Jehovah's Witnesses

Major beliefs

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Beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses:

Jehovah's Witnesses call their faith: "the truth." ₁ They have many beliefs similar to those held by fundamentalists and other evangelical Christians, These include:

	The inerrancy of the Bible;
	The belief that God inspired the Bible's authors
	The Virgin Birth;
	Jesus giving his life as a ransom for past and future humanity;
	Opposition to divorce,
	Opposition to homosexual behavior, and pre-marital sex
	Opposition to abortion;
	The immense influence of Satan in the world;
	The validity of a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation story and rejection of the theory of evolution
	Etc.

There are many exceptions where Witnesses deviate from historical conservative Christianity:

	They do not believe in the Trinity. Instead, they follow a strict monotheism, in which: Jehovah is the Supreme Being, Jesus is the son of God, the first created being, who is separate from Jehovah. Christ is believed to have originally existed in a pre-human state as the Archangel Michael. He later took human form as a man like any other person, except that he was sinless at birth and remained so through life. After his execution, Christ was resurrected as an invisible, non-material, glorious spirit creature. He was enthroned by Jehovah as King and ruler over all creation, and "given all authority in heaven and on earth." The Holy Ghost is not a separate entity, but is an energy or force -- the method by which God interacts with the world.
	The Heavenly Kingdom took effect in 1914 with the invisible enthronement of Christ as King. It is currently occupied by a little flock or Anointed Class of about 144,000 people who were selected by God after Christ's ascension into heaven at Pentecost (33 CE) and during subsequent centuries. Some 8,500 are still living on earth; this number is declining due to deaths among the group.
	They reject the traditional symbol of Christianity, the cross, because it is of pre-Christian, pagan origin. They accept an alternative translation of the Greek word "stauros," rendering it as "torture stake." They believe that Jesus was executed by being nailed to a single upright wooden stake with no cross beam. This was a fairly common practice of the Roman army at the time of Jesus' execution.
	Christ's Second Coming has actually happened. It was not a physical return to earth. It was an invisible event in 1914 in which Satan and Christ engaged in a heavenly battle. Afterwards, Christ began to the rule the Heavenly Kingdom as King of Kings. Satan was expelled to Earth. World War I was a visible sign of Satan's ousting from Heaven and earthly imprisonment. This event marked the beginning of the woes that would accompany the "last days of this system of things."
	In the very near future, the battle of Har-Magedon (Armageddon) will begin. Jesus, under Jehovah's divine rage, will execute vengeance upon most non-Witnesses and most followers of those other religious traditions which ignore the Bible or follow interpretations of the Bible that do not agree with the Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs. The Witnesses refer to those religions as "Babylon the Great," or the "world empire of false religion" (Revelation 17). After much suffering, massive human genocide, and many upheavals, the world will be purified. The Earth will be returned to a peaceful, cleansed state ruled by Jesus Christ and populated by a "great crowd" who accept his rule and God's sovereignty. "God's Kingdom," a theocracy, will be established on earth and operate for 1,000 years. This is known as the millennium or the "New System" of things. The "other sheep" (those who survive Armageddon), will live in peace in the newly created paradise. At this point "there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15). The faithful will be granted eternal life. Others will be given a second chance to accept God's rule. Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs on this near universal resurrection are often misunderstood or misrepresented by critics of the WTS.
	After the 1,000 years of God's Kingdom, Satan and his demons will be released for a short time. They, and their human followers, will then be destroyed.
	Humans do not have an immortal soul that continues on after death. When they die, they cease to exist. With the exception of those who: Killed Jesus, Have sinned against the Holy Spirit, and God has judged to receive eternal death, all others are resurrected. God creates a new body for the resurrected one, similar to their former body, which for most had long since decomposed. The new body is mentally and physically healthy, with the original personality and memories intact. They will be judged according to their deeds.
	They totally deny the existence of the traditional Christian view of Hell as a place of punishment and torture . Satan is regarded as having created the concept of Hellfire in order to turn people against God. They believe that hell is the "common grave of mankind" where people go when they die. They are not conscious there. Unbelievers simply cease to exist at death; they are annihilated.
	The requirements for salvation are somewhat similar to those found in other conservative Protestant groups. It requires "taking in knowledge" of God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3), repentance of sins, acceptance of the sacrificial atonement of Jesus, and conforming, as much as humanly possible, to the teachings of the Christ as stated in the Bible. Good works are an expected evidence of the member's prior salvation but are not the source of salvation.
	Witnesses regard God's name, in the English language, as "Jehovah." Most Christian theologians believe that "Yahweh" is a closer approximation to the original Hebrew pronunciation.

A brief comparison of Jehovah's Witnesses to historical Christian beliefs:

Reference used:

The following information source was used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlink is not necessarily still active today.

1. Kelly Saivo, "The Truth of Jehovah's Witnesses," Gilroy Dispatch, 2006-SEP-23, at: http://www.gilroydispatch.com/

Copyright © 1996 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written on: 1996-SEP-29
Last updated on: 2009-DEC-23
Author: B.A. Robinson

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