My Fathers Work

Antichrist
In place of Christ…
“We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”
–POPE LEO XIII

Cited in Double Cross by Chick Publications, p. 27
quoting THE GREAT ENCYCLICAL LETTERS OF POPE LEO XIII
p. 304, Benziger Brothers (1903)

Vicar of Christ.
A substitute Christ…
“For the Roman pontiff (pope), by reason of his office as VICAR OF CHRIST, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal POWER over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise UNHINDERED.”

–CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1994, P. 254 #882

“We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely NECESSARY FOR the SALVATION of every human creature to be SUBJECT TO THE ROMAN PONTIFF (POPE).”

–POPE BONIFACE VIII, BULL UNUN SANCTUM, 1302

…the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4
…and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Revelation 17:8
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies… Revelation 13:4-5

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another… Isaiah 42:8

“…We declare, state and define that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of all human beings that they submit to the Roman Pontiff [pope].”

–POPE BONIFACE VIII, BULL UNUN SANCTUM, 1302

“Neither is there salvation in any other [than Jesus]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

“It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the Popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name. It wounds Christ, robs Christ of His glory, puts sacramental efficacy in the place of His atonement, and lifts a piece of bread in the place of the Saviour….If we pray against it, because it is against Him, we shall love the persons though we hate their errors; we shall love their souls, though we loathe and detest their dogmas….”

– C. H. Spurgeon

” Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” 1 John 2:18

“When we went to the Vatican, all the Catholic kids were awestruck. The pope’s throne was so high it almost seemed to reach the ceiling. It looked like Satan’s seat.”
“That’s because it is Satan’s seat, my dear sister.”
A conversation between an 18 year old non-Bible-scholar and the author.

Revelation 13:2 … and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, is an exorcist and the author of the book, Face to Face With the Devil. Archbishop Milingo gave a speech entitled, “Satanists at work in the Vatican” at the Fatima 2000 International Congress on World Peace held in Rome 11/18/96-11/23/96. Mr. Milingo addressed an international audience of bishops, priests, nuns, and laity. Excerpts of the speech were reported in the Winter 1997 issue of The Fatima Crusader, a conservative pro-Marian Catholic newsletter that hosted the Fatima 2000 Congress and the 3/3/97 issue of The New American–
This Bent Crucifix is “… a sinister symbol, used by Satanists in the sixth century, that had been revived at the time of Vatican Two. This was a bent or broken cross, on which was displayed a repulsive and distorted figure of Christ, which the black magicians and sorcerers of the Middle Ages had made use of to represent the Biblical term ‘Mark of the Beast’. Yet, not only Paul VI, but his successors, the two John-Pauls, carried that object and held it up to be revered by crowds, who had not the slightest idea that it stood for anti-Christ.” (p. 72) On page 56 Compton prints a picture of the current Pope, John Paul II, holding this bent or broken cross.

“The inverted cross is a blaspheme
or mockery of the Christian cross.”

According to Exposing Satanism, the “Upside Down Cross - Symbolizes mockery and rejection of Jesus. Necklaces are worn by many satanist’s. It can be seen on Rock singers and their album covers.”

A self-professed Satanist says– The Baphomet is the official symbol of the Church Of Satan, but many Satanists use the inverted cross to symbolize their dislike of Christianity. It’s modern meaning has came to mean “anti-Christian” and it is used and recognized as such in today’s world…

The following definition comes from the book, “Brave New Schools” by Berit Kjos—INVERTED CROSS: Represents Satanism and its mockery of Christ.
The following excerpt came from the Ozzy Osbourne Biography/FAQ (3/2000)
The record company chose to put an upside down cross on the gatefold of the album and thus people readily associated the band (Black Sabbath) with Satanism. The band knew nothing about this and did not want the upside down cross, however they backed down from the record company’s “wiser and higher” marketing methods.
Having established the Satanic nature of the inverted (upside down) cross, please view the following picture.

“….The pope got off his death bed for this event..that upside down cross is a message to every single freemason/satanist/Lucifer worshipping….freak…that the show is on….Satan has been welcomed into the Holy land…..get ready for a false prophet!”

“The pope sits on the altar at Korazim. The backdrop depicts Christ with an open book that reads, ‘Love your enemies, I will come soon.’ ”

Yes, the Beast of Revelation chapter 13 and his false prophet are going to manifest for the final showdown very soon. But what does the pope mean when he talks about his enemies? WHO are the supposed enemies of the Catholic Christ, of the anti-Christ?

Bible believing Christians that know the true, Christ.
The Christ of the Bible.
They expose Satan and his Antichrist.

(more…)

Through the study of church history we discover that the majority of those Protestant churches that were started during, and as a result of, the 16^th Century Reformation were formed as an effort to have and maintain pure doctrine from the Word of God in their worship.

Men such as Martin Luther were certainly great men of God, who stood firmly for the Word of God regardless of the terrible persecution they received. Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and John Wesley were bold servants of the Lord who helped in leading the reform of the Christian church back to the fundamental teachings of the Word of God.

However, the doctrines taught when the various denominations were STARTED are not necessarily the doctrines taught in these same denominations today. There have been many splits branching from the main denominations, and it is difficult to correctly “label” a particular doctrine as being taught by any entire denomination for this reason.

To those churches and those pastors who have remained true to the Word of God despite the tremendous pressures put upon them by Satan, men, and organizations, we say PRAISE GOD!

It is our desire for you, as a soul-winner, to be able to recognize false doctrine whenever you hear it, and to know how to present the truth of that doctrine in an effective way. Often the errors will have a bearing on salvation, and thus are of vital importance.

It isn’t our purpose to try to “knock” or degrade any particular church or denomination. Perhaps other churches bearing the same name would teach the doctrine correctly. It isn’t even necessarily beneficial for you to connect automatically a certain error with a certain church, because the error may or may not be taught by a particular minister; also, the error may vary in form or degree from one church to another.

As an ambassador for Christ you should never take for granted that a person knows the Lord as his Saviour. Because he is a member of your church, a Baptist church, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Lutheran church, is no guarantee that he is saved.

In Paul’s farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church he told them, “I have not shunned to declare unto you ALL the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). He then mentions that it is their duty, as Christian leaders, to FEED the flock and to WARN the flock, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (verse 29). If you are in the position of leadership among Christians, not only is it your responsibility to build the believers up through the Word, but it is also your divinely-appointed task to WARN those in your care of FALSE DOCTRINE.

The Apostle Peter also spoke of the danger of false doctrine, taught by false teachers: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And MANY shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the WAY OF TRUTH shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with FEIGNED WORDS make merchandise of you…” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Paul warned, “Now I beseech you, brethren, MARK them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the DOCTRINE which ye have learned; AND AVOID THEM” (Romans 16:17). You are not to: accept their sponsorship… you and your message are God-sponsored; or accept their money… God will take care of your financial needs; or have them on your platform… for what fellowship have you with Satan?; or support their schools… you would be perpetuating their errors; or send converts to their churches… babes in Christ need the WORD!

The Bible is unmistakably clear on this subject. “Be ye NOT unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial(Satan)? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2 Corinthians 6:14, 15)

This verse isn’t speaking about people who don’t believe in God. It is speaking of those that do not believe that God took on flesh and made a complete payment for their sin. And verse 17 says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye SEPARATE, saith the Lord…”

I’m sure you know Christians who, every time they hear a new preacher, say… “My, wasn’t he WONDERFUL?” The preacher may have been off on salvation, messed up the invitation, misused any number of Scriptures; yet if he was humorous, quoted from famous men, or spoke with words so large you couldn’t understand what he was saying, many people would think his message was WONDERFUL. The people may have been so taken by his “sincerity and spiritual tones” or his “vivid illustrations and sentimental stories” that they did not stop to see if this man’s MESSAGE was true to the Word of God!

Scripture exhorts us “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” What is a believer to do when he hears something taught that does not “ring clear” to him? How can we know what is Scriptural and what is not?

“STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Compare SCRIPTURE with SCRIPTURE, not preacher with preacher! “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). Scofield’s note says this means it is “not isolated from all that the Word has given elsewhere.” To understand the Bible properly, you must compare all the verses given on the subject under consideration. This takes study. As a soul-winner, you should know the Bible well enough to know IMMEDIATELY when you hear something contrary to God’s plan of salvation.

“Neo-evangelicals” call those preachers who don’t quite preach salvation the way the Bible says, “fringe friends.” Have you read Galatians 1:8 recently? Did it say, “But though we, or an angel from heaven preach ANY other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be a fringe friend”? No! God uses strong language because that is how He feels about the matter. God says, “let him be ACCURSED.”

Please at this time go back to Chapter Seven and reread the reasons given for Galatianism being an accursed message.

It is a tragedy… but many Protestant churches today do not even believe the Bible is the Word of God. Some would say the Bible “becomes” the Word of God as an individual comes into “contact” with Christ. Others say the Bible “contains” the Word of God. Others come right out and admit that they do not believe the Bible is any more the Word of God than is the Koran or the Book of Mormon. They teach that any book a person finds uplifting to his soul, that book is inspired of God to him.

Around the time of 1910-1930, “Fundamentalism” or “Orthodoxy” was strong. This school stood for the Bible as the completely inerrant and inspired Word of God. R. A. Torrey, J. Gresham Machen, Robert Dick Wilson, and Benjamin Warfield—great defenders of the faith—were “Fundamentalists” of their day.

In time men arose, writing and speaking of their complete disbelief in the Bible as the Word of God, representing the left-wing, liberal theology of the day.

There was no spirit of cooperation among the “Fundamentalists” and the “Liberals” because their positions were (and are) complete opposites. The Bible tells us not to have company with those who deny the Word of God.

Today the problem seems to be with the ministers who take a position somewhere in-between the Orthodox and Liberal position. This school is called “Neo-evangelicalism.”

Dr. Charles J. Woodbridge, church historian and beloved expositor of the Word, made a study of Neo-evangelicalism and gave us much of the information presented here. The following four points are taken from his lecture delivered to the Florida Bible College student body in 1963. (The reason we go into all this detail in a book on personal evangelism is that so many dear, Christian people today do not even see the dangers of this Neo-evangelicalism—they do not see that the ideas supported by it are the cause of many people being blinded to the plan of salvation.)

1. There is a new attitude of scholars. Perhaps influenced by liberalism (while they received their education), they now have an emphasis on LOVE rather than on sound DOCTRINE. This sounds beautiful, but Scripture says believers are not to make common cause with the enemy. Love is no substitute for truth.

2. There is a new method. The ministers of this school have convinced themselves that the “end justifies the means.” They feel free to use any method, as long as their goal is all right. But the Scripture teaches us to act “princip’ially” (Dr. Woodbridge’s coined word) and leave the results with God. We should never do evil that good may come.

Moses disobeyed God in smiting the Rock in a way not prescribed by God. Did the water come out? God overruled Moses’ sin by His grace to meet the needs of the people.

Some would ask us, as they have asked Dr. Woodbridge, “Don’t you want to see souls saved?” And our answer is the same. OF COURSE we want to see souls saved. But we should do God’s will GOD’S WAY if we are to receive God’s full approval of what we are doing. Noah preached for 120 years. How many souls did he lead to the Lord? Only seven? He left the results with God—Noah’s job was to preach what the Lord had TOLD him to preach.

Our responsibility is to make the gospel clear and understandable to the lost. God wants us to be FAITHFUL with His message (1 Corinthians 4:2). We can plant and water all we want to, but it is still God who gives the increase. Actually, “soulwinning” is a misnomer. We do not win the soul. God does this. We just give out the message.

3. There is a new theology. Those adhering to this Neo-evangelical theology often are the ones who are saying evolution and the Bible are compatible. Among them are those who deny the inspiration of 2 Peter, Esther, and parts of Genesis. They want to “re-define” inspiration.

As Dr. Woodbridge said, “How can you redefine ‘holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost’? Would you say:

1. holy means ‘unholy’
2. men means ‘women’
3. of God means ‘of the devil’
4. spake means ’sang’?” etc.

Either the Bible is the Word of God, or the Bible is a complete hoax. THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND!

4. There is a new ethic. It allows the people to pretty much choose their own moral system. If it makes you happy, it must be all right. The Bible says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). There is no getting around “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

This Neo-evangelicalism is getting more and more popular across America today. Fewer and fewer pastors seem to realize its danger. It is fast becoming the “mode” of 20^th Century Protestantism. Some independent, fundamental churches are awake. Perhaps more and more ministers within the framework of denominations will become awake… if you will faithfully give out the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will study the Word so that you can “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you,” you will be doing much to stem the tide of Modernism.

Intricately interwoven into the fiber of modern-day Protestantism is what has become known as the Ecumenical Movement, and, as a soul-winner, you need to know how this movement is keeping the unsaved from trusting Christ as their Saviour.

The Ecumenical Movement is dangerous, first of all, because of its FALSE DOCTRINES. At the core of ecumenism is found the basic belief of the “brotherhood of man” and the “Fatherhood of God.” When a person believes that all people are brothers and that God is already the Father of everyone, he does not see his need of a Saviour.

Because of this, evangelism has become “passé” to an ecumenist. In its place is substituted the “social gospel” which is aimed at improving society in general, rather than at the salvation of souls.

Another danger of ecumenism is that it CONFUSES people, even many saved people, into thinking that nothing can be really wrong that talks so much about “love” and “brotherhood.” But love that leaves out TRUTH is not love. It is a counterfeit with no power to save or satisfy. Any teaching that is concerned only with man and his condition here on earth, with little or no concern for man’s future destiny, is not true to God’s Word and is not fulfilling Christ’s last and most important command to “preach the gospel to every creature.”

Avid ecumenists are growing in number throughout the various Protestant denominations and even including much of the Catholic Church. Obviously, almost 100% of these people are lost, without Christ as their personal Saviour. They are trying to do good by their brotherly kindness, and the truth of salvation by faith in Christ alone is completely foreign to them and, as they look on things, irrelevant. The spirit and doctrine of ecumenism have blinded millions into thinking “everything is fine.”

Remember, anything that is contrary to the Scriptures does not find any favor with God. Don’t play “patty-cake” with a movement which is against God’s Word and His will. God does not need unscriptural tools or movements in His plan of evangelism. What God is looking for is a dedicated child of His who is willing to do anything or go anywhere to reach lost souls with the gospel. By His grace, let us determine to be that person.

The great need of people today, including Protestants, is a clear understanding of the gospel. The main issue in witnessing to Protestants will be grace and works. To the Protestants who are liberal in their theology, you will also need to establish the fact that the Bible is the Word of God.

The founder of this group was Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy. She was born on July 16, 1821, in Bow, New Hampshire, and was the youngest of six children. She was raised in a family of strict Calvinism but was never won to this belief herself. Her health was very poor; it interrupted her formal education. She was a semi-invalid for years.
George Glover, whom she married in 1843, was the first of her three husbands. In less than a year after their marriage he died, leaving her with an unborn child. Later, after the death of her mother and remarriage of her father, she married Daniel Patterson. Patterson was captured and imprisoned during the Civil War. When he returned, he ran off with a neighbor’s wife. Eventually he and Mary were divorced. During all these years she constantly suffered from one thing or another.
While still married to Patterson, Mary heard of Phineas Quimby, who supposedly cured people without the use of medicines. She went to see Quimby when she was 41 years old, and during several weeks at his Portland, Maine, office she received relief which she attributed to God working through Quimby. Quimby denied, however, that God had anything to do with it or that he had any special healing powers.
Mr. Quimby died in 1866 when Mary was 45 years old. Mary Baker Patterson began to portray herself as a healer from this time on. Shortly after Quimby’s death she fell on an icy street and injured herself. She claimed that the doctor who examined her injury declared it to be fatal (though the physician’s own testimony later on denied this). Some friends came to visit her before her supposedly impending death. She had them all leave the room while she read Matthew 9. While reading this portion of Scripture she was immediately and completely healed (so she said).
She began a school to teach others to heal, charging from $100 to $300 for a course lasting three weeks. During this time, too, she worked on her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which later became the textbook for the cult. When the book was ready for publication, she had to get the help of her followers to print it for no Boston publisher would.
She was married the third time to Asa G. Eddy. In 1878 she organized and pastored the First Church of Christ Scientist with 26 members. During this period Mr. Eddy died of a bad heart. However, Mrs. Eddy declared he had died by “arsenic poison mentally administered” by their enemies.
Her later life was filled with sickness and nervousness. She died in 1910. Even though she claimed not to believe in the reality of death, she had to keep that appointment which God says every man must keep (Hebrews 9:27).
Christian Science Doctrine Contrasted With The Word Of God, The Bible
“Genesis 2:7. Is this addition to His creation real or unreal? Is it the truth, or is it a lie concerning man and God? IT MUST BE A LIE, for God presently curses the ground” (Science and Health, p. 524).
“The second chapter of Genesis CONTAINS A STATEMENT of this material view of God and the universe, a statement WHICH IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH…” (ibid., p. 521).
“ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (2 Timothy 3:16).
“In hope of eternal life, which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2).
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
Christ’S Death For Sin
“One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin” (Science and Health, p. 23).
“That God’s wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural” (ibid., p. 23).
“The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon ‘the accursed tree’ than when it was flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father’s business” (ibid., p. 25).
“For BY ONE OFFERING He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
“In whom we have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD HATH LAID ON HIM the iniquity of us all… it PLEASED THE LORD to bruise Him” (Isaiah 53:6, 10).
Sin
“Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death” (Science and Health, p. 475).
“To put down the claim of sin, you must detect it, remove the mask, point out the illusion, and thus get the victory over sin and so prove its unreality” (ibid., p. 447).
“For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and SINNETH NOT” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
The Person Of Jesus Christ
“The virgin-mother conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the name of Jesus—that is, Joshua, or Saviour” (Science and Health, p. 29).
“Jesus was the offspring of Mary’s self-conscious communion with God” (ibid., pp. 29, 30).
The angel, not Mary, said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
“And Paul… reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead; and that THIS JESUS, whom I preach unto you, IS CHRIST” (Acts 17:2, 3).
“… for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost… Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US” (Matthew 1:20, 22, 23).
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb (not in her mind), and bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God CREATED the heaven and the earth.” Notice it doesn’t say God IS the heaven and the earth—but He created it.
Isaiah 59:2, “Your iniquities have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you…” Again, the truth that God is SEPARATE FROM His creation.
Numbers 23:19, “God is NOT A MAN, that He should lie…” Man lies; God does not. No thinking person really believes God is EVERYTHING!
Historical Background (Unity)
Unity was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. At the time, the Fillmores were almost penniless; Charles suffered from numerous ailments, including a withered leg (the result of a childhood skating accident); Mrs. Fillmore had tuberculosis.
They heard a Dr. Weeks speak on “New Thought.” After the lecture Mrs. Fillmore reasoned that since we are all children of God (error), there must be a fixed divine law operating in her life. If she had faith in this law, surely all the negative things of life, like sickness and poverty, would vanish.
After this “discovery” the couple improved in health and financial status. They felt their theory had been proven. In 1889 they decided to devote the rest of their lives to spreading the gospel of their “discovery.” Thus “The Unity School of Christianity” began.
Doctrines Of Unity And The Truth From The Scriptures
(1) Reincarnation of man. Hebrews 9:27; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 10:30, 31.
(2) God never performs miracles. John 2:1-11; John 6:2; Acts 2:22; Acts 15:12.
(3) Man is part of God. We may all be like Christ now. Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10-18, 23; Numbers 23:19.
(4) There is no evil. Genesis 6:5; John 8:39-45.
(5) Heaven and hell are states of mind. John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2; Jude, verse 7; Matthew 25:41.
(6) Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death are not real. Hebrews 9:27; Romans 5:17, 18; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 4:23, 24.
(7) The entire Bible is allegory. John 17:17; Psalm 19:9-11; Psalm 119:128, 142.
With such people as these, keep Paul’s instructions to servants of the Lord in mind: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves” (2 Timothy 2:24, 25).

     God’s Word has proven over and over again to be true! Nowhere does the Holy Bible discredit itself. But the Bible itself is not its only proof of validity. History has reaffirmed the fact that the Word of God is actually true. Through the avenues of science, we can see the validity of the Holy Bible, KJV.
     In the Bible we find, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:7 & 8
Real life experience also vindicates the Word of God.
     Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from this union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and over half the of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the Stats one and a quarter million dollars. (This was over a 100 years ago.)
     But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of the 1397 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of the state and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a penny.

Mormonism (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) was organized in 1830 in Fayette, New York. An angel named Moroni was supposed to have appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr., revealing to him the place where golden plates were buried which contained the history of ancient America.
Also, according to Mormon belief, Smith received a pair of special eyeglasses (called “Urim and Thummim”) which turned the “reformed—Egyptian characters” of the plates into English. Smith had a friend copy down the writing on the plates as he (Smith) read it to him. This later became the Book of Mormon, which is claimed by the Mormons to be an additional “revelation” for these latter days. They say it is as authoritative and inspired as the Bible.
In the early days of its history the members of the group were forced to migrate from one part of the country to another. With their pagan teaching of polygamy and frequent charges of a criminal nature against their leaders, the followers were pushed from “pillar to post.” Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, were finally shot to death by an angry mob while they were awaiting trial in jail.
Today the Mormons are divided into two groups: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who followed Brigham Young after Smith’s death, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, composed of those who gave their support to Smith’s son instead of to Brigham Young. Those who followed Young are the larger of the two.
Their Doctrine Versus The Bible
(1) They have added to the Word of God. They claim other equally inspired books are The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.
Scripture warns against adding to what God has said. “Add thou not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:6). “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man (including Joseph Smith) shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18).
(2) They teach salvation by works. In the Articles of Faith of the Mormon Church it is stated, “The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity” (1925 ed., p. 479).
“Salvation” to the Mormons is received through following a system of rules. Their requirements for salvation are:
Belief in Christ
Public Confession
Water Baptism
Laying on of Hands
Obedience to the Ordinances of the Church.
How different this man-made system is from God’s way of saving man through the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:12 says, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power (the right) to become the sons of God, even to THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME.”
(3) They believe Christ was created… in the same way that we were created. They teach men existed in eternity past as spirit beings. Later on we were given physical bodies. Christ was simply another spirit being before He came to earth.
If Christ is only one of us, what would that make us? Their book A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel answers the question for us. “God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens” (p. 190). This teaching is complete blasphemy against the clear teaching of the Word of God. A religion such as this could never be considered “Christian” by the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Church has set up myriads of rites, rituals, and rules which its subjects (and I use the word advisedly) must follow if they are to have any hopes of reaching heaven someday (maybe even centuries after they die).
It is amazing but true that when a group is “off” on grace and works, almost every other doctrine it holds is also affected by the poison. As God said in Galatians 5:9, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
The Catholics’ loud claims that the Church was built upon Peter… the adoration of saints… the exaltation of Mary… if Christ had brothers… confession to the priest… the rosary…
If you have been born again, you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and enlightening your mind with a clear understanding of Scripture on all these things… but the person who has been brought up in the Catholic Church is probably NOT born again, and so does NOT have the benefit of the Holy Spirit teaching him DETAILS in the Word of God (even if they are important details).
What is the Holy Spirit busy convincing the world of? John 16:8-11 teaches us the Holy Spirit is convincing the world of sin, that they lack righteousness, and that judgment is coming. And why are they being convinced of sin? Because they do not BELIEVE on Christ as their Saviour (16:9).
Jesus Paid For All Sin
In the Roman Catholic doctrine, sin is compartmentalized. There is venial sin which the Baltimore Catechism No. 3 defines this way: “What is venial sin? Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God, which does not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace, and which can be pardoned even without sacramental confession.”
There is also, in the Catholic doctrine, mortal sin. “What is mortal sin? Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God. Why is this sin called mortal? This sin is called mortal, or deadly, because it deprives the sinner of sanctifying grace, the supernatural life of the soul. Besides depriving the sinner of sanctifying grace, what else does mortal sin do to the soul? Besides depriving the sinner of sanctifying grace, mortal sin makes the soul an enemy of God, takes away the merit of all of its good actions, deprives it of the right to everlasting happiness in heaven, and makes it deserving of everlasting punishment in hell.”
The Catholic Church also recognizes Adamic sin, that is, the sin or sin nature which man inherits from Adam. It is for the Adamic sin that Christ supposedly died. You must show the Catholic that Jesus Christ has completely paid the full price for all of his sin.
All sin is mortal, or deadly (James 2:10; Romans 6:23). Second, all sin—no matter how one classifies it—has been paid for by Christ (Hebrews 1:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 2:2).
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from ALL things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38, 39).
Even keeping the commandments would not “justify you from all things.” In the first place, no one has kept them. In the second place, keeping the commandments still wouldn’t make you perfect. Hebrews 7:19 says, “For the law made NOTHING perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did (Jesus, verse 22); by the which we draw nigh unto God.”
JESUS is the only way to heaven. “Jesus saith unto him, I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Salvation is not in a church. It is not in the Mormon church. It is not in the Protestant church. It is not in the Roman Catholic church. Salvation is in a Person. Salvation is in Jesus. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
How Can We Be Cleansed Of Sin?
When a Roman Catholic sins, he is supposed to do several things:
1. Go to the priest and confess his sin.
2. Receive from the priest the penance he is to do, and go home and do it. (This often consists of reciting a certain number of “rosaries,” “Lord’s Prayers,” etc.)
3. Go to Mass.
4. Be arranging for people to pray for his soul after he dies, so his soul can be released from purgatory in time.
To a person who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, God says of his sins: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you ALL TRESPASSES; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Colossians 2:13, 14).
The Christian does not need another offering (Mass) for his sins. “For by ONE offering, He (Christ) hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified (made pure and holy)” (Hebrews 10:14). “Now where remission of these is, there is NO MORE OFFERING FOR SIN” (Hebrews 10:18).
The Roman Catholic is forever trying to re-crucify Christ… all in vain. Christ’s ONE death on the cross paid for ALL sin of ALL people for ALL time for EVERYONE who would receive that payment by faith.
When The Priest Offers The Sacrifice Of Mass
“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can NEVER take away sins” (Hebrews 10:11).
Whatever the Catholic might think the sacrifice of Mass can do for him, ONE THING we know it can NOT do. IT CAN NOT TAKE AWAY SINS!
It is God’s will that the sacrifice of Christ would pay for all sin, and that those who would receive that payment would be made pure and holy in God’s eyes forever. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
The Catholic Church teaches that Mass is the sacrifice of Christ OVER AGAIN for sins. But Romans 6:9 says, “KNOWING that Christ being raised from the dead DIETH NO MORE…”
The problem with the Catholic is that he doesn’t really believe Christ paid for ALL his sin. And yet the Bible is very clear, “Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from ALL iniquity…” (Titus 2:14).
This is why it is a problem of grace and works. God says salvation is by grace. The Catholic will not deny this. But at the same time he believes he must follow rituals and rules to make this grace of God effective on his behalf. And this is unscriptural. What verse shows that if salvation is of grace, then it cannot be of works as well? I hope you said, “Romans 11:6.”
Do you see that what the Catholic needs most, then, is for you to go over the plan of salvation with him, simply and with Scripture, showing him that THE BIBLE says salvation is “by grace through faith”? It might take a long time for the “light to break through.” But be patient. Remember, his parents, his teachers, his priest, even the Pope, have been teaching him contrary to the Word of God on this subject of salvation all of his life.
It is only when the Catholic seems REALLY bothered by some other question that you should spend any length of time on anything other than salvation itself, or after he is saved.
But for your own information, the following are some errors in the Roman Catholic theology and the correct teachings from Scripture.
1. The Roman Catholic worships Christ, but worships Him in vain. “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). See also Galatians 5:1-4.
2. They teach that Peter was the first Pope and that the Popes are to exercise authority over the people. However, this is contrary to what Peter himself expressed in Scripture. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also AN ELDER (not one Pope, but one among many elders), and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: FEED the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, NOT BY CONSTRAINT, but willingly; NOT FOR FILTHY LUCRE, but of a ready mind; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3).
The Bible never teaches that the spiritual leader of the flock is to be the “boss.” The leader is to give positive leadership, yes, but not to try to play “God” in people’s lives.
Scripture is full of evidence that the true spiritual leader will be a SERVANT of the people rather than some boss.
“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves YOUR SERVANTS for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
Jesus had much to say along this line. “But Jesus called them to Him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
“But so shall it NOT be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your MINISTER. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be SERVANT of all.
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).
If you study much of the history of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy, you will see the magnitude of their error in exercising “lordship” over the flock.
3. Matthew 23:9 says, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” The Catholics make a great mistake in that they demand reverence of human beings. Only God should be worshipped. Other worship constitutes idolatry.
4. Veneration of Mary and the “Saints.” Scripture says of Mary, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Mary was a wonderful, godly woman. But Mary, like everyone, was still a sinner (Romans 3:23). She herself acknowledged God as her SAVIOUR, “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46, 47). A person who isn’t a sinner doesn’t need salvation, and thus doesn’t have a Saviour.
Scripture teaches that all believers are saints. The word has the meaning of “pure and holy ones.” All those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour are “pure and holy” through the righteousness God gives to them (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; etc.). The Apostles referred to the whole group of Christians as “saints” (Ephesians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; etc.), and not just to those in a select group. God makes a person a saint; man does not. God points out the person as a saint; man does not. God sets us the conditions of being a saint; man does not… and neither does the Roman Catholic Church.
5. The Pope, the priest, Mary, the saints… none of these can mediate between God and man. “For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man CHRIST JESUS” (1 Timothy 2:5). The believer is invited to come straight to the Lord, through Jesus, in time of need.
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come BOLDLY UNTO THE THRONE OF GRACE, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:19, 20).
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand…” (Romans 5:1, 2).
6. Whom should we confess our sins to? The Catholic Church says we should confess them to the priest. The Bible says only God can forgive sins, and that we should confess our sins to Jesus, because He is our advocate—He is our intercessor.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness… and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 1:9; 2:1). Our advocate is not Mary, nor the priest… our advocate is Jesus!
7. Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible. There is no “place of cleansing” other than the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:7 says “… the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
One of the things that caused Martin Luther to speak up against the Roman Catholic Church and its practices regarding the sale of indulgences was remarks made like, “The moment you hear your money drop in the box, the soul of your mother will jump out of purgatory,” by Tetzel, a Dominican Friar (The Church in History, by B. K. Kuiper, page 160). Indulgences were sold to people who went to the priest for penance, and who would rather pay a sum of money to the Church than do some other form of penalty or satisfaction for their sin. In time, indulgences were also sold to those who were trying to help the soul of a departed one to go from purgatory to heaven. The people found it easier to pay a sum of money for the soul of a dear one than to spend all the time otherwise required for them to pray for them. This system pleased the Church very much, as it gave them an amazingly large source of revenue. It is said that the St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome was built through the sale of these indulgences.
This whole concept is so out of keeping with Scripture! “Forasmuch as ye KNOW that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the PRECIOUS BLOOD of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18, 19).
“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou has thought that the GIFT OF GOD may be purchased with money” (Acts 8:20).
It is not within the power of human beings to in any way aid in the redemption of another person. (You cannot even redeem your own soul, for that matter.)
“None of them can by ANY MEANS redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him” (Psalm 49:7).
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son…” (Ezekiel 18:20).
The Bible teaches that if a person is lost, he goes to hell. If a person is saved, he goes to be with the Lord in heaven. There is no such thing as purgatory. “… to depart, and to be with Christ…” (Philippians 1:23). “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be PRESENT WITH THE LORD” (2 Corinthians 5:8). “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the HEAVENS” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
Once a person has received Christ as his Saviour, he does not have to worry about being condemned for his sin. Punished on earth, and without much reward in heaven, yes… but condemned to purgatory for a time, or to hell for eternity… NO!
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall NOT come into condemnation: but is PASSED from death unto life” (John 5:24).
If there were such a place as purgatory, Jesus certainly left it out of His remarks. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” If the thief went to purgatory, then Jesus was a liar.
8. The Catholics say Mary remained a virgin all her life, and that Christ had no flesh and blood sisters or brothers. (He did have half-brothers and sisters, as Joseph was not the father of Christ.) “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the BROTHER of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his SISTERS here with us?” (Mark 6:3)
9. “Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats.” Is this doctrine of the Catholic Church from the Bible… from the Lord?
“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: forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be RECEIVED with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3).
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Colossians 2:16).
“Let no man beguile (defraud) you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind… Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, WHY, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh” (Colossians 2:18, 20-23).
The Scofield Reference Bible makes the notation in regard to this verse, “Which do not really honour God, but only satisfy the flesh (i.e., by creating a reputation for superior sanctity).”
The Catholic system of self-imposed worship and self humiliation and degradation, thinking that somehow this would please God, is actually contrary to Scripture, as human logic often is.
Christ said in Matthew 9:13, “… I will have MERCY, and NOT SACRIFICE: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (to change their minds).”
It is the sacrifice of Christ that God looks at for our salvation, not any sacrifice we might make for Him. However, after we are saved, we are invited to serve the Lord—but this is our REASONABLE service, rather than a sacrifice. It is to our benefit, both now and later.
10. The Catholic Church teaches that the “true church” (their church) is built upon Peter, using Matthew 16:18 as its textual basis for this claim.
Upon examination of this passage in Matthew 16, however, we do not find this teaching at all. Verses 13-16 record Jesus asking His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Simon Peter gives the correct answer, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter knew Christ was God… the Son of God.
In verse 17 Jesus said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona (son of Jonas): for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.” Jesus is saying that while He is the Son of God, Peter is the son of man.
Verse 18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (petros), and upon this Rock (Petra) I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus is saying, “Peter, you are a little stone, a small pebble. Upon this big Rock, this boulder (Christ) I will build My church.”
1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is JESUS CHRIST”—not Peter. Jesus is the foundation upon which the true church is built.
Ephesians 2:20, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF being the CHIEF CORNER STONE.”
Even Peter himself speaks of believers as “stones,” but of Christ as the “CHIEF CORNER STONE” (1 Peter 2:4-8). Also see Acts 4:11.

CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL, born February 16, 1852, was the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses although the group was not called by that name during his lifetime.
As a young teenager, Russell belonged to the Congregational Church. He believed in and had a great fear of hell, but when he was only seventeen, a skeptic persuaded him that hell was not real. From then on, Russell fought the doctrine with all his might.
He conducted a Bible class at the age of eighteen, and when he was twenty, was made “pastor” of the group. This was the beginning of the cult. Russell set the date for the Lord’s return as 1874, and he published his first piece of literature that year, entitled The Object and Manner of the Lord’s Return.
Russell had some trouble in court… He was sued for divorce in 1903… His sale of “miracle wheat” which was supposed to be specially blessed was exposed in court… He committed perjury on the witness stand when a pastor, J. J. Ross, and he were in court over a pamphlet Ross wrote exposing Russell.
Russell died of cystitis in 1916.
“JUDGE” RUTHERFORD—Joseph Franklin Rutherford, born in 1869, was a lawyer member of the cult and defended Russell in his many legal suits. In January, 1917, he was chosen to succeed Russell.
During the twenty years he controlled the cult, he wrote approximately 100 books and pamphlets, which were translated into nearly 80 languages with a total distribution of over three hundred million copies.
Rutherford let Russell’s books go out of print, so that today some members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not even know of Russell and the facts regarding him.
After being called “Russellism,” “Millennial Dawnism,” and “International Bible Students,” the cult took on its permanent name in 1931, “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Rutherford claimed divine sanction of the name from Isaiah 43:10.
NATHAN H. KNORR was chosen as the new leader of the Jehovah’s Witnesses at the death of Rutherford in 1942. Knorr was born in 1905 and had become a Witness at the age of sixteen.
Knorr has seen to it that all literature coming from the Watchtower Society (name of the cult’s publishing headquarters) is anonymous. Rutherford’s name, too, has faded, so that devotion in today’s Jehovah’s Witnesses movement is to the “Divine Organization” rather than to a personality.
At this writing Knorr continues as head of the cult.
The main issue with Jehovah’s Witnesses is “grace and works.” They do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, and they do not believe His death on the cross made a payment for all sin of those who would accept that payment by faith. They do not believe a person can KNOW he will go to heaven when he dies. They believe their life hereafter is determined by their actions on earth now.
Verses like Ephesians 2:8, 9 and Romans 4:5 are foreign to their system of theology. Making the plan of salvation understandable to them will be very difficult for you… not because you will not present it properly, but because they are often willfully blind to the gospel of God’s saving grace. You can show them a clear verse of Scripture, and if they don’t want to believe what it is obviously saying, they can somehow just ignore it and turn to some other verse they like better.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do possess a reputation for having a great knowledge of the Bible. They certainly appear to, to the average layman. They DO know the verses in the Bible they have been TAUGHT, but very few Jehovah’s Witnesses actually know the Bible very well at all from the standpoint of context or literal interpretation of clear doctrine.
The test of any group that claims to be “Christian” is its doctrines and how its doctrines compare with the clear teaching of Scripture. On some points the Jehovah’s Witnesses miserably fail. Below are some of their teachings (taken from their own writings) and Scriptures showing the difference between truth and error.
Salvation According To The Jehovah’s Witnesses
“The ransom does not guarantee everlasting life to any man, but only a second chance” (Truth Shall Make You Free, pp. 176, 177).
Men will be given a second chance for salvation during the millennium (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 106, 107).
“One forfeited life could redeem one forfeited life, but no more. The man Christ Jesus redeemed Adam” (ibid., p. 133).
“The second trial will decide whether we may, or may not have everlasting life” (The Watchtower, February 15, 1960, p. 143).
Salvation According To The Bible
“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). Christ’s own guarantee to believers.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). There is no second chance after death.
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all…” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Christ was not just a ransom for Adam, but a ransom for ALL!
The Christ Of Jehovah’S Witnesses
“He is a ‘mighty God’ but not the ‘Almighty God who is Jehovah’” (Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 47).
“He was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God… He was the start of God’s creative work” (The Kingdom Is at Hand, pp. 46-49).
Jesus Christ Is Jehovah God
1. Isaiah 43:10, 11—The LORD, Jehovah, says, “… before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.” The LORD, Jehovah, says, “… beside Me there is no Saviour.” (See Isaiah 44:6, 8; Deuteronomy 4:39.)
Therefore, if Christ is God in any way, if Christ is the Saviour in any way, then according to the LORD God Jehovah, Christ is GOD.
Luke 2:11 says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Since Christ is the Saviour, then Christ is GOD.
2. Isaiah 42:8—”I am the LORD: that is My Name: and My glory will I not give to another…”
Only Jehovah God is the LORD of glory. If Christ is the Lord of glory, then He must be Jehovah God.
1 Corinthians 2:8 says the crucified Christ is the “Lord of glory.” Since Christ is the Lord of glory, then Christ is GOD.
3. Zechariah 12:1-10—The LORD, Jehovah, says, “… and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced…”
When was the Lord, Jehovah, pierced?
“But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken, and again another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced” (John 19:33-37).
Since Christ was pierced, and Jehovah God said He would be pierced, then Christ is God.
4. Isaiah 7:14—”Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His Name Immanuel.”
Read Matthew 1:18-25. Notice in verse 18, the child was “OF the Holy Ghost…” and Mary was with child “BEFORE they (Mary and Joseph) came together.” Again, in verse 20 the angel of the Lord confirms the child is “OF the Holy Ghost.” In verse 21 the child shall be named JESUS because He shall save His people from their sins. The very name Jesus means “God who saves,” etc. And in verses 22, 23, we learn that “all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken OF THE LORD by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US.”
So God Himself says the child Jesus is actually GOD HIMSELF dwelling with man. This is again clearly confirmed in John 1:1-14. “The Word was God… And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”
5. Mark 2:5 records that Jesus forgave people’s sins. The scribes heard Christ doing this and said (verse 7), “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but GOD ONLY?” They failed to realize that Christ wasn’t doing anything blasphemous at all. HE WAS GOD!
6. Luke 1:68 records at the time of the birth of Christ, “Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people.”
7. Luke 8:39—Christ had just cast out demons and told the person, “Return to thine own house and shew how great things GOD hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things JESUS had done unto him.”
This is not a contradiction. Christ did it and said God did it. Christ told the man to say God did it and the man said Christ did it. It is not a contradiction because Christ is GOD.
8. In John 9:33-38 is recorded Christ’s conversation with a man who wanted to know who Christ was. Christ said He was the Son of God and the man (verse 38) “worshiped Him.” Christ did not reprove this man for worshipping Him, and yet Christ knew the clear commands of the Old Testament not to worship any God but Jehovah God. Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
If Christ were not truly God and accepted the worship from a man without even rebuking the man, then Christ would not even have been an honest man.
Christ did accept worship. For Christ is GOD. (See John 5:23.)
9. John 14:7—Christ says, “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him,” and vverse 8, 9, “Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen ME HATH SEEN THE FATHER: and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (See John 12:45.)
In John 15:24 Christ again says people have “both seen and hated both Me and My Father.”
The reason Christ can say that when someone has seen Him he has also seen the Father is that Christ is GOD, one and the same as the Father.
10. John 10:30-33 tells us the same thing. Christ said in verse 30, “I and My Father are ONE.” And “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him” (verse 31). In answer to Christ’s questions of why they were stoning Him they replied in verse 33, “… for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”
The Jews KNEW Christ was claiming to be God. They were so sure of His claims that they wanted to stone Him for what they SUPPOSED to be blasphemy.
But Christ didn’t commit blasphemy. Even a good, godly human being would know better than to commit blasphemy, time after time, especially when he was constantly being accused of it.
Christ could say “I and My Father are One” because it is true. Christ is GOD.
11. Acts 20:28 says, “… to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.”
When did God shed His blood? God shed His blood when He took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and shed His blood for our sins. Christ said in Luke 22:20, “… This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.” Revelation 1:5 says, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”
God shed His blood when Jesus shed His blood because Jesus is GOD.
12. Ezekiel 44:2—”Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.”
This is the gate that the LORD God, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, entered at His “triumphal entry” spoken of in John 12:12-16 and each of the other Gospels. The Mohammedans closed the gate soon after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., and it shall remain shut.
13. In John 12:26 Christ says, “… if any man serve Me (Christ), him will My Father honour.” And yet in Matthew 4:10 Christ affirms the Old Testament command, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve.”
Christ, knowing and upholding the Old Testament teaching, would not tell people to serve Him, and would not tell people God the Father would honor their lives when they do serve Him… in direct contradiction to the command in the Old Testament to serve only the LORD THY GOD.
Man is honored by God the Father when man serves Christ because Christ is GOD.
14. Reverse 15:3, 4… “… Great and marvellous are Thy works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou ONLY art holy.”
But Luke 1:35 records the words of the angel Gabriel, who was sent from God, saying, “… that HOLY thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Only the Lord God Almighty is holy… but the Son of God is holy because He IS the Lord God Almighty.
15. Genesis 1:1 says, “God created the heaven and the earth.” Hebrews 1:2 and Colossians 1:15-17 say Christ created it.
16. Titus 3:4 says “God our Saviour.” Titus 3:6 says “Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Isaiah 43:11 says the LORD (Jehovah) is the ONLY Saviour.
Do these three verses contradict? No! But they WOULD contradict if Jesus Christ and Jehovah God weren’t one and the same.
17. 1 John 5:20 calls Christ “the true God.” Hebrews 1:8 refers to the Son of God as “O God.” In Reverse 1:8 Christ is speaking (see verse 5) and says He is the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY.”
18. Colossians 2:9—”For in Him (Christ, verse 8) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Everything that is in the Godhead, everything that is God, was in Christ in a bodily form. “For it pleased the Father that IN HIM (Christ) should all fulness dwell” (Colossians 1:19).
19. 1 Timothy 3:16… “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, (GOD was) justified in the Spirit, (GOD was) seen of angels, (GOD was) preached unto the Gentiles, (GOD was) believed on in the world, (GOD was) received up into glory.”
When did this happen? When Jesus Christ was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.
The Bible says, “God was manifest in the flesh,” etc., because Christ is GOD.
20. In Romans 10:9 and 13 the Apostle Paul quoted from an Old Testament prophet saying, “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Of course, Paul was speaking of Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). But the verse he was quoting in the Old Testament is Joel 2:32 which says, “… whosoever shall call on the Name of the LORD (Jehovah) shall be delivered (saved).”
Why did the Holy Spirit give the Apostle Paul the liberty to use an Old Testament verse which speaks of JEHOVAH and apply it to the LORD JESUS CHRIST? Because the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah.
21. Isaiah 9:6 prophesies of the Messiah to come, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the EVERLASTING FATHER, The Prince of Peace.”
Our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Everlasting Father.
22. Micah 5:2, also prophesying of the coming Messiah, says, “whose goings forth have been from of old, FROM EVERLASTING.”
But Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from EVERLASTING to everlasting, thou art GOD.”
Christ was from everlasting, was in existence and one with God before the world was formed (John 17:5) because Christ is GOD.
23. When Moses asked God, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them?” (Exodus 3:13) God answered unto Moses (verse 14), “I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
Christ, revealing Himself unto the Jewish people, made this life and death statement unto them in John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM (he), ye shall die in your sins.”
To be saved, a person must believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was truly God Himself, who gave His life to make a death and blood payment for his sin, which He did. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ OUR LORD” (Romans 6:23). (Reprinted from booklet, Jesus Christ Is Jehovah God, distributed by Soul Winning Seminars, 6/67.)
The Trinity Disbelieved By Witnesses
“There is no authority in the Word of God for the doctrine of the Trinity of the Godhead” (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 5, pp. 54-60). “… Satan is the originator of the ‘trinity’ doctrine” (Let God Be True, 1946 ed., p. 82).
The Trinity Taught In Scripture
The Father is God: 2 Timothy 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1.
The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:1-4; Isaiah 48:16; Job 33:4; Isaiah 63:7-10.
The Son, Jesus Christ, is God: See list on preceding pages.
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the NAME (singular in the Greek) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” If there were three gods, or if one were God, and one were a created being, and the other were just God’s “power” (as the J. W.’s say), then the verse would have to say to baptize in the “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
God is very exact and lets us know in this verse that though there is only one God, He is a triune God.
Even in Deuteronomy 6:4, where it says that “Our God is one LORD (Jehovah),” the Trinity is proven. In Hebrew there are at least two words translated “one.” The word “one” in this verse is “echod” and means “a unity.” The Hebrew word “yachid” is the word meaning “an absolute one.” The word translated “God” in the Hebrew is “Elohim” and means three or more. God says precisely what He means.
Man According To The Witnesses
Man is a soul, but does not have a soul (Let God Be True, p. 60).
“… the serpent (the Devil) is the one who originated the doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul” (ibid., p. 66).
Man According To God
“I pray God your whole spirit AND SOUL and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 1:2).
Man was created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), a triune being, having body, soul, and spirit. And the Bible says, “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of SOUL, and SPIRIT, and of the JOINTS and MARROW (body)…” (Hebrews 4:12).
Death And Hell As Taught By The Watchtower Society
The penalty of the second chance for life will be the second death, which is annihilation (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, p. 151).
God is too good to sustain an everlasting hell (ibid., p. 127).
“The grave and physical death are the only hell” (Reconciliation, p. 289).
“The doctrine of eternal torment is as false as its author, the devil” (Creation, p. 341).
“It is so plain that the Bible hell is the tomb, the grave, that even an honest little child can understand it, but not the religious theologians” (Let God Be True, p. 72).
Death And Hell As Taught By The Bible
“And these shall go away into EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT (not annihilation): but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46).
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE” (Jude, 1:7). Obviously, it is the PEOPLE in these cities that will suffer. (Cities do not “commit fornication,” but the people IN the cities.)
“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up FOR EVER AND EVER; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:11).
Luke 16:24, “… for I am tormented in this flame.”
Luke 16:26, “… there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.?”
Luke 16:28, “… lest they also come into this place of torment.”
Daniel 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Historical Background

     William Miller is the forerunner of Seventh-Day Adventism, although the person most identified with the movement is Ellen G. White. In 1818 Miller, a New England farmer, predicted Christ was coming again on March 21, 1843. (This date was decided upon by interpreting the 2300 days of the prophecy in Daniel 8:14 as years and adding 2300 years to 457 B.C.) Of course, Christ did not return that year. The date was changed to October 24, 1844. Again, Christ did not appear. Miller was bitterly disappointed. Before his death in 1849 he even said, “We expected the personal coming of Christ at that time; and now to contend that we were not mistaken is dishonest. We should never be ashamed frankly to confess our errors. I have no confidence in any of the new theories that grew out of the movement…” (Good News Broadcaster, June, 1964).

     However, many who followed Miller started their own groups, and one of them became the foundation of modern Seventh-Day Adventism. Ellen G. White was one of the leaders of this group. Instead of admitting a mistake in calculation as Miller had done, this group insisted that Christ had come in 1844. They said instead of coming back to the earth, He entered the “Heavenly Sanctuary” to (supposedly) finish the atonement and that when Christ is through with the atonement, He will come the rest of the way to the earth. (See Hebrews 10:12—the atonement is finished!)

     Mrs. White did a lot of writing. Among her books are The Desire of the Ages, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Acts of the Apostles, Prophets and Kings, and a very popular booklet, Steps to Christ. This booklet has had a distribution of millions. The attitude of those who follow her is that there are no errors in her writings. However, not all Adventists concede that she is a prophet in the same sense as Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.

     Some Christian leaders of our day are saying that modern Adventism has departed enough from its original view that it should not be considered “heresy.” If its errors were completely on minor points, we might tend to agree with them. However, since it puts works into salvation, we have no other choice than to point out that such teaching is definitely unscriptural.

Brief Doctrinal Coverage Of Adventism

Salvation
     Mrs. White says, “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed in Jesus come in review before God… Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased… All who have truly repented of sin, AND by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted WORTHY of eternal life” (The Great Controversy, p. 483).

     According to this statement of Mrs. White’s, even though one “believes on Jesus” he will still be lost if he dies with any sins on his record that he had not repented of. But if a person believes in Jesus AND his character is good, God will give him what he has EARNED through his faith and worthy deeds…eternal life.

     Remember that Romans 11:6 tells us if a person is saved by grace then he CANNOT be saved by works also. Grace means “mercy,” and if you work for something and receive a wage for it, that wage is not given to you out of mercy: It is given to you because it is owed to you… you deserve it (Romans 4:4, 5). But NO MAN DESERVES SALVATION. God does not owe man anything! We deserve hell, but God in grace gives eternal life to those who trust in Christ and His payment for all their sin. Eternal life does not come to us through faith AND “worthy deeds.” It doesn’t come through faith AND anything. It comes through FAITH ALONE in Christ’s finished work for us. What passage in Galatians comes to your mind when you hear of someone trying to be saved by grace and works of the law? Galatians 5:1-4.

     “As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin… Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused… will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked” (ibid., pp. 485, 486).

     But God’s Word plainly states, “The Lord hath laid on Him (CHRIST) the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). CHRIST is the One who has been “made sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Since all of our sins were placed upon Christ, what need is there for any other sinbearer? This doctrine is blasphemy!

Soul-Sleep
     Adventists teach that the unsaved will be annihilated and not spend eternity in the lake of fire as the Scriptures teach. Neither do they believe that a person has any consciousness after death. This belief is called “soul-sleep” and contradicts precious Scripture on behalf of the believers who have gone home to be with the Lord. See 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:21, 23; Revelation 6:9, 10; and Psalm 116:15.

The Sabbath
     The unique issue among Adventists is their teaching that one must keep the Sabbath (Saturday) to be saved. This again is the issue: Are you saved by LAW or GRACE? Keeping the Sabbath or any other “work of the law” has nothing to do with salvation.

     “Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him ALL THAT BELIEVE are justified from all things, from which YE COULD NOT be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38, 39).

     “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin… Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith WITHOUT the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:20, 28).

     “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith. AND THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH…” (Galatians 3:10-12).

     “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the PROMISE BY FAITH of Jesus Christ might be GIVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE” (Galatians 3:21, 22).

     If they want to keep the law to be saved, how much would they have to keep? They would have to keep the WHOLE law, because if they failed in just one point they would then be sinners, and have the results of sin—death (James 2:10; Romans 6:23).

     Christ asked a pointed question in John 7:19, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet NONE of you keepeth the law?” It is rather foolish to try to keep the law to be saved, or to try to keep the law after you are saved SO THAT you will stay saved. “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

     Regarding the Sabbath, God says, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). God doesn’t give the power to the local church to tell you that you must observe a particular day above an other.

     “Let no man (even Seventh-Day Adventist) therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or OF THE SABBATH…” (Colossians 2:16).

     Saturday is the Sabbath, the seventh day, because it is. The Sabbath has never been changed from the seventh day. But the day one chooses to worship God is not really the issue. You should worship the Lord EVERY day. How one is saved is the important point. Incidentally, the Sabbath was given as a day of REST, not as a day of WORSHIP. When the Adventists go to meetings on Saturday, they are DOING much more and TRAVELING much more than the laws governing the Sabbath allow!

     If the Adventists followed the punishment Scripture attaches to disobedience of the Sabbath as prescribed by law, they would soon exterminate themselves.

See Numbers 15:32-36 and Exodus 35:2.

     Christians worship on Sunday because the Apostles did, Acts 20:7; and the Apostles did because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Luke 24:1.

     The official teaching (and general belief among the members) is that you cannot be sure of salvation now, and that though you may be saved now, you might lose your salvation before you die. In other words, the gift of God is NOT ETERNAL LIFE (Romans 6:23).

I think it will be beneficial for us to change pace here for a little while and take a look at the different religions. When King Jesus built the church, and also being that the church is the “Body of Christ” tells us that there is ONE church, ONE Faith, and if religion was to be a part of it, there would be ONE Religion. The sad fact is there are a number of religions in the world today, each one of them have different beliefs, ways to worship, and ways in which to get to heaven. I want to take a little bit of time to look at each one of these religions and see what the religion teaches that is right, and more importantly what they teach that is not founded from the word of God.

Right now, I want to focus on the Atheist and Agnostic. This is the most disturbing religions, if you wish to call it a religion, to me. Often a person is an atheist or skeptic because he has observed the many inconsistencies in the various Christian denominations. Things like the dark ages, the “holy” wars of the Crusades, the superstition and anti-intellectual climate that have surrounded much of Christendom, the critical attitudes of pseudo-pious people who consider themselves Christians, have all played a part in abetting skepticism and unbelief.

“The fool said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). More people will fit into the category of an agnostic than that of an atheist. While the atheist has convinced him self that there is no God, the agnostic doesn’t know if there is a God and doesn’t know if anyone can really know there is a God. Many college students today wonder about the existence and reality of a personal God. These people need to see that we don’t believe in God just because our parents do, our church does, or because it is “nice” to believe in God, but because we are convinced God is real, alive, and vitally interested in us.

Reasons we believe in God:

1. Creation requires a Creator. The owner of a wrist watch knows there was a creator of that wrist watch. Intelligence, thought, and effort were required to make the watch.
Our magnificent bodies, our complex world, our immense, orderly universe, are all evidences of a Creator. It took intelligence, thought, and effort to make us and the world we find ourselves in. There are LAWS governing our universe, laws of gravity, motion, seasons, tides, wind circuits, etc. These laws presuppose a Law GIVER. Our universe has design and had to have a Designer.

2. The Bible had to be written by God. It is impossible for the Bible to have been written by man alone. The very fact that the Bible is written as it is proves that there had to have been a higher intelligence guiding the writers. Because we know there is a God, we can see the logic and reasonableness of God’s writing the Bible. But conversely, because we know the Bible, we can prove there is a God who wrote it.

3. A person who doesn’t believe in God will have to face the problem of trying to substantiate a negative. This particular negative would be impossible to prove. Here is why. How can a person prove there is no God? Has this person been everywhere within and without the universe? If there is somewhere he has not been, God might be there. Does this person know everything? If there is something he does not know, that something might be God.

4. Thousands of Christians testify that they know God that they talk to God and He hears their prayers and proves it by ANSWERING their prayers.

Usually the person who is atheistic or agnostic also tends to feel that he is scientific. No true scientist would reject the testimony of thousands of people that a certain Person exists, has the highest form of intelligence and personality, and loves people tremendously. Certainly, such marvelous claims compel the HONEST skeptic to make a thorough investigation into the matter and not to come to any hasty conclusion that there is no God. It has been said that when it comes to God and the Bible, an honest skeptic will not be a skeptic very long because after investigation into the matter he will no longer be a skeptic. To those who don’t believe in God or who think God is dead, let me say, “My God is alive! Sorry about yours!”

Reasons for Believing the Bible

1. The men who wrote the Bible testify that God gave them the words to write. “The word that came to Jeremiah FROM THE LORD, saying, Thus speaketh THE LORD GOD of Israel, WRITE thee all the words that I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO THEE IN A BOOK…And these are the words that the Lord spake…” (Jeremiah 30:1, 2, 4). “The WORD OF THE LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest…” (Ezekiel 1:3). If the men who wrote the Bible hadn’t been inspired of God, they certainly would have recanted under the great persecution they received. Men are not willing to die for something which they know to be untrue.

2. John Wesley, said something like this: The Bible was written either by good men, bad men, or God. If good men wrote the Bible and then claimed it was written by the inspiration of God, they would be liars, and liars are not good men. They would be deceivers, and good men don’t purposely deceive people. If bad men wrote the Bible, they would be condemning themselves because the Bible condemns sin. Bad men tend to justify themselves, but the Bible never justifies sin. Bad men couldn’t have written the Bible because the Bible is a good book. Since neither good men nor bad men wrote the Bible, the only person left is God. God wrote the Bible, and it is a MASTERPIECE OF HIS HANDIWORK!

3. The Bible contains true prophecy… history written before it happens!… and so much of it that this is one of the biggest proofs that the Bible was written by God, who knows the future (and not by man, who doesn’t know the future). Below are verses telling us how to tell the difference between false and true prophecy. Deuteronomy 18:21, 22, “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath NOT spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the Name of the Lord, if the thing FOLLOW NOT, NOR COME TO PASS, that is the thing which the Lord hath NOT spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Ezekiel 12:25, “For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak SHALL COME TO PASS.”

Jeremiah 23:25-32, “I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy LIES in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the DECEIT OF THEIR OWN HEART, which think to cause My people to forget My Name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten My Name for Baal.

“The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not My Word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets saith the Lord, that steal My Words everyone from his neighbor. “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, HE saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I SENT THEM NOT, nor commanded them: therefore, they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 46:9, 10, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the END from the BEGINNING, and from ancient times the things that are NOT YET DONE, saying, My counsel SHALL STAND, and I WILL DO all My pleasure.”

John 14:29, “And now I have told you BEFORE it come to pass, that WHEN IT IS COME TO PASS, ye might believe.” Isaiah 48:3-5, “I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I SHEWED THEM: I DID THEM suddenly, and THEY CAME TO PASS. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass, I have even FROM THE BEGINNING declared it to thee; BEFORE IT CAME TO PASS, I shewed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.” Isaiah 41:22, 23, “Let them bring forth, and shew us what SHALL HAPPEN: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things FOR TO COME. Shew the things that are TO COME HEREAFTER, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.” EVERYTHING that the Bible said would happen up to this point HAS HAPPENED! History itself has already proven the Bible to be the Word of God.

4. The Bible gives a pre-written history of the Jewish nation. “Their Egyptian bondage, their conquest of Canaan, the outcome of all their wars, the division of the kingdom after the reign of Solomon, the Babylonian captivity, the partial restoration of Palestine with the rebuilding of the Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the world-wide dispersion, all are predicted. (See Genesis 15:13-16; Exodus, chapters 1-12; 1 Kings 11:30-33; Jeremiah 25:1-14; Daniel 9:24, 27, etc.)” (57 Reasons Why We Know the Bible Is the Word of God, by Meldau, Twelfth Printing, page nine).

5. What God has left out of the Bible—the false theories and superstitions of the day—is just as much an indication of the inspiration of the Bible as what God has included in it.

For instance, Job 26:7 says, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.” We know today that “gravity,” a law of nature, keeps the earth suspended in space. But the people in 1500 B.C., when this statement was made, certainly didn’t understand anything about gravity, and they had MANY THEORIES of what kept the earth in space. Poor Job must have had a struggle within himself, knowing that to put down a statement that says the earth was “hung upon nothing” would certainly make him the object of ridicule by his friends. The Hindus said the earth was on the back of an elephant, which in turn was standing on a turtle… and that the turtle was swimming in a “cosmic sea”! The Egyptians postulated that the earth was resting on top of five posts. They also thought the earth was flat (while the Bible says it is round, Isaiah 40:22).

The Greeks’ story was that a man named “Atlas” carried the earth on his back… all by himself! What kept these myths and theories (so prevalent at the time Job wrote that the earth was hung upon nothing) out of the Bible? It was the fact that Job was writing under the inspiration of God that kept these erroneous theories out. God gave Job the courage to write as God led him. Job was faithful to the Lord even in the time of trouble (Job 1:20-22), and God used Job in a great way. We pray you will be faithful to the Lord and have the courage to GIVE OUT from the Bible the same, clear message God has PUT INTO it! If you ever want to be used of God in a great way, you must be faithful in giving out His message.

6. After studying the plan of salvation, its necessity, its results in one’s life now, and
its results in one’s life in the hereafter, it surely seems to be more the way God would do things, than the way MAN would do things. The whole concept of redemption is foreign to the thinking of natural man (1 Corinthians 1:18). “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways HIGHER than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

7. Consider with me the fact that the Bible is a compilation of 66 separate books, written over a period of 16 centuries, with 40 different men doing the writing, many of whom (obviously) were not contemporary and had no way of comparing what they were writing with the others. And yet these writings, so uniquely penned, fit together to form ONE BIBLE, which has ONE CENTRAL THEME, and in which ALL STATEMENTS agree perfectly without contradiction. This certainly is evidence that ONE MIND was the “logos,” the Planner, the Thinker, the Designer, and the Author of these Holy pages.
Suppose you were in a journalism class of 40 students and your instructor had each person in the class write an essay which would include one or more of each of the following categories:

Poetry, Science, History, Morals, Romance, Man, Philosophy, God, Theology, Death, Angels, Heaven, Prayer, Hell, Discipline, Prophecy, Law, etc.

Do you think if you took the finished papers and put them together, you would have one, unified, uncontradictory story, with a central purpose developed throughout… not to say anything of its being a literary MASTERPIECE and able to satisfy the needs and longings of the human hearts of every century and of every class and culture of people?

8. The Bible tells of God’s Holy Spirit, and how man can receive His Holy Spirit to live within him. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to live the right kind of life. This is a miracle of God, and it really works. Christians DO have God’s power in their lives. Millions of lives have been miraculously changed, and people give testimony that it was through God’s Holy Spirit that the change was effected. If the Bible were not the Word of God, then just because the Bible says there is a “Holy Spirit” and that He will in dwell believers and give them power, would not make it so. Infidels do not claim to have power to live the right kind of life because they don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. No other book, system of theology, or philosophy can give its followers the POWER to CHANGE THEIR LIVES!

9. The Bible is scientifically accurate. While the Bible is not a book primarily concerned with science, where it does deal with science, it is completely accurate. Consider the following statements which are NOW known, but which were certainly not the opinion of such scientists as there might have been at the time they were written.

Job 26:7—Empty place in the North
Job 26:7—Earth hung upon nothing
Isaiah 40:22—The earth is round
Proverbs 8:27—The waters are round
Jeremiah 10:12—Einstein’s theory, E=MC2
Joel 2:5—Describes airplanes and jets
Ezekiel 38:9 and Jeremiah 4:13—More about airplanes
Zechariah 14:12—Effects of atomic radiation
Job 38:7—The stars “sing,” have a vocal quality
Isaiah 50:3—The heavens are black
Job 28:25—Air has weight
Job 25:5—The moon doesn’t have its own light
Jeremiah 33:22—The stars cannot be numbered
Ecclesiastes 1:6—The wind travels in circuits
Jeremiah 5:22—The ocean doesn’t overflow
Job 28:5—The earth has fire inside
Jeremiah 6:22—The earth has sides (not flat like a plate)
Job 38:31—Earth rotates around the axle star
Leviticus 17:11—Life of the flesh is in the blood
1 Corinthians 15:39—All flesh is not the same flesh (Parke Davis pharmaceutical house discovered the “antihuman precipitin” test which establishes the identity of different kinds of flesh—whether it be human, dog, cat, buzzard, etc.)

10. The Bible gives a detailed picture of the promised Messiah in the Old Testament, many of the prophecies given hundreds of years before His birth. Thirty-three of these were fulfilled in one day! “Suppose,” says Dr. Olinthus Gregory, “that there were only 50 prophecies in the Old Testament (instead of 333) concerning the first advent of Christ, giving details of the coming Messiah and all meet in the person of Jesus… the probability of chance fulfillment as calculated by mathematicians according to the theory of probabilities is less than one in 1,125,000,000,000,000. Now add only two more elements to these 50 prophecies, and fix the TIME and the PLACE at which they must happen and the immense improbability that they will take place by chance exceeds all the power of numbers to express…”

11. The Dead Sea Scrolls—Some critics, desperately seeking some loopholes in prophecy (because they KNOW fulfilled prophecy is a DEFINITE PROOF that the Bible could not have been written by man, because of man’s inability to constantly predict the future with a consistent degr