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Jehovah’s Witness’ Core Belief
Okbe Zemede
St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
New Orleans, LA
April 24, 2013 @ 1-2 P.M.
Overview
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The Name, Jehovah’s Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for their doorto-door preaching, distributing literature such as The
Watchtower and Awake!
The name, “Jehovah's Witnesses”, was adopted in
1931 to distinguish themselves from other Bible
Student groups.
Jehovah = “Yehowah" or "Yahweh“ and it means God
in Hebrew
The Name, Jehovah’s Witness
Their name is based on the following concept
10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant
whom I have taken for myself: so that you may see and
have faith in me, and that it may be clear to you that I am
he; before me there was no God formed, and there will
not be after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no
savior but me. 12 I gave the word, and made it clear, and
there was no strange god among you: for this reason you
are my witnesses, says the Lord. (Isaiah 43:10–12)
The Watchtower association
The Watchtower association is likened to the ark of Noah
(the only place of safety), and the outside world is seen as a
“system dominated by Satan the Devil” whose end at the
battle of Armageddon is imminent. (http://4jehovah.org/help-jw-become.php)
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Governing Body (Head qaurter)  Brooklyn, New York
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Organizational structure  Hierarchical
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Congregations  111,719.
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Members  7.78 million
Source: Statistics from 2013 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses
Schism in Christianity
Mormons 1820s
Seventh Day Adventists 1863
Jehovah Witnesses 1870
Christian Science 1879
Scientology 1954
New Age 1960s
Reformed
Presbyterianism
Pentecostal
Baptists
Lutheran
Methodists
Church of God
Quakers
-- Mennonites and Amish
-- Church of the Nazarene
Non Chalcedonean Orthodox
Undivided
Church
33
Armenian, Coptic, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Indosyrian, Syrian
451
1054
1521
1800s
Time
1870 - 1916
Bible Student movement’s
Leadership
Pastor Charles
Russell
Joseph Franklin Rutherford in
1917-1941
Laymen’s Home Missionary
Movement
Nathan H. Knorr
1942 -1977
Governing Body
1977 - present
Associated Bible Students
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Watch Tower Society
Free Bible Students
Common Traits
They refuse military service
They refuse blood transfusions.
They do not observe Christmas, Easter,
birthdays, or other holidays and customs
they consider to have pagan origins
incompatible with Christianity
Organ donation is optional
Core Belief
 They have their own Bible, New World Translation
 They adhere strictly to
‘The Watchtower and Awake! “Bible-based magazine”
 They believe in one God, the Creator of the universe.
 They believe Jesus is the Archangel Michael
Source: http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel/
Core Belief
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They reject Christ’s “Fully God, Fully Man”
They reject Trinity
They reject the immortality of the soul
They reject hell & hellfire
They consider the above to be unscriptural doctrines
The Watch Tower Society Bible
They use their own translation of the Bible the New World Translation as their only source.
The Watchtower and Awake! “ Bible-based
magazine” is second source to Bible.
The New World Translation was translated in 1961
by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
As of March 2013, the Watch Tower Society has
published 181 million copies of the New World
Translation in 117 language editions
Often, the verses presented represent radical
departures from orthodox Christian beliefs.
God
Jehovah's Witnesses believe in one God, the
Creator of the universe.
They stress that God has revealed his personal
name to humanity, which is Jehovah.
Jehovah has a spirit body and lives in heaven.
 They reject the doctrine of the Trinity.
They reject the existence of Hell.
They expect the arrival of Armageddon & the end
times.
Is Jesus Christ an exalted creature?
“Jesus is God’s appointed Judge who determines
what each one’s future will be. http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article31.htm#bible
They teach that Jesus was God's first creation.
(Colossians 1:15)
Christ existed in pre-human form as God's agent of
creation and God's chief spokesman (the Word),
He took on human form as the man Jesus by means
of a virgin birth.
Is Jesus Christ the archangel Michael ?
They believe that Jesus Christ is actually the
archangel Michael because, Michael, means “who
is like God.“ in Hebrew.
“They further take this to mean that Jesus is not
the eternal God but a highly exalted spirit creature,
in fact the greatest of all created spirit beings,
since to them Michael is a creature.” (Sam Shamoun).
Is Jesus Christ the archangel Michael ?
By their Inductive Reasoning
In the book of Daniel, Michael is battling
wicked angels; in the letter of Jude, he is
disputing with Satan; and in Revelation, he is
waging war with the Devil and his demons. By
defending Jehovah’s rulership and fighting
God’s enemies, Michael lives up to the
meaning of his name—“Who Is Like God?” But
who is Michael?
Who Is Michael the Archangel? at http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel/
Is Jesus Christ the archangel Michael ?
By their Inductive Reasoning
The Bible states that “Michael and his angels
battled with the dragon…and its angels.”(Rev 12:7).
Thus, Michael is the Leader of an army of
faithful angels.
Revelation also describes Jesus as the
Leader of an army of faithful angels. (Rev 19:14-16)
Who Is Michael the Archangel? at http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel/
Is Jesus Christ the archangel Michael ?
By their Inductive Reasoning
The apostle Paul mentions “the Lord Jesus”
and “his powerful angels.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7; Matthew 16:27; 24:31; 1
Peter 3:22)
 So the Bible speaks of both Michael and “his
angels” and Jesus and “his angels.”(Matthew 13:41)
Since God’s Word nowhere indicates that
there are two armies of faithful angels in
heaven—one headed by Michael and one
headed by Jesus—it is logical to conclude that
Michael is none other than Jesus Christ in his
heavenly role.*
Who Is Michael the Archangel? at http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel/
The purpose of Christ’s incarnation
The incarnation on earth was threefold in their view:
(1) To teach the truth about God;
(2) to provide a model of a perfect life for people
(3) to sacrifice his life to set humans free from sin
and death.
His crucifixion was not on a cross, but a single
upright stake.
After his death, God raised Jesus from the dead "as
a spirit creature" and Jesus returned to heaven.
They believe Jesus is a mighty God and Jehovah is
the almighty.
In What Way Are Jesus and His Father One?
“I and the Father are one,”
(John 10;30)
Jesus and his Father, Jehovah God, are also “one” in the
sense that they are in complete agreement as to intentions,
standards, and values. “The Son cannot do a single thing of
his own initiative, but only what he beholds the Father
doing,”
Jesus explained. “For whatever things that One does, these
things the Son also does in like manner.”​—John 5:19;
14:10; 17:8.
“I and the Father are one,”
(John 10;30)
 A wonderful unity—the closest bond possible between
two persons
 No one would conclude that this son and his father were
the same person. But all could perceive the strong bond
of unity between them.
 Jesus is not God—whose name is Jehovah—but he is the
Son of God. Jehovah resurrected Jesus from the dead.
(Romans 10:9)
Source:- The Watchtower 2009-09-01
The Holy Spirit
In accordance with their rejection of the doctrine
of the Trinity, they deny that the Holy Spirit is
one of the three Persons in the Godhead.
Instead, they believe the Holy Spirit to be
"God's active force." ∞ Electricity
Source:- http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/baptism-and-your-relationship-with-god/
Practice of Baptism
Baptism involves complete immersion in water,
Matthew 3:16.
Steps leading to baptism begin with taking in
knowledge and showing faith followed by repentance,
conversion, and the dedicating of oneself to God.—John
17:3; Acts 3:19; 18:8.
To make a dedication to Jehovah, you must disown
yourself, Mark 8:34.
Baptism symbolizes dying to one’s former way of life
and becoming alive to do God’s will.—1 Peter 4:2.
Being baptized into an "Organization" rather than the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Human Nature
Jehovah's Witnesses trace humanity's current
situation to the sin of Adam and Eve in
the Garden.
The disobedience of the first man caused death
to enter the world, and as a result, all human
beings get sick, age and die.
However,
Human Nature
However,
they do not emphasize the spiritual
consequences of Adam's sin on humanity
nor they teach that human free will has been
damaged.
The Witnesses expect and encourage their
members to strive to do God's will and remain
pure in his eyes.
Meaning of Life & Salvation
For them, the purpose of life is to earn the right to
participate in God's future Kingdom on earth.
They therefore focus on living a moral, acceptable
life before God and witnessing about their faith to
others.
They believe that salvation was made possible
through Christ's death. But
Meaning of Life & Salvation
But eternal life comes not simply from faith in Jesus
but from "learning about Jehovah and obeying
his requirements,”
proving oneself to be God's loyal subject, and
listening to the Kingdom message and acting on it.
After Life
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the existence of hell.
 Annihilation - They hold that the souls of the wicked
will be annihilated or cease to exist. To them Hell is
synonymous with the “grave” and that the biblical term of
second death means extinction.
Heaven - Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only
144,000 people went to heaven (in 1914) to rule with God
& Jesus (Rev 7:4). This group is called the remnant, little
flock or anointed class (New Heavens and A New Earth, p. 169).
Paradise Earth - The remainder of the righteous will
enjoy paradise on earth - a restored Garden of Eden in
which there is no sickness, old age, death or
unhappiness. (Psalms 37:8)
Summary
 They have their own Bible,
New World Translation.
 They believe in one God, the
Creator of the universe but
they reject Christ’s “Fully
God, Fully Man”.
 They believe Jesus Christ is
the Archangel Michael.
 They reject Trinity.
 They reject ithe immortality
of the soul.
 They reject hellfire.
 Christ’s crucifixion was not on
a cross, but a single upright
stake.
 Jesus is "a spirit creature"
 They believe that the souls of
the wicked will be annihilated
or cease to exist.
 Jehovah's Witnesses believe
that only 144,000 people went
to heaven (in 1914) to rule
with God and Jesus.
 The remainder of the
righteous will enjoy paradise
on earth.
 Being baptized into
an "Organization" rather than
the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
 they believe the Holy Spirit to
be "God's active force." ∞
Electricity