A Divine Appointment With a Jehovah’s Witness

Last Saturday I left home at 6:15 a.m. to drive to Rolla, Missouri where I was presenting a five-hour workshop on Witnessing—A Lifestyle. Although only a two-hour drive, I had given myself an extra 45 minutes in case I got lost. Little did I know that God had a divine appointment scheduled for me. About half way there, I pulled into a rest stop. As I walked toward it I saw a man and a women standing outside. They had literature in their hands and I recognized it as material produced by The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. They were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I went inside the rest stop and prayed. I thought, I’m early and have at least 30 minutes to visit with one of them. So, I decided whichever one approached me, this was the one I should witness to.

As I suspected, it was the woman I opened up a conversation with. As I walked up to her she handed me some literature and said, “Would you like some literature to read as you travel?”

I introduced myself, and then said, “My name is Kay Meyer. Do you recognize my name?” She said “No.” I continued, “I have written a book entitled Mission Field on Our Doorstep: Jehovah’s Witnesses. I happen to have a copy of it in my car and would like to give you a complimentary copy if you would accept it. Would you?”

During the next 15-20 minutes, my goal was to share the law and Gospel with her, but I also wanted to talk briefly toward the end of our discussion about the false prophecies of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In my experience with many ex-Witnesses, most Witnesses don’t really get serious about researching the organization until they learn about the many false predictions the organization had made over the years.

I explained that I was traveling to Rolla to do a workshop on witnessing, but I was running early. I wanted to spend a few minutes talking with her about my faith in Christ. She asked, “What religion are you?”

(Training note for Christians: Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to divide the Body of Christ. My advise for Christians that want to witness is not to tell a JW that you are Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic. Tell them you are a Christian, but practice your faith by attending the Baptist or Lutheran Church. That is your denomination, not your religion.)

I responded, “I am a Christian. The denomination that I attend is Lutheran. But, my religion is Christianity. She responded, “I’m a Christian, too.”

I was very upfront with her, but kind and caring as I spoke with her. I explained to her that I didn’t believe Jehovah’s Witnesses were Christians. I gave her a few reasons why I didn’t think JWs were Christians. I said, “You do not believe Jesus is true God. You do not believe Christians can pray to Jesus. You do not believe we are saved through faith alone. These are just a few of the reasons why I do not believe you are a Christian.” She agreed that JW’s do not believe Jesus is true God and they do not believe they can pray to Jesus. She also confirmed that they don’t believe we are saved by faith alone. According to her you have to prove your faith through work and actions. This is why she was there handing out literature. She said, “But, I believe in Jesus and that He is the Messiah.” I decided not to use the word cult, but said instead, “Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in a false Christ and a false Gospel. This concerns me greatly. I’m concerned for you.”

I continued, “Jesus is both true God and true man. He has a dual nature.” Then I quoted several Bible verses about His deity including John 1:1. She responded, “I never heard that Jesus had a dual nature.” She explained to me that before becoming a Jehovah’s Witness she had been Baptist. But, she now felt that she had found the truth in this organization. And she firmly believed that the organization was God’s organization.

Regarding prayer to Jesus I quoted Acts 7:59-60 that says Stephen as he was being stoned to death looked up to heaven and prayed, “Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit.” After reading this I shared, “See, Stephen was praying to Jesus!”

I also quoted Eph. 2:8,9 regarding how we obtain eternal life as a free gift. It says, “Eternal life is a free gift, not a result of our good works.”

We also briefly talked about our different beliefs about heaven. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that 144,000 people are going to the Heavenly Kingdom and the rest (most who live today) will be on what they call Paradise Earth. She said, “I’m looking forward to living on Paradise Earth.” I said, “I’m looking forward to being in heaven with Jesus, my Savior and Lord. He suffered and died for my sins. Do you know that Revelations has a description of heaven? Why don’t you read it?”

Again referring to the Acts 7:59-60 verse above I said, “Not only did Stephen pray to Jesus, but according to this verse he also believed his spirit would go immediately to be with the Lord in heaven. So, Stephen did not believe there was a Paradise Earth.

Time was flying and I knew I needed to close the conversation, even though I would have loved to have more time to visit with her. As I transitioned to leave I said, “I’m trusting in Jesus, not an organization for my salvation.” I was ready to talk briefly about the false prophecies of the Watchtower Society. I said, “Over the years the Watchtower Society has called themselves God’s prophet on Earth today and have predicted many things that never came to pass. I spoke to her about the prediction of the end of the world in 1975. She was aware of this prediction and said, “But they just made a mistake.” I quoted Deut. 18:21-22 and what it says how we can discern a true prophet of God from a false one. I explained, “A true prophet of God cannot make a mistake—not even one. If he does, and has called himself God’s prophet, then he is a false prophet. The Bible says ‘not to follow him.”

At one point toward the end of the conversation I said, “I believe I’m right and you believe you’re right. Would you agree that we can’t both be right?” She agreed. I encouraged her to read the Bible without the Watchtower Society publications and told her I would pray for her and would be asking others to pray for her. I asked her if she would allow me to pray with her right then but she said “no.” Then I asked if she would give me her first name so I could pray for her. She said “no.” I asked again if she would allow me to give her a copy of my book and again she said, “no.” Then I said, “Well I don’t need to know your name to pray for you. Just know that I will be praying for you to come to know the Jesus of the Bible…He Who is true God and true man.”

Remember that God may have a divine appointment for you someday soon, too. Be prepared – care - and share God’s Word and love with those you meet! If I can assist you and members of your congregation in anyway in learning to witness, please let me know.

Kay L. Meyer is the author of Mission Field on Our Doorstep: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Witnessing—A Lifestyle. She is the founder and president of Family Shield Ministries. Both books are available through the website at www.familyshieldministries.com.