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| One of the publications of the Jehovah's Witnesses. |
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb (Luke 24:36-42).
There are many organizations which claim to be the Christian Church but are, rather, non-Christian cults. They worship another Jesus. They proclaim a different gospel. St. Paul warns us to watch out for them.[1] We are to test what we are taught against the doctrines of Holy Scripture.[2] One of the most familiar of these non-Christian cults is the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses), teaches that it is the true religion; it’s followers believe they have passed through the narrow gate and are now walking down the road leading to life.[3] But what do they teach? The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach many things which are contrary to the Christian faith; there are far too many to document thoroughly here. One of their most dangerous false teachings, however, has to do with the resurrection of Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus rose from His tomb bodily on the third day. They believe that God the Father supernaturally disposed of Jesus’ body after it was buried. They teach that what the disciples saw was not the resurrected Jesus with the same body that was so brutally treated on Good Friday. What they saw, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, was a spirit creature, not unlike an angel.[4] They teach that, when Jesus appeared to Thomas, Jesus took on a body with wound marks to bolster Thomas’ faith.[5] In other words, God lied. The root of this heresy is their mistranslation of 1 Peter 3:18. The verse reads: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit (NKJV). They translate it in their New World Translation as, “...but made alive [resurrected] in the spirit.” They deny the bodily resurrection of Christ, and that Christ was God.[6]
St Luke, however, records the exact opposite of such nonsense. He writes that the disciples were terrified because they thought they saw a spirit. Jesus presents His body for inspection to prove otherwise. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. He eats food with them. Jesus wants His disciples to know that this body present with them is the same body which suffered on the cross, and was buried in the tomb. He does not lie. He wants us to know that we are not finished with our bodies when we die. Our ultimate goal is not to be a disembodied spirit in Heaven for all eternity. Our ultimate goal is the resurrection. Jesus is the first-fruits of the resurrection of the dead.[7] We will come out of our graves as He did, body and soul united again, on the Last Day.[8] Our lowly bodies will be made like His glorious body.[9] I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin has been destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another.[10]
Christ’s resurrection is important because it proves that He is the Son of God.[11] What He teaches is true.[12] His resurrection is proof that God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice for the sin of the world.[13] We were God’s enemies; we have been reconciled to Him by the death of His Son.[14] If Christ has not been raised, St. Paul says, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins.[15] We are able to proclaim with certainty, however, on the authority of the infallible, inerrant, efficacious Word of God, that Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
[1] 2 Corinthians 11:1-15
[2] Acts 17:11; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Peter 1:10-11
[3] "Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe They Are the True Religion? | FAQ." JW.ORG. Accessed April 06, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/true-religion/.
[4] "Jesus' Body-Was It Flesh or Spirit After His Resurrection? | Bible Questions." JW.ORG. Accessed April 07, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-body/.
[5] ibid
[6] "The Resurrection of Jesus | Did It Really Happen?" JW.ORG. Accessed April 07, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20130301/resurrection-of-jesus/#?insight[search_id]=d3228437-e6ff-4aa8-9d87-14494c2127a9&insight[search_result_index]=0.
“Jesus is not God—whose name is Jehovah—but he is the Son of God. Jehovah resurrected Jesus from the dead. (Romans 10:9) One Bible scholar comments: It is unthinkable that anyone—even Christ—could raise himself.”
[7] 1 Corinthians 15:23
[8] 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
[9] Philippians 3:20-21
[10] Job 19:25-27
[11] Romans 1:4
[12] John 2:19; 8:28
[13] Romans 4:25
[14] Romans 5:10
[15] 1 Corinthians 15:17
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