What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?

“We think it proper to hear from you what your thoughts are, for truly as regards this sect it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.” (Acts 28:22) These community leaders in first-century Rome set a fine example. They wanted to hear from the source, rather than from outside critics alone.

Similarly, Jehovah’s Witnesses today are often spoken against, and it would be a mistake to expect to learn the truth about them from prejudiced sources. So we are pleased to explain to you some of our principal beliefs.

The Bible, Jesus Christ, and God

We believe that “all Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial.” (2 Timothy 3:16) And although some have claimed that we are not really Christians, this is simply not true. We endorse completely the apostle Peter’s testimony regarding Jesus Christ: “There is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.”—Acts 4:12.

However, since Jesus said that he is “God’s Son” and that the “Father sent me forth,” Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God is greater than Jesus. (John 10:36; 6:57) Jesus himself acknowledged: “The Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28; 8:28) Thus we do not  believe that Jesus is equal with the Father, as the Trinity doctrine says. Rather, we believe that he was created by God and that he is subordinate to Him.—Colossians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 11:3.

In the English language, God’s name is Jehovah. The Bible says: “Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:18, King James Version) In keeping with this declaration, Jesus placed great emphasis on God’s name, teaching his followers to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” And he himself prayed to God: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me.”—Matthew 6:9; John 17:6.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they should be like Jesus in making God’s name and purposes manifest to others. Hence we have taken the name Jehovah’s Witnesses because we imitate Jesus, “the Faithful Witness.” (Revelation 1:5; 3:14) Appropriately, Isaiah 43:10 says to God’s representative people: “‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘even my servant whom I have chosen.’”

The Kingdom of God

Jesus taught his followers to pray, “Let your kingdom come,” and he made that Kingdom the dominant theme of his teaching. (Matthew 6:10; Luke 4:43) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Kingdom is a real government from heaven, that it will rule over the earth, and that Jesus Christ is its appointed invisible King. “The government shall be upon his shoulder,” the Bible says. “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.”—Isaiah 9:6, 7, KJ.

However, Jesus Christ will not be the only king of God’s government. He will have many corulers with him in heaven. “If we go on enduring,” the apostle Paul  wrote, “we shall also rule together as kings.” (2 Timothy 2:12) The Bible indicates that those humans who are resurrected to rule with Christ in heaven are limited to “the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth.”—Revelation 14:1, 3.

Of course, any government must have subjects, and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that billions more besides these heavenly rulers will receive everlasting life. Eventually the earth, transformed into a beautiful paradise, will be filled with these worthy subjects of God’s Kingdom, all submitting to the reign of Christ and his corulers. Thus Jehovah’s Witnesses are firmly convinced that the earth will never be destroyed and that the Bible’s promise will be fulfilled: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”—Psalm 37:29; 104:5.

But how will God’s Kingdom come? By all peoples’ voluntarily submitting to God’s government? On the contrary, the Bible realistically shows that the coming of the Kingdom will require God’s direct intervention in earth’s affairs: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself . . . will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.

When will God’s Kingdom come? On the basis of Bible prophecies now being fulfilled, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe it will come very soon. We invite you to  consider some prophecies foretelling features of “the last days” of this wicked system of things. They are recorded at Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:7-13, 25-31; and 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Because we ‘love Jehovah our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself,’ we are undivided nationally, racially, and socially. (Mark 12:30, 31) We are widely noted for the love that is manifested among our Christian brothers who are found in all nations. (John 13:35; 1 John 3:10-12) Thus we maintain a neutral position toward the political affairs of those nations. We try to be like Jesus’ early disciples, of whom he said: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:16) We believe that keeping separate from the world means avoiding the immoral conduct so common today, including lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, misuse of blood, idolatry, and other such things condemned in the Bible.—1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 5:3-5; Acts 15:28, 29.

Hope for the Future

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that our present life in this world is not all there is. We believe that Jehovah sent Christ to earth to pour out his lifeblood as a ransom so that humans can have a righteous standing with God and receive everlasting life in a new system of things. As an apostle of Jesus said: “We have been declared righteous now by his blood.” (Romans 5:9; Matthew 20:28) Jehovah’s Witnesses are deeply grateful to God and his Son for this ransom provision that makes a future life possible.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have complete confidence in a future life, based on a resurrection from the dead under God’s Kingdom. We believe, as the Bible teaches, that  when a person dies his existence really ceases, that “in that day his thoughts do perish.” (Psalm 146:3, 4; Ezekiel 18:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5) Yes, future life for the dead is based on God’s remembrance of them in a resurrection.—John 5:28, 29.

However, Jehovah’s Witnesses are convinced that many now living will survive when God’s Kingdom brings an end to all present governments and, as Noah and his family survived the Flood, they will live on to enjoy life forever on a cleansed earth. (Matthew 24:36-39; 2 Peter 3:5-7, 13) But we believe that survival is dependent upon meeting Jehovah’s requirements, as the Bible says: “The world is passing away . . . , but he that does the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:17; Psalm 37:11; Revelation 7:9, 13-15; 21:1-5.

Obviously, it is not possible here to cover all the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we invite you to obtain further information.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotations are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

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We have taken the name Jehovah’s Witnesses because we imitate Jesus