1. When is someone referred to as "brother" among Christians?

When do we address someone as "brother"?

We do it, when we know that we both belong to the same family and also have the same parents.

And of course we Orthodox cannot address Jehovah's Witnesses as “brothers”, because we belong to the brotherhood of the Church:  we have God as the Father,  we have His Son Jesus Christ as our Brother, and we have the New Testament as our mother – the “Upper Jerusalem”, according to Galatians (4:26), which says, "...but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.."

We Orthodox Christians, (the faithful ones, who have a conscience and an awareness of our Faith), do in fact call each other “brother”.  And as it says in Hebrews (2:11): “... For, both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified, are all of the One - for which reason He is not ashamed to call them ‘brethren’..."

The “He” in the above verse is referring to Jesus Christ Himself, Who is not ashamed to call us “brothers”;  He is by nature the Son of God, while we are children of God the Father by adoption.

Through our rebirth “by water and the Spirit” (that is, through Holy Baptism and the Holy Spirit), we are adopted by God as freshly-born humans - as new persons, born out of the waters of holy Baptism (after the old person dies, the new one thereafter belongs to the family of God). That new person becomes an adopted child of God, therefore he also becomes a brother of Christ.

As it says in Galatians (4:4-7): "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son,  born of a woman, subject to the Law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out 'Abba, Father'!” 

So, after reading the above,  one is no longer a “servant”, but a son.  But if one has become a son, then they are also a co-heir of God, through Christ.  Therefore we Orthodox Christians can and should address each other as brethren, but we cannot recognize members of foreign sects as brethren.   We cannot call Jehovah’s Witnesses “brothers”,  while they remain outside the Orthodox Church.

2. What Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about the two callings

But then someone might comment: "Can’t they say the same thing among themselves – that they too are brethren, since they assert that they regard themselves children of God, adopted by Him, and as such are brothers of Christ – just as the early Christians appear in the Bible, calling each other brethren?"

Here’s the thing. No, they can’t  make such a claim – not because we Orthodox Christians say so, but because this is dictated by their own doctrine, if we take the trouble to examine it carefully.

So, what do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe?

They do not believe, as we do, that all Christians have the same calling - the calling from above - as brothers of Christ, and that all are called to participate in the Heavenly Realm.

Orthodox Christians believe that all of us, without exception, through our Holy Baptism and His acceptance, all become united in the Body of Christ — the Church (which is referred to as the Body of Christ in the Bible by having Christ as Her Head) and that each one of us is a member of the Church.

According to Ephesians (4:4-5): "One Body and one Spirit,  just as you were called, with one hope of your calling.  One Lord, one faith, one baptism” and in v.6 : “ one God and Father of all".

Do you see it? We, therefore, as Orthodox Christians, belong to the one Body of Christ, as members of His Church.

Jehovah"s Witnesses, however, do not believe this. They believe that there are two callings. They say that the Church is a different thing:  that the Church consists of only 144.000 persons, who alone are Christ’s brethren - that only they are the adopted children who will reign with Him - and that all the other millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses, belong to another calling: the "multitude" or the "other sheep",  who supposedly have a terrestrial hope, which the 144,000 do not have.

According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, therefore, that multitude does not belong to the Church; only the 144,000 belong to the Church. But if the multitude doesn’t belong to the Body of Christ (the Church), then they cannot be brothers of Christ, since Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that only the 144,000 will reign together with Christ.

3. How Jehovah’s Witnesses invalidate themselves

Notice what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:16-17:  "The Spirit Himself gives witness along with our spirit that we are children of God, and if we are children, we are also heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. And if we co-suffer, we become participants in His glory.”

Do you see what it says here?  That you cannot be a son of God if you are not an inheritor, and a co-inheritor of that Realm – a co-inheritor with Christ!

So, since they are not sons of God – seeing that they themselves confess they are not all co-heirs with Christ, except for the 144.000 – then why do they ALL call each other “brother”?

Therefore:

According to the dogma of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the members of the multitude (which means the overwhelming majority of Witnesses who are not adopted) should not refer to the 144.000 who are supposedly anointed by the Spirit, as their “brothers”.

Furthermore, don’t they all pray and recite the “Lord’s Prayer”?  Well, if they aren’t all adopted children of God, then with what right do they all refer to God as “Father”, when saying “Our Father, Who are in heaven.....”???

With what right can a stranger refer to God as “Father”, if God has never adopted them – as they themselves claim they aren’t all His adopted children – only the 144.000 are?

Just imagine someone approaching a high-ranking political person – let’s say, a Prime Minister – and boldly addressing him as “Dad”....  How will that Prime Minister respond?  Won’t he take a good look at him and say “Excuse me, my good man, why did you just call me “Dad”? Do I know you?  What right do you have, to address me as your father?”

Then we see Jehovah’s Witnesses – the ones who confidently claim they belong to the multitude – approaching the Supreme Personality of the universe and calling Him “Father”.... With what right, seeing that they themselves recognize they are NOT His adopted children?

4. Not even a “church” ...outside the city's limits 

They even call their gatherings a “church”; but if one stops to think how few are the ones who partake of the bread and the wine – that is, how few are the ones who today confess that they belong to the 144.000 who can receive bread and wine – and also think how in most of their gatherings there is not a single one of the 144.000 who confesses to be a son of God – then, based on what logic do they refer to their gatherings as a “church”?

The term “Church” pertains to the Corpus (the Body) of Christ – the brotherhood that is comprised of the brethren of Christ. No-one else.

Besides, the age-old, acknowledged Christian term of “Ecclesia” pertains to those who are “of the calling” – that is, those who have responded to God’s invitation through Christ.

Even the fact that they refer to their gatherings with the term “church” is inappropriate, inasmuch as not a single one of those 144.000 is present among them.

When – during the Christian Divine Liturgy in the temple – it is the moment to recite the “Lord’s Prayer” (“Our Father.....~), we Orthodox Christians are actually saying to God that we are daring to address You as Father, Who are in Heaven – thus confessing that we belong to the Body of Christ (the Church), and that after acknowledging our unworthiness, we approach our heavenly Father with awe and respect to address Him thus.

Then we see strangers – who confess that they are strangers  who have not been adopted – daring to address the Supreme Being of all Creation as “Father” !!!

One might suggest that they address each other as "brother", not because of their adoption by God, but only because they belong to the same group – with the same beliefs.

But even so, this also doesn’t make sense.  The "multitude" cannot address the 144.000 as “brothers”, nor can they refer to God as “Father”.  With what right, if they weren’t adopted?  And they can’t even call each other “brother”, simply because they are all members of the broader human family - given that they don’t address ANY non-Witnesses as “brothers”. So much for the excuse of  human family...

But they also contradict the Holy Bible, where we note that Ephesians 2:19 very clearly says: “So therefore, you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but are fellow citizens of the saints and of God’s household.”  God’s house is only one:  the Church. You cannot become a brother in a family if no-one in that family has adopted you.  You must first be adopted-recognized officially, so that you can declare yourself a brother.

Well then, whose brother are you, if you haven’t been adopted by God?

The class doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses, therefore, that there are supposedly two callings, (i.e., which divide Christians into two groups, into two callings), not only was never taught by the Apostles - who very clearly, as we can see in the above verse, speak of one calling, one baptism, and speak of one family, of one adoption, of one brotherhood, not two - but moreover,  this doctrine causes Jehovah’s Witnesses, (at least those who say they belong to the "multitude"), to outrightly disrespect God when they address Him as “Father”, as if they too were adopted children.

We noticed in this verse earlier that it says: "... you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but are fellow citizens of the saints..." But according to their belief system, the Saints are only 144.000 in total, therefore all the others do not belong to the same family. How, then, do those who say they belong to the "multitude" address the 144,000 as brothers, and God as Father?

And by what right will the 144.000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses - who (understandably) refer to God as Father since they consider themselves to be His adopted children – address as "brothers" the members of the “multitude” who confess that they were not adopted, nor are fellow citizens of the Saints?

Because in order to be a fellow citizen of the Saints, you must belong to the same city as them.

So, to which city do the Saints belong?

Again, the Bible tells us clearly, in Hebrews 12:22-24:  “...but you have come to mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; to the thousands of angels, to a feast and a congregation (ecclesia) of the first-born who have been recorded in the heavens, and with God as judge of everyone, and the spirits of the deceased righteous ones, and a new testament by the Mediator Christ”.

So, we see here that the city of God is the “heavenly Jerusalem”!!!  But Jehovah’s Witnesses have come to believe that they don’t belong to heavenly Jerusalem – at least most of them, since they claim to belong to the “multitude” that will live on earth.  Paul very clearly says: “...but you have come  [...] to a feast and a congregation (ecclesia) of the first-born who have been recorded in the heavens....”

And these are problems that the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses has also noticed - to a certain extent.

Which is why, in the New World Translation, in Hebrews 11:15-16, the Greek word "επουρανιου" (meaning "up in the heavens”,  “up on high") is translated as "that which belongs to heaven".

“15 and if they were remembering the one (city) from which they had departed, they had the time to return to it;  but rather they are longing for a better one - that is, a heavenly one (on high), for God is not ashamed of them;  He called them, for He prepared them a city.”

It is one thing to be heavenly, that is, to be "upon the heavens", and another thing to “belong” to heaven. They often “correct” the Bible because it doesn’t suit their doctrines. But this is a subject that we will look into another time.

In this present case, these people - the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses - have surely understood that God’s city is indeed one, and that it is heavenly, up on high.  That is why they have changed the text accordingly, so that Jehovah’s Witnesses will not notice that their city (since they want themselves to be fellow citizens of the Saints), is in heaven, up on high.  So they rephrased the text to say "which belongs to heaven", because otherwise it would inconvenience them.

I would like to kindly ask Jehovah’s Witnesses to think carefully about what was analyzed above. The Christian faith is not a game, where anyone can claim what they personally believe. Every doctrine has certain consequences, on how we should behave.

So, let them take the Gospel seriously, and accept the real Gospel – on the one Faith, on the one Calling, on the one Baptism – and not respectively on two, as their organization asserts.

Translation A.N.