What are the main beliefs of Jehovah's Witness?

Question

I'm just curious.

Thanks for your answers. It's opened some new questions though. Why are only 144,000 chosen to go to heaven and who decides. With over 6 billion on the Earth right now and many more already born and to be born, doesn't that make sucky odds that you will be one of th chosen?

And...do they ever have parties or anything? I know they don't celebrate holidays and birthdays and I can see the reason behind that, but can they ever have fun and let their hair down?

Answer 1

First of all, thank you for your genuine curiosity. Second of all, I suggest you visit www.watchtower.org. Relying on all the answers you get from Y!A won't give you accurate or complete information.

But since you asked and the misinformation has already began:
All of our beliefs are Bible based and are not derived from the thoughts/opinions of a person.
Jehovah is God's name and He is the Almighty, our Creator and the Soverign Lord.
Jesus Christ is God's Son, he is the messiah, and faith in him and his ransom sacrifice are essential.
The Holy Spirit is God's active force, not a personage of God. Hence, we denounce the belief in the trinity as a false doctrine.
We also do not believe in the teachings of the immortality of the soul, hellfire or that all people go to heaven.
We have faith that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous, and that the majority of mankind will reside forever on a paradise Earth.
We zealously carry out the disciple making work that Jesus commanded us to do in Matthew 28:19, 20.
We strive to remain politically neutral, do not participate in warfare, remain peaceable among all men and obey the laws of the land.

Edit: The 144,000 are mentioned in Revelation as being chosen from the nations to rule as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus and God. They are anointed by Holy Spirit, so although we can't say for sure who is who, they are evidenced by their works.

With regards to living forever on Earth, why wouldn't you want to live on this beautiful planet as a perfect human, in perfect conditions, with your loved ones? Hope in a future paradise is far more appealing to me, personally, then living in heaven and ruling over the Earth.

As for parties and fun- absolutely! I don't know where this stereotype of the boring, has no fun Witness came about. We have parties and gatherings all the time! I have been to 3 baby showers in the last month, went to a party this weekend, and had the best wedding reception ever last year with 300+ of our friends and family. My husband, myself and our friends are the goofiest buch you'll ever meet :D

Answer 2

What do the Jehovah's Witnesses Teach?

1. There is one God in one person, Make Sure of All Things, p 188.
2. There is no Trinity, Let God be True, p. 100-101; Make Sure of All Things, p.386.
3. The Holy Spirit is a force, not alive, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp.406-407.
4. The Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, The Watchtower, June 1, 1952, p. 24.
5. Jehovah's first creation was his 'only-begotten Son'. . . was used by Jehovah in creating all other things", Aid to Bible Understanding, pp. 390-391.
6. Jesus was Michael the archangel who became a man, The Watchtower, May 15,1963, p. 307; The New World, 284.
7. Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 306.
8. Jesus did not rise from the dead in his physical body, Awake! July 22, 1973, p. 4.
9. Jesus was raised "not a human creature, but a spirit." Let God be True, p. 276.
10. Jesus was born again, The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1954, p. 682.
11. Jesus did not die on a cross but on a stake, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 89-90.
12. Jesus began his invisible rule over the earth in 1914, The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 300.
13. Jesus' ransom sacrifice did not include Adam, Let God be True, p. 119.
14. Their church is the self-proclaimed prophet of God, The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p. 197.
15. They claim to be the only channel of God's truth, The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 19.
16. Only their church members will be saved, The Watchtower, Feb, 15, 1979, p. 30.
17. Good works are necessary for salvation, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 150, 152.
18. The soul ceases to exist after death, Let God be True, p. 59, 60, 67.
19. There is no hell of fire where the wicked are punished, Let God be True, p. 79, 80.
20. Only 144,000 Jehovah's Witness go to heaven, Reasoning from the Scriptures,1985, pp. 166-167, 361; Let God be True, p. 121.
21. Only the 144,000 Jehovah's Witness are born again. Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 76.; Watchtower 11/15/54, p. 681.
22. Only the 144,000 may take communion,
23. Blood transfusions are a sin, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 72-73.
24. The Cross is a pagan symbol and should not be used, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 90-92.
25. Salvation is by faith and what you do, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 150,152.
26. It is possible to lose your salvation, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 358-359.
27. The universe is billions of years old, Your will Be Done on Earth, p. 43.
28. Each of the 6 creative days of God in Genesis 1, was 7000 years long. Therefore, Man was created toward the end of 42,000 years of earth's preparation, Let God be True, p. 168.
29. They also refuse to vote, salute the flag, sing the "Star Spangled Banner," or celebrate Christmas or birthdays. They are not allowed to serve in the armed forces.
30. Satan was entrusted with the obligation and charged with the duty of overseeing the creation of the earth, Children, p 55

Answer 3

To answer your follow up questions...

The 144,000 are chosen by God to rule in heaven over the subjects on the earth. It is not "sucky" to not be one of the 144,000. I'd much rather stay here on a paradise earth enjoying life the way it was meant to be for us!

We do, indeed, like to have fun! Jehovah is a happy God and we are happy people. Though we don't celebrate holidays or birthdays, we do occasionally get together for gatherings. Many also have no objections to celebrating wedding anniversaries.

Answer 4

Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination which originated in the United States with the 19th century Bible Student movement. They adopted their present name in 1931 under the leadership of Joseph Franklin Rutherford. Believing that all other religions are false, Jehovah's Witnesses reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell and the immortality of the soul. The central theme of their preaching is God’s Kingdom (that is, God's rule over the Earth) with Jesus Christ as its king. The Witnesses believe this rule began with the Second Coming or presence of Christ. Originally, this was believed to have occurred invisibly in 1874, but this date was later revised to 1914.

Witnesses believe that their faith is the restoration of first-century Christianity. In areas where they are active, they are commonly known for their door-to-door preaching and their objection to blood transfusions, and for not celebrating birthdays or holidays. Their most widely-known publications are the religious magazines The Watchtower and Awake!. Official membership of the organization, counted as those who preach each month, is 6.7 million as of August 2006.[1]

Other Witness teachings include the recognition and use of a personal name for God, translated as Jehovah in English, as vital for acceptable worship. They believe that Jesus' death was necessary to atone for the sin brought into the world by the first man, Adam, thus opening the way for the hope of everlasting life for mankind. It is also taught that 144,000 people will receive immortal life in heaven with Jesus Christ as co-rulers guiding the rest of humankind to perfection on a paradise earth during the 1000 year reign. More specifically, Witnesses believe that in the war of Armageddon, which they believe to be imminent, the wicked will be destroyed. The survivors of this event, along with individuals deemed worthy of resurrection, will form a new society ruled by a heavenly government and have the possibility of living forever in an earthly paradise.

Answer 5

1. Jesus lived in heaven as a spirit person before he came to earth. He was God's first creation, and so he is called the "firstborn" Son of God. (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14) Jesus is the only Son that God created by himself. Jehovah used the prehuman Jesus as his "master worker" in creating all other things in heaven and on earth. (Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:16, 17) God also used him as His chief spokesman. That is why Jesus is called "the Word."—John 1:1-3; Revelation 19:13.



6. Jesus died and was resurrected by God as a spirit creature, and he returned to heaven. (1 Peter 3:18) Since then, God has made him a King. Soon Jesus will remove all wickedness and suffering from this earth.—Psalm 37:9-11; Proverbs 2:21, 22.


These are from the watchtower themselves. This is two of the core problems with them. First is that he was created and not part of the "Trinity." Second, the say he came back as a spirit creature and the Bible shows that Jesus was resurected in the "flesh" otherwise how could Thomas touch him? Also why would Jesus take food and eat if not to prove himself still "human."

I agree you should take a look at their beliefs and test it against the word. I am confident that you will see that while they look good and seem right they are in fact not.

Notice at no time did I tell you my denomination as it is Jesus you need more than a denomination. But, you can email me for suggestions or keep applying this to all the various ones till you find the one that is closest to the Holy word of God.

Answer 6

You could start by checking out some of the segments on You Tube taken from the PBS feature “Knocking” which gets shown in May. Here’s the web link:
http://www.knocking.org/

Setting aside any Bible issues, my guess is that some of the irritating issues people have with them could be:

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 most 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, along with neighbors, living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every witness 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.

They encourage all their members to read the Bible and submit their thoughts. This was before the NWT and when they were using the KJV, or Authorized Version. It should be noted that this version of the KJV was not the first, but the fifth. It took four revisions over a 150 year period, before it was approved by the Church of England.

JW may have their own Bible, but it came about as a result of reading the KJV by thousands of people and noting the contradictions as a result of errors in translation. A good example is the scripture that says “The Word” is a Mighty God. A Mighty God gets its power and existence from an Almighty God. As for revisions, to my knowledge, it had not been revised since it came out in the 50s. My mother still has her first JW Bible, though it is worn like all the others she has used since them. Witnesses generally wear out a Bible every few years, whereas those in Christendom may have the same Bible for generations.

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 Nasin 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?

Answer 7

they are almost the only ones who believe Jehovah is the literal name for God and most scholars realize the name comes from the consonats of YHWH and the vowels of Adonai (lord)

they were an offshoot of an offshoot of the seventh day adventists and share some views about Jesus being Michael the Archangel and also conditionalism, the view that one;s spirit is only eternal on the condition you are saved... else it is annihilated.

they do not believe in the Trinity and in their view, Jesus is a created super angel, Michael the archangel who made the world... he came back invisibly around 1911 and began the judging of the nations although the real Jesus said when He came back 'every eye will see Him' they do not believe in the deity of Jesus, and believe Jesus ended at death and was recreated on Easter They feel their translation, The New World is the best translation although it was done anonymously and can offer no credentials of the translators you have to take their word for it

Answer 8

The Holy Spirit is an active force.
Jesus is just a man who use to be an angel.
There is no hell.
There is no soul.
The dead just cease to exist.
Only 144,000 will go to heaven the rest will populate the earth.

Answer 9

JW's believe in a version of the Bible that is totally inaccurate from the original works. They claim it is the REAL BIBLE, yet refuse to reveal who, how or where their 'bible' came from. There is no record of any group or person accessing the accepted ancient manuscripts for this purpose. How they can blindly follow such teachings based on a fraudulent work earns them cult status.

Answer 10

Jesus is a created being.
Jesus and Micheal the Archangel are one in the same.
God's people use his name Jehovah.
There is no eternal torment in hell, God anihilates unbelievers when they die.
They reject the Trinity.
They don't celebrate any holidays or birthdays.
They don't vote or participate in the political process (world governments are Satanic).