Amen. If you'll take your Bible tonight, I want you to go to two places. And before I tell you where we're going to go, I want you to make sure that you have something to write with and something to write on. And there's not an outline in your bulletin because I'm hoping that you'll take a lot more notes than what an outline could hold and so I'll give you just a couple seconds just try to find something to write with something to write on and I really want you to take good notes tonight this is going to help you and tonight I'm going to be a little bit more what I call teachy a little less preachy and but I promise you I hope I won't bore you but what I'm about to tell you tonight is every single person I believe needs to know what we're going to be discussing tonight And so if you've got something to write with, something to write on, I'll get you to go to two places in the Word of God. The first one is this, Hebrews chapter number 13. Hebrews chapter number 13. Hebrews 13. And then when you get there, put something there and then go to Ephesians chapter number 4. So Hebrews 13 and then Ephesians chapter number 4. And then when you've arrived at both of those places, if you'll stand in honor and reverence of the Word of God. Hebrews chapter 13 and then Hebrews chapter number 4. Or excuse me, Hebrews 13, Ephesians chapter number 4. Look with me, Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 8. The Bible says this, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Be not carried about with diverse, or that word diverse means various or different, and strange or foreign doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats which have profited them that have been occupied therein. Now jump with me to Ephesians chapter number 4 and look what Paul tells the church at Ephesus in verse number 13. He says, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, that means someone who is spiritually mature, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love. may grow up in Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we love you tonight. Lord, I ask God that you'd help us. Lord, help us to be yielded to you. Lord, I ask God that our time together would be profitable. Lord, that this would not just, Lord, go from a pen to paper, but Lord, it'd go into our hearts and our minds. And Lord, I ask God that you'd be with our children in the back with Master's Club, Lord, in nursery. Lord, I ask God that everything that's said and done here tonight, Lord, that you'd get all the honor and all the glory. We love you. In your name we pray. Amen. You can be seated. We'll be preaching over the next couple of weeks on Wednesday night and Sunday night on a, I guess I can call it a mini-series on this title, on where we differ. where we differ. How many of y'all know this? That if we go beyond these walls, if we live up to our theme of 2023, we're going to encounter some people that believe differently than we do. Would y'all agree with me there? You've already probably encountered that where somebody believes differently than what you do. And so we're going to go through and we're going to preach this series of where we differ. And the purpose is this, it's to educate ourselves of the false doctrines of our time, which have in turn birthed cults, birthed different religions, different denominations. And I want to say this tonight, we are a non-denominational church. You say, preacher, I thought we were Baptists. We are. Baptists is not part of a denomination. We're not part of any association, any convention. We don't answer to anybody outside of these walls. We're not affiliated with anybody. We're an independent Baptist church. But because of a misinterpretation of Scripture, cults have come on scene in different sects and religions, denominations that are contrary to the Word of God. What we'll be going through will enable us to better... Let me tell you what, we're not doing this so we can tell people how they're wrong. That's not why we're doing this. We're doing this to do what Paul said in Ephesians, to speak the truth in love and to point them to the correct answer and to point them to Christ. It will help us to evangelize them and point them to the Word of God. And so where we differ, the first group we're going to deal with tonight is this, is the Jehovah's Witness. Really, I would call them the false Jehovah's Witness, but they call themselves Jehovah's Witness. And my goal, I was telling Brother Travis earlier, my goal was actually to do multiple groups, but I don't want to give you so much that I want you to just focus probably on one, maybe two groups at a time. But tonight, we're going to look at Jehovah's Witness. And number one, I want you to notice this. You write this down. I want you to notice the origination. Where do they come from? And I'm just going to give you some facts, and then I'm going to dig into really what they believed. But they were founded by a man by the name of Charles Taze Russell back in the 1800s. And Charles was a businessman. He grew up in the Presbyterian church. And around 1868, around the age of 16, he grew up with some buddies who were very skeptical of his religion. They began to ask him questions. And he was unable to give them the correct biblical answers. This led him to questioning his religious upbringing. By 1870, at the age of 18, he began to form a small Bible study of himself and several like-minded people in his home. This group began to believe in ideas that deeply contradicted biblical Christianity. This group would eventually become the Jehovah's Witness as we know of today. The Jehovah's Witness, they started a group by the name of the Watchtower Society in 1886. And the Watchtower Society is currently in New York. It's where they're stationed at. And the Watchtower Society, the Bible and Tract Society, is an organization who is ran by the leaders of Jehovah's Witness. Now, I'm just giving you facts, but it's good that you know this stuff. The Watchtower Society possesses a tremendous control over members of the JWs. They are very manipulative. I'm going to show you that towards the end of this message. They're very controlling. They've gone so far to produce their very own translation of the Bible, and I'll talk about that here in just a moment. But the society, the Watchtower Society, founded by the Jehovah's Witness, has gone through different presidents, different leaders, and is a major competitor to evangelical Christianity. The group eventually didn't even take its name to Jehovah's Witness until 1917 under a guy by the name of Joseph Rutherford. That was his name. So that's kind of how they got started, where they come from. Can I tell y'all this tonight? We're going to learn this really quick. Every single cult, every single ungodly sect has always been formed by a man. But y'all know that Christianity wasn't formed by a man, it was formed by Jesus Christ. Every other cult we're gonna find it had some had something to do with a man starting it What don't matter which one you look at so this is how it got started It's important for you to know that but then I want you especially my men. I want you to get your Bible ready We're gonna look through a lot of scripture tonight, and we're gonna do it quickly so I need you to be ready, but we're gonna look at number two their key beliefs and this is where the rubber meets the road where do we differ and Now if you went and you knocked on a Jehovah's Witness door tonight and you said, well, do you believe in Jesus? They're going to say, absolutely. But the problem is, and we're going to get there, there's some differences on who they believe Jesus is and what we believe about Jesus. So we need to know the differences tonight. So key beliefs, where do we differ? Well, the first thing is this, they reject the Trinity. They reject the Trinity. Can you throw that up there, Zach, for me? They reject the Trinity. There we go. The rejection of the Trinity. I copied this. By the way, a lot of this stuff I'm giving you tonight comes directly from JW.org. Okay? This is what they say. We have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God. And that there is no scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine. So, here's what we're going to do tonight. I want you to take your Bible and we're going to go to a couple of places. And my men, I may call on you to read tonight and help me out. The first place I want us to go is the very first book of the Bible. Let's go to Genesis chapter number 1 and verse number 26. Genesis chapter number 1 and verse number 26. Now, if you've got one of those thumb page Bibles, you know what I'm saying, that tells you where all the books are, you need to use it tonight because we've got to move quickly, okay? Genesis chapter number 1, verse 26. Brother Shane, when you arrive there, I want you to use your most manly voice, and I want you to read verse 26 for me. Brother Shane, he said, Us. You hear the plurality? God didn't say, let me or let I. He said, let us. Referring to more than one. Jump to chapter number 3 and verse 22. Brother Jason Bard, when you get there, if you'll speak loudly and read Genesis chapter number 3 and verse number 22. Let us, all right? Now, let's jump to the New Testament tonight. Go to Matthew chapter number three. Matthew chapter number three. Matthew chapter number three. But the Travis, when you get there, with your manly voice, read verse number 16 for me. Read verse 17 for me. Alright, so look in your Bible, look in your Bible, verse 16 and 17. So we have Jesus, who is that? Who is that of the Trinity? The Son. Then he says this, he saw the Spirit of God, that's the... Holy Spirit, and then look down at verse number 17, and lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son. So if he says son, then whose must be speaking? The Father. So there we see in two verses, we see the Trinity all in two verses here. Now jump to 1 John chapter number 5. 1 John chapter number 5. Brother Doug, when you get there, if you'll read verse number 7 for me. 1 John chapter number 5 and verse 7. Who's the word? Jesus God that will see the Father and then we see the Holy Ghost so they're gonna tell you hey Well, we don't believe in the doctrine of the Trinity You know where you ought to take them right where I just took you and get them to explain Then why does God say us in the Old Testament? Why is there three persons in the New Testament? Okay, so they reject the Trinity, but then also they believe that Jesus is identical to Michael the Archangel and and is God's first creation. Now you say, well preacher, that's not that bad. No, that's really bad. Okay? Here's why. Jump to Colossians chapter number 1. Colossians chapter number 1. Colossians chapter number 1. Colossians 1. Now look with me in verse number 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. So who are we talking about? The Son, Jesus, that's the context. Now jump to verse 15. Who is the image of the invisible God? Remember, Jesus told them, if you've seen me, you've seen who? The Father, okay? Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, for by Him were all things created. that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. So, Jesus here, the Bible says, that Paul tells the church at Colossae that Jesus is the creator. But can I ask you a question tonight? Is Michael the archangel the creator or the creation? Correct. So they cannot be synonymous. By the way, Jesus also claimed that He was God. John 10.30 says, I and my Father are one. Write these references down. John 8.58, Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Now I want to ask you all a question if you know your Bible. on the time span of history, okay, on the physical earth, who came first? Abraham or Jesus? Abraham. Okay, on the earth, right? That's what we're talking about. Not a trick question, okay? But in existence, who was already? Jesus. That's what he's telling him. Listen, hundreds of years ago, when Abraham walked the earth, he said, by the way, before him, I existed. I am. Jesus declared and stated that He was God. So we know here that Jesus is God. He claimed He was God. And by the way, He proved He was God when He got up out of the grave. So He cannot be an angel. He cannot be a creation because He is the Creator. We see that they reject the Trinity. They believe that Jesus is identical to Michael the Archangel and that Jesus is God the Father's first creation. But they also believe this, that the Holy Spirit is a force and not a person. A force and not a person. We're talking about where we differ from them, okay? And while you're writing that down, let me say this. This class is a, I don't even know if this is a term, a post-requisite to why we are Baptists, okay? If you haven't watched the series of why we're Baptists, I would encourage you to go back and watch that because you're gonna hear me say things like this. The Bible is our sole authority, okay? It is our sole authority, it's our final authority. And so what I'm doing is we're going to the Bible showing where they're wrong. Okay? So, believe that the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person. Jump to John 15, 26 for me. John 15, 26. John 15, 26. I'm going to emphasize a word in this verse. John 15, 26. They believe the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person. John 15, 26. Jesus is speaking, but when the Comforters come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father." Now watch this. He shall testify of me. Now I want to ask you a question. Does that sound like a force or a person? Masculine pronoun. Describing a person. Okay? Jump one chapter over to John 16, 13. John 16, 13. How be it? When He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak. And He will show you things to come. Verse 14, He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you. That's pretty plain if you ask me. Amen? Not a force, but the Bible says it's a He, a masculine pronoun. The personhood, by the way, of the Holy Spirit is also affirmed by His works. We know the Holy Spirit was involved in creation. He empowers God's people, Zechariah 4.6. He guides people, Romans 8.14. He comforts people, John 14.26. He convicts people, John 16.8. He teaches people into all truth, John 14.26. He convicts people, John 16.8. He teaches people. He restrains sin, Isaiah 59.19. And He give commands, Acts 8.29. Each of these works require a person, not a force. So they reject the Trinity. They believe that Jesus is the same as the archangel. They believe that the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person. But then also this one, write this one down. They reject the eternal lake of fire as punishment. They reject it. I want you to jump to Matthew 25 verse 41. Matthew 25. Matthew 25, while you're turning there, if you would go to JW, I almost got, Zach, I almost should have got to go to their website and throw it up there, but you can do that when you get home, okay? This is a quote from their website. Death. People who die pass out of existence. They do not suffer in a fiery hell of torment. That's what they say. That's what they teach people. That's what's on their website. Matthew 25 verse 41. Adam, if you're there, can you read that nice and loud for me? Yes, sir. Everlasting fire. Now let's jump to Mark chapter number 9. You say, preacher, why are you telling me this? We already know this. Listen, you ought to write these references down. You know, my son stumped me the other day because he was asking about a different religion. He said, what do they believe? And I'll be honest with you, I didn't know. But the one thing I did know, I didn't know how to take it to the Bible and show him. So write these down. What you ought to do as we go through the series, you ought to be taking notes and build you a list of things. So when you have different denominations, different cults, you can especially show your children, but you can flip there and you can have a quick guide of all the references of what they believe and you can show them from God's work. Speak the truth in love. Mark 9.43. Bible says this, and if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into the life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell. Into the fire that never shall be quenched, verse 44, where their worm doth not, and the fire is not quenched, verse 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter, halt into light, than having two feet to cast into hell. Into the fire that never shall be quenched, verse 46, where the worm doth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. Where the worm doth nod, and the fire is not quenched. Jump with me to the last book of the Bible. The second to last chapter. Revelation chapter number 20. Revelation chapter number 20. Revelation chapter number 20. Revelation 20, look with me in verse 14, and the death and hell were cast into what church? This is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I don't know about you, but it sounds like the lake of fire and it sounds like hell are real places to me. Seems like it's in the word of God, but yet they reject that hell and the lake of fire do not exist. In fact, they'll tell you that they will not go there. The rejection of eternal punishment in a place called hell and the lake of fire. But can I tell you, out of all these things, what disturbs me the most is this one right here. They reject the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I'll say this, that doesn't even really matter because they don't even believe He's God. Okay? They've got to get that fixed first. But they reject the bodily resurrection of Christ. Now, You should be able to take somebody to about just go to every single gospel Go to just about the last chapter second last chapter and you're going to hear something about the resurrection of christ Okay, I don't got to take you through the gospels. But here's where I do want to take you get a first corinthians chapter number 15 first corinthians chapter number 15 The resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. Look with me, verse number 3. Paul is telling the church at Corinth. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. He said, I didn't make it up in my own mind. He said, I got it as well. How that Christ died for our sins. I'm going to stop right there. Brother Jonathan, what's the gospel? Remember our Sunday school class? Help him out, Ms. Crystal. Three things. Boom, got it. Good job, Brother John. We learned that in our discipleship. It's the good news, the death, burial, and the resurrection. Look at what he says. How that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, verse four, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. But Paul don't stop there, verse five, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, and after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren, not at individual times, but at once, of whom the greater part remained in his presence." In other words, they're still alive. Some of them are still alive is what Paul said. He said, but some of them are falling asleep. In verse 7 he says, and after that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time. What I'm telling you tonight is, you go to all the Gospels, you're going to see a count of Jesus being rose again from the dead. Paul says the death, burial, and the resurrection according to the scripture. And he gives more evidence. He said, listen, this ain't just some made up fairy tale. I'm giving you literal people who witnessed the resurrected Christ after he got up out of the grave. They reject the resurrection or the bodily resurrection of Christ. And then, I want you to notice this one tonight. They have a very, very distorted view of the return of Christ. A very distorted view of the return of Christ. In 1876, Russell, the one I told you about who founded the JWs. In 1876, he was convinced that Christ was going to come back in 1878. News flash. He didn't come. He later claimed that Christ had returned spiritually. It's funny, when things don't happen the way that they thought they would, they'll try to explain it away in some other fashion. Well, He came spiritually. He's here with us spiritually. That's what He would teach. Because if you're going to be a leader of a cult, you have to explain yourself away. And so he says in 1874, it came spiritually, but then he claimed that the world would end in 1914. Interesting enough, this individual died two years later. So what do we need to know contrary to them? Well, I'll tell you this tonight. Jesus taught his disciples to watch for his return. Go with me to Mark chapter number 13. Would you do that? Mark chapter number 13. I know what some of you are saying, preachers, this is the boringest message I've ever heard, but I promise this will help you, okay? This will help you understand. When you start engaging people and talking to them, it will help you be a better witness to them. Mark 13, verse 35. Jesus is speaking. What's the very first word He says? Watch. Watch. Watch ye therefore, for you know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning." So he says, watch. Now, jump to the next book over to Luke. Luke chapter number 12. Luke 12. Verse number 40. Luke 12, verse 40. Be ye therefore what? Ready. Be ye therefore ready also for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not. You know, the command, be ready, implies imminence. Jesus is saying you need to be ready. You need to be watching at any given time. You know, Paul thought the rapture was coming in his day. He said it's closer than now we would believe. imminence. Jesus told his disciples to watch for his return, but also throughout the New Testament, the church has been taught to be ready. Look, go with me to Philippians chapter number three, and let's look at what Paul told the church at Philippi. Philippians chapter number three. Philippians 3. Look at what Paul told the church at Philippi. For our conversation or our lifestyle, how we conduct ourselves, is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, jump to 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5. Two more places. 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 6. Brother Chuck, would you read that for me? 1 Thessalonians 5, verse number 6. Let us watch and be so. That's what Paul was telling the church at Philippi. He could be coming. You need to watch. You need to be ready. He could come at any moment. Then go with the one more place in Titus chapter number two. Titus chapter number two. Adam, you're sitting on the second row, so I'm going to pick on you for a second. If I was... Hopefully, we may be playing basketball Friday night, right? Maybe, potentially. And I may meet you at your house before we go to the gym. Is that right? Maybe something like that may happen. And let's say you tell me to be there at 5 o'clock, okay? 5 o'clock on Friday. Now, I got a question for you. Tomorrow morning at 9.30, are you going to be out on your front porch looking for me to come? Why? Because you told me, right, you're not looking for me. Because you know I'm coming at a specific time. It would be foolish for you, it would be foolish for brother Adam to be out on his porch tomorrow looking for me to come. He don't need to be watching, he don't need to be ready. Look at what Paul tells Titus, verse number 13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. If there's a specific date, like the founder of Jehovah's Witness said, we would not have to watch, we would not have to be ready, we would not have to be looking, because we wouldn't have to do those things until the date that we knew He was coming. Well, guess what? News flash. God didn't give us a date. And do not be deceived by a man who will tell you he knows when the Lord's coming back. For that our no man knoweth. Okay? If the disciples in the early church were to expect the coming of the Lord at any time, how much more should we be looking and expecting the Lord at any time? Then, let me give you this one. Key beliefs, where we differ. They reject salvation by grace through faith. Salvation by grace through faith. They reject that idea. Jehovah's Witness believes salvation is obtained by a combination of faith, good works, and obedience. That's what they believe. You have to have faith, good works, and obedience. So here's my question to that. If our salvation is based on good works, how many good works? How much good do I have to do to get to heaven? I mean, for real, if our good works are going to get us into heaven, how much of them do I have to do? Well, here's the reality is, well, they don't know. Can I tell you, I do not want to be in their shoes. I will not be sleeping good at night. Did I do enough good works today? Have I done enough good works in my lifetime? Did my good works outweigh my bad works? Well, they believe that in order to get saved, it takes faith plus good works plus baptism and obedience. Somebody throw out a verse that would eliminate that. Let's see where we stand tonight. Ephesians, there we go, 2, 8, 9. For by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Then Paul says in Galatians 2.16, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. So they reject the idea of salvation by grace. You have to have a combination of good works. I'll tell you, me and my family went to Raleigh and we went to this big natural history museum. Out front was two Jehovah's Witness. I wish that I could tell you they were out there because they loved you and cared about you. But they're not. They're earning their way. That's why some of your best neighbors will be Mormons. I wish I could tell you, man, they're out there being nice to you because they love you. No. They're working their way to heaven. Combination of salvation, works, obedience. So here's the question I want to ask you tonight. Is Jehovah's Witness a damnable heresy? Everybody shake your head yes. Absolutely. By the way, if Jehovah's Witness is listening to me tonight, if there's somebody in here, listen, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to take you to the Word of God and show you because I love you and I care about you. Okay? Speak the truth in love. Alright? but it is a damnable heresy." This is what they say on their website. We do not worship Jesus as we do not believe that He is Almighty God. They say this, there's a quote, Deliverance from sin and death is possible through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. To benefit from that sacrifice, people must not only exercise faith in Jesus, but also change their course of life and get baptized. So yeah, you can put your faith, but you also got to change your life. Where's that in the Bible? You can't even change your life until you've been saved. Church, and can I just throw this little nugget in here? We need to be careful about what we're telling people about salvation too. I hear a lot of things from different preachers. Well, if you'd really saved, then you would be... Y'all heard that? I know you've heard it because I've said it. If you'd really saved, you'd be going to church. If you'd really saved, you'd be out there witnessing. Here's what I've learned according to my Bible. You can be saved and live like a child of the devil according to 1 John. That's what Jesus tells Peter, I gotta go to Jerusalem, I gotta serve these things. Peter said, no, no, no, Lord, it must not be. You know what he said? Get behind the Satan. See, salvation, we can't get sanctification and justification mixed up. Sanctification, God has saved me. Now I'm capable. See, before, I was not capable of not sinning. Justification, God's saving. Now sanctification is where I'm yielding myself to the Spirit of God. That's when the change has started to take place. That's when those fruits of the Spirit start coming out of my life. And see, we've got to be really careful, church, about saying what you should be doing, what you ought to be, what you would do if you really... Man, if you really got saved, you'd be... And then what does that breed? We're living in a generation right now of people doubting their salvation because they've sat under bad preaching that said, well, if you's really saved, then you'd be doing X, Y, and Z. And sometimes they don't do that, so they sit on a pew thinking, man, I must not really be saved. Being saved has nothing to do with what you've done or what you have not done. But it has everything to do with what Christ has done for you. So therefore now you can please God. Does that make sense? They say you have to do good works plus faith. They deny the deity of Christ, that He's God. They deny Jesus' bodily resurrection. They deny salvation as a free gift, but must be earned through works in baptism. Number three, the last, origination, key beliefs. Number three, interesting facts. I'm just going to throw these at you. These aren't, you don't have to know these, but I just thought those interesting. So here's my question. How did they get this? Where did they get this from? Because if we're reading our Bible, we're seeing the bodily resurrection of Christ. We're seeing about a place called hell. We're seeing that the Holy Spirit is a man. He's a form of a masculine proton, not just a force. So where do they get it from? The Bible. How do they get these ideas? Well, I'll tell you this. They followed a man blindly. That's what they did. They followed a man blindly. That's why, praise the Lord, right now you've got a Bible sitting on your lap. Because I'm telling you things and you're comparing it and seeing if I'm right or not. In an attempt to justify their doctrines in the Bible, the Jehovah's Witness produced their own translation of the Scripture in 1961. This translation is known as the New World Translation. It is regarded by the Jehovah's Witness as the only faithful rendering of the biblical text. The New World Translation is unique in the fact that it is the first intentional systematic effort at producing a complete version of the Bible that has been edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing with a group's doctrine. In other words, to put it in my kind of terms, they changed it, edited it to fit what they believed. Because the Bible that they had did not agree with what they believed. They edited it and changed it to fit their perverted doctrine. That is why when you go try to tell them about the Lord, they probably don't have the same Bible you are. Because you ain't going to see about the deity of Christ. You ain't going to see things about the lake of fire. You ain't going to see things about the Holy Spirit. You ain't going to see things about the bodily resurrection of Christ. So, interesting facts, that's what they believe about the Bible. Prophecy, Jehovah's Witness on numerous occasions predicted in print that the end of the world would come. They gave dates, 1946, they said the world was going to end. Well, it didn't end then, so they said 1950. Well, it didn't end then. They have said 1975, and I lost count at that point of what dates they think the world's going to end. So, their prophecy is crazy. And then this one. You say, preacher, is Jehovah's Witness a cult? Yes, it is. Why? Because of manipulation. I'm going to prove it to you. They will not allow you to serve in the military. If you're part of Jehovah's Witness, it is against their religion to serve in any type of military. They will not allow you to celebrate a holiday. In fact, when we lived in Virginia, Somebody went to the preschool or something, I forget, we invited them over for a birthday party. Her mom and daddy wouldn't let her come because they don't celebrate birthdays. You're not allowed to celebrate any holidays, any birthdays. You are not allowed to salute the nation's flag. You are not allowed to partake in a blood transfusion. They say if you give blood or you partake in a blood transfusion, you will lose your eternal life. By the way, they take that and they go all the way back to Genesis where we're not supposed to eat meat with blood in it. That's where they get it from. And they've twisted it for that belief. So, I don't know about y'all church, but it sounds like a cult to me. Because last time I checked, we've got individual soul liberty. According to the Word of God, according to Baptist, we've got individual soul liberty. And I ain't going to stand to give an account for what you do, and you ain't going to stand to give an account for what I do. We've got individual soul liberty. I want you to go one last place, I'm done. I'm done. I want you to go to Jude, verse 3. Not chapter 3. Jude, verse 3. Second to last book of the Bible. Go to Revelation, back up one book. You say, Preacher, why are you passionate about this? Number one, because we need to know. The Bible says we can't be blown around by every wind of doctrine. If we're going to effectively go beyond these walls, we're going to encounter people that believe this stuff. And we've got to rightfully know how to speak the truth in love. Look at what Jude said. He said, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and to exhort or encourage or warn you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith." You know what the word contend means? Fight. It means fight for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. The saints, they got it from Jesus. And they've handed it down. That's the apostles' doctrine. And Jude says, listen, you've got to fight for your faith. All around our world we're seeing compromise. Our faith is something to fight for. We've got to fight for it. We need to know about these different groups and we need to know why we differ. All God's people said, let's pray. Lord, we love you tonight. Lord, I ask God that you take this message, would you plant it to our