Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witness

This is one of the Christian religious movements that profess to restorationalism or continuationalism to the apostolic assembly.

Origin and Incoporations

The movement was based on the Christian theology of Charles Taze Russell who founded and incorporated the body as the Zion Watch Tower and Track Society in Pennsylvania on 1884 in which he served as its president.

The body was an offshoot of a Bible Student Movement that was earlier identified as “The society” which was found in 1881 with William Henry Conley serving as its president and Charles Taze Russell as its secretary and treasurer.

The corporation was officially registered as Watch Tower Bible and Track Society in 1896.

In 1955, the movement was renamed as Watch Tower Bible and Track Society of Pennsylvania, headquarter in the New York City, Borough of Brooklyn, United States of America.

It is the main legal entity that holds the copyrights of most literatures published by the Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.

Beside the corporation of Pennsylvania, there are other corporations that are used by the Jehovah' Witnesses to effect the administrative and projection of the purpose and practices of the body. One of such corporation is the Watch Tower Bible and Track Society of New York which was originally known as People Pulpit Association which was incorporated in 1909 when the principal office of the body moved to Brooklyn, New York.

In 1939, it was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Track Society, Inc and in 1956 the name was changed to the Watch Tower Bible and Track Society of New York, Inc.

Another Corporation of the movement is the International Bible Student Association (IBSA) which is non profit organization used by the Jehovah' Witnesses in the United Kingdom for the production and distribution of religious literatures.

The IBSA was founded as the Bible Student by Charles Taze Russell in London England and such served as the first legal corporation that was established by Russell's ministry in Europe.

The Christian Congregation of Jehovah' Witnesses filed for an incorporation in 2000 in New York as a domestic non-profit corporation.Another incorporation was filed at the state of Florida on 2006 as a foreign non-profit corporation.

The Christian congregation of  Jehovah's Witnesses was established to organize and administer the congregational affairs of Jehovah' Witnesses in United States, Bemuda, the Turk and Caico Islands.

There are other corporations that are managed by the movement such as the religious order of Jehovah's witnesses, New York which pays attention to those in special full time service, Bethel volunteers, missionaries, traveling overseers, special pioneers and assembly halls.

Next is the kingdom support services Inc. New York that deal with construction of kingdom halls and Assembly Halls, other engineering needs and vehicles.

There are other corporations that are approved by the governing body of the movement in many nations that cater for activities of their respective branch offices in those nations.  Some of those corporations bear the name of Christian congregation of Jehovah's witness or in a similar name translated into the local languages.

In the early history of the movement, the oldest corporation name as Watch Tower Society was used along or together with the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and their literatures.  But the organization were separated since 2000 thereby operating distinctive operations between their corporation and the religious organization.

Until 2000, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses was president of both the Watch Tower Pennsylvania and Watch Tower New York as well as the Britain's International Bible students Association.  It was agreed that corporation's director will be members of the Governing body.

Literatures and Missionaries

Since 1976, all doctrinal decisions are shouldered upon a group of elders at the movement's Brooklyn headquarter that are known as  the “Governing Body of the Jehovah's Witnesses”.

The teachings are distributed through the watchtower magazine and other literatures of the Jehovah' Witnesses.  The teachings are shared at conventions and congregational meetings.

The congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses direct its affairs to the district overseer, circuit overseer, social body of elders or individuals which may serve as agency under the supervision of the Governing Body.

The belief of the Jehovah's Witnesses are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell who founded the group through the Bible Students Movement and the successive president of the watch tower society.

The movement is evangelical or known for spreading of their doctrines they term as “Good News” which target at warning the humanity about the impending occurrence that will sweep away the existing human governments and non-witnesses through the intervention of the divine creator whom they identify primarily as Jehovah.

They point to the establishment of the kingdom of Jehovah who will use the saviour whom they identify as Jesus Christ to wipe away the present system of things and institute a cleansed society of worshippers.

The movement regard its teachings as the restored truth that were preached by Yahoshea Meshiyach and his followers during the first century C.E. The Christian group hold that after the death of Yahoshea's apostles, the church moved into the Great Apostasy which made it to digress to worldliness or paganism that it term as “Babylonianism”.

The group believe that Charles and his associates as Bible teaching group developed the revival of the great truths taught by Yahoshea Meshiyach and the Apostles.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have claimed that their teaching is the only true set of beliefs as preached by Yahoshea Meshiyach and his congregation thereby dismisses all other religious bodies or traditions as part of “Babylon the Great” or “World empire of false religion” that are guided by the negative supernatural force whom it identify as the Satan.

Non Ecumenical, Non Trinitarian

The body do not partake in ecumenical relations with other religious denominations.  The movement drew its scriptural authority from the Bible alone as interpreted by the governing body.  To bear the characteristics of the governing body, the group hold to the New World Translation of the holy Scriptures which renders the name of the creator as Jehovah rather than God and Lord that are used in other English translations of the King James Version.

The sect is non-Trinitarian as it regards the doctrine of trinity as unscriptural. The witnessers view Yahweh as the Father, an invisible spirit person that is separated from his son whom the body identifies as Jesus Christ.  The movement view the Holy Spirit as an active force rather than the third person in trinity.

Other Beliefs and Practices

The Jehovah's witnesses view Yahweh as a person that is in heaven and not omnipresence, rather each person can relate to him as a friend or foe.

The witnesses hold dogmatically that the personal name of the creator is Jehovah and thereby do not often use titles as Lord or God as obtained in other Christian theologies.

According to the witnesses, the name Jehovah is driven from what they errornouly term as Tetragramnaton or four – letter name that is transliterated as Y.H.W.H from Hebrew texts. They held the name as the primary aim of active and real worship.  The claim is deceptive because the term “Tetragramaton” means “Three letter name” while “quatragrmaton” means “four letter name”. This errors was effected by the Bible editors. They equally claim as the worthy group that make the name known to all mankind.

The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the son of Yahweh is named Jesus Christ as obtainable in Greek translations.  They equally view him as having pre-human origin, they make presentations  about him in accord with the Bible record.

They belief that the saviour has assumed the king in heaven in 1914 and will return soon on earth to carry out the war of Armageddon in which the Satan and his host with their earthly followers be defeated in this battle of Armageddon. They believe that after this conquest, the Hebrew Messiah will assume rulership of the earth for one thousand years and institute the kingdom of Jehovah. The kingdom of Jehovah is viewed by the sect as the primary reason of the saviour' ministry on earth.

The group hold to the presentation of the bible over Satan’s existence but differ with mainstream Christianity over hellfire.  The body claim that Satan is the arch-enemy of their Jehovah and equally influential to individuals, governments and organizations on their evil way.  The group hold tenaciously towards the existence of Satan which they view as their greatest enemy to defeat and be counted as either people for heaven of 144,000 associated Christians or the “little flock”.

Other group of converts can attain  the grade of “other sheep” which consist of people that gained “resurrection of the righteous” while those of the survivors of Armageddon that do not pass through resurrection are referred as the “great crowd”.

The Jehovah's witness hold that the saviour assumed heavenly invisible throne in October 1914 and such glory sent Satan down to earth to carry out deadly wars that afflict the earth from those days.  The 1914 belief of the group is based on their chronological calculation as viewed from the biblical prescription.

The movement hold that the ugly unfoldings on world event after the 1914 is a basic expression of their revelation as they term such occurrences as the sign of the “Jesus' Presence”.

The body hold that in 1918 the saviour resurrected those of the 144000 who had already died to merit heavenly life and such practice continues with resurrection of any “anointed one” for heavenly life during such person's death.

The Eschatology of the Group

The eschatology of the movement holds that the entire human race under their various governments are grouped as the “great Babylon” and they are epitomized by the formation or existence of United Nations while the Jehovah witness is the only true religious body that is following the way of the saviour.

Based on this fact, all mankind and the Satan that leads them will meet their defeat at the war of Armageddon and the Jesus instituting the government of Jehovah that will endure for one thousand years.

After the battle, Satan will be abused and such will prompt Jehovah through Jesus Christ to extend the heavenly rule to earth which will transform it to a paradise similar to the Garden of Eden.

The movement hold that after the one thousand years of the rule of Jesus, the Satan will be loosed to carry out its last battle against the anointed ones.  At the end, any one who fail the final test by Satan will be destroyed along with Satan and their host and that Christ will hand over the earth unto Jehovah who will rule it forever.

According to the sect, at the rule of the Jehovah, all earthly challenges as wars, famine and sins will be no more and the world will be filled of eternal bliss that will run to indefinite time.

The group base their teaching upon the direction of the governing body. Therefore, any member or non member that goes contrary to the prescription of this apex body will be viewed as practicing apostasy. All behaviours that include rejection of biblical teaching, rejection of Jehovah's organization, association with or support for other religions and celebration of religious holidays are grouped as acts of apostasy.

Each adherent that engages any of this offences will be excommunicated and subsequent shunning. The baptized member that later defected are seen as people that have seen the truth and prefer to go back to the world and its system of things. Such backslided members are seen as more reprehensible than those in the world and such call for shunning by other Jehovah' witnesses including close relatives, with no social or religious contact and no greeting given.

They see apostate as part of anti-Christ or anti-God and such person is destined to destruction.  The Jehovah' witnesses  do not treasure any religious article or  literatures as worthy instrument to divine light rather all such books will be seen as poisonous and not worthy to lead an adherent to right way. Any book outside of the Bible and approved articles of the movement is totally disregarded and members are warned against of reading of them or hand down their teachings to members or non-members alike.

The group do not treasure academism but prefers its theological schools. It reluctantly allows its adherents to go for higher knowledge or education to support them in their pursuit for daily bread. The group preferred institutions that allow them freedom to pursue their service of the Jehovah’s Witnesses as they are expected to participate on regular evangelism and attend all congregational meetings as well as regular larger-scale convention.

House to House Evangelism

Those who engage in regular evangelistic operations are considered for baptism and such is viewed as automatic ordination as a minister. House to house evangelism is viewed as the primary call to all Jehovah' Witnesses.  The body uses some informal evangelizing formula by starting religious discussions with people they meet during their routinely activities either in the public places, transport or shopping. These discussion will be used as opportunity to preach about the movement's practices or belief to non-witnesses.

There are categories of witnesses based on evangelism. Those serious witnesses that can give up about 70 hours per month or 840 hours per annum are grouped as “regular pioneers”. Those that can evangelize for 50 hours per month are referred to as the “auxiliary pioneer”.  There are equally witnesses as volunteers that serves missionaries that may dedicate more than 120 hours per month while members who are incapable of pioneer are encouraged to have “pioneer spirit”.

The body holds that through persistent preachings and evangelism, an adherent can gain salvation and such frees them from the guilt of the blood of non-witnesses who will be destroyed during Armageddon.

Each member is expected to fill the monthly report of his or her preaching activities, enumerating the hours spent, publications presented to households and number of return visits to interesting households.  The report is used to measure the level of spirituality of members which help to select out members that might serve as elders and ministerial servants.

Those who do not fill their reports are viewed a “irregular publishers” while those that do not engage in evangelism for duration of six months are termed as “inactive publishers”.

Dogmas and Doctrines

Jehovah' Witnesses do not engage in military services, no services to military formations, no salute to nation' flags and no singing of national anthems and other national patriotic songs.  They remain outside participation in worldly politics and avoid social controversies.  They do not engage in May Day, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, New Year Day, Valentine Celebration, Mother' s Day etc.

The major observations of the body are “Baptism” and “Last Supper”.  The group equally celebrates marriage wedding.  Though the sect celebrate its Last Supper annually on 14th Nissan as they count in their method but very few witnesses are eligible to receiving the communion.

The movement do not engage in blood transfusion of members even when cases require surgery.  They allow for divorce of marriage based on different religious view of couples and issues of adultery.

The movement in its early life adopted the use of cross and crown as its tombstones.  This was acceptable until 1936 when it rejected the idea that Yahoshea died on the cross rather he was impaled on a straight pole.  By this conviction, many witnesses have been persecuted or killed for not bowing down to or kissing of a cross.

The Christian congregation of Jehovah' Witnesses is one of the claimants to Yahoshea's assemblage and many millions of adherents seek towards Yahoshea Meshiyach and his assemblage through it.

The movement is credited with a comprehensive and detailed house to house evangelism which is in accord with the direction of Yahoshea to his apostles  to “go into the world and teach all that he taught them”.  The witnesses devout good time of their days to evangelize the message handed unto them by the governing body.

The movement base its teaching on Bible and preaching of Charles Russel as well as the successive governing presidents and bodies. Until  2012, the governing body describe itself as the representative and spokesman of God' faithful.

All doctrinal practices are hence been formulated by the governing body and all organizations and congregations from the apex to the lowest level will have to abide by the directives or teachings or been excommunicated as apostasy or heretics.

Though the governing body do not claim inspiration but its prescriptions demand unquestionable by any member.  By this organizational structure and leadership, individual gifts that should produce the fruits of the spirit is totally untapped hence all must abide by the works of the governing body.

The doctrines of the movement is wholly shaped by the governing body and such restricts the presence of the spirit which expresses itself through devoted members at the categories of prophets, seers, visioners and other gifts of  spirit.  All must abide by the arranged articles of the organization's publications such as Watchtower and Awake magazine alone.

The body hold that the name of the creator is Jehovah and that the name of his son being Jesus Christ.  This is one of the greatest blunder of the Jehovah's witnesses.  They claim to have driven the name of Jehovah from the transliteration of YHWH which they termed as Tetragramatom.

The truth is that the four letter consonants –YHWH is the source of “Yahweh” while the character were later corrupted to give rise to “JHVH” as the root of “Jehovah”.  The translation of the quatragrammaton (YHWH) into JHVH and Yahweh into Jehovah is a direct handwork of the Niclotians or truth twisters. 

The ancient Hebrew worshippers did not use the term JHVH or Jehovah as been claimed by Jehovah's Witnesses.

The change of the term or consonant YHWH to JHVH was effected in 16th century by Petros Galitenes – A French confessor.  It was never known in the ancient Hebrew traditional worship.  Equally the name of the saviour was changed from its original form as Yahoshea Meshiyach to Jesus Christ of the present form.

Jesus Christ was never used as the name of the saviour during his days of ministration, neither did his followers know of such name rather they held to Yahoshea which means the “salvation of Yahweh” and Meshiyach that means “The anointed one” in Hebrew tongue.

The Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe of religious traditions of Hebrew people that were followed by Yahoshea Meshiyach and his apostolic assembly.  Such religious doctrines include the Sabbath observation, Passover festival of seven days period, feast of the Booths, feast of Yahoshea's birthday etc.

The movement do not place any regard upon the comforter whom it hold as an active force that is meant to activate witnesses.  By this belief, the  adherent regard the Governing body of the organization as possessing power to define doctrines which is meant to be effected by the comforter.

By the operation of the movement, Charles Russell and the successive governing bodies play the role of the promised comforter. Whatever they conclude to be divinely or scripturally is viewed as act of the Holy Spirit or comforter.

This was not according to the promise of the comforter by Yahoshea Meshiyach because the comforter must represent Yahoshea and lead the assembly to full details and practices as established by Yahoshea Meshiyach.

The Jehovah's Witnesses rigidly believe on the existence of Satan  than they believe the activities of their purported Jehovah.  To the Jehovah's Witnesses, the earth lies in the hand of Satan and his host especially since 1914 that their acclaimed Christ assumed heavenly kingship authority thereby sending Satan and his hosts to the earth.

This is one of the famous fallacies or apostasy of the Christianity.  Satan do not exist rather men and women are of the images of Yahweh.

As the Jehovah's Witnesses is not led by a divine sent prophet or personage, it is not worthy to claim to be a restorist movement because it is only an inspired personage that can restore the lost truth and separate the sheep from the goat.

May Yahweh help all adherents to Jehovah's Witnesses to realize this open fact that will secure them from the draconian organization that is been driven by the uninspired men of the governing body.

Observations and Summary

The conclusion of the movement over its practices or beliefs are based on inconsistency. For instance, the major presentation of their journals target at restoration of the holy name of the creator.

In each of the publications, the editors conclude that no mortal is sure of how the original name of the creator and that of his son were pronounced in the ancient worship of the Hebrew people.

One of the major and highly published magazine of the sect in this regard is titled – “The Divine Name that Endures Forever”. In this presentation, the writers carried out extensive research over the real or accurate sacred names of the creator and his son. Unfortunately, the publication did not conclude on a particular name rather ruled that no human was sure of the true names that were used by the ancient worshippers.

The book made great blunder in the name of the saviour in which it submit that no one knows the accurate name used for him during his earthly ministry.  The book pointed that the name might be something in form of Yehoshea or Yahshua.  It concluded that the relations of Yahoshea Meshiyach could not have known him as Jesus Christ. 

It rather submitted that Jesus Christ was later rendition of the name and made part of the scriptures by translators of the modern age.

What a failed contract, if the Jehovah's Witnesses do not know accurate name of the creator, why do they move from house to house indoctrinating the people with the name Jehovah?.

The sect hold that the name of Yahweh was originally written in consonants (YHWH) and that it was the acts of translators that added vowels to make it up as Yahweh or Jehovah.

For truth seekers and believers, the creator has a name and that is Yahweh alone and his son’s name being Yahoshea Meshiyach.

In as much that the Jehovah's Witnesses goes by the submission of scholars, it can never be the truly appointed religious traditions that will restore the apostolic assembly. Yashohea's Ministry was led by inspiration but not by scholarly research.

In his day, the scribes, Pharisees and chief priests moved along scholarly researches and Yahoshea opposed them and called them the blind guide.

Based on such conclusion by Yahoshea Meshiyach, the Jehovah's Witnesses suit into the garb of those blind guide of those days and not worthy to be followed. How can they witness for the name Jehovah that they are not certain of its originality?.

Many witnesses claim that Jehovah is a French form of the Hebrew name Yahweh.  They equally claim that Jesus Christ is the Greek from of the Hebrew name Yahoshea Meshiyach.  How can they make names that are not scripturally rooted as the tombstone of their practices?

Jehovah's Witnesses can be viewed as the present day pharisees and must be avoided by truth seekers. The claim of Satan’s existence is one of the milestone doctrines of the movement.  They view non-witnesses as workers of Satan and backslided members to have gone back to Satan.  So, such persons must be marked, shunned or excommunicated.

 Critics of the movement hold that it run an exclusive and absolutist system of government in which the governing body proselytes and indoctrinates its adherent with doctrines that is handed down to all congregation and converts through its publications. Adherents are restricted from investigating into other religious traditions.

Publication becomes source of all teachings and practices where upon any member that developed a contrary view will be severely punished and shunned.

The movement is merely an institution of Charles Russell's version of Utopia or paradise that is totally departed from the teachings and eschatology of Yahoshea Meshiyach.

Those who have ears should listen and desist from following this spiritual slavery  designed by acclaimed uninspired scholars that target to deceive the human populace.