(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.)
For Christians, there can be nothing more terrifying than a Jehovah’s Witness. We use the same words, learn about God from the same Bible, yet somehow we arrive at totally different conclusions. To make matters worse, they can often take us to countless Bible passages that prove what they’re saying while we’re left struggling to remember a single one that supports our own beliefs.
As God’s people, we desire to give the gospel to those standing as enemies of God. While this often takes the form of those who don’t even believe He exists, there are millions of people who believe in a false version of Christ. That’s why it’s so important for us to understand what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and, with that knowledge, find specific ways to tell them the glorious truth of salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
The basics of Jehovah’s Witnesses
In the 1870s, a young man named Charles Taze Russell developed an interest in biblical prophecy. Beginning with a small group of like-minded individuals, Russell soon started holding public meetings to explain the nearness of Christ’s return and the establishment of His new kingdom. Realizing that lectures wouldn’t stick with people, he soon decided to publish a monthly magazine to reinforce his teaching. Thus, the famous Watchtower magazine was created.
In time, Russell died and new leadership picked up where he left off. Jehovah’s Witnesses continued to focus on prophecies in books like Revelation or Daniel, centering most of their beliefs around Christ doing away with the current world ruled by Satan and instead establishing His own government. This new world would be perfect, free from sin and those unbelievers who God chooses not to remember.
Jehovah’s Witnesses get their name from two sources. “Jehovah” is the Latin version of “Yahweh,” the biblical name of God, and the name they believe He must be called if we want Him to hear us (based loosely on Acts 4:12). A “witness” is someone convinced of a certain truth. Thus, these are literally “witnesses of Jehovah,” people who understand the truths of God and deliver them to others.
To Jehovah’s Witnesses, the world-ending Armageddon is always near. Despite a series of failed prophecies and changed doctrines, much of what they do revolves around the belief that Christ will return and remake everything perfectly. The faithful population will be “recreated” and live on a perfect Earth, but 144,000 “anointed ones” will spend their new lives in Heaven as rulers over Christ’s kingdom. The core of being a Jehovah’s Witness is to live a life of faith so that God will “remember” you in the new kingdom.
The religion is a mix of faith and works. They believe that Christ’s death is what saves us, but our works prove that we have faith. The teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses, called “The Truth,” is studied and upheld by a group called the “Governing Body,” a group of men at the religion’s headquarters who are responsible for teaching and affirming doctrine through the monthly Watchtower magazine and other resources.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are an off-shoot of Christianity and primarily started as an attempt to recapture the true roots of our faith. They believe that much of modern Christianity is grounded in paganism, from our beliefs about the Trinity to our use of the cross in worship. Members of the religion primarily want to help others see the truth of the Bible instead of believing a corrupt tradition. These beliefs are found in what they see as a more accurate Bible translation, the New World Translation, along with the teachings taught by the Governing Body in the Watchtower magazine.
Answer the 5 big questions
An essential part of any belief system is how it answers some of the biggest questions about life. Understanding what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about these things will not only give us insight into how they live their lives but how we can talk to them with love and understanding. For more discussion on what these questions mean or why they’re necessary, please read the introduction to this series here.
A note on some terms:
Jehovah’s Witnesses seem to use the terms Watchtower, Governing Body, or the Society (based on The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the organization’s publisher) somewhat interchangeably. I’ll primarily use the term Governing Body when talking about the source of teachings and study material for Jehovah’s Witnesses as it sounds slightly less ominous. However, it’s important to understand that the materials printed by the Governing Body (the Watchtower magazine, etc.) are often where teachings are found.
Also, although they regularly use the term “Jehovah,” I’ll be using “God” for the sake of quick reading.
#1 Where did everything come from?
Although God created the universe, science holds a better explanation than the Christian tradition of creationism. Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t anti-science and embrace the fact that God is powerful enough to create everything but chose to use guided evolution as His method. This is supported by “day” not always being a literal 24-hour period (such as in Psalm 90:4), as well as Genesis 1:1 clearly stating that the earth existed long before life existed.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him,and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. (John 1:1-3, New World Translation)
Using this passage, Jehovah’s Witnesses agree with the Christian tradition that God created everything through Christ. However, the most significant point of difference is that they believe Christ isn’t God and was, in fact, the first creation (hence the term “only begotten son” in John 3:16 and “firstborn of creation” in Colossians 1:15). Thus Christ is a god in the same way as angels, meaning He’s a spiritual being. Yet what sets Christ apart, and why He was worthy to create everything else, is because He’s an archangel, sometimes referred to in the Bible as “the archangel Michael.”
#2 How do we find truth?
Our primary source of truth is the Bible. Although the New World Translation is superior, correcting many translation errors and corruptions, Witnesses will regularly carry a copy of the King James with them for people who are more comfortable reading from it. It is evident from their official website, JW.org, that they use God’s word to support everything they do and believe.
However, there is a danger in how we read this sacred text. An untrained person trying to interpret the Bible can be led down a path of unbelief and false understanding. That’s why the Watchtower, and by extension any material created by the Governing Body, is necessary. While the world shows us that people can twist the Bible through ignorance or maliciousness, Jehovah’s Witnesses have the wisdom and leadership of the Governing Body to guide them to truth. This group consists of men who are “anointed” and serve as God’s prophets today, delivering the word of God through their rulings and printed materials.
In short, the Bible is the main source of truth, but the teachings of the Governing Body are how we understand what that truth actually means.
But just as Witnesses are encouraged to immerse themselves in the truth of God and His prophets, there is just as much importance in avoiding the world’s lies. Jehovah’s Witnesses regularly isolate themselves from secular entertainment and education, especially as they grow older and seek instruction from a secular university. These things are worldly and put us at risk for corruption. Although an adult may not be outright shunned for seeking formal education, there is little reason to seek the world’s wisdom in place of spiritual education.
#3 What’s our purpose?
In a broad sense, our purpose in life is to live as God intended. That means seeking truth and understanding God’s will. When Adam and Eve sinned, they gave up that purpose for sin. But because Christ gave His perfect life as a ransom for the innocent life Adam lost, we can be restored and live eternally with God.
More specifically, we want to live good lives so we can enter the Kingdom. Of course, it’s not just about being a good person. We want to resist sin, seek holiness, and follow the teachings of the Bible as explained by the Governing Body.
Jehovah’s Witnesses accomplish this in many ways. There is a significant focus on moral living as taught by the leadership. This includes rejecting things like holidays, school dances, parties, any form of sexual activity before marriage, television, music, etc. If we, or a church leader, find something with little spiritual value, then rejecting it will help prove our faith.
Beyond personal holiness, there is an emphasis on being a “publisher.” These are the Jehovah’s Witnesses people are most familiar with – those who go door-to-door handing out tracts, copies of Watchtower, and telling people about salvation. Although there’s no set number of hours a publisher is required to commit to, they are encouraged to at least aim for the national average, which seems to be around 10 hours.
An individual can find other ways to serve God in their specific situation, but the goal is often to focus on those in their Kingdom Hall, or in service to the greater body of Jehovah’s Witnesses by serving the group’s headquarters. Overall, the goal of an individual’s life is to serve God by being obedient to the truth of the Bible and serving others. With enough time spent demonstrating a person’s faith through their works, a Witness may find themselves worthy of Baptism, and thus a greater assurance of their salvation as long as they keep living by faith.
#4 What is right and wrong?
This is tied closely to our purpose in life. If we want to fulfill our purpose of living good lives so we can enter the Kingdom, we must know what those things are. We want to fulfill our purpose by living good lives as taught in the Bible and understood by the Governing Body.
We understand right and wrong in terms of sin. If sin is anything that goes against God or His will, then good and right are understood as those things that God approves. Thus, “right and wrong” really boil down to “God or not God.”
Unlike many religions, there’s no real “grey area” on what is right. Music and TV are often rejected because they aren’t directly beneficial to our walk with God, so all they can be is a distraction. If something has no direct spiritual value, including celebrating a birthday or spending money on ourselves, it’s considered wrong. These beliefs often make Jehovah’s witnesses outcasts, but even that is seen as evidence that they’re doing right in an evil world.
#5 What happens when we die?
Although Jehovah’s Witnesses find similarities with mainstream Christianity in many areas, this is where they differ the most. (This section will cover the basics of the afterlife, but greater detail will be given in Part 2)
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward, because all memory of them is forgotten… Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave, where you are going. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10 New World Translation)
At death, a person immediately ceases to exist. The soul is the same thing as our body, so it can and will die. Yet Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that by rejecting the idea of an eternal soul, the resurrection takes on a greater purpose and demands even more faith.
Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29 New World Translation)
The memory of the righteous one is due for a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. (Proverbs 10:7 New World Translation)
There are two types of resurrections. Most people will be resurrected to a perfect Earth and live in Christ’s Kingdom forever. The “anointed,” numbering 144,000, will instead enjoy a Heavenly resurrection and sit as rulers over the Kingdom’s government.
The resurrection is not a matter of our eternal souls returning to our mortal bodies. Instead, God chooses to “remember” those who did good and obeyed Him throughout their lives. We see evidence of this in the term “memorial tombs,” as well as the language used in Proverbs 10:7.
God’s memory can be understood like this: Just as our flawed minds can remember our childhood friends, including their voice and mannerisms, so God’s perfect memory of us will recreate everything about who we are, yet without sin. Although one does not need to be a Jehovah’s Witness to be remembered by God, those who are baptized into this true church and remain faithful to its teachings can be sure of their salvation and resurrection. Likewise, those who choose to leave or are removed from the Jehovah’s Witnesses have almost no hope of being remembered.
That does it for our look into the basic beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Part 2 we’ll take a deeper look into specific areas of the religion, including things like failed prophecies, familiar terms with very different definitions, and other issues we should know.
