Jehovah's Witnesses

American evangelist William Miller predicted that Christ would return in 1844. When that second coming failed to materialize, many believers drifted away in the "Great Disappointment." Others kept Adventist aspirations alive through new interpretations of doctrine.

The movement of Jehovah's Witnesses emerged in part because of key doctrinal disagreements with similar Adventist groups, all of which were deeply influenced by the pre-millennialism of the mid-19th century.

Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) established the Witnesses circa 1870 in Pennsylvania, and the second president, Joseph F. Rutherford (1869-1942), gave the group much of its present administrative structure.

The Watch Tower Society publishes its own translation of original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek biblical texts. It is known as the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, or NWT.

Scholarship on the Jehovah's Witnesses has at times depicted the movement as marginal or cult-like, with scholars at times aggressively attempting to "correct" the "errors" of the Witnesses. Several important studies have avoided such biases.

C.T. Russell (1852-1916) was a charismatic public speaker and prolific writer who traveled widely and founded the movement's principal publishing and distributing organization, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

The Jehovah's Witnesses second president, Joseph F. Rutherford (1869-1942), centralized the organizational structure of the movement. Some groups preferred to maintain their local autonomy, opting out of the Society but maintaining their Bible Student identity.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach non-cooperation with what they view as Satan's power on earth, which at times has led to conflict with neighbors and governments. Witnesses have submissively endured persecution ranging from mob attacks to imprisonment in concentration camps.

The international spread of the Jehovah's Witnesses began with visits to Europe by C.T. Russell, the movement's first organizer. Witnesses are now organized in as many as 235 countries and islands around the world.

The Jehovah's Witnesses is a global organization supported by the multinational operations of the Watch Tower Society. The Society's emphasis on publication and distribution of movement-related magazines, books, and pamphlets has benefited from 21st-century technological innovations.

The most distinctive of the Witnesses' sacred stories is the one concerning the Battle of Armageddon, which the Witnesses call Har-magedon. This great cosmic battle began in heaven in 1914, and its conclusion is very near.

The Witnesses' personal name for God is the distinctive "Jehovah," which is the movement's transliteration of the tetragrammaton, or the name God spoke from the burning bush in Exodus. Jesus is not God incarnate, but is God's only son.

Human nature is universally sinful, because all humans inherit the original sin of Adam and Eve. That sin was disobedience to God. Jesus' sacrificial death redeems all those who believe, and saves them from death.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan is the source of all evil, and is spiritually present among humans, seducing them with such evils as pornography and violence. We can protect ourselves through prayer, Bible study, and associating with good people.

Witnesses teach that the dead are completely unconscious, but that the great majority of the dead will be resurrected to live in an earthly paradise. A handful of others, 144,000 in total, are anointed to rule with God in heaven.

Jehovah's Witnesses meet three times a week for worship. Meetings begin with a public lecture, followed by study of a biblical theme. The Watchtower magazine serves as a study guide.

The buildings in which the Jehovah's Witnesses meet for worship and study are called Kingdom Halls, because they are regarded as symbolic of the coming kingdom. The buildings are simple in design, with no altar or images.

Jehovah's Witnesses have two principle ceremonies. Baptism is restricted to adults and is performed by total immersion. The Lord's Evening Meal, or Memorial, is an annual event commemorating Jesus' "Last Supper." The Memorial is open to the public.

Practicing Witnesses attend five meetings per week, including home Bible study and Watchtower study. They also commit to a minimum of ten hours per month to house-to-house proselytizing.

The symbol of the Jehovah's Witnesses is the Watchtower. Watchtower magazine's mission statement explains that like a watchtower of old, the Witnesses' Watchtower allows us to view the significance of events in the light of biblical prophecies.

Jehovah's Witnesses are movement of laypeople, with no professional clergy. Each congregation appoints elders. The elders are older men who preside over the affairs of the congregation, and accept responsibility for teaching and counseling.

God and Christ are believed to be at the head of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, making the movement a theocracy. The well-being of the organization is entrusted to a 12-member Governing Body, as well as the 144,000-member "anointed class."

The Bible is the primary source of reference for moral guidance, as it is regarded by the Witnesses as the infallible word of God. All teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses are thoroughly supported by biblical references.

Jehovah's Witnesses are pessimistic about society, which is irredeemably enslaved by Satan's power. However, the final cosmic battle between Christ and Satan is imminent, and the victorious Christ will restore the faithful to a utopia of peace, beauty, and abundance.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a high regard for marriage and encourage marriage within the movement. The role of the wife is to support the husband, although a number of important researchers and writers are women. Homosexuality is considered a disgraceful sin.