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Jehovah's Witnesses." in James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (Eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements

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Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah’s Witnesses Author: Sarah Harvey Published: 15th January 2021 Sarah Harvey. "Jehovah's Witnesses." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. 15 January 2021. Retrieved from www.cdamm.org/articles/jehovahs-witnesses. Introduction Jehovah’s Witnesses are the followers of a Christian-based religion perhaps best known for their ‘door-to- door’ evangelizing activities. It is a millennialist religion, with followers believing that we are living in the Last Days and that Armageddon is fast approaching. During the battle of Armageddon, it is believed, Jesus will return to defeat the current rulers and imprison Satan for a period of a thousand years, the Millennium. Jesus will then return to heaven, from where he will rule over the earth, with the help of the ‘anointed class’ of 144,000. The earth will be transformed into a paradise over the period of the Millennium and the saved will have restored physical bodies to enjoy everlasting life on earth. 1914 is believed by Jehovah’s Witnesses to mark the beginning of the ‘End Times’. Jehovah’s Witnesses are also known for their refusal of blood transfusions; for not taking part in political, military, or interfaith activities; and for not celebrating Christmas, Easter, or birthdays. This article outlines the history, beliefs, and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses before turning to a discussion of apocalyptic and millenarian beliefs. It ends with a note on sources. Introduction and Founding Initially known as Bible Students, Jehovah’s Witnesses originated in America in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the teachings of Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916) and his associates. Russell was something of a religious seeker, establishing friendships with teachers in the Adventist movement including Jonas Wendell, George Stetson, and Nelson Barbour, although he claimed never to have been an Adventist himself (Chryssides 2016, 47). Like these individuals, Russell engaged in studying the Bible and he sold the cloth merchant and haberdashery business he had inherited in order to finance his preaching and publishing activities. In the early 1870s, he established a Bible study movement—the International Bible Students Association—in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1879, Russell published the magazine Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, which would become the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ main publication, The Watchtower. This magazine, as the title suggests, had an apocalyptic theme and discussed the imminence of Armageddon, the return of Jesus to defeat Satan, and the subsequent establishment of theocratic government in heaven and paradise on earth. In the early 1880s, Sarah Harvey. "Jehovah's Witnesses." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. 15 January 2021. Retrieved from www.cdamm.org/articles/jehovahs-witnesses. Downloaded: 15-01-2021 Russell established the Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society. In 1908, he moved the headquarters of this organization from Pittsburgh to Brooklyn, New York, where it remained until it moved to Warwick, New York, in 2017. (There remain two incorporated societies in America—the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. There is also the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.) Russell was succeeded by a lawyer, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869–1942), who became the second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and who coined the name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931. This name is said to identify both the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ God and their mission—in Isaiah 43:10–12 God says, ‘you are my witnesses’ (New International Version). Rutherford also introduced some of the distinctive Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practices, such as the acceleration of house-to-house evangelism, not participating in politics and military service, and not celebrating Christmas. It was under Rutherford’s leadership that the Jehovah’s Witnesses became a large and stable organization. It also became more theocratic and hierarchical; directors of local congregations were no longer elected by local assemblies but were appointed subject to the approval of the Governing Body in New York. The Governing Body retains overall authority for the movement. In 2019, it was composed of eight men, all of whom were believed to be of the 144,000 ‘anointed class’ (see below for an explanation). Women are not able to join the Governing Body or be elders in the organization, as women are not permitted to teach or to hold authority over men. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach gender complementarity rather than gender equality. In 1942 Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr (1905–77), who began a public relations programme that won the movement more converts. Knorr oversaw the 1961 publication of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a modern English Bible translated from original ancient Hebrew and Greek texts. It is the version of the Bible that Jehovah’s Witnesses use today, primarily in its 2013 revision. The fourth president was Frederick W. Franz (1893–1992) and the fifth was Milton Henschel (1920–2003). Henschel stepped down from the presidency in 2000 (all four previous presidents had remained in post until they died). Subsequent presidents have not been members of the Governing Body and are believed to be part of the ‘great crowd’ rather than the 144,000. Henschel was succeeded by two presidents: Don A. Adams (b. 1926) became president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, and Max H. Larson (1915–2011) became president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. They were succeeded by Leon Weaver Jr (b. 1949) (the society’s first Black president) and by Robert Ciranko (b. 1947), respectively. Leon Weaver Jr has now been succeeded by Harold L. Corkern (b.1951). Members In 2019, there were over 8.5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in 240 ‘lands and territories’ worldwide. Growth occurs largely through conversion rather than ‘internal growth’, with the fastest growing congregations currently in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Jehovah’s Witnesses have a huge publication and translation programme: the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is distributed worldwide in more than 150 languages, as importance is placed on people being able to read scripture in their native language. Witnesses also try to ensure that people have access to meetings in their own language and to various magazines and Bible study guides produced by the Watch Tower Society. Despite the diversity in languages, the material leads to conformity within the movement, as all congregations around the world Sarah Harvey. "Jehovah's Witnesses." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. 15 January 2021. Retrieved from www.cdamm.org/articles/jehovahs-witnesses. Downloaded: 15-01-2021 follow the same programme of Bible study. While Jehovah’s Witnesses are active worldwide, they simultaneously work hard to eradicate racial, ethnic, and geographical differences, in an attempt to create a cohesive community. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use the terminology of ‘membership’. A distinction is made between those who are baptized (by immersion) and those who are not yet baptized. Children are not usually baptized until between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, when they can make their own commitment to the organization. Individuals joining Jehovah’s Witnesses from a different Christian denomination are rebaptized in the belief that only Jehovah’s Witnesses are the ‘true’ organization that can offer salvation (Chryssides 2016, 211–14). Baptized Jehovah’s Witnesses are expected to become ‘publishers’—those who go door to door spreading the word and distributing materials. Publishers are engaged in ‘witnessing’ for Jehovah and they are asked to report their preaching activity to their local congregation each month (it is in this way that the number of Witnesses in each congregation is determined). Some share in the publishing work prior to their baptism (if they are undergoing instruction, for instance) and are known as ‘unbaptized publishers’. A wider number of people attend services, including the annual Memorial Service: some twenty million people were reported to have attended in 2019. Beliefs, Practices, and Lifestyle Jehovah’s Witnesses are a millennial, restorationist, and nontrinitarian Christian movement. They believe that God—whom they call Jehovah—is the ‘Most High’. Jehovah is an ‘invisible spirit’ without a body of flesh and blood, but he is also an individual with thoughts and feelings, as well as infinite wisdom and power. Jesus Christ is recognized as God’s son and one can only be saved from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. God provided his son, ‘a ransom sacrifice’, as a gift to humankind: the death of Jesus paid the ‘ransom’ for human sin. Jehovah forgives those who have faith in the ransom sacrifice, are repentant, and seek to imitate Jesus in their lives. Jehovah’s Witnesses accept the entire Bible (the Old and New Testaments, which they call the ‘Hebrew–Aramaic Scriptures’ and the ‘Christian Greek Scriptures’, respectively) as the inspired Word of Jehovah. They see it as a historical record, a blueprint for living, reliable prophecy, and containing many scientific facts. It is important for Jehovah’s Witnesses to live in the service of God and the Bible serves as a ‘moral code’ for members. They use the concept of ‘Bible trained conscience’ to refer to ethical decision- making using biblical principles. Congregational life is of the utmost importance to Witnesses, who meet in purpose-built buildings called Kingdom Halls. They attend a weekend meeting and a meeting on one weekday evening. The weekend meeting includes the public service (consisting of song, prayer, and a Bible talk) followed by ‘Watchtower Study’ (which involves the study of a passage outlined in the study edition of The Watchtower magazine.
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