When most consider the phrase “Replacement Theology,” they think of the theological debate between those in the Reformed camp of Christian denominations and those in the Dispensational camp. Got Questions outlines this in their piece, “theology/supersessionism/fulfillment theology.” However, there is another “Replacement Theology” that rarely comes to mind or the pulpits of either the Reformed or Dispensational camps. That is likely because the clearest teaching on this lesser-known “Replacement Theology” comes from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, better known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, some pastors and scholars hold to some similar replacement views as the Watchtower Society does, and pass them on to their congregation, and/or Bible college or seminary students, who end up holding an extremely unbiblical view of the resurrection, not only the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but of Christians as a whole. For example, the founder of Calvary Chapel, the late Chuck Smith, held that God is preparing a body for believers in heaven, but he described that body as “spiritual” and non‑physical. His view was that the body is not raised but replaced with an entirely different body. It is indeed a “replacement theology” of a whole different kind. We must note that not all Calvary Chapel pastors hold this view, but it was Chuck Smith’s belief.

Also, Professor Emeritus of New Testament exegesis and theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, Dr. Murray J. Harris, taught that Jesus was raised bodily, but it wasn’t the same body He had been buried in. In his 1990 book, From Grave to Glory, he argued that Jesus was raised bodily but not physically or corporally. We might think of this as as “RINO: Resurrection in Name Only.” According to Harris the earthly physical body of Jesus was not integral to his resurrection body and, according to Harris, was invisible and non-corporeal in its normal state. But some may ask, what about His appearances to the disciples and the 500? Well, Jesus, Harris claimed, merely manufactured bodies for the eyes of the disciples for evidential reasons, to convince the disciples that He had been “raised.” In his view, the body Jesus said He would raise wasn’t really raised at all. Jesus, for some good reason we assume, chose to deceive the disciples by manufacturing bodies with manufactured scars. This is fundamentally the same as what the WTBTS teaches about Jesus’ resurrection. Although Harris would not phrase it this way, the “resurrection” was a scam!

The biblical view of the Resurrection is simple and straightforward. In his Gospel, John wrote against two heresies that were invading the church at that time. The Ebionites, who denied the pre-existence of the Son, and the Docetists, who denied the physicality of the Son. We wrote about this issue in “Apostolic Responses to False Teachers in the Early Church.” In John 2, the Apostle chose a story about Jesus that demonstrates the body that went into the tomb after His spirit separated from it was the same body that He raised, with added properties (glorified), and reinhabited:

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

The Jewish leaders (when the text says “the Jews,” it is most often referring to the Jewish leaders, not the Jewish people in general) took his statement to refer to the literal Temple in Jerusalem. In John’s commentary, he corrects that idea by pointing out that the Lord was speaking of His physical body, which He would later raise. In later meetings after the resurrection, Jesus provided evidence that He was indeed back in His original body, which He had raised. No replacement theology to be found here.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS) takes its replacement fallacy much further. While they claim to believe in Jesus, in their teaching, the Jesus born to Mary is merely a human replacement for Michael the Archangel. In the beginning, according to JW doctrine, Jehovah created Michael, who, under Jehovah’s direction, in turn created everything else. Later, Jehovah eliminated Michael and created a human replacement for Michael in the womb of Mary. That human replacement for Michael was Jesus Christ! Although nothing of Michael’s true essence survived this contrived “fairy tale” process, Jehovah implanted a copy of Michael’s memories into the newly minted Jesus.  This human replacement lived about 33 years, was crucified, died, and then sadly, also ceased to exist. Yes, for all time!

According to the Watchtower, the man Jesus is “dead forever dead,” with nothing of his essence – not his physical body, not the physical brain which held his memories, thoughts, etc. – ever living again. This teaching created a problem, though. With Jesus out of existence entirely, Who ascended into heaven in Acts 1 that the Apostles thought was Jesus, physically resurrected? Ah, to fix this “problem,” the Watchtower Society decided that Jehovah created yet another Archangel Michael to replace Jesus and implanted copies of the combined “memories” of Michael 1.0 and the now-defunct human Jesus into Michael 2.0. Poor Jesus walked the hot and dusty roads, endured beatings and gross humiliation, endured the cross, only to be replaced for eternity by an angel who did none of that and indeed, was blissfully out of existence that whole exhausting time! Michael did not heal the sick or raise the dead! His heart was not broken over his mother Mary’s great loss, because Mary was not his mother! But old Michael gets the glory for all eternity! It’s OK, though, because Jesus doesn’t have any knowledge of it at all. He is dead forever dead!

For a more detailed explanation of this bait and switch, see our article, “In the Beginning was Michael.” The WTBTS itself often seems confused on the issue and shows this by referring to its very own Michael 2.0 as Jesus. They find they are forced to use the name Jesus for the new Michael 2.0 in their publications because long after Jesus was supposedly replaced by Michael 2.0, the Bible has the apostles and believers referring to Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, as if He still existed! The Watchtower does not bother to explain away this identity-crisis switcharoo because they cannot possibly explain it, and their own people are taught to question nothing they are taught. The Society has a very convenient “Avoid Independent Thinking”¹The WATCHTOWER, January 15, 1983, p22 stance in order to avoid uncomfortable questions, and there can be severe consequences if any of the rank-and-file JWs DO question God’s Organization. (See our article, “Avoid Independent Thinking“)

Some years ago, we sat at our kitchen table with a Jehovah’s Witness elder, their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, and pages of their Watchtower magazine and other publications. Our questions were simple. First, do we have a soul? This one was simple, for the WTBTS is very clear that humans do not have a soul, but we allegedly are a “soul” composed of a physical body and a “life force” – which is like electricity, which does not take on any characteristics, memories, or aspects of the person it animates. It powers us but has no feelings or personality attached. The third thing making up the Watchtower’s person is a “life pattern.” A “life pattern” is a collection of your thoughts, memories, musings, personality, and beliefs. But they are physical, contained in your physical brain and, to some degree, in your physical blood. This is one of the reasons they oppose blood transfusions. What if the donor blood comes from some nefarious evil doer, like a thief, murderer or forfend, a politician? You may inadvertently transfuse parts of their personality into your body and begin sinning like them. OK, back to our discussion with the JW Elder some years back…

The Elder affirmed each of the teachings in the WTBTS material, and then Joy posed a question to him. It was a simple question. If Jehovah could create a replacement for you after you pass away, couldn’t He create a replacement “you” right now? His response was, “He wouldn’t do that.” Perhaps He wouldn’t but that avoids the question. Since there is no connection between the elder sitting there and his replacement, there is nothing preventing Jehovah from creating a replacement for him, say, in our hallway, with an up-to-the-second copy of his life pattern right now. The original man (You, dear Elder) could die right now, but that should be just fine because your replacement could step right in and take your place!  This new replacement could go home to your original wife, who was sitting right there, play with their original kids, and live the life “he” had always lived with them. And if his wife or one of his kids should pass away, no worries at all! A nice replica of his wife or child would appear to take their place. The poor man was upset, and the wife said not a word. We did remind him that this was certainly not our belief at all, reminding him that this wasn’t our teaching but the teaching of the organization he was trying to defend.

Their replacement theology doctrine gets even worse as it plays out. What the average JW never takes into account is that he will eventually be replaced, and so will his wife and children. The couple’s “copies” will have copies of their “memories” of marrying and having children, which will be the replacement spouses! They will have children she never actually gave birth to, and those children will have memories of growing up and doing things they never did. All of these “memories” include phony memories of going door to door recruiting for the WTBTS. The original creatures, who, let’s face it, DID all the work they merely “remember” – did the daily grind of studying, going to Kingdom Hall meetings, and going door-to-door – cease to exist and receive absolutely nothing. Their “replacements” will receive the rewards instead.

When Jesus said to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise,” did He mean, “Truly, I say to you, today, your replacement will be with My replacement, Michael the Archangel, in paradise”? What possible relief will such a reality bring to either of the tortured and dying men who are about to FOREVER go out of existence? There is punishment for certain but NO REWARD OF ANY KIND.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the Apostle Paul wrote:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

In reciting the simplicity of the gospel that must be believed to be saved, there was a replacement for those who believe. Christ took our place and died for our sins. Our sinfulness before the Holy God was replaced with Christ’s righteousness and holiness. His body was buried. He was raised on the third day. There is indeed a biblical replacement theology, not at all as described by the Watchtower Society. By believing the gospel, our separation from God is replaced by peace with God. Forever!Ω

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