2006-11-22 03:20:46 · 17 answers · asked by lenise l 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite
That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire
While a limitted number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]
Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind
Jehovah's Witnesses' official website:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://watchtower.org/library/jt/index.htm
2006-11-22 05:23:18 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could wait until next May when this program is shown on PBS, or you can order a copy now. It was done by an independent film company.
http://www.knocking.org/
Setting aside any Bible issues, they believe in obeying the law, even the inconvenient ones, such as speed limits when late for work.
They believe in paying taxes, even though there are many ways they could avoid them, as many religions do.
They believe in keeping their word, such as to the IRS that they will not promote politics in the church, and they actually mean it.
They teach their youth that waiting until marriage is preferable to using protection, and for the most part, the youths actually believe it. As a result, they have the lowest rates of out-of-wedlock births and STDs. Yes, there is the occasional ones who would rather have their fun now than wait, but there are far more who choose to wait.
They treat their youth with respect, not just "do what you're told!" Youths are taught side by side with the adults, the Bible as a whole, and not just Bible stories. The very young may not understand what they are being taught, but by the time you reach the age of understanding, they have a good basic knowledge of the scriptures.
The congregations never get so large that the individual gets lost in the crowd. Since everyone is taught the same, it is easy to start a new congregation, with a set of elders.
Everyone knows everyone, whether in their congregation, or in their circuit. When Katrina happened, every Jehovah’s Witnesses living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every individual accounted for. How many other religions could say for certain they knew that none of those left behind belong to one of their churches?
They believe their Kingdom Halls should compliment a neighborhood, and not overwhelm it, so they are small and don’t include a lot of expensive decorative features. Each KH can hold up to four congregations.
The greatest difference between JWs and the rest of Christendom can be answered with just one question.
WHAT DAY DO YOU OBSERVE THE MEMORIAL ON?
Everyone else will falter around and perhaps come up with a day in May, but all JWs will say at sunset on Niacin 14, which falls on the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the Memorial of the Last Supper. This is the only day, aside from wedding anniversaries, that Christ said to continue keeping, yet Jehovah's Witnesses are the only Christian organization that does.
Whatever you may say about whether it is right or wrong to observe the man-made holidays created since the first congregations, the fact remains that Christendom does not observe the one day Christ said to keep. What does that say for the leaders of Christendom, that they ignore that one important day of the year, and don't even know what day it falls on?
The question of holidays gets asked a lot, yet the facts of why are clearly evident. Even the Churches of Christendom recognize that the holidays and observances are not in keeping with Bible teachings, yet they fear that doing anything about it will jeopardize their positions and power. Check any religious encyclopedia about the holidays and their history.
So the question is not why don't witnesses celebrate the holidays, but why does Christendom celebrate something not taught in the Bible? Further, why don't they know what day Christ said to observe and why don't you observe it on that day?
Whatever you may think of any of the other beliefs of JWs, you have to ask yourself is the need to observe these holidays more important than observing the day Christ said to keep?
2006-11-22 04:38:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
1) We don't deny most of the Bible, as a previous post claimed.
2) We are Christians. We believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus. We just don't believe in the trinity doctrine.
3) We don't celebrate Christmas or Easter (as a previous post claimed), we commemorate Jesus death on the day he said to in the Bible. This is different from Easter in that Easter is mostly made up of pagan fertility symbols.
4) We are different from most religions in that we go from door-to-door preaching, in fulfillment of Jesus words at Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19, 20.
5) We don't celebrate 99% of holidays because they have pagan origins.
If you really want to know more about what we believe, don't read posts on here by people who have no idea what they're talking about. Go to www.watchtower.org.
2006-11-22 03:33:14 · answer #3 · answered by Epitome_inc 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
the 144,000 is also in the king james bible also. they are anointed by Jehovah God. your bible also tells you that the meek shall inherit the earth. yes we do not celebrate the holidays because they are pagan holidays. we only celebrate Jesus death (the last supper or the passover) on Nisan 14. Jesus told us to celebrate his death and since passover is once a year we celebrate it once a year. we are not a cult, we are a religion. a cult worship a man. we worship Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ. we are in 235 lands. I am getting tired of people not knowning anything about us saying we are a cult. we do what Jesus commanded us to do at Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20. we follow the bible. a cult lives in one state. and live together. we live with our families and in our own homes. we have a computer, tv and a radio. if you want to know anything more about Jehovah Witnesses. go to a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesess or ask one when they come to your door or the website of Jehovah Witnesseses. www.watchtower.org. also we treat everyone as a family.
2006-11-22 03:29:19 · answer #4 · answered by lover of Jehovah and Jesus 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jehovah is God. As far as why are they different, if you are asking why they are different from Christians, they believe that Jehovah is God, and Jesus is God's son and is inferior to Him. Jehovah's Witnesses also have different customs, such as not celebrating holidays and not giving or receiving blood. Click on the link below for more details.
2006-11-22 03:34:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses's beliefs are solely based on the Bible. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses:
Do not go to war for any reason, in compliance with Jesus' teachings to have love for one another and to love your enemy.
Do not celebrate holidays that have pagan origins, like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.
Do not steal titles that are meant for God only, like Reverend and Father.
Do not believe in man-made doctrines like the trinity, hellfire, and the false idea that all good people go to heaven.
Remain neutral concerning politics. Jesus said his followers would be no part of the world.
Believe there are no divisions in true Christianity. 1 Cor. 1:10
2006-11-22 03:27:29 · answer #6 · answered by LineDancer 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Ask 'em when they come to your house. You want the answer, go to the source. Because you never know the authenticity of someone online. There's a website, too. www.watchtower.org
2006-11-22 03:29:31 · answer #7 · answered by CHRISTINA 4 · 6⤊ 0⤋
They are different for the same reasons that Jews, Christians, Catholics, Amish, Mennonites, Dunkards, Quakers, Church of the Brethern, etc. are different. Something for everybody.
2006-11-22 03:25:55 · answer #8 · answered by Boogerman 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I only know that they tried to predict Jesus' coming and were wrong. If they read the Bible, they would know that NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR He will return. I also know that they exclude themselves from all holidays. But they are God's children and they do accept Him as their God. If it weren't for all the religious rules and pious attitude, they could win more people to Christ.
2006-11-22 03:32:15 · answer #9 · answered by moose on the loose 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋
They do not believe in the immortal soul
They do not believe in the resurrection either
2006-11-22 04:36:47 · answer #10 · answered by righteous992003 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋