🌟 Doctrinal Differences Between Biblical Christianity and Jehovah’s Witnesses
By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher Arkansas
✨ Introduction
In this study blog we will take a close look at what most Christian’s teach in accordance to the King James Bible (KJV), in comparison to what the Jehovah’s Witnesses actually teach according to the New World Translation (NWT).
The King James Bible was appointed by six committees, totaling 54 scholars, to prepare the new translation, using previous English Bible translation work, and using the best Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts and manuscripts. The completed King James Version was first published in 1611.
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was first released as a single volume in 1961, following the release of its Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) in separate volumes between 1953 and 1960. Since its initial publication, the translation has been revised several times, with updates occurring in 1984 and 2013.
The Christian faith is founded upon the truth of God’s Word, revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While many groups claim to follow the Bible, their interpretations can differ significantly from historic Christian teachings. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for instance, have a unique set of doctrines that depart from core biblical truths. This study provides a balanced, scripture-based comparison, showing the differences and the biblical foundation of historic Christianity.
📊 Summary Comparison Table – A look at 19 doctrinal differences.
| Comparison of 19 Doctrines | Biblical Christian Beliefs | Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs | Evidence in Key Scriptures (KJV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of God | One God in three co-equal persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit (Trinity) | Jehovah alone is God; Jesus is a created being; Holy Spirit is an impersonal force | 1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 8:6 |
| Person of Jesus, Identity of Christ Jesus | Eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man | Created archangel Michael | 1 John 5:20, John 1:1, John 1:3, John 1:14, Colossians 2:9, John 20:28, John 10:30, Revelation 22:13, John 17:5, Matthew 28:18, John 17:3. Colossians 1:16-17, 1 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 1:18, Hebrews 1:3, 1 Timothy 1:17 |
| Holy Spirit | Personal, divine, guides, teaches, convicts | Impersonal force | John 14:26; Acts 5:3–4 |
| Salvation | By grace through faith in God alone | Faith plus works and obedience to the Jehovah’s Witness organization | Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 16:31 |
| Resurrection | Physical resurrection of Jesus | Spiritual resurrection | Luke 24:39; Matthew 28:6 |
| Crucifixion | Jesus died on a cross | Jesus died on a stake | Luke 23:33 |
| Heaven | Eternal home for all believers | Only 144,000 go to heaven | Revelation 7:4–9; John 14:2–3 |
| Hell | Eternal punishment for the wicked | Annihilation for the wicked | Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 5:22, Mark 9:43, Matthew 13:42 |
| Authority | Bible alone is final authority | Watchtower organization as final authority | 2 Timothy 3:16; Deuteronomy 4:2 |
| Blood | Blood is sacred but can be transfused medically | Blood transfusions forbidden | Leviticus 17:11; Acts 15:28–29 |
| Worship | God is worshiped through Jesus and Spirit | Jehovah is worshiped only, they also exclude Jesus from recieveing any worship | John 4:23–24, John 20:28, Mark 5:6, Hebrews 1:6, Matthew 28:9, John 9:38, Luke 24:52, Matthew 28:17, Philippians 2:10, Revelation 19:10, Revelation 4:10, Ephesians 5:19, Revelation 5:14 |
| Communion | Symbolic memorial of Christ’s sacrifice | Annually only for 144,000 | Luke 22:19–20 |
| Second Coming | Visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ, and all the graves of the saints will be opened | JW’s say that Jesus has already returned in 1914, they falsley teach as if the return of Jesus has already happened Invisibly. | Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7, Luke 21:27, Matthew 26:64, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 |
| Evangelism | Witnessing encouraged, not compulsory | Mandatory door-to-door witnessing | Matthew 28:19–20 |
| End Times | God’s sovereign plan, tribulation and return of Christ | Armageddon destroys the wicked; only JW organization survives | Revelation 20:11–15 |
| Human Nature | Fallen, redeemed by Christ alone | Inherently imperfect; must obey the Jahovah’s Wittness organization | Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1–5 |
| Forgiveness of sin | Through Christ alone forgiveness is given when one confesses their sins to God | Through obedience to Jehovah’s organizational doctrines one one receives forgiveness of their sins | 1 John 1:9; Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Matthew 26:28, Colossians 2:13-14 |
| Assurance of Salvation | Believers can know they have eternal life | No assurance until after Armageddon | 1 John 5:13; John 10:28; Romans 8:38–39 |
| Eternal Assurance | Sealed by the Holy Spirit | Conditional on loyalty and obedience | John 6:37; Romans 8:38–39, Romans 10:9-10 |
✝️ 1. Doctrine of the Trinity
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
God is one in essence, yet exists eternally in three co-equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each Person is fully God and acts in unity.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Jehovah alone is Almighty God. Jesus is a created being, and the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force, not a person.
📖 Key Scriptures
1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1
✝️ 2. Person of Jesus Christ
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, eternal, uncreated, and the Creator of all things.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Jesus was created as the archangel Michael and is a lesser god.
📖 Key Scriptures
John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8
✝️ 3. The Holy Spirit
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
The Holy Spirit is personal, divine, teaches, convicts, guides, and comforts believers.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
The Holy Spirit is an impersonal force, not a person.
📖 Key Scriptures
John 14:26; Acts 5:3–4; Ephesians 4:30
✝️ 4. Salvation
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by works or human effort.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Salvation requires faith plus obedience to the organization, witnessing, and loyalty.
📖 Key Scriptures
Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 16:31
✝️ 5. The Cross and Resurrection
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Jesus died on a cross and rose bodily from the dead.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Jesus died on a stake; His resurrection was spiritual, not physical.
📖 Key Scriptures
Luke 24:39–40; Matthew 28:6; Luke 23:33
✝️ 6. Heaven
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Heaven is the eternal dwelling for all believers.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Only 144,000 go to heaven; the rest will live forever on a paradise Earth.
📖 Key Scriptures
John 14:2–3; Revelation 7:4–9
✝️ 7. Hell and the Afterlife
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Hell is real, eternal punishment for the wicked.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
The wicked are annihilated; eternal torment is denied.
📖 Key Scriptures
Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15; Mark 9:43–48
✝️ 8. Authority
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
The Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and doctrine.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
The Watchtower organization is the final authority; they rely on their own translation and interpretations.
📖 Key Scriptures
2 Timothy 3:16; Deuteronomy 4:2
✝️ 9. Blood
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Blood is sacred, symbolic of life and covenant, but medical transfusions are permissible.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
All blood transfusions are forbidden, citing Levitical law as absolute for modern medicine.
📖 Key Scriptures
Leviticus 17:11; Acts 15:28–29
✝️ 10. Worship
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Worship God through Jesus Christ and the Spirit. True worship is in spirit and truth.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Jehovah alone is worshiped; Christ and the Spirit are not objects of worship.
📖 Key Scriptures
John 4:23–24; Revelation 5:12–14
✝️ 11. Communion
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Communion is a symbolic memorial of Christ’s sacrifice, regularly observed.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Only annually, and limited to 144,000 “anointed” members.
📖 Key Scriptures
Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
✝️ 12. Second Coming
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Christ will return visibly and bodily to judge the world.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Christ’s return was invisible and spiritual in 1914.
📖 Key Scriptures
Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7
✝️ 13. Evangelism
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Evangelism is encouraged but voluntary; the heart is more important than method.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Mandatory door-to-door witnessing is required of all members.
📖 Key Scriptures
Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8
✝️ 14. End Times / Armageddon
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
God will execute His sovereign plan; Christ will return, tribulation will occur, and all will be judged.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Only the JW organization will survive Armageddon; others are destroyed.
📖 Key Scriptures
Revelation 20:11–15; Matthew 25:31–46
✝️ 15. Forgiveness
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Forgiveness is through Jesus Christ alone, by God’s grace. The shed blood of Jesus alone for salvation and cleansing of mankinds sin is what God the Father offers to all humanity when He sent Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world. John 3:16.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Forgiveness requires obedience to the Jehovah’s Witness organization rules and strict by-laws. Charles Taze Russell was responsible for drafting the bylaws of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the corporation that would become the legal instrument for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
📖 Key Scriptures
1 John 1:9; Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Matthew 26:28, Colossians 2:13-14
✝️ 16. Assurance & Eternal Salvation
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Believers can know they have eternal life; salvation is secure in Christ.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
No assurance of salvation until after Armageddon takes place; assurance of one’s salvation depends on organizational loyalty and the Jehovah’s Witness organization. Salvation is based on Jehovah’s Witness organization.
The organization is directed by the Governing Body—an all-male group that varies in size, but since October 2024 has had eleven members, based in the Watchtower Society’s Warwick, New York headquarters. Each of the Governing Body members claims to be of the “anointed class” with a hope of heavenly life (whereas most Jehovah’s Witnesses hope to be resurrected in an earthly paradise. There are no elections for membership; new members are selected by the existing body. Each of its members serves as chairman, with the position rotating among members alphabetically each year.
📖 Key Scriptures
1 John 5:13; John 10:28; Romans 8:38–39, Romans 10:9-10
✝️ 17. Human Obedience vs. God’s Grace
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Obedience flows from love and gratitude, not as a condition for salvation.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Obedience to the organization is required for salvation.
📖 Key Scriptures
Ephesians 2:8–10; Romans 6:14
✝️ 18. Prophecy and Interpretation
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Prophecy points to Christ; interpretation comes through the Holy Spirit, guided by Scripture.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Their organization interprets prophecy authoritatively (e.g., 1914, 1975).
📖 Key Scriptures
2 Peter 1:20–21; Revelation 22:18–19
✝️ 19. Role of Christ in Salvation
🔹 What the Bible Teaches (Christianity)
Christ is the only mediator between God and man. Salvation is through Him alone.
🔸 What Jehovah’s Witnesses Teach
Mediators include the organization; Christ’s role is subordinate to Jehovah’s authority.
📖 Key Scriptures
1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6
🌿 Call to Salvation
Jesus Christ said:
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28
If you have not yet trusted in Him as your personal Savior, know that salvation is a gift of grace — freely given, not earned by works, human effort, or organizational loyalty.
By confessing Jesus as Lord, believing He died for your sins, and trusting Him alone, you can receive eternal life and be reconciled to God:
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” — Romans 10:9
Receive Jesus Christ today and find true freedom, forgiveness, and eternal salvation in Jesus Christ alone.
