Q&A on the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Elder Henry Schwerdtfeger of Issaquah answers questions about the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith and explains some of its followers’ beliefs.
Q. How did the Jehovah’s Witnesses begin?
A. According to the Bible, there have been witnesses of Jehovah back to faithful Abel, but modern-day witnesses started in the early 1870s, in Allegany, Pennsylvania.
These witnesses were known as bible students who got together to learn what the Bible really taught. They discovered that a lot of doctrinal teaching from the churches was not in harmony with the Bible and so they began proclaiming and publishing the message they learned.
In 1931, they adopted the scriptural name Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Isaiah 43:10-12)
Q. Where did the name Jehovah come from and why is it not in popular use?
A. It’s in the Bible. In the original text of the Hebrew scriptures, the name appears nearly 7,000 times.
Why isn’t it in popular use today? First, many claim the name should not be used because the original way to pronounce it is unknown today.
Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels. God’s personal name is translated YHWH and is referred to as the Tetragrammaton. In English, the common rendering is “Jehovah.”
It basically means, “He causes to become” whatever is needed in order to fulfill his purposes. (Exodus 3:14)
Another reason for the lack of usage is the omission of God’s name from many Bible translations due to a long-standing tradition of the Jews that God’s name should never be pronounced, based on a misapplication of a Bible law that states: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave unpunished the one who takes up his name in a worthless way.” (Exodus 20:7)
This law forbids the misuse of God’s name but not the respectful use of God’s name. As a result, many Bible translations have replaced God’s personal name with titles such as Lord or God.
We have restored God’s name in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures wherever the Tetragrammaton originally existed and use it extensively in our teachings as God really desires.
Q. When did knocking on doors begin?
A. That is one method of reaching people with the Bible’s message and it can be traced back to first century Christians.
It’s one of the ways Jesus taught his disciples, to “search out who is deserving” and “when you enter the house, greet the household.” (Matthew 10:11,12).
A fine example is the apostle Paul, who taught “publicly and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20) So we’re just following their example.
Q. What are a few things that make Jehovah’s Witnesses distinctive from other Christian religions?
A. One is we believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. Thus he is the author of the Bible and under his inspiration writers wrote it. That’s why we use the Bible as the basis for all our beliefs.
Another distinction is that there’s only one true God. He is not a trinity and his name is Jehovah.
We also believe that God’s Kingdom … is a government with a king, Jesus Christ. This government will rule from heaven and will solve all of mankind’s problems.
That is the government that we support. It will help make the earth a total paradise on which humans will become perfect in mind and body and live forever… That was God’s original purpose and it will be accomplished.
Also, 144,000 people will be resurrected to heavenly life to be co-rulers with Christ, but the vast majority of mankind will live on this paradise earth in righteousness.
Q. How many Jehovah’s Witnesses are there in the world?
A. In 2015, the number of peak publishers in the field ministry was 8,220,105 in 240 lands. A publisher is one who actively witnesses about God on a regular basis.
This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Q&A on the Jehovah’s Witnesses."