that we'll be ready for those things to get so we'll be ready and prepared for what is ahead so the holy spirit is not just a force but he is the thir third person of the Trinity he is the holy spirit of God he is the spirit of Jesus Christ and we must respect and honor him as such and so we are thankful for our Bible study on today thank you for viewing please like share and subscribe if you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior today is the day of salvation call upon him while he is near okay call upon him while you have a chance because you don't know when you're getting out of here you don't know when your short life in this world is going to be over and the Bible says for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved to Simply call upon the name of Jesus say Jesus save me I Repent of my sins and I make the decision to believe in your death burial and Resurrection as the atonement for the sins of the world and I choose to follow you the rest of my days may God bless you and may God keep you until we meet meet again