An appeal to ex-JW’s who are now atheists or agnostics by Jason Wright

A great article by ex-JW, turned Pastor, Jason Wright. Click on following link: http://watchtowerinvestigated.co.uk/2015/03/21/an-appeal-to-ex-jws-who-are-now-atheists-or-agnostics-by-jason-wright/

Witnessing for Christ at JWs Memorial

Jehovah's Witnesses commemorate the Lord's Evening Meal, or Memorial. They celebrate it once per year, on Nisan 14 according to the ancient Jewish luni-solar calendar.
Of those who attend the Memorial, only a small minority worldwide partake of the unleavened bread and wine. This is because Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the majority of the faithful have an earthly hope and only the 144,000 "anointed", may partake of the bread and wine.

We visited our local Kingdom Hall and preached, witnessed and tried to talk with the Witnesses about true salvation in Christ. We also tried to engage with them about the Watchtower's destructive and cruel doctrines, such as denying blood transfusions to children and shunning family members and friends who leave the Organisation.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is some video footage of the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Finding JESUS for JWs Convention, Southend, UK



 

Chairman William Bacon opens the meeting.

It was a privilege to be invited to speak at the "Finding JESUS for Jehovah's Witnesses" Convention, held at Southend Full Gospel Church at the end of November this year. Matthew spoke on the subject of explaining the Deity of Christ to JWs and I shared my experiences of ministering to and discipling Ex-Witnesses.

 

(Click here for video)

 





The venue, Southend Full Gospel Church.

 

 Matthew Purves teaching on The Deity of Christ.

 

 Paul Jennings.

 The church were very hospitable and it was great to chat with some of the congregation.

 

 Chatting over tea and coffee.

 

 

We did not stay for the entire event, since we had about a five hour drive ahead of us. However, we sensed a real atmosphere of love and solidarity that was further enhanced by some incredible and heart-rending testimonies.

 

 Ex-Witness Darryl Faulkner shares a moving testimony

 

 

 

 

 

 





Ex-JW Becomes Evangelical Elder

It was a real blessing for me this month to ordain our brother Matthew Purves as an Elder of Stockport Evangelical Church. Matthew has worked faithfully “behind the scenes” as it were in encouraging and ministering to others and is well known for his grasp of the word, Apologetics and  Biblical Theology.

 

Matthew already has a successful internet presence, through his YouTube channel “Truth4JWs” and is himself an Ex-JW Elder, spending six years at Bethel, the Watchtower’s UK Headquarters. After serious concerns, leading to disillusionment with the organisation, he began to earnestly seek God for an answer and found truth, grace and liberty in  Jesus Christ.

 

In most Protestant churches, ordination to Eldership is the rite by which churches:

• recognise and confirm that an individual has been called by to a Leadership position,
• acknowledges that the individual has gone through a period of discernment, prayer and preparation related to this call, and
• authorizes that individual to take on the role of Elder.

In this church, whilst we are an autonomous, independent fellowship, we recognize the need for spiritual, practical and effective leadership based on Biblical principles. Elders should able to teach, refute error, be of good reputation and lead their households well. This necessarily involves gifting, spiritual maturity, an understanding of God’s word and an adherence to sound doctrine. The use of the word “Elder,” can be seen in the two following verses:

“ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ...” 1 Peter 5:1 (KJV) Peter here applying the word "elder" to Apostles.

“… ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:” Titus 1:5 (KJV) The Apostle Paul commanding the ordination of elders.

 

 

Matthew’s role as Elder will be to assist me in teaching, serving and generally caring for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The position of Elder is a position of authority within the church and is exceeded only by that of the Minister, who is in effect the senior Elder. (See Acts 12:17, Acts 15:13-19)

 

Paul Jennings.

 

The NEW New World Translation: The Ultimate Modernist Failure.

 

 

As the Watchtower (JWs) Bible and Tract Society produced their revised edition of the New World Translation of the Scriptures, many Christian cult-watchers were horrified to discover that the first eleven verses of John 8 had been completely removed. There have been cries of “who do they think they are!” and “Haven’t they read Revelation 22:19?” However, after some research, I have found that modern translations like the NIV, the NLT use a footnote comment which also suggests that these verses are in doubt! The footnotes claim that “the earliest manuscripts do not have these verses.”

 

The Watchtower translators, who praise Wescott and Hort in their Bible’s preface, have long worshipped at the shrine of Higher Criticism disguised as Theological Academia. Their deliberate rejection of the King James Bible for a translation that deliberately undermines the Deity of Christ, has caused many NT scholars like to pour scorn on them; and yet…

What objection can Christians who extol the virtues of modern Bibles really have? How often we are condescendingly lectured on the value of early manuscripts and textual criticism. Haven’t the Watchtower just been more honest in their translation? Haven’t they just sided more fully with the “experts” who tell us that these verses might not be the word of God? Whilst it is a very disturbing to see verses that you and I have believed, prayed about and trusted in, suddenly erased from the Bible.  This is nothing new.  Dr Jack Moorman, author, Pastor and KJV defender said the following:

“Would it make a difference if you knew that the New Testament of your Modern Bible did not have First and Second Peter? Yet if the total number of missing words were added up this is how much shorter the modern translations are than the King James Version. Is it a cause for concern if in over 175 instances the names of Christ are missing, or if the word “hell” is not found in the Old Testament, or if key doctrinal passages have been diminished? And, the biggest shock of all! Is it possible that the most basic and blatant of all early heresies concerning the Person of Christ has been given a new lease on life in the modern Bibles? …”

“Many have gone over to the new Bibles without realising that much more is involved than the question of modern English. The entire fabric has been affected! The underlying text is substantially different. The philosophy and methodology of the translators is in marked contrast to that of the Authorised Version. The English of the new versions is assumed at first to be easier, but whether it is actually more readable, authoritative, and conducive to meditation, study, and memorization is another matter.” (The Old Heresy Revived-
Dr Jack Moorman.)

 

As you read your “Study” Bible notes that tell you 1 John 5:7 is “a later addition,” and “we must be cautious about building doctrine on the last twelve verses of Mark,” as they may not be inspired. Ask yourself, who is writing the notes? What does he or she believe? Are they even born again? How much do you actually know about them, and yet you are prepared to ditch twelve verses from God’s word on their say so!

As Christians we must rightly condemn the removal of passages from the Bible, yet we must be careful that we do not become hypocrites by endorsing translations that do exactly that!

Paul Jennings.