Jehovah's Witnesses

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A five part in-depth teaching series that looks at what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach and how as Christian's we are to respond.  Please click on the PDF links to read each article in full.  

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Part 1 - An Introduction to the Jehovah's Witnesses

 

As of 2012, there are approximately 7.5 million members of Jehovah’s visible organization – aka Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide, spanning over 235 countries which were more than was represented at the London Olympic Games in which 205 countries were represented by their respective athletes.  In the UK, there is a reported 130,000 practising members.  Their infamous Watchtower magazine is the most widely circulated magazine in the world, with an average monthly print run of nearly 45,000,000 copies each month.  It is made available in 209 different languages including sign and brail.  Last year Jehovah’s Witnesses conducted a staggering 8.5 million Bible studies worldwide resulting in a quarter of a million new members being baptized worldwide.  

In this teaching we give an overview of some of the key beliefs and practices of this organisation along with a sketch of its history and beginnings.

 

 

Part 2 - The 144,000 The Trinity & Jesus Christ

 

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that there are two classes of people within its organisation.  There are those belonging to an earthly class known as the “Great Crowd” and make up 99.9% of all practising Jehovah’s Witnesses on the earth today.  Then there are those belonging to the heavenly class who are known as the “anointed class”.  The anointed class or the “little flock” consists of 144,000

In this teaching we begin to look Biblically at some of the heresies of the Watch Tower, including the doctrine of the 144,000, the doctrine of God and the Trinity and the deity and person of Jesus Christ.

 

 

Part 3 - The Deity of Jesus Christ & the Person of the Holy Spirit

 

This teaching follows on from part 2 in continuing to look at the heresies taught by the Watch Tower concerning the person and deity of Jesus Christ.  In what sense was Jesus worshiped?  Was His resurrection bodily or spiritual?  

We also explore in this teaching what Jehovah's Witnesses teach and believe about the Holy Spirit.  Is the Holy Spirit a person or simply God's active force? 

 

 

Part 4 - The Soul of Man and the Afterlife

 

Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the eternal nature of man, i.e. the continued existence of the soul of man after death and instead believe that upon death man ceases consciously to exist until such time as he is resurrected.  This doctrine is known as the doctrine of Soul Sleep.  We tackle and expose this doctrine head on in this teaching, proving from Scripture that man is more than simply a material being empowered by God's life force but that he actually is a living eternal being.  We also consider what the Watch Tower teaches regarding the doctrine of hell and eternal punishment.

 

 

Part 5 - Paradise and Salvation

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In this concluding part, we answer the question 'where will man spend eternity'.  According to Watch Tower doctrine, those who belong to God will spend eternity on paradise earth.   What does the Bible say?  We also examine the doctrine of salvation and ask the question 'how is a man saved?'  Is it by works or by grace?  What role does faith play?  Is faith works? 

We conclude by looking at some of the 'changes' in Watch Tower teaching over the last century and even into this one.