Questions 1-10

1. The WTS claims it uses the Bible as its "supreme authority". Where in the
Bible does anyone count their time in preaching on a slip of paper and are
assigned record cards of activity, determining this as a "gauge to their
spirituality"? Where in the Bible are Pioneers, Auxiliary Pioneers,
Bethelites, and Kingdom Halls? Where in the Bible does it say that anyone
born after 1935 can not go to heaven, that Christians are required to attend
five meetings a week, that men are prohibited from wearing beards, and that
after a prophecy fails, if the prophet admits he made a mistake, he is no
longer a false prophet (see Deut 18:20-22)? Where does the Bible say that a
person must belong to an organization that will start in the late 19th century
and be headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, in order to survive Armageddon?

Considering that all Christian denominations today practice things that

would have been foreign to the 1st Century Christians, this is more a
question of nit-picking and fault-finding in the way Jehovah's Witnesses
operate on an organizational level than a search for truth or whether we
carry out matters in a Bible-based manner. For example, 1st Century
Christians didn't even possess personal copies of the Scriptures, which at
that time were contained in dozens of unwieldy individual scrolls and
letters that were copied and circulated among the congregations. Also,
the early Christians met in private homes and in public places. There were
no churches, no cathedrals, and no kingdom halls. As proof of that,
consider Paul's greeting at Colossians 4:15 to a woman named "Nympha
and to the congregation at her house." Incidentally, besides meeting at
our kingdom halls, Jehovah's Witnesses also regularly meet in small
groups in private homes—like the early Christians.

As for the organizational structure of the early Christian church, at

Ephesians 4:11 Paul wrote that God provided the congregations with
various gifts in the form of men; "some as apostles, some as prophets,
some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers." While all
Christians are called upon to make a public declaration of their faith, some
early Christians were outstanding preachers. Phillip, for example, was
called "the evangelizer." The so-called pioneers among Jehovah's
Witnesses are also referred to as full-time evangelizers because they
spend a significant amount of time in their ministry.
Circuit overseers and district overseers today are following the pattern of
the apostle Paul and Barnabas, in that the apostle and his companions
traveled in a circuit, visiting and revisiting brothers and congregations and
writing letters of encouragement and instruction. For that matter, Mark 6:6
reports that Jesus also "went round about to the villages in a circuit,
teaching." One function of our modern CO (Circuit Overseer) is when he
makes his semi-annual visit to each congregation; he not only teaches,
but discusses the spiritual qualifications of any prospective elders in
consideration of appointing them to an office. At Titus 1:5, Paul instructed
Titus to do that very thing on the Island of Crete. It reads: "For this
reason I left you in Crete, that you might correct the things that were
defective and might make appointments of older men in city after
city, as I gave you orders."

Jehovah's Witnesses have in many respects copied the model and

methods of the original Christians. The actual organizationally-assigned
names of various positions of responsibility may not be found in the record
preserved in the Greek Scriptures, but the positions of responsibility can
be found therein. The naming is merely a convention, exercised by all
denominations.

Concerning the recording of time spent in the ministry and there being
kept a "card of activity," while there isn't an actual incident of this in the
Bible, neither is there a prohibition of such; simply put: the Bible is silent
on the matter, either way.

As for men wearing beards; there is no Scriptural justification for dictating

matters of personal grooming. And the Watchtower does not expressly
forbid men from growing beards. But, there is no question that it is subtly
discouraged by the Watchtower leadership.

Finally, concerning the false prophet accusation, that question will be

addressed further down.

2. The WTS teaches that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will not reside with
Christ in his heavenly kingdom. If this is so, then how do you explain Mt
8:11 in which Jesus says, "But I tell you that many from eastern parts and
western parts will come and recline at the table WITH Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob IN the kingdom of the heavens"?

The "table" of Abraham is a reference to the kingdom of God. That's

because the covenant that Jehovah originally made with Abraham is what
ultimately produces the messianic kingdom. For example, Paul addressed
both the Jewish and non-Jewish anointed sons of God as being the actual
seed of Abraham. Galatians 4:26-29 reads: You are all, in fact, sons of
God through your faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor
female; for you are all one person in union with Christ
Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham's
seed, heirs with reference to a promise."

The promise that Paul was referring to is the promise God made to
Abraham concerning his seed becoming a blessing for people of all the
nations. In that sense Abraham, while not actually in the kingdom of God,
certainly is a fitting symbol for it. How do we know Abraham is not going to
actually go to heaven to rule with Christ in his kingdom? Jesus himself
said that no one can enter the kingdom unless they have first been born
from the water and the spirit. That means that only baptized spirit-
anointed Christians are called by God to heaven.

Jesus further revealed that the opportunity to go to heaven did not open
up until John the Baptist introduced Christ to the world. Matthew 11:11
reads: "Truly I say to you people, among those born of women there
has not been raised up a greater than John the Baptist; but a person
that is a lesser one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he
is. But from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of
the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing
forward are seizing it. For all the Prophets and the Law, prophesied
until John."

If John was the greatest prophet of God, as Jesus said, and yet he is
lesser than the least one in the kingdom, then that means John is not in
the ruling kingdom. And since, according to Christ, no one before John
entered the kingdom, then it is evident that neither has Abraham entered
the kingdom, as many wrongly suppose. Most people have been taught
by Christendom that all "good" persons go to heaven. That is not what the
Bible teaches. The kingdom of God, or the kingdom of the heavens, as it
is also called, is a government composed of Jesus and 144,000 chosen
from his followers. That heavenly kingdom is going to rule over the
earth—including the resurrected Abraham.

3. If there is no conscious awareness after death, how could the "spirits in

prison", who lived during "Noah's days", be preached to by Christ after His
death (1 Pet 3:18-20) and how could the good news be "declared also to the
dead" (1 Pet 4:5-6)? If the "spirits in prison" of 1Pet 3:19 refers to demonic
angels, instead of the just people who died before the resurrection of Christ,
then why would Jesus "preach" to demonic angels?
According to the most reliable authority on the matter, God's own Word,
the Bible informs us that the dead are unconscious. The Bible says in
many places, more numerous to mention, that the dead are in a sleep-like
state of unconsciousness. Here is an online Watchtower article that
explains the Bible's simple teaching on that topic.

Reasoning on the matter: long after Jesus was resurrected as the

"firstborn from the dead," Paul, on several occasions, referred to followers
of Christ who were at that time still "sleeping in death." The hope of
mankind is not that we have a deathless soul that endures forever, but
that God has the power and the desire to bring the dead back to life from
their inanimate and unconscious condition.

The idea that humans have some sort of immortal soul that survives death
is not a biblical teaching at all but comes straight to us from the ancient
mystic religion of Babylon. So, when we come to a verse that seems to
contradict the Bible's clear teaching, what do we do? Untaught readers
are prone to take difficult passages in the Scriptures at face value and run
with them. Peter lamented that the untaught twisted all the Scriptures—to
their own destruction. Teachable persons, however, look for ways to
resolve the riddles of God's Word.

In the case of Christ preaching to the spirits in prison, we should not

suppose that "preaching" is always synonymous with an appeal to
repentance. Preaching can also signify announcing God's judgment of
doom upon the condemned.

The "spirits in prison" are not the disembodied souls of dead humans as
many apparently assume. They are the disobedient sons of God who
materialized as men and sexual relations with women before the flood. As
a matter of fact, their act of rebellion was the reason God caused the
global deluge in the first place. At 2 Peter 2:4-5, the apostle makes it clear
that the imprisoned spirits are the so-called fallen angels. It reads:
"Certainly if God did not hold back from punishing the angels that
sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of
dense darkness to be reserved for judgment; and he did not hold
back from punishing an ancient world, but kept Noah, a preacher of
righteousness, safe with seven others when he brought a deluge
upon a world of ungodly people."

The angels that became the demons are not imprisoned in the sense of
being incarcerated—not yet anyway. Jehovah threw "them into pits of
dense darkness" in the sense that he put them out of his family of
enlightened heavenly sons. Jehovah would have no more dealings with
them, and apparently after the Deluge, God confined them by taking away
their power to materialize as humans again. Furthermore, the demons are
in a state "reserved for judgment," in that they are as if on death row
waiting to be executed.

Even though in Eden God decreed the final judgment that the serpent and
his vile seed would be crushed out of existence by the messianic seed of
the woman, it still remained to be seen whether Christ would remain
faithful to God under trial. If the Devil and his desperate demons would
have somehow gotten Christ to compromise his integrity while he was on
earth, then they would have proven their contention that no creature can
remain true to God under test. The demons were fighting for their very
lives. But, when Jesus was faithful to God to the very end, enduring the
cruelest death imaginable, his last words were: "It has been
accomplished." Jesus' faithfulness to God clear to the end proved the
Devil was a liar. The death and subsequent resurrection of Christ sealed
the Devil's doom and that of his demons as well.

Christ's preaching to the spirits in prison has to do with his serving notice
on the demons that his victory over death meant that the demons who
caused Jesus' death would themselves be put to death by Christ and his
victorious 144,000. That's why Paul wrote to his fellow anointed Christians
in the last chapter of Romans, telling them that God "will crush Satan
under your feet shortly."

The Bible teaches very simply that the dead are unconscious in the grave.
However, the Bible sometimes refers to people who do not have a
relationship with God as being dead—spiritually dead that is. For
example, Jesus once said: "Let the dead bury their dead." Christ said that
to indicate that unless we have a living relationship with him and his
Father we are as good as dead in their eyes, even though we may be
living according to all appearances.

So it is that the other verse in question is referring to people of the world,

those whom in the context are described as fleshly-minded, who are dead
in God's sight, but who were nevertheless given an opportunity to hear
God's message preached to them.

It is interesting that 2 Peter 3:16 says that there are some things in the
Bible that are hard to understand, and because of that, the untaught and
unsteady twist the Scriptures to their own destruction.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach the truth about the condition of the dead and
the nature of the demons. There is really no excuse for any professed
Christians to be ignorant regarding these fundamental Bible teachings.

4. Is it true that the WT's prophecy that Armageddon will come before "the
end of the generation of 1914" is no longer taught as "the Truth"? If so, then
does this mean that this teaching of the WTS, which they have taught as "the
Truth" for decades, was really a false teaching? Since the WTS claims that
they are the "one channel that the Lord is using during the last days of this
system of things," and that the governing body is "the mouthpiece of
Jehovah God", does this mean that God changed His mind about this
teaching and the definition of "generation"? Is it possible that God could
change His mind? Has the WTS ever changed their mind before about a
teaching that they once taught as "the Truth"? The WTS has taught that
Armageddon was going to occur in: (Excerpted for brevity) Since Deut
18:20-22 says that a false prophet is anyone who claims to speak for God and
makes a prophecy that does not come true, doesn't this make the WTS a
modern day false prophet according to scripture? (Excerpted for brevity)
WTS Quotes

First, the Watchtower did not invent the prophecies of the last days and a
war called Armageddon. Those prophecies originated within the mind of
God many centuries ago and our faith is unfazed that God's words are
certain to eventually come true. Because of our interest in the Bible and
its promises of a new world, we have been keenly interested in the
outworking of prophecy, particularly as it relates to the return of Christ.
The fact that our heightened kingdom expectations have so far led to
disappointment does not of itself discredit our faith. For a certainty our
failed expectations have been an embarrassment for us and a stumbling
block for many, but in that respect it seems that the Watchtower is guilty
of falling into nearly the same trap as did the apostles.

Please consider the implications of the account found in the last chapter
of the book of John, where we read in the NWT: Accordingly, when he
caught sight of him, Peter said to Jesus: "Lord, what will this man
do?" Jesus said to him: "If it is my will for him to remain until I come,
of what concern is that to you? You continue following me." In
consequence, this saying went out among the brothers, that that
disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say to him that he
would not die, but: "If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of
what concern is that to you?"

The man in question was the writer—John. Jesus had just told Peter the
sort of death Peter would undergo and Peter wanted to know what would
become of their friend John. Jesus' comment gave the apostles the
impression that John would still be alive when Christ returned.
Consequently, the account says that the word went out from the apostles
among the brothers, to the effect that John would survive to see the Lord's
return.

According to the NIV, the 23rd verse reads: "Because of this, the rumor
spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die."

What is interesting about this is that John wrote his book about 60 years
after Christ said those words. Apparently the rumor was as long-lived as
the aged apostle himself. We might even suppose that toward the end of
his life, the brothers that still believed the rumor took John's pulse at
frequent intervals to gauge the nearness of Christ's return. The very fact
that John, the last-surviving apostle, saw fit to dispel the rumor and set the
record straight toward the end of his life, indicates that the rumor the
apostles started persisted during the entire apostolic period. The question,
then: So what?

Well, the apostles were given authority over the entire organization of
believers back then. Their words carried a lot of weight because they
personally knew Jesus and could recall to the later believers all the things
that Jesus said and did. So, when the apostles spoke, the brothers and
sisters listened. And when the apostles started a rumor that John would
survive until the coming of Christ, what Christian could doubt their
interpretation? But, obviously, the apostles were wrong. They
misunderstood Jesus. And their earnest desire to see the realization of
Jesus' promised return inclined them to jump to hasty conclusions.

The misunderstanding that arose is not really any different than what has
occurred among Jehovah's Witnesses with our assumptions concerning
the 1914 generation that would not pass away. The apostle John was
their generation that would not pass away—before he passed away. And
his finally dispelling the rumor is not that much different than what the
Watchtower has done by redefining a generation.

Another question we ought to ask is this: Did God judge the apostles as
false prophets? No, obviously not. So, if we are honest and
straightforward in our reasoning, we will not jump to shallow-minded
conclusions about the Watchtower's past indiscretions and failed
expectations. If anything, our premature expectations fit the pattern of
those who anxiously await the Master's return.

5. If the spirit of a man has no existence apart from the body, why does
Stephen just before his death in Acts 7:59, pray to Jesus to "receive my
spirit"? How could Jesus, who was in heaven, receive Stephen's spirit if a
man's spirit ceases to exist when the body dies and if no one could enter
heaven until the year 1914? Similarly, if the soul ceases to exist after the
death of the body, why does Paul say that he would rather be "absent from
the body" so he could go make his "home with the Lord" (2Cor 5:8), and
why would he say that he would rather depart from this life so that he could
go be with Christ (Phil 1:23)? How could Paul be "with Christ" and make
his "home with the Lord" if no one could enter heaven until 1914?

Virtually every religion that has ever existed, from the most primitive to the
most sophisticated, adheres to the notion of an immortal soul. However,
the Bible simply does not teach such a thing as an immortal soul.

It is ironic that Jehovah's Witnesses are frequently labeled as

"brainwashed," but the truth of the matter is that all of mankind is under
the mind-blinding, malevolent influence of the religious system that
Revelation calls "Babylon the Great." Unless we understand the basic
truth of God's Word in this instance, that mankind does not have an
immortal soul, we will be vulnerable to being deluded by the insidious lie
that mankind is somehow immortal.

So, because of being taken in by the original lie that the Devil first peddled
in Eden, namely, that "you will not die," the person reading select verses
is inclined to jump to erroneous conclusions such as these.

Again, Paul made mention of the fact that some of the initial members of
the congregation, who had been eyewitnesses of Christ's resurrection,
had passed away in death. At 1st Corinthians 15:6, Paul said they had
"fallen asleep in death." That is not a difficult concept to understand.
When we sleep at night we are not aware of what takes place around us.
We are in an unconscious state. That is what death is—an unconscious
state. Paul made this comment in the context of discussing the
resurrection of anointed Christians, and he wrote to the Corinthians some
years after Stephen had been martyred; yet at that time Paul was pointing
to a future time when the dead would be raised up. So, Stephen was one
of those who were sleeping in death that Paul referred to.

So what did Stephen mean when he asked Jesus to receive his spirit?
Well, Jesus made a very similar expression when he expired. At Luke
23:46 he said: "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit." Was Jesus
expecting to instantaneously go to heaven because he had an immortal
soul? No. Jesus died. He was dead for parts of three days. He entrusted
his spirit to God in the sense that he was trusting God to bring him back to
life. By the way, to expire means to lose one's animating spirit. The spirit
is simply the life force that Jehovah infuses into us while we are alive. It is
the spark of life that causes us to breathe the breath of life. If we die our
future life's prospects rest with Jehovah; and of course, since his
resurrection, Christ has been appointed by his Father to perform all
subsequent resurrections when the time comes for those to begin.

So, it was appropriate for Stephen to entrust his spirit with Christ the same
as Jesus had entrusted his spirit with Jehovah when he died.

As for Paul making his home with Christ, we should not suppose that
expression supports the idea of an immortal soul. Paul was simply voicing
his preference for being with Christ in heaven as opposed to living as a
human on earth.

6. On page 7 of the booklet Should You Believe in the Trinity?, unreferenced

quotes from Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian,
Hippolytus, and Origen are made. Why are these quotes unreferenced? Also
on page 7 of this same booklet, the statement is made, "Thus, the testimony
of the Bible and of history makes it clear that the Trinity was unknown
throughout Biblical times and for SEVERAL CENTURIES thereafter."
Based on the quotes below, how can the Watchtower Society make these
claims? (Quotes not appearing)

As a doctrine, the Trinity did not take its present form until several
hundred years after Christ. The Watchtower is correct in that. While those
early theologians began to introduce the idea that Jesus was more than
the Son of God, the idea of the three-in-one trinity had not been
introduced into Christian teaching even at that point. They are correct in
saying that the Trinity was not taught by those early churchmen.

The Bible is the only real authority in these matters and it certainly does
not teach that God is part of a triad. The word "trinity" or "triune" does not
even appear in the Bible and neither does the concept espoused by
Trinitarians.

7. The Bible says in Zeph 1:18, "...but by the fire of his zeal THE WHOLE
EARTH WILL BE DEVOURED, because he will make an
EXTERMINATION, indeed a terrible one, of ALL the inhabitants of the
earth." If the WT's teaching that the present earth will never be destroyed
or depopulated is correct, then why does the Bible say that the "whole
earth" will be "devoured", and "all" the inhabitants of the earth will be
exterminated? What do the words "devoured" and "all" mean to you? How
can a great crowd of people continue to live on forever in paradise on earth
after Armageddon if "ALL the inhabitants of the earth" will be
exterminated?

The questioner may not be aware of the fact that the Bible also says that
the earth will endure forever, and instead of literally destroying it,
Revelation 11:18 says that God is going "to bring to ruin those ruining
the earth." So, how do sincere Bible students resolve this seeming
contradiction? Either the earth is going to be destroyed or it is not. It can't
be both ways. And it is not merely a matter of ignoring one set of
scriptures and embracing our preference. We must actually solve a
seeming paradox if you want to know God's truth. One way we may do
that is by analyzing the import of a prophecy instead of merely seizing
upon select words to prop up a pet doctrine.

So, if we were to actually read and reason upon the prophecy of

Zephaniah we ought to come to appreciate that, like all the Hebrew
prophets, the book of Zephaniah applied initially to the Jews and
surrounding nations of that time. Through Zephaniah, Jehovah
pronounced judgment on Judah, Philistia, Ammon, Moab, Ethiopia, and
Assyria. Jehovah's decree was that the entire region should be crushed
under the Babylonian juggernaut. That's how the prophecy was fulfilled in
ancient times. Obviously, though, the Chaldeans did not destroy planet
earth or exterminate every soul. But they did ruthlessly subjugate a very
large portion of the world at that time. So, in that way the whole earth was
devoured by Nebuchadnezzar's rapacious horde, as Zephaniah foretold.

But, Jehovah's judgments also apply on a much larger scale to literally

encompass the entire world, which is why the prophets used such
expansive, seemingly exaggerated, language to begin with. Ultimately the
whole earth being devoured is an indication of the totality of God's
judgment in his utterly destroying every vestige of the present global
civilization.

But, as for the simplistic notion that God is literally going to destroy this
beautiful globe and completely eradicate mankind that is made in the
image of God, that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, through
Zephaniah, Jehovah holds out hope for survival when the present system
is destroyed. Zephaniah 2:2 reads: "Before there comes upon you
people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon you
the day of Jehovah's anger, seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the
earth, who have practiced his own judicial decision. Seek
righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in
the day of Jehovah's anger."

If the meek ones are concealed in the day of Jehovah's wrath, it is

apparent that the foretold extermination is not total. Zephaniah's prophecy
offers salvation to the meek ones of the earth and is in harmony with
Jesus, who also held out the promise that the meek will inherit the earth
after the expression of Jehovah's anger destroys the present wicked
civilization that occupies the planet.

8. If the dead will be resurrected during the millennial reign of Christ and
judged according to their deeds during that time, why does the Bible
explicitly say in Rev 20:4-5 that the "(The rest of the dead did not come to
life UNTIL the thousand years were ENDED)"? How could they be judged
according to their deeds during the 1,000 year reign of Christ, if they will not
come to life until after this period is over? Why does the NWT have
parentheses around this verse? Similarly, if the dead will be resurrected
during the millennial reign of Christ and judged according to their deeds
during that time, why does the Bible say that the dead will come out of their
tombs and "those who DID (past tense) good things to a resurrection of life,
those who PRACTICED (past tense) vile things to a resurrection of
judgment" (Jn 5:28-29), and why does the Bible say that men are "to die
once" and "after this (i.e. death) a judgment" (Heb 9:27)?
Our questioner lacks a basic sense of biblical language. To underscore
this type of spiritual illiteracy, consider Jesus' simple comment to "let the
dead bury their dead." If we merely, unreasoningly, read words on a page
and accept them at face value, Jesus' words might conjure up in our
minds macabre images of grave-digging zombies. However, if we actually
use our power of reason to discern what Jesus was trying to tell us, it
becomes apparent that Jesus was referring to living persons as being
spiritually dead unless they came to life by becoming his followers.

Paul referred to persons being dead in their sins and trespasses. That
means that a person, even though living momentarily, remains under the
condemnation of death. So, when Revelation says, parenthetically, that
"the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were
ended," it is really contrasting two sorts of resurrections. That's why the
verse goes on to say: "This is the first resurrection. Happy and holy is
anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second
death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the
Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years."

The first resurrection pertains to those who receive a heavenly

resurrection and who serve with Christ as kings for the thousand years.
Elsewhere, the Bible indicates that these 144,000 receive immortality.
That's why the second death has no authority over them, because they
cannot be destroyed by any means.

So what does it mean that the rest of the dead did not come to life until
after the thousand years? Let the reader take note of the fact that the
verse does not say that they are resurrected at the end of the thousand
years, but merely that they do not come to life until such time. Is there a
difference? Yes, there is a big difference. The Bible teaches us that all of
mankind is under God's condemnation of death because of Adam's sin,
which we inherited. In God's eyes we are dead. We have no right to
endless life. Even the masses of mankind that will be resurrected by
Christ during the 1,000 years will still be dead, in that they will not
instantaneously become sin-free. Their ultimately coming to life, then,
means that the condemnation is lifted so that mankind is not subject to the
sin of Adam any longer.

According to Paul's writing in the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians, Jesus is

to rule mankind and destroy every enemy of God and man and the "last
enemy, death," will also be brought to nothing. That means that by the
conclusion of Jesus' 1,000-year rule, after the dead have been
resurrected during the 1,000 years, that mankind will, by the end of the
millennial reign of Christ, be uplifted out of our present dying state. In that
sense all humans living then will have fully "come to life"—the life the
Adam and Eve originally possessed.
9. (Quote from forward of Kingdom Interlinear Translation deleted for
brevity)

The NWT translates Jn 14:14 as, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do
it." If the NWT is the most accurate word for word translation of the Bible,
why does it completely omit the word "me" after the phrase "If you ask",
even though the word "me" is in the original Greek. See Kingdom
Interlinear Translation (KIT). If the NWT correctly translated Jn 14:14
from the original Greek and included the word "me" after "ask" in this
verse, how would this verse read? How could a person "ask" Jesus for
something without praying to him? How can the NWT be "rendering the
truth of his inspired Word as purely" as possible, and how can it be "as
literal a translation as possible" when the "translators" knowingly omit this
word ("me") so that this verse does not contradict the teachings of the WTS?

First, there is no such thing as a "word-for-word translation." No modern

translation is a word-for-word translation. Furthermore, the Watchtower
has never claimed that the NWT itself is a word-for-word translation. The
closest thing to a word-for-word translation is what is called a
transliteration. Here is a link to an online Interlinear and transliteration.

Translating concepts from an ancient language to a modern language

requires more than merely a 'this-word-means-this, that-word-means-that'
approach.

As for the verse in question, the questioner only partially quoted the verse,
isolated from its context. John 14:13-14 reads: "Also, whatever it is that
you ask in my name, I will do this, in order that the Father may be
glorified in connection with the Son. If you ask anything in my name,
I will do it."

According to the literal translation in the Interlinear, the 14th verse reads:
"If ever anything you should ask me in the name of me this I shall
do." Common sense tells us that a literal word-for-word rendering is very
awkward. Of course, a biased Trinitarian would have us believe that the
verse must be so translated so as to appear to prop up the unscriptural
teaching that Jesus was God. However, the context indicates otherwise.

The NIV renders this verse somewhat clumsily, saying: "You may ask
me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Obviously, if the apostles understood Jesus to be saying that they should

pray directly to him, as if he were actually God, then it would seem
redundant for Jesus to tell them to pray to him in his name. Instead, the
context makes it plain that Jesus was taking on the role of an intercessor
and facilitator between his disciples and Jehovah. Christ was, in reality,
introducing himself as the mediator in relation to their common God and
Father.

Other translations render the verse similar to the NWT. For example, the
NLT renders it: "Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!"

The CEV renders the verse as: "I will do whatever you ask me to do."

Young's Literal Translation words it thusly: "If ye ask anything in my

name I will do it."

10. If the present earth will never be destroyed or depopulated, why does
Zeph 1:2-3 say, "I shall without fail finish everything off the surface of the
ground,' is the utterance of Jehovah. 'I shall finish off earthling man and
beast... and I will cut off mankind from the surface of the ground, is the
utterance of Jehovah"? The Hebrew word translated here as "finish off" in
the NWT is "cuwph" (Strong's # 05486) which means "to cease; to come to
an end", according to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. How can this be if the
WTS is correct and faithful Witnesses will survive Armageddon and live
forever in paradise on the present earth? In addition, Isa 65:17 says, "For
here I am CREATING new heavens and a NEW earth, and the former
things will not be called to mind..." If the present earth will never be
destroyed, why will God be "creating" a "new" earth? (Rest of question
deleted for brevity)

Again, we must point out that the questioner is simply illiterate in the
spiritual dialect of the Scriptures. In further answer to this line of
questioning, we refer the reader to Genesis 11:1, which reads: "Now all
the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words."

We now pose the question to those who read the Scriptures at face value:
What language does the earth speak? Is the above verse saying that our
terra firma speaks in "tongues," or something of that nature?

Or, would it be more reasonable to conclude that the word "earth," as it is

used in the Bible, does not always mean the literal planetary sphere?
Obviously, Genesis 11:1 is referring to the world of mankind as being "all
the earth." The prophets also used "earth" in a figurative way. If we read
the context in Isaiah it becomes apparent that God created a new heaven
and earth by re-establishing the nation of Israel. Peter used the same
expressions "new heavens and new earth" to symbolize the change that
will take place under God's administration; when the "old" demonic
"heavens," and their associative governing institutions ruling over mankind
are replaced by God's heavenly kingdom government. The old earth is the
present wicked civilization, which will be replaced by a new world society
composed entirely of those dedicated to Jehovah. Such a radical
makeover from the present system is best described as being a new
heaven and earth.

Furthermore, while Zephaniah says that Jehovah will "finish off" man and
beast, at Genesis 8:21b God said to Noah, after the Deluge: "And never
again shall I deal every living thing a blow just as I have done." In
view of the seeming contradiction of these two statements, it becomes
apparent that the prophecy of Zephaniah is not to be taken literally; as it
was originally speaking to the completeness of God's judgments against
the nations that fell under his condemnation in the 5th Century B.C.E.