Jehovah's Witnesses (redirected from Jehova's Witness)

Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian group originating in the United States at the end of the 19th cent., organized by Charles Taze Russell, whose doctrine centers on the Second Coming of Christ. The Witnesses believe that the event has already commenced; they also believe the battle of Armageddon is imminent and that it will be followed by a millennial period when repentant sinners will have a second chance for salvation. The Witnesses base their teaching on the Bible. They have no churches but meet in buildings that are always named Kingdom Hall. There are no official ministers because all Jehovah's Witnesses are considered ministers of the gospel. Their views are circulated in the Watchtower, Awake!, and other publications and by house-to-house canvasing carried on by members. Since their beginning, the Witnesses have been the subject of harassment virtually everywhere that they have been active. Regarding governments as the work of Satan, the Witnesses refuse to bear arms in war or participate in the affairs of government. Their refusal to salute the flag brought about a controversy that resulted in a decision in their favor by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1943. The Witnesses insist upon a rigid moral code and refuse blood transfusions. Before 1931, Jehovah's Witnesses were called Russellites; abroad the movement is usually known as the International Bible Students Association. Active in almost every country in the world, the group has more than 1 million members in the United States.

Bibliography

See studies by W. J. Whalen (1962), W. C. Stevenson (1967), J. Bergman (1984), and M. J. Penton (1988).

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Jehovah’s Witnesses 

a Christian sect, which arose in Pennsylvania in 1872. Until 1931 it was known as the Society of International Bible Students. The founder of the movement was C. Russell. The sect had organizations in most countries by the end of the 1960’s. The greatest number of Jehovah’s Witnesses are in the USA (over 300,000) and in the Federal Republic of Germany (over 70,000). The sect’s center is in Brooklyn, N.Y. Its main organ, The Watchtower, has a circulation of many millions of copies (in many languages).

The Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the triune nature of god and recognize Jehovah as the only god. They have renounced belief in hell, heaven, and the immortality of the soul. The entire earthly world, according to the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is the kingdom of Satan, and only their society is just. They predict an imminent battle (Armageddon) between the forces of Jehovah and Satan, as a result of which all humanity will perish, with the exception of the Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves, who will receive “eternal salvation.” A “millennial kingdom” will be established on earth, a theocratic state headed by Christ. The Jehovah’s Witnesses instill in believers the idea of the hopelessness of the efforts of people themselves to bring order to the earth. They openly oppose communism, and because of their anti-Soviet tendency, their activity is prohibited in the USSR.

REFERENCES

Bartoshevich, E.M. and E.I. Borisoglebskii. Svideteli Iegovy. Moscow, 1969.
Moskalenko, A.T. Sovremennyi iegovizm. Novosibirsk, 1971.

E. M. BARTOSHEVICH