JWs believe the bible is God's word and that every word in it comes from God. It's a waste of time to try to disprove the bible based on science or any source outside the bible, because they just don't stand up to something someone believes came from God Himself. So I've decided to use all that I've learned from JWs about the bible to show them that they can't trust everything in the bible.
There's an old saying that says, "Seeing is believing." Has anyone actually seen God? Some parts of the bible say that some men have spoken to God "face to face" and elsewhere it says that no man may see God and live (Ex33:20). Ask any JW about this and they'll tell you that no one can see God and live, and that all those prophets who are said to have talked to God or seen God, actually saw one of God's angels.
"Wait just a minute", you say, " I know a little bit about the bible and Paul said that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light" (2Cor11:14). How do we know those prophets of old weren't being deceived by Satan in the form of one of God's angels? Didn't John say that Satan has deceived the whole world? Doesn't Matt 24:24 say that even the "chosen ones" can be misled? Surely we need to study this carefully to determine the truth. Isn't that what John said to do (John4:1)?
Let's take a look at Satan in the bible. He's found from first book to the last book of the bible. In both the first and the last he takes the appearance of a serpent (Gen 3, Rev 12). In Genesis, Satan (as the serpent) causes the fall of man and God says to the serpent, "you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild beasts of the field" (Gen 3:14). This was the only animal ever cursed by God. Isn't it strange then that Moses performed magic in Egypt with the only animal God ever cursed, a serpent? (Ex 4:2-4). In fact, Moses seems to have had a real love for serpents. He even had his priests make a bronze serpent idol and placed it on a staff. According to your Insight Book the Israelites fell into false and pagan worship of that serpent idol for over 300 years! Do you really think someone like that was talking to and seeing one of God's angels?
Could Satan really have fooled Moses? Well, Moses was just an imperfect man so it's certainly possible. And just because a few 'miracles' occured doesn't really prove it wasn't Satan. In 2Thes2:9 it says Satan uses deception and has the ability to perform "powerful works, lying signs, and potents". Portents are signs of something about to happen; similar to a prophesy.
So far this is just circumstantial evidence. Let's see if we can find something more definite in the bible. Look at 2Peter 2:2 "However, there also came to be false prophets among the people..." This clearly says that the people (Israelites) had false prophets among them. But wouldn't the Jews have rejected the false prophets and not included them in the bible? Jesus's own words provide us with the answer: ""Woe, whenever all men speak well of
YOU , for things like these are what their forefathers did to the false prophets."(Luke 6:26). The false prophets weren't rejected; they were highly regarded!
Read Genesis 15:8-17 concerning Abraham's covenant with his 'god' and tell me if it sounds like a Satanic ritual: cut up the dead animals, separate the halves and have your 'god' walk between the bloody pieces in the form of a dark, smoky cloud with a burning ember at it's center. Doesn't that sound like something Satan would enjoy?
You may still find it hard to believe that Satan fooled some of the people in the bible, but there is a clear statement from Jesus that tells us it's true. One day a number of pious Jews came to the Temple to talk with Jesus. These people had followed their religion to the best of their ability as their prophets and priests had instructed them. They said to Jesus, "We were not born from fornication; we have one Father, God". And Jesus replied to them, "YOU are from YOUR father the Devil..." (John 8:31-44). These people clearly thought they were following God, but Jesus said they'd been deceived by Satan. How much more proof do you need that Satan has put his own lies right inside the bible in order to trick the whole world into worshipping him rather than God? I suggest you follow John's advice and "do not believe every inspired expression" (even if you find it in the bible), "but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God" (that is, test it against your own conscience), "because many false prophets have gone forth into the world." And some of them made it into the bible, a book compiled by imperfect men.
thinker