The Watchtower Understanding of the Knowledge of God

- By Shawn Hayes

Introduction

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society, as they call themselves, seek to bear witness concerning Jehovah, the one true God, his character, and his purpose. So committed are the Jehovah’s Witness to the Watchtower organization that they spend countless hours in Bible study, door-to-door witnessing and devotion. The purpose in the Witnesses devotion can be seen in their declaration of Psalm 83:18, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W.Tozer writes: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The Christian orthodox position concerning the characteristics and attributes of God, hold to the firm belief that God is by his very nature, Omnipresent (everywhere present), Omnipotent (All powerful), and Omniscience (All knowing). While on one hand, a cursory reading of Watchtower literature may lead one to believe that the Watchtower society espouses all of these attributes, in reality, they do not. This paper is presented in four parts: The first part attempts to present the Watchtower view of the omniscience of God. Secondly, this paper will demonstrate how the result of the denial of the omniscience of God affects the other attributes of God. Thirdly, this paper will attempt to present the orthodox Christian understanding of God’s omniscience in two parts: First, what God knows, and secondly, How God knows. Finally, this paper will answer some of the common objections and misunderstandings made by the Jehovah’s Witness and Watchtower society.