Sometimes Jehovah’s Witnesses will ask you for your interpretation of the rich man and Lazarus passage (Luke 16:19-31). If they give you this opportunity, I suggest making the following points: Continue reading
Tag: Luke 16:19-31 (page 1 of 2)
One of the primary passages that refutes the Watchtower’s everlasting-nonexistence-of-the-wicked doctrine is Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. If necessary, set aside an entire session to study this account. Continue reading
Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website
Chapter 7, “Real Hope for Your Loved Ones Who Have Died,” and two related appendices explain what the Watchtower believes will happen to people after they die.
Christians don’t all agree on the sequence of end times events, so it’s only fair that I give you my views before critiquing the Watchtower’s. If your opinions are different than mine, you can make the necessary adjustments in your conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Unlike the Watchtower, I believe the Bible teaches that people have separate souls and spirits that surviving physical death. At death, the souls and spirits of the saved go to heaven to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23). The souls and spirits of the unsaved go to Hades to await the final judgment (Luke 16:19-31).
Resurrection is a reuniting of body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Resurrection bodies won’t be identical to the bodies that died, but there will be continuity, as there is between a seed and the plant it produces (1 Corinthians 15:35-43). Continue reading
Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website
The “Soul” and “Spirit” Appendix
This portion of “Bible Teach” shows the importance of defining terms biblically.
Chapter 6, paragraph 5 (p. 58) refers you to an appendix entitled, “’Soul’ and ‘Spirit’—What Do These Terms Really Mean?”
That appendix states, “Many believe that these words mean something invisible and immortal that exists inside us. They think that at death this invisible part of a human leaves the body and lives on. Since this belief is so widespread, many are surprised to learn that it is not at all what the Bible teaches.” (p. 208, the appendices don’t have numbered paragraphs) Continue reading
After you have shown the Witnesses the inconsistencies and contradictions in the Watchtower’s interpretation of the rich man and Lazarus account, you can tell them why your own understanding makes more sense to you.
I suggest making the following points: Continue reading
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