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   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   James’s reply repeats several Watchtower errors already refuted by   
   Scripture. The Bible, not fourth-century councils or pagan philosophy,   
   reveals the truth about God, Christ, and salvation.   
      
   1. *The Trinity*   
      
   Long before Nicaea, Scripture already taught one God in three Persons.   
   At Jesus’ baptism, the Father spoke from heaven, the Son was baptized,   
   and the Spirit descended as a dove (Matthew 3:16–17). Jesus commanded   
   baptism “in the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the   
   Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, ESV). This was not later invention—it was   
   Christ’s own command.   
      
   2. *[Gehenna] not mere grave*   
      
   Jeremiah 7:31 condemns human sacrifice, not God’s judgment. The same   
   Jesus who warned against that sin also spoke of “the eternal fire   
   prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41, ESV). He called   
   it “[Gehenna]” where “their worm does not die and the fire is not   
   quenched” (Mark 9:48, ESV). Those words describe unending conscious   
   punishment. Jesus said it would be *more tolerable* for Sodom than for   
   Capernaum (Matthew 11:24). There cannot be degrees of non-existence.   
      
   3. *The soul endures after death*   
      
   Ezekiel 18:4 teaches that sinners die under judgment, not that the soul   
   ceases to exist. Scripture everywhere affirms personal existence beyond   
   death. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill   
   the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in   
   [Gehenna]” (Matthew 10:28, ESV). In Revelation 6:9–10, the martyrs cry   
   out consciously for justice. In Luke 16:19–31—an historical account, not   
   a parable—the rich man and Lazarus experience conscious existence after   
   death. Symbols never contradict the truths they depict; they illustrate   
   them.   
      
   4. *Christ’s deity*   
      
   Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God (John 10:36) does not deny His deity;   
   it confirms His unique relationship within the Godhead. The Jews sought   
   to stone Him “because He…was even calling God His own Father, making   
   Himself equal with God” (John 5:18, ESV). Thomas worshiped Him, saying,   
   “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28, ESV). Colossians 2:9 declares, “In   
   Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” The term “head” in 1   
   Corinthians 11:3 refers to role, not essence; Christ’s subordination to   
   the Father concerns function, not nature.   
      
   5. *The resurrection*   
      
   Jesus said, “See My hands and My feet…touch Me, and see. For a spirit   
   does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39, ESV).   
   His glorified body was the same body transformed, not replaced. The tomb   
   was empty because He rose bodily. Paul’s whole argument in 1 Corinthians   
   15 depends on that fact.   
      
   6. *False prophecy*   
      
   Deuteronomy 18:22 states that if a prediction fails, it was not from   
   God. The Watchtower’s failed dates—1914, 1925, 1975—mark it as a false   
   prophet. God’s truth never “upgrades” by correction; His word is perfect   
   from the start (Psalm 19:7).   
      
   7. *Authority and access to God*   
      
   God indeed appoints elders, but nowhere authorizes a governing body   
   claiming infallible interpretation. True believers have direct access to   
   the Father through Christ (Hebrews 10:19–22). Salvation rests not in   
   organization but in the person of Jesus Christ.   
      
   8. *The name above every name*   
      
   Philippians 2:9–11 says God exalted Jesus and gave Him “the name that is   
   above every name,” so that “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is   
   Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Honoring Christ as Lord *is* the   
   way we glorify the Father.   
      
   In summary, the Watchtower denies every cornerstone of the   
   gospel—Christ’s full deity, His bodily resurrection, conscious life   
   after death, and the eternal nature of judgment. These denials do not   
   come from Scripture but from the very human reasoning and pagan ideas   
   they accuse others of following. The Bible proclaims one Lord, Jesus   
   Christ, fully God and fully man, who died for our sins and rose again.   
   Those who believe in Him receive eternal life; those who reject Him face   
   everlasting punishment in [Gehenna], where “the smoke of their torment   
   goes up forever and ever” (Revelation 14:11, ESV).   
      
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)