Jehovah’s Witnesses-Twisting the Scriptures on Blood
The John Ankerberg Show
By: Lorri MacGregor;
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the 144,000
spoken of in Revelation 7 are Faithful members of their religion, who will
be rewarded by eternity in heaven.
Can that claim be supported by Scripture? Or
is there another explanation?
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES—TWISTING
THE SCRIPTURES ON BLOOD
The
entire world reeled in shock when Jim Jones led over 900 people to their deaths
in the jungle. I cannot help but wonder how many Jehovah’s Witnesses have died
without fanfare, one by one, refusing blood transfusions.
I was very nearly a statistic also while a
Jehovah’s Witness. Let’s consider this dangerous doctrine.
A key scripture used by the Jehovah’s Witness
leaders is Genesis 9:4, which they teach is binding on all inhabitants of
the earth, “Only flesh with its soul—its
blood—you must not eat” (NWT).
This Scripture is telling the flood survivors
not to eat unbled meat.
Nothing more is implied, except by the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who say “eating” means “transfusing.”
The Old Law Covenant given to the nation of
Israel did contain dietary laws on blood, but they were not binding on Gentiles
(see Deuteronomy 14:21).
Also, Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that they
will lose their eternal life if they take a blood transfusion. This excessive
penalty for “eating blood” does not even agree with the Old Law!
Here is the Old Law penalty contained in Leviticus
17:14:15:
“For the soul of
every sort of flesh is its blood by the soul in it. Consequently I said to the
sons of Israel: ‘You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh, because the
soul of every sort of flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be cut off.’ As
for any soul that eats a body (already) dead or something torn by a wild beast,
whether a native or an alien resident, he must in that case wash his garments
and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; and he must be clean.” (New World
Translation)
Yes, the penalty for eating (or in Jehovah’s
Witness reasoning, taking a blood transfusion) was being “cut off,” until you
had washed your clothes and taken a bath, and then you could return!
Why then believe an organization that would
take your eternal life as a penalty for a blood transfusion? God never would.
Likewise, the New Testament scriptures in
Acts, chapter 15, verses 20 and 29, saying among other things to “abstain from blood,” are not by any
stretch of interpretation referring to blood transfusions.
It is interesting that at one point in the
history of the Watchtower Society all the Scriptures they now use to refuse
blood transfusions were used to refuse vaccinations!
Remember that in the past the Society
rejected the theory that diseases were caused by germs and ridiculed Pasteur
for this scientific truth.
The founder of the Society, Charles T.
Russell, also taught that appendicitis and typhoid fever were really caused by
biting worms in the colon.
With their history of advice on medical
issues, one would do well to ignore their “truths” on blood transfusions as
well.
We are encouraged by the recent “revolt” against this
unbiblical practice by a secret group of Jehovah’s Witnesses
themselves.
Since they are operating on the internet, the
elders can’t catch them and dispose of them. They produce excellent medical
information on blood transfusions and expose the hypocrisy of the Watchtower
Society.
Their promotional material reads, “The
Associated Jehovah’s Witnesses for Reform on Blood is a diverse group of
Witnesses from many countries, including elders and other organization
officials, Hospital Liason Committee members, Doctors, Lawyers, Child Advocates
as well as members of the general public who have volunteered their time and
energies in an effort to bring about an end to a tragic and misguided policy
that has claimed thousands of lives, many of them children.”
We applaud their efforts to save lives, and
invite you to visit their website: http:// www.ajwrb.org
Perhaps you could tactfully bring up this
subject the next time a Jehovah’s Witness visits at your door and hand them a
piece of paper with this website address on it!
We offer these general tips for
witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses at your door.
Do not attempt to pray with the Jehovah’s
Witness (this offends them), but do pray before they come, or excuse yourself
briefly and pray before you speak with them.
Listen politely to their presentation of three
or four scriptures, and do not enter into an argument or discussion.
Let them make their point, even if it is
incorrect, and when they look to you for a response, just smile and say “please
go on.” This will ensure that they will quickly finish and offer you the
literature.
When offered the literature, say something
like, “You people have come to my home because you really believe you are in
the true faith. I also believe I am in the true faith, and yet we believe
differently. I think we should take a moment to take the Bible test as to
whether we are in the true faith or not.”
Have a Bible handy and marked at 2
Corinthians 13:5, which reads, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the
faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that
JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU—unless indeed you fail the test” (NAS).
Explain to them that you know you are in the
true faith, because you have Jesus Christ within you, and then share your
testimony with them. If they interrupt, remind them that you listened politely
to them while they shared, so they should quietly listen to you.
They may object that their New World
Translation says in this scripture that Jesus Christ is “IN UNION WITH” you,
not “IN YOU.”
This is a perfect time to direct them to their
“Kingdom Interlinear Translation” so they can check out the English words under
the Greek and learn about the indwelling Christ first hand.
Remember always, that the Jehovah’s Witnesses
at your door went into that organization because they were honestly seeking
for God in their hearts.
They were given instead a
counterfeit Christ and a counterfeit gospel.
They are busy and programmed, but they are
still hungry in the deepest part of their hearts, and with the help of the Holy
Spirit you can reach them for Christ. Pray for them.
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https://www.jashow.org/articles/false-teaching/jehovahs-witnesses/jehovahs-witnesses-teachings-practices/jehovahs-witnesses-blood-transfusion/jehovah%E2%80%99s-witnesses-twisting-the-scriptures-on-blood/
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