Ever wonder what to say to a Jehovah’s Witness? Ever want to engage them in a conversation but they just say, “We are not here to argue”? Why not ask the question they love to be asked? Why not encourage them to do the talking, and just sit back and wait while they hang themselves? Warning: it will take a bit of patience to listen to their spiel first.

Typically, Jehovah’s Witnesses will talk about conditions in the world today and paradise earth, often incorporating current events. They might even make mention of God’s coming wrath and Armageddon, though in my experience they emphasize paradise earth far more often these days.

After the Jehovah’s Witness has asked you about world conditions, told you about paradise earth, and maybe mentioned the soon coming destruction of the wicked at Armageddon, make sure to ask them: Is that all? Is that your Good News?

Next, make sure to repeat their message back to them and ask them again, “Is that all of the good news you preach? Is there anything else you want to add?” The reason for doing this is that once you share the real gospel, the Jehovah’s Witness will try to backtrack and say, “Oh yeah, well we preach that too.” But you’ve already given them multiple chances to tell you their good news.

Next, make sure to repeat their message back to them and ask again, “Is that all of the good news you preach? Is there anything else you want to add?”

This is important because once you share the real gospel, the JW will often try to backtrack and say, “Oh yeah, we preach that too.” But by this point, you’ve already given them multiple opportunities to explain their good news in their own words.

Now is when you want to share the good news or gospel message according to the Bible and then ask them why their good news is different.

According to the Bible, the good news is not paradise earth, improved world conditions, or surviving Armageddon. The good news is that Christ died for our sins. Paul explained this in his letter to the Corinthians:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 1 Cor. 15:1-4

Why is your good news different than the Apostle Paul’s?

Be prepared for the JW to use Theocratic Warfare and pretend that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is also a part of their Good News. Don’t fall for this lie! The Watchtower has admitted the Good News of Jehovah’s Witnesses is different than the Gospel of Christianity:

 “Let the honest-hearted person compare the kind of preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom done by the religious systems of Christendom during all the centuries with that done by Jehovah’s Witnesses since the end of World War I in 1918. They are not the same.” May 1, 1981 Wt.

This means that the Watchtower admits that the gospel of the New Testament apostles in the first century is a different gospel than what the organization preaches. The JW may not be familiar with this quote, especially since it is from 1981. Be prepared for deer in the headlights as cognitive dissonance kicks in.

The JW may try to make light of the difference, making it seem like no big deal. They may tell you that they also believe in Jesus (a different Jesus, their Jesus is Michael the Archangel). They believe in His death, burial, and resurrection; they just happened to stress paradise earth because it’s a positive message. Be prepared!

But the Good News JW preach is different than the Gospel Message. And Paul warns us about this, in his letter to the Galatians:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Gal. 1:6-8 ESV

Since the Bible says if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed, what does this mean for you?

Or you might want to take it in a different direction and ask them where the apostles or Jesus preached paradise on earth? Be prepared for a game of Bible ping-pong. Remember to be specific. Otherwise, the JW will drag you throughout the Bible, jumping from one verse to another. The question is: Where did Jesus or the Apostles preach Paradise Earth? They typically use:

“Blessed are the meek,
               for they will inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5

However, they ignore the beginning of the sermon in Matthew 5:3,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
                for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“

Another problem they may overlook is that the Watchtower teaches that in the first century, when Jesus was on the earth, everyone had “the heavenly hope.” The great crowd was not introduced until 1935. See Watchtower article here.

So up until 1935, every JW had the heavenly hope. So they can’t very well claim Jesus was preaching paradise earth to people who had the heavenly hope, can they? Also, they ignore the rest of the verses in Matthew 5, which repeatedly speak of a heavenly hope, like this one:

               “Blessed are the pure in heart,
                for they will see God.” Matt. 5:8

And why is their good news different from the Apostle Paul’s good news? Galatians 1:6-8

The preaching of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ began at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out, found in Acts chapter 2. Peter begins speaking to the crowd in verse 14:

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 

Verse 22: Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Verse 32: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God,

Verse 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Verse 37,38: When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It’s astonishing that, with all the preaching that Jehovah’s Witnesses do, they actually don’t know the gospel message. They think they are supposed to be preaching the kingdom. They don’t know they are supposed to be preaching; Jesus is the only way by which to be saved.

Acts 16:30, 31 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” NIV

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You just might be surprised to discover that the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not agree with the Bible and the gospel message. Remember, they believe they must work hard for their own salvation. To see the Watchtower teaching on this, click here.

From the Watchtower article:

·  “making themselves eligible to receive the reward of eternal life” (paragraph 3)

·  “reach out now for the reward, and qualify to receive it” (paragraph 19)

·  “It is for the reward of eternal life that every last person on earth should now be working” (paragraph 2)

Have you ever had what you thought was the perfect idea to present to a Jehovah’s Witness, only to have them come back with something that made your argument fall flat? You probably ran into ‘Theocratic Warfare,’ aka lying.

Just as a lawyer generally doesn’t ask a question without already knowing the answer, so too with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Never ask a question unless you know the answer and have the official Watchtower statement to prove it. Otherwise, just like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, the Jehovah’s Witness will lie. 

I’ve run into this countless times myself, but because I was a former member for so many years, I can call them out on their bluff and tell them that’s not what the official Watchtower teaching is. For the poor, beleaguered Christian, it’s not so easy!!

The easiest way to speak to a Jehovah’s Witness is to share your own testimony. How did you come to the Lord? What did you pray? What was the answer to prayer? How was life different after the Lord answered your prayer? Then ask the Jehovah’s Witness for his testimony. Chances are, you will be met with a deer in the headlights stare.

They have no point of reference. They are not born again and have never experienced the Holy Spirit bearing witness with their Spirit. Chances are, they will tell you they were raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and “just knew it was the truth”. How? Did you examine any other religion? Go to any other churches? What did you compare it to? Be prepared for an attack against the Trinity, hell, the condition of the dead, and holidays. Don’t let them change the subject! This is a common tactic!

Remember these two things: 1. Share the Gospel. Most JWs have never heard it. 2. Share your testimony. Those are the two best things you can share with a JW. Sharing the gospel leads to Jesus and eternal life. If they don’t hear it, how will they be saved? And sharing your testimony is powerful. Your conversation will stay with them long after the conversation ends. They will begin to wonder why they don’t have a relationship with God like you do.