|
Jehovah's
Witnesses in a Nutshell
According to Jehovah's Witness' theology, God is a single person, not a
Trinity,
who does not know all things and is not everywhere. He first
created Michael the Archangel through whom He created all "other things,"
including the universe, the earth, Adam and Eve, etc. This
creative work took God 42,000 years. At one point, The Watchtower Bible and
Tract Society taught that God ruled the universe from somewhere
in the Pleiades star system. They have
since modified this to say that the "Pleiades can no longer be
considered the center of the universe and it would be unwise for us to
try to fix God's throne as being at a particular spot in the
universe."1 Such
changes and even contradictions in
teaching are frequent in the Watchtower organization and
when a doctrine changes, they tell their followers that the light of
truth is getting brighter.
After Adam sinned, the paradise which God had created
for them, was ruined. So, God instituted a system of redemption
which was revealed in the Bible and would ultimately lead to the
crucifixion of Jesus the messiah. But, in the meantime, God needed to have a visible,
theocratic organization on earth to accurately represent Him. Throughout history, this true organization had a
remnant of faithful Jehovah's Witnesses (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,
etc.) but it wasn't until the late 1800's that Charles Taze Russell
formerly began what is now known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society which is run out of Brooklyn, New York. This
organization claims to be the only true channel of God's truth on
earth today and that it alone can properly interpret God's word since it
is the angel directed, prophet of God on earth.
When it came time for the savior to be
born, Michael the Archangel
became a human, in the form of Jesus. Jesus grew and kept all the laws of God and
never sinned. Finally, when Jesus died, it was not on a cross, but on a
torture stake, where he bore the sins of mankind -- but this did not
include Adam's sins. Jesus rose from the dead as a spirit, not
physically (his body was dissolved and taken by God) and during his
visitations to people on earth, he manifested a temporary physical
body for them to see and touch. Thus began the true Christian
church of Jehovah's followers.
Throughout history there have been faithful
Jehovah's witnesses who have managed to keep The Truth in spite of the
"demonic" doctrine of Trinitarianism that has permeated the
Christian church in "Christendom." Christendom is
filled with pastors who are antichrists, in churches run by Satan, and
who support the earthly governments which are all of the devil.
In other words, all of Christianity is false and only the Jehovah's
Witness "theocratic" organization lead by several men in Brooklyn, New
York, is true.
In the late 1800's, a young man of 18 years,
by the name of Charles Taze Russell, organized a Bible class in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1879 he sought to popularize his ideas
on doctrine so he co-published The Herald of the Morning
magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell
controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing
Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society
(now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society). Russell served as the teacher
and guide for the organization which taught that Jesus returned
invisibly in 1914 and is now reigning in heaven. When Jesus
finally returns physical to earth, which will happen at the
time of the Battle of Armageddon, He will set up his earthly 1000 year kingdom. During this
1000 year period, people will be resurrected and have a second chance
to receive eternal salvation by following the principles of Jehovah's
Organization on earth known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
After the millennium, those who reject God and His organization will
be annihilated; that is, they will cease to exist. The rest of
the Jehovah's Witness who have
faithfully followed God's organization on earth will
be saved from eternal annihilation and reside forever on Paradise
earth. Heaven, however, is a place for a special group of
144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses -- the only ones who are "born again" and
who alone are allowed to take communion in their annual communion
service. These are the ones who have "immortal life," all
other Witnesses have "everlasting life." Those with immortal
life do not have resurrected bodies. They have "spirit bodies."
Those on Paradise Earth have everlasting life and consists of a
resurrected body that must be maintained through eating, rest, etc.
When you study with the Jehovah's Witness,
you agree to attend five meetings a week where you are taught from
Watchtower literature. You cannot be baptized until you have
studied their material for at least six months and have answered
numerous questions before a panel of elders. Men are not
supposed have long hair or wear beards and women are to dress in
modest apparel. They refuse to vote, salute the flag,
sing the "Star Spangled Banner, celebrate birthdays or Christmas, won't
take blood transfusions, and they can't join the armed forces. A
schedule of door-to-door canvassing is required where you distribute
the Watchtower literature, acquire donations, and forward all monies
to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
If you ever leave the Jehovah's Witness
organization, you are considered an apostate and are to be shunned.
___________________
1. Watchtower 11/15/53, page. 703.
Return to the
Jehovah's Witness Page
|