What exactly is a Jehovah's Witness? I'm not wanting to convert I just have always been curious.?

Question

I want to gain more of an understanding for them. They have always been critized as 'pushy' and 'agressive' to convert non-believers. I'm a Catholic and we are always critized for everything. I just want to gain a better understanding and respect for them.

Answer 1

one of the things that I have found fascinating about JWs since I began looking into their faith is all of the people who call them names like 'cult' and tell you that they dont believe in the Bible or Jesus. The more people I saw displaying hatred toward them made me all the more want to know first hand exactly what they believe.
If the world just ignored them, I would have never been curious, but because of all the name-callers and haters I just had to check them out for myself and this is what I found:

I can tell ya from my study of all the worlds major belief systems over the past 25 years (including JWs) and intensive study of the Bible that it seems to me that JWs interpretation of prophesy does gel with the Scriptures and they are definitely the largest organization of Christians wherein *every* member is *continually* preaching God's Kingdom for their entire lives like Jesus did. So I give them a lot of credit!

Here are the basic Bible truths that will help you understand why the JWs are the way they are:

God created mankind from the dust of the earth and He intended mankind to live forever and never die in that paradisaical Eden which was to be expanded to include the entire planet. God doesnt make mistakes, but satan tricked the first humans and told them they wouldn't die if they disobeyed God but that they would become like God. So they sinned and died. They did not go to heaven. Mankind was never intended to be in heaven, mankind was created from the dust of the earth to live on earth.

Its interesting to note that satan deceived Eve by lying to her and telling her she would not die (Genesis 3:4) now most religions in the world teach that after your body dies that you go on living in some other realm... that you do not die...

Most of the world's religions still believe in satan's original lie. You will find very few religions that believe YHWH/Jehovah who gave Solomon the wisdom to write Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20 & 9:5, and David to write Psalm 146:4 and Moses to record what YHWH told Adam at Genesis 3:19 telling us exactly what happens to us when we die. And when is the resurrection of those who are asleep in death?
Yhshua/Jesus tells us at John 5:28, 29; John 11:11
And before that Daniel was told by YHWH to write Daniel 12:2. All these Scriptures expose satan's first deception that "you will not die" as the satanic lie that it is!

Only a few are "bought from the earth";
God's original purpose for mankind, which He made from the dust of the earth, was to have everlasting life in Eden/Paradise on earth. He will restore that original purpose, and the few who were "bought from the earth" will rule with Christ over that "new earth".

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'

Revelation 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Revelation 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.

Revelation 5:9, 10 And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou hast been slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to our God kings and priests; and they shall reign over the earth.

Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

Revelation 21:1-4 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead -- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became, for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence, then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power -- for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet -- the last enemy is done away -- death; for all things He did put under his feet, and, when one may say that all things have been subjected, [it is] evident that He is excepted who did subject the all things to him, and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all.

So, all those Scriptures explain who and how many go to heaven and why and what they will do and for how long and what will happen after the 1,000 years.

the question I had was 'why do all JWs preach from door to door?

1 Peter 2:21- For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps

Luke 4:43- But He said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.'

Matthew 4:17- From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'

Matthew 10:7- And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand

Luke 10:1-3- Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Acts 20:20- I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house

1 Corinthians 9:16- For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

Romans 10:10- How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!'

2 Timothy 4:2-5- preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Yhshua/Jesus was sent by YHWH/Jehovah to show us the way to inherit the Kingdom. I love all the Scriptures that speak about the restoration of the Garden of Eden/Paradise that the first humans forsook in their greedy desire to "be like God". YHWH/Jehovah and His son Yhshua/Jesus designed this planet to be a paradise and they designed humankind to be perfect and never die; their original design was temporarily ruined by satan, but it will soon be restored and satan's way of divided governments, politics, greed and war will be destroyed. HALLE LU JAH ! !

Isaiah 65:17-25
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.

Psalm 37:9-11
For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Proverbs 2:21
For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.

Revelation 21:2-7
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true. And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

2 Peter 3:13
But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Isaiah 45:18
For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.

Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

agape!

.

Answer 2

Thank YOU for asking.
A human being,
that has made a hard and sincere search for the truth of God's Word. A dad, a mom, a child, an Aunt, Uncle etc...

Our beliefs are based solely on the Bible,
God's written Word,
the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel.
That God has a personal name, Ps. 83:18; Ex 6:3.

What we don't believe, as 'not' taught in the Bible:
No Trinity--Deut. 6:4; Luke 22:42; Romans 5:12
No Immortal Soul--Ecc. 9:5
Resurrection--Acts24:15
No Hellfire--Jer. 7:31
No Fate--Romans 14:12
No Clergy Class--Luke 18:14; Matt. 23:4-12
No Idolatry--John 4:24
Neutral in Politics--John 17:16; Romans 13:1,5-7
High Moral Standards--John 15:12,13
The Approaching End of This World--Dan 2:44

No individual is born a Witness of Jehovah.
Every single Witness makes a personal decision.
After making an honest search of God's Word,
the searcher recognizes truth,
and on this basis he dedicates himself to the true God, whose name is Jehovah.

edit: 'my2cents'
THANK YOU!!
thank you for the insight,
I pray others take this to heart.

And for the female that said we don't own a dictionary/ encyclopedia, what a load of rubbish! When I 1st started studying, I did EXACTLY that! I even went to the public library and LOOKED all things up. How would I know if what I was being taught was true! I came across the realization, that the name itself means that they are witnessing about the true God, then I took up a Bible study w/ a Sister, then started checking everything out @ the library. And, I am not baptized as a Witness of Jehovah, (yet).
And yet I recognize truth

Also, true if u look up the word 'cult' it does "include"
"religious faith" of "ALL" kinds, I looked it up!
when persons here @ Y/A's said we are a cult.

O yeah; as to the brainwashing comments;
THAT'S RIGHT! I Love; the accurate Knowledge of God's Word that has washed my brain free of this dead and dying world's influence.

There is no afterlife--immortal soul; i.e. heaven or hell;
see Ecc. 9:5-- "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all."
YOU have NOT? heard of the resurrection?
Acts 24:15--"there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."
Or what about 1Thess. 4:13,14?

Answer 3

Sincere and kind people with good hearts that follow the bible as closely as they can. They want what everyone essentially wants: peace, love, family,understanding and a meaningful relationship with the true God Jehovah. They genuinely love all people, no matter the race or color. They are regular everyday people that were searching for light in this dark world, found it and want to help you to find it, As Jesus did for the common people in his day and they are the nicest people you can find.

Answer 4

Nothing wrong with asking, but the Watchtower will have all the information you're looking for. I'm sure the JWs here have made that abundantly clear. You may want to have your priest's phone number handy though, they will get into the Greek and it takes someone with some education to refute them, otherwise their definitions of some words will get you confused right from the start. They are schooled well enough in their theology to be a formidable opponent in debate, so at least be prepared to go back and forth with the priest & those in the know, on each issue you're curious about.

Answer 5

we are mothers, fathers, and children just like anyone else. we worship Jehovah God and do what Jesus Christ commanded at Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20. we are not a cult as many people keep saying. a cult worships a man. we live in our own homes and many do work. we are in 236 lands worldwide. if we where a cult as many say, we would be living together. we also do studying of the bible and have five meetings a week. two hours on Sunday. the first hour an elder (pastor) either in our kingdom hall or a visiting elder. will give a talk, then we have the watchtower. and we can answer from the heart or from the watchtower. on Tuesday we have a meeting a small meeting, either at the kingdom hall or someones home and this is called a book study, right now we are studying the revelation book, and on Thursday for two hours, we have a school. if you want to learn what we are all about please see the website at www.watchtower.org. we follow the bible and we did not make up the bible. yes, we don't celebrate holidays because they are man made. we do celebrate Jesus Christ memorial every year on Nisan 14, the last supper all around the world. Jesus was not born on dec 25. he told us to celebrate his death and since passover is once a year, we celebrate it once a year. we are not brainwashed. we have free will. we can leave if we want to. people who turned there backs on Jehovah God will slander us. and this is not true

Answer 6

Thank you for asking, not many do.

First of all, we do believe in Christ Jesus and that he came to the earth and died for our sins. We believe that God and Jesus are separate people, not the Trinity that others believe.

We do believe that God created the world and everything in it. We do not believe in evolution or that God used evolution to create the earth.

We do believe that when you die you are dead, you do not have a spirit that goes to another place. Hell is the common grave of mankind, not an eternal fiery place where people are tortured forever. We believe there are 144,000 people of all nations that will be going to heaven. The rest called the "great crowd" in Revelation, will live on an earth that will be restored to paradise. It was God's will for humans to live on the earth forever in paradise, God's will hasn't changed.

We follow God's word, all the commandments and principles found there. We stay separate from the world in the sense that we don't share in it's fads or attitudes. We are hated by many people around the world and are persecuted more than any others.

Our Bible was translated word for word from original texts of the Bible. Nothing was added or taken away from the texts as some claim.

Our religion is the only one that has love among them. We do not go to war to kill our brothers as many of other religions do.

We preach the good news wherever we are, and we are in 236 lands around the world. If you were to ask a Jehovah's Witness what he believes in Africa, Asia or Australia, you would get the same answer and they would show you the same scriptures to prove what they were saying. Can that be said of any other religion?

These are just a few things that make us different from everyone else.

Answer 7

Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians who understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus is a real government which 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

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://jw-media.org/beliefs/trueworship.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_07.htm

Answer 8

WHAT JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BELIEVE
Belief+ Scriptural Reason
Bible is God's Word and is truth 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; John 17:17
Bible is more reliable than tradition Matt. 15:3; Col. 2:8
God's name is Jehovah Ps. 83:18; Isa. 26:4; 42:8, AS; Ex. 6:3
Christ is God's Son and is inferior to Him Matt. 3:17; John 8:42; 14:28; 20:17; 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28
Christ was first of God's creations Col. 1:15; Rev. 3:14
Christ died on a stake, not a cross Gal. 3:13; Acts 5:30
Christ's human life was paid as a ransom for obedient humans Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; 1 Pet. 2:24
Christ's one sacrifice was sufficient Rom. 6:10; Heb. 9:25-28
Christ was raised from the dead as an immortal spirit person 1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:17, 18
Christ's presence is in spirit John 14:19; Matt. 24:3; 2 Cor. 5:16; Ps. 110:1, 2
We are now in the 'time of the end' Matt. 24:3-14; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Luke 17:26-30
Kingdom under Christ will rule earth in righteousness and peace Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-5; Dan. 7:13, 14; Matt. 6:10
Kingdom will bring ideal living conditions to earth Ps. 72:1-4; Rev. 7:9, 10, 13-17; 21:3, 4
Earth will never be destroyed or depopulated Eccl. 1:4; Isa. 45:18; Ps. 78:69
God will eliminate present system of things in the battle at Har-Magedon Rev. 16:14, 16; Zeph. 3:8; Dan. 2:44; Isa. 34:2; 55:10, 11
Wicked will be eternally destroyed Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:6-9
People God approves will receive everlasting life John 3:16; 10:27, 28; 17:3; Mark 10:29, 30
There is only one road to life Matt. 7:13, 14; Eph. 4:4, 5
Human death is due to Adam's sin Rom. 5:12; 6:23
The human soul ceases to exist at death Ezek. 18:4; Eccl. 9:10; Ps. 6:5; 146:4; John 11:11-14
Hell is mankind's common grave Job 14:13, Dy; Rev. 20:13, 14, AV (margin)
Hope for dead is resurrection 1 Cor. 15:20-22; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26
Adamic death will cease 1 Cor. 15:26, 54; Rev. 21:4; Isa. 25:8
Only a little flock of 144,000 go to heaven and rule with Christ Luke 12:32; Rev. 14:1, 3; 1 Cor. 15:40-53; Rev. 5:9, 10
The 144,000 are born again as spiritual sons of God 1 Pet. 1:23; John 3:3; Rev. 7:3, 4
New covenant is made with spiritual Israel Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:10-13
Christ's congregation is built upon himself Eph. 2:20; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42
Prayers are to be directed only to Jehovah through Christ John 14:6, 13, 14; 1 Tim. 2:5
Images should not be used in worship Ex. 20:4, 5; Lev. 26:1; 1 Cor. 10:14; Ps. 115:4-8
Spiritism must be shunned Deut. 18:10-12; Gal. 5:19-21; Lev. 19:31
Satan is invisible ruler of world 1 John 5:19; 2 Cor. 4:4; John 12:31
A Christian ought to have no part in interfaith movements 2 Cor. 6:14-17; 11:13-15; Gal. 5:9; Deut. 7:1-5
A Christian should keep separate from world Jas. 4:4; 1 John 2:15; John 15:19; 17:16
Obey human laws that do not conflict with God's laws Matt. 22:20, 21; 1 Pet. 2:12; 4:15
Taking blood into body through mouth or veins violates God's laws Gen. 9:3, 4; Lev. 17:14; Acts 15:28, 29
Bible's laws on morals must be obeyed 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Heb. 13:4; 1 Tim. 3:2; Prov. 5:1-23
Sabbath observance was given only to Israel and ended with Mosaic Law Deut. 5:15; Ex. 31:13; Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:9, 10; Col. 2:16, 17
A clergy class and special titles are improper Matt. 23:8-12; 20:25-27; Job 32:21, 22
Man did not evolve but was created Isa. 45:12; Gen. 1:27; Matt. 19:4
Christ set example that must be followed in serving God 1 Pet. 2:21; Heb. 10:7; John 4:34; 6:38
Baptism by complete immersion symbolizes dedication Mark 1:9, 10; John 3:23; Acts 19:4, 5
Christians gladly give public testimony to Scriptural truth Rom. 10:10; Heb. 13:15; Isa. 43:10-12

Edit
You can look these scriptures up in ANY Bible to find the Truth, Do you think that God, himself cannot protect his own Word the Bible?

Answer 9

In the last century and a half (since the industrial revolution) several new denominations were created in the US. Most of them were very devout but were dissatisfied with all the pagan rituals and non-biblical dogma in the Catholic religion.

Their founders went "back to the Bible" to create new interpretations based on newer translation and concepts. Established denominations often spoke out against them, calling them cultists and non-Christians.

From the perspective of a non-Christian, it does not make much difference to me.

Answer 10

Jehovah's Witnesses are people who follow the Bible.

That simple.

Answer 11

For all the answers to all your questions about Jehovah's Witnesses, always go to the ONLY official site:
http://www.watchtower.org/
Answers from any other site are probably misleading.

Anyhow, this link explains all our beliefs for ones who are curious, like you.
http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_03.htm
Anything we teach & believe is Bible-based & NO< we do not have our OWN BIBLE!!! It is just one Bible translation that has been based on Original Greek & Hebrew writings.