Letter to a Jehovah’s Witness ©by Rhonda Pethoud
I received another letter from a Jehovah’s Witness who uses the Kingdom Hall address and calls him/herself my “neighbor”. This is the second time s/he has written to me; this time, my “neighbor” included a copy of Watch Tower, the publication JW’s use as tracts for mass distribution of their doctrine.
Once again, I wrote back. It’s very difficult to know exactly where to begin when trying to refute someone else’s beliefs, because I don’t wish to offend anyone, nor would I want someone to offend me. Below is the letter I wrote; I hope s/he will find it provocative enough to do some further study. Here is my letter to my “neighbor”:
Dear V:
Forgive me for taking so long to respond; evidently I left this letter in my daughter’s car and she just gave it to me today after finding it on her passenger-side visor.
While I appreciate the time you are taking to send me materials and letters, I’m not even sure where to begin to refute your beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses couldn’t be more wrong about death, or what you believe about Jesus Christ. You are misinterpreting the Bible, and forwarding what could only be described as false teaching. You should be VERY careful about sharing these beliefs with others, because the Bible is clear about the coming judgment upon those who seek to distort the Word of God. You WILL stand before Him at the Great White Throne of Judgment where He will read to you a list of your transgressions and you will know without a doubt why you are sentenced to hell.
As I told you in my last letter, I am SO SURE of my salvation and justification by God through faith in Jesus Christ and my eternal home in heaven, I wrote a book for new Christians entitled, “His Grace – My Faith; a Primer for New Christians and Others Who Want To Believe.” Once again, I offer you a free download of the e-Book version which you can find at www.hisgracemyfaith.com. I encourage you to get a copy and tell others how to get one. It is SO IMPORTANT that you understand, there is NO life after death for those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. The Apostle Paul was summoned to share the too good to be true Gospel with the Gentiles, as it was revealed to him by divine inspiration by God. In Paul’s letter to the Roman’s, Paul explained how the Holy Spirit, the 3rd part of the Triune God, searches the heart of an individual and goes before God as our intercessor in faith. Paul goes on to explain in Roman’s 8:28 that God foreknew each of us and those that believe in Jesus, God did justify, glorify and sanctify.
I know that, as a Jehovah’s Witness, you do not believe that Jesus is part of the Triune God. I don’t know how your beliefs could be so opposite the Bible, because there are 353 distinct prophesies in the Old Testament that speak of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, in John 14:9, Jesus told Phillip, “if you have seen me you have seen the Father.” In John 4:25, the woman told Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes He will declare all things to us”. Then in 4:26, Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.” Jesus called himself the “Lord of the Sabbath” in Mark 2:28 and in John 8:58 said, “Before Abraham was, I AM”.
As far as death after the grave, there is ONLY one way to get to heaven. “No one comes to the Father except through ME” John 14:6. One must be a believer in Jesus Christ in order to be in heaven at the time of death. Non believers go to hell. There are dozens of scriptures that bear out this truth, you’ll find some in my book. You cannot “pray” someone back from the dead – Catholics believe one goes to a place called purgatory after death and the church members can pray them into heaven by offering prayers and indulgences. This is not scriptural, and the examples cited in the WatchTower publication you sent, are not examples of people going to “sleep”, they are examples of the power of God, given as instruction to His believers! No, the individuals had nothing to say about it, but the faith of the believers in the power of God through Jesus Christ is what resurrected those individuals. Jesus was trying to show people that He did have the power given to Him by God – and it was only to believers that He allowed this power to be manifested. When a believer dies, his soul and spirit go to be with the Lord and his body returns to the dust. At the Second Coming, these believers will be given a glorified body to reunite their soul and spirit – but not until Christ comes again.
I sincerely and fervently hope you will take the time to read my book and if you need more information, I would be honored to help you overcome the false teachings you have been given. All you have to do to be saved is speak to God through your heart and let Him know you believe in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and that you want Jesus to come into your life to be your Lord and King. It’s that simple for a sincere heart.
After that, all you have to do is read God’s word and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you through the Word of God.
Please – before it’s too late. While no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return, we are commanded to be ready.
Be ready. Ask Jesus into your heart today.
In His Service,
Rhonda Pethoud
Here are some bible verses that will help you understand that Jesus IS the Son of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- The Christ of theNew Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
- Isaiahwrote about seeing Jehovah in Isaiah 6:1-10.
- InJohn 12:31-42, we are told that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke of Him
- InExodus 34:14 we are to worship no one but Jehovah.
- InHebrews 1:6 the angels worship
- InIsaiah 44:6 Jehovah is called the first and the last (confirmed in Revelation 1:8),
- but inRevelation 22:13 Christ is the first and the last.
- InMatthew 1:23, Christ is called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
- Jesus Christ is called “the mighty God” inIsaiah 9:6.
- The teaching ofColossians 1:15 is that Christ is first in rank above all creation; He is the Heir of all things. He is prior to all creation and superior over it.
Remember these words: It’s HIS Grace and MY Faith.