JW's Preach A Different Gospel

[Pegg]

This is a good question for any JW.
How do you worship the one true God? Describe your worship.

We worship Jehovah by bearing his name and publicly praising him as the Universal Sovereign and our Creator.
We worship him when we pray directly to him. (we dont pray to saints or to Jesus)
We worship him by upholding his laws and standards in our personal and private lives.
We worship him by committing ourselves to carry our his will (hence why all JW's are preachers)

There no greater honor then to be called by Jehovahs personal name. This is a fulfillment of prophecy according to the Apostles:

Acts 15:13 After they finished speaking, James replied: “Men, brothers, hear me. 14 Symʹe·on+ has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.+15 And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After these things I will return and raise up again the tent* of David that is fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 17 so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah,* together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name, says Jehovah,* who is doing these things,+18 known from of old.’+

1Peter 2: 9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,+ a people for special possession,+ that you should declare abroad the excellencies”*+ of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.+ 10 For you were once not a people, but now you are God’s people;+ once you had not been shown mercy, but now you have received mercy

How could it be that there is only one Christian group called by Jehovahs name when it was so prominent a belief of the Apostles? I believe there is good reason for that.

Zeph 3:9 “I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.”

 

[savagewind]

We worship Jehovah by bearing his name and publicly praising him as the Universal Sovereign and our Creator.
We worship him when we pray directly to him. (we dont pray to saints or to Jesus)
We worship him by upholding his laws and standards in our personal and private lives.
We worship him by committing ourselves to carry our his will (hence why all JW's are preachers)

There no greater honor then to be called by Jehovahs personal name. This is a fulfillment of prophecy according to the Apostles:

Acts 15:13 After they finished speaking, James replied: “Men, brothers, hear me. 14 Symʹe·on+ has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.+15 And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After these things I will return and raise up again the tent* of David that is fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 17 so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah,* together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name, says Jehovah,* who is doing these things,+18 known from of old.’+

1Peter 2: 9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,+ a people for special possession,+ that you should declare abroad the excellencies”*+ of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.+ 10 For you were once not a people, but now you are God’s people;+ once you had not been shown mercy, but now you have received mercy

How could it be that there is only one Christian group called by Jehovahs name when it was so prominent a belief of the Apostles? I believe there is good reason for that.

Zeph 3:9 “I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.”

Freudian slip?

 

[JFish123]

We worship Jehovah by bearing his name and publicly praising him as the Universal Sovereign and our Creator.
We worship him when we pray directly to him. (we dont pray to saints or to Jesus)
We worship him by upholding his laws and standards in our personal and private lives.
We worship him by committing ourselves to carry our his will (hence why all JW's are preachers)

There no greater honor then to be called by Jehovahs personal name. This is a fulfillment of prophecy according to the Apostles:

Acts 15:13 After they finished speaking, James replied: “Men, brothers, hear me. 14 Symʹe·on+ has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.+15 And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After these things I will return and raise up again the tent* of David that is fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 17 so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah,* together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name, says Jehovah,* who is doing these things,+18 known from of old.’+

Sadly, no other christian group bear the name of Jehovah. And I believe there is good reason for that.

Jehovah is a name made up. It's YHWY. But even if you want to call God by that name, the Name of Jesus Christ is Highlighted far more and above than Jehovah (which is none).

If the name "Jehovah" is so important, then why does Acts 4:12 say, "There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name [v10 Jesus Christ] under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved"? Would this not have been the logical place for God to have used the name "YHWH"?
And If Christians are persecuted for the sake of Jehovah's name as The Watchtower claims, why did Christ tell the first Christians that they would be persecuted for the sake of his (Jesus') name instead of Jehovah's (Mt 24:9, Mk 13:13, Lk 21:12, 17, Jn 15:21, etc...)

The name of JESUS > Jehovah
In whose name should meet together (Matthew 18:20, 1 Corinthians 5:4)?
Demons are subject to whose name (Luke 10:17, Acts 16:18)?
Repentance and forgiveness should be preached in whose name (Luke 24:47)?
In whose name are you to believe and receive the forgiveness if sins (John 1:12, 3:16, Acts 10:43, 1 John 3:23, 5:13)?
By whose name, and no other, do we obtain salvation (Acts 4:12)?
Whose name should be invoked as we bring our petitions to God in prayer (John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-24)?
In whose name is the Holy Spirit sent (John 14:26)?
Whose name and authority was invoked by the disciples in healing the sick and lame (Acts 3:16, 4:7-10, 30)
Whose name did Paul tell us to call upon (1Corinthians 1:2)?
Whose name is above Every Name (Ephesians 1:21, Philippians 2:9-11)?

In The book of Acts 1:8, Jesus affirmed to the disciples:
8 But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and YOU WILL BE WITNESSES OF ME in Jerusalem, in all Ju·de′a and Sa·mar′i·a, and to the most distant part of the earth.” (NWT)
We are called to be witnesses of Jesus, Not Jehovah. You should call yourselves Jesus' Witnesses if you strictly go by the Bible and not the Watchtower.

 

[djhwoodwerks]

It's not up to me to prove the Bible infallible, rather it would be up to you guys to prove it is the infallible word of a super-creator, whilst simultaneously refuting the thousands of other religions that have existed throughout human history.

You are the one making the absurd claim (that you posses the infallible words of a divine deity), ergo it is up to you to provide evidence. Just like I'd have to, if I were to claim the God of Aquitaine to be the true creator of the universe, and that I am his personal prophet. D'ya see where I'm coming from?

You're the only one in this thread who doesn't view the Bible as infallible, that would make it your position to prove everyone wrong.

 

[savagewind]

You're the only one in this thread who doesn't view the Bible as infallible, that would make it your position to prove everyone wrong.

I think I was on this thread. Wasn't I? I think infallible means Scripture has no mistakes in it. Is that what it means? There is nothing missing, there is nothing added to it and everything that is in it should be considered perfectly true. I do not believe that. Do you?

 

[savagewind]

I have spent two years now proving everyone wrong. Nobody cares. Shrugs.

 

[JayJayDee]

But, the Watchtower still maintains that no one that lived before Christ will ever enter heaven. "The apostle Paul in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews names a long list of faithful men who died before the crucifixion of the Lord. . . . These can never be a part of the heavenly class" (Millions Now Living, p. 89). Only the 144,000 elite that all lived after the death of Christ will supposedly go to heaven. Matthew 8:11-12 provides severe difficulties for this idea, since Jesus proclaims, "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; whereas the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. There is where [their] weeping and the gnashing of [their] teeth will be." No verse could be clearer in declaring that the patriarchs are in heaven. The following verses all demonstrate that Christians go to heaven, and do not remain on earth: 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 3:1; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 1:4-5; 1 Peter 1:4.

We can allow the Bible to provide the answers?

Hebrews 11:13-19......."These all died in faith, without receiving the fulfillment of the promises, but they saw them from a distance and greeted them. They acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles in the land. For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a land of their own. If they had been referring to that country from which they had set out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they were longing for a better homeland, that is, a heavenly one. For this reason God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city to receive them. By faith Abraham, when he was being tested, offered up Isaac; yes, he who had received the promises was offering his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.” He considered that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, and, in a sense, he did receive him back from there."

What were the men and women of faith in pre-Christian times looking forward to? Jews had no belief in going to heaven.
They saw the kingdom as earthly and Messiah's rule as being over Israel on earth. Even the apostles did not understand that their future life was in heaven until Pentecost. They expect the earthly kingdom to be established, just like every other Jew. (Acts 1:6)

So why do you assume that they looked forward to life in heaven? Unless you believe that there is human birth in heaven, what did Abraham assume about his son Isaac when God told him to sacrifice this precious son? Abraham figured that God was able to raise him up and still produce the promised offspring. He did not imagine that Isaac would go anywhere but the grave. A place from which Jews expected to return.

Death to a Jew was not a ticket to heaven...it was a "sleep" in the grave awaiting the resurrection in Messiah's kingdom....right here on earth. Heaven was never in God's purpose for humankind. He designed humans for life on earth and the earth was designed to sustain all living things indefinitely. Death was never supposed to happen. Only when Adam sinned was there a need for a Savior, a sacrifice and a kingdom to save his condemned children. Do you understand this very important point?

Why take everyone to heaven when God had no intention of any human going there in the first place? The kingdom and its provisions were only implemented as a result of sin. No sin would have meant no death...no death would have meant everlasting life right here on earth. Not a difficult concept, is it? The fact that God chooses some humans to rule with his Christ in heaven was part of a solution to mankind's sin, not the ultimate destination for all of God's worshippers.

The other thing that most people overlook is the fact that the Christian scriptures were written to the anointed, by the anointed and for the anointed. Paul identifies those who have "the heavenly calling". (Heb 3:1) Think about that description. It is a "calling" to heaven, not an expectation.

Your cut and paste responses are obviously not your own work and you appear to be parroting off someone else's ideas. Funny that you should accuse us of the same thing. Quoting old publications is just a joke to us. We aren't stuck in the past...our publications are not classified as scripture.....we are progressive in our understanding. (Prov 4:18) We don't refer to the old stuff anymore. Only our detractors do that...which is why it's kinda funny. Whilst you guys are high fiving each other we are s******ing at your apparent victory.
Clarifications are part of our ongoing understanding of the scriptures. 'Cleansing and refinements' were foretold for our time. (Dan 12:4, 9, 10) We expect them.

You can believe whatever you like. It is interesting that you never address anything that is directed to you....just the canned response. I am ignoring you from now on.

You will answer to God just the same as I will. Goodbye Mr Fish.

 

[Aquitaine]

All I see is you trying to hijack this thread.

Perhaps I am going off-topic, but know that I was merely responding to you.

Anyways, for the sake of this thread, indeed let us no longer debate with one-another.

 

[Aquitaine]

You're the only one in this thread who doesn't view the Bible as infallible, that would make it your position to prove everyone wrong.

You're the ones who claim to know the desires of some invisible supercreator, and knowledge of what happens after death. Sorry friend, but the burden of evidence lies with those making the bizarre claims.
The secular position is the neutral one.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I am surprised that I am the first one to point this out but 'Dr.' James White got his 'Divinity Degree' from an unaccredited university. In other words its not really a university, and he's not really a Dr. of divinity. He specializes in telling his niche what they want to hear and publishes lots of books on highly controversial subjects. He likes public debates with famous people like Shelby Sponge, because it boosts his readership. I think that is relevant information, since he is being discussed as if he were a real doctor of divinity. Whatever degree he's got from Columbia may have some value, but calling it a doctorate is an insult to institutions with real accredited divinity programs.

 

[JFish123]

We can allow the Bible to provide the answers?

Hebrews 11:13-19......."These all died in faith, without receiving the fulfillment of the promises, but they saw them from a distance and greeted them. They acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles in the land. For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a land of their own. If they had been referring to that country from which they had set out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they were longing for a better homeland, that is, a heavenly one. For this reason God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city to receive them. By faith Abraham, when he was being tested, offered up Isaac; yes, he who had received the promises was offering his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.” He considered that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, and, in a sense, he did receive him back from there."

What were the men and women of faith in pre-Christian times looking forward to? Jews had no belief in going to heaven.
They saw the kingdom as earthly and Messiah's rule as being over Israel on earth. Even the apostles did not understand that their future life was in heaven until Pentecost. They expect the earthly kingdom to be established, just like every other Jew. (Acts 1:6)

So why do you assume that they looked forward to life in heaven? Unless you believe that there is human birth in heaven, what did Abraham assume about his son Isaac when God told him to sacrifice this precious son? Abraham figured that God was able to raise him up and still produce the promised offspring. He did not imagine that Isaac would go anywhere but the grave. A place from which Jews expected to return.

Death to a Jew was not a ticket to heaven...it was a "sleep" in the grave awaiting the resurrection in Messiah's kingdom....right here on earth. Heaven was never in God's purpose for humankind. He designed humans for life on earth and the earth was designed to sustain all living things indefinitely. Death was never supposed to happen. Only when Adam sinned was there a need for a Savior, a sacrifice and a kingdom to save his condemned children. Do you understand this very important point?

Why take everyone to heaven when God had no intention of any human going there in the first place? The kingdom and its provisions were only implemented as a result of sin. No sin would have meant no death...no death would have meant everlasting life right here on earth. Not a difficult concept, is it? The fact that God chooses some humans to rule with his Christ in heaven was part of a solution to mankind's sin, not the ultimate destination for all of God's worshippers.

The other thing that most people overlook is the fact that the Christian scriptures were written to the anointed, by the anointed and for the anointed. Paul identifies those who have "the heavenly calling". (Heb 3:1) Think about that description. It is a "calling" to heaven, not an expectation.

Your cut and paste responses are obviously not your own work and you appear to be parroting off someone else's ideas. Funny that you should accuse us of the same thing. Quoting old publications is just a joke to is. We aren't stuck in the past...our publications are not classified as scripture.....we are progressive in our understanding. (Prov 4:18) We don't refer to the old stuff anymore. Only our detractors do that...which is why it's kinda funny. Whilst you guys are high diving each other we are s******ing at your apparent victory.
Clarifications are part of our ongoing understanding of the scriptures. 'Cleansing and refinements' were foretold for our time. (Dan 12:4, 9, 10) We expect them.

You can believe whatever you like. It is interesting that you never address anything that is directed to you....just the canned response. I am ignoring you from now on.

You will answer to God just the same as I will. Goodbye Mr Fish.

Whether you continue to discuss or not with me is your concern, not mine. I've heard of Christians being banned from Jehovahs Witnesses forums merely by answering the JW's questions and asking a few of there own. I will continue to post the truth in hopes you and every JW will see and learn the truth regardless of whether or not you "respond."
And the Jews did believe in an afterlife, though they primarily focused on earth life.
It is true that the Torah emphasizes immediate, concrete, physical rewards and punishments rather than abstract future ones. See, for example, Lev. 26:3-9 and Deut. 11:13-15. However, there is clear evidence in the Torah of belief in existence after death. The Torah indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion.
The Torah speaks of several noteworthy people being "gathered to their people." See, for example, Gen. 25:8 (Abraham), 25:17 (Ishmael), 35:29 (Isaac), 49:33 (Jacob), Deut. 32:50 (Moses and Aaron) II Kings 22:20 (King Josiah). This gathering is described as a separate event from the physical death of the body or the burial.
Certain sins are punished by the sinner being "cut off from his people." See, for example, Gen. 17:14 and Ex. 31:14. This punishment is referred to as kareit (kah-REHYT) (literally, "cutting off," but usually translated as "spiritual excision"), and it means that the soul loses its portion in the World to Come.
Later portions of the Tanakh speak more clearly of life after death and the World to Come. See Dan. 12:2, Neh. 9:5.
And since there are times when getting truths online is sufficient to debate and showcase, and since I agree with those truths, I see no trouble in showcasing them as I'm sure you've cut and pasted from JW.org instead of writing out all those verses etc... It saves time is all and you haven't and seem to not answer many of the questions I pose but no worries, I will continue as they are important to show how the Watchtower misleads it's people.

 

[JFish123]

I am surprised that I am the first one to point this out but 'Dr.' James White got his 'Divinity Degree' from an unaccredited university. In other words its not really a university, and he's not really a Dr. of divinity. He specializes in telling his niche what they want to hear and publishes lots of books on highly controversial subjects. He likes public debates with famous people like Shelby Sponge, because it boosts his readership. I think that is relevant information, since he is being discussed as if he were a real doctor of divinity. Whatever degree he's got from Columbia may have some value, but calling it a doctorate is an insult to institutions with real accredited divinity programs.

White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a presuppositional apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He received a Bachelors Degree from Grand Canyon College, an Masters Degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a ThM, a ThD and a DMin from Columbia Evangelical Seminary (formerly Faraston Seminary), an unaccredited distance-learning school. He currently serves as a Faculty Mentor at Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He is also a critical consultant for the Lockman Foundation's New American Standard Bible.
And unaccredited or not, hd still has a Bachelors and Masters Degrees as well. And he knows the bible and so do most other scholars with multitudes of degrees in theology, Greek and Hebrews, among many others. They share the same views about the Trinity, etc... That contradicts the Watchtowers view.

 

[JFish123]

The fact is, no Jehovah Witness will go to heaven, not even the 144,000 because they themselves say that they do not have Jesus as their mediator in the accurate Biblical sense. That's why they need to hear the Truth from us Christians AKA Jesus' Witnesses.
Paul states in Galatians 1:6-9 that anyone, even an angel, “that preaches anything other than that which he preached, is anathema, or accursed?”
“The son of man is come to seek and save - that which is lost.” (Luke 19:10) Jesus is not excluding anyone but has open salvation to EVERYONE, not just a few. The gospel which can save people from there is so that people will be in the kingdom. The Apostles and disciples preached for people to understand that believing in Christ brought salvation. In Acts 16:30-31 In answer to the Philippian Jailer's question of “What must I do to be saved?” They responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Paul scolds the Jews who were in opposition to them, “Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved” (1 Thess. 2:16).
The teaching on the 144,000 the way they believe today did not come from their founder C.T. Russell. Russell taught ALL the members of the Watchtower were “anointed,' and the 144,000 who were Spiritual Israel having the heavenly hope. The early Watchtower teaching was that all Jehovah’s Witnesses go to heaven. There was no paradise earth teaching, no two destinations for their members. Russell actually taught that the calling of the 144,000 was completed in 1881.
Under Russell the membership was way under 100,000 so they were safe. Russell taught the whole group of Witnesses made up the 144,000 and this was the accepted view. But this brought on another quandary, the membership began to increase.
The Watchtower had to deal with all these extra people. Because they had been previously taught there was only one calling - all 144,000 who were Jehovah’s Witnesses were going to heaven. Rutherford had new light from God. In other words, speaking ex - cathedra like the Pope he changed their whole system. This would be the most significant change in the organizations doctrine that continues today. It has become the foundation for the great crowd to be faithful by going door to door.
Everyone who became a Jehovah’s Witnesses before 1934 would go to Heaven (until Rutherford changed it). God stopped calling people to only a heavenly calling from that year. So he invented two classes, a heavenly class and earthly class. The “great crowd” class introduced by Judge Rutherford out of necessity. An earthly Great Crowd was created, a second- class of people that were subject to and dependent upon the heavenly class who alone would be part of the new covenant.
Rutherford claimed that God began a new work gathering a 2nd class of people outside the body of Christ. Their hope would now be to live on paradise earth forever in their resurrected bodies (or more accurately to their teachings; recreated copies). These are now known as the other sheep. This “little flock,” the anointed ones that began with the apostles, was nearly filled by the year 1935. This doctrinal change produced a two class system within the Watchtower that continues today. The “anointed” being privileged to be in the new covenant and the “great crowd” made up of faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses on earth. “But only 144,000 persons will be a part of the new heavens with Jesus Christ” (Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained p. 232).
The Great Crowd limited to earth was invented to deal with the increase membership of the organization. Rutherford narrowed the promise of salvation and heaven to an elite group of 144,000 inside their organization. The earthly class of Jehovah’s Witnesses, being the “Great Crowd” would have to survive Armageddon and hope for the resurrection.

 

[djhwoodwerks]

I think I was on this thread. Wasn't I? I think infallible means Scripture has no mistakes in it. Is that what it means? There is nothing missing, there is nothing added to it and everything that is in it should be considered perfectly true. I do not believe that. Do you?

I absolutely believe that the Bible is infallible! I believe God has used men to translate the Bible perfect, and then there's the NWT.

 

[djhwoodwerks]

I have spent two years now proving everyone wrong. Nobody cares. Shrugs.

Proving everyone wrong about what?

 

[djhwoodwerks]

*** jv chap. 28 p. 626 Testing and Sifting From Within ***
However, as the light of truth progressively shone even more brightly after Brother Russell’s death, and as the preaching that Jesus had foretold became even more extensive, it became evident that the “faithful and wise servant” (KJ), or “faithful and discreet slave” (NW), had not passed off the scene when Brother Russell died.

I'd like to know how, if the slave was already "giving food at the proper time" before Russell died, how could it have been appointed in 1919? And, how could a singular slave become composite after Russell's death?

 

[Brickjectivity]

And he knows the bible

He also should know that he doesn't have a divinity degree, but he still peddles himself like he has one. He's very prolific and sells books to his niche audience. It makes readers feel they are broadly informed since their author has 'Dr' next to his name. That is the effect of putting Dr. on the nameplate, but for that readers deserve a real, accredited, Doctor. There is a problem there. Its that the credentials aren't real, and he's not writing things that are new or original. At least 100 books have been written about each subject from an Evangelical perspective: debunking 'Mormonism', arguing with JW's etc. Just like there are already 100 books about glossolalia, demons, miracles and all kinds of things that people read about but rarely if ever get involved with. It would be simple to pick up 5 books on, say, Debunking Mormonism and to write another one and then to claim to be a doctor of divinity. It would be easy, and it is easy.

 

[JFish123]

He also should know that he doesn't have a divinity degree, but he still peddles himself like he has one. He's very prolific and sells books to his niche audience. It makes readers feel they are broadly informed since their author has 'Dr' next to his name. That is the effect of putting Dr. on the nameplate, but for that readers deserve a real, accredited, Doctor. There is a problem there. Its that the credentials aren't real, and he's not writing things that are new or original. At least 100 books have been written about each subject from an Evangelical perspective: debunking 'Mormonism', arguing with JW's etc. Just like there are already 100 books about glossolalia, demons, miracles and all kinds of things that people read about but rarely if ever get involved with. It would be simple to pick up 5 books on, say, Debunking Mormonism and to write another one and then to claim to be a doctor of divinity. It would be easy, and it is easy.

So your saying he does this. Ok, I'm listening. What's your proof? Or is it just conjecture of what you think he does. You can't know can you. You can only guess as you can't get in his head. Neither can I. So either side of the discussion seems to be equal does it not?

 

[JayJayDee]

I absolutely believe that the Bible is infallible! I believe God has used men to translate the Bible perfect, and then there's the NWT.

There is this repetitive inference made that the NWT is a "bad" translation, altering things to suit our beliefs. Please provide evidence of these translation errors so that we may discuss them.

 

[JFish123]

There is this repetitive inference made that the NWT is a "bad" translation, altering things to suit our beliefs. Please provide evidence of these translation errors so that we may discuss them.

I can and will post more. But this is just one of them, and an easy one to show.
The New World Translation renders Luke 23:43, "And he said to him: 'Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.'" This is contrast to most, if not all other translations which render the verse: "Truly I say, Today you will be with me in Paradise."
It is helpful to observe how the phrase "Truly I say to you" is used elsewhere in Scripture. This phrase, which translates the Greek words "amen soy lego" occurs 74 times in the Gospels and is always used as an introductory expression. It is somewhat similar to the Old Testament phrase "Thus says The Lord." Jesus used this phrase to introduce a truth that was very important.
In 73 out of 74 times the phrase occurred in the Gospels, the New World Translation places a break (such as a comma) immediately after the phrase, "Truly, I tell you." Luke 23:43 is the only occurrence of this phrase in which the New World Translation does not place a break after it. Why? Because if a break, such as a comma, was placed after "Truly I say to you" the word "today" would then belong to the second half of the sentence, indicating that "today" the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise. But this would go against Watchtower theology. Hence they relocated the comma.
Any Jehovahs Witness can see for themselves by looking at all the "Truly I say to you" phrases Jesus said and that in only one place does the NWT not put it directly after the phrase. One must wonder why?
"Truly I say to you today" does not even make good sense: it would have been needless to say, "Today, I am telling this to you." Of course He was! What other day would He have been speaking to the thief on? Jesus never added the word 'today' when speaking to anyone. Would Jesus ever say anything so redundant?
This thief believed that Jesus would eventually come into His Kingdom at the end of the world. He therefor asked to be remembered by Jesus at that time. Jesus' reply however, promised him more than he had asked for: "Today (not just at the end of the world) you will be with me in Paradise."
It is clear that Luke 23:43 argues strongly against the Watchtower position that there is no immaterial nature that consciously survives death. As true with other Bible verses, a thorough look at the text unmasks the Watchtower deception.