Teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to have regular personal Bible study .

The Jehovah's Witnesses derive their beliefs from their biblicistic understanding of the Bible from. They believe that they alone are teaching the truth . Their exegesis of the Bible differs from that of most other Christian communities, among other things, in their anti-Trinitarianism , their Christology and their pronounced apocalyptic and end-time expectation .

Bible

Word of god

Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the Bible , which as a whole is the inspired , error-free and contradicting Word of God . They therefore consider them to be consistently compatible with science , history and archeology and the best guide to ethical behavior as well as reliable prophecy . The Jehovah's Witnesses publish their own Bible translation in many languages , the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures , which is criticized by other churches. However, Jehovah's Witnesses are also willing to use other Bible translations. They try to explain scripture by scripture, admitting that not all biblical statements should be interpreted literally.

Old and New Testament

Like many Reformation churches, Jehovah's Witnesses adhere to the Hebrew canon of the Tanakh , that is, they do not see the Apocrypha as part of the Bible. They prefer to use the terms “Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures” or “Christian-Greek Scriptures” instead of the conventional “ Old ” or “ New Testament ” to avoid the misunderstanding that the Old Testament would have been replaced by the New. However, they consider the Sinai covenant to be abolished since the death of the Messiah and the commandments given to the people of Israel are therefore no longer binding.

God

Jehovah's Witnesses believe in a personal God, Almighty and Eternal Jehovah , whose main qualities are love and justice.

Creator

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God is the Creator of the world . To creation they include heaven , the spirit creatures living in heaven (including Jesus Christ in his pre-human existence), the universe and the living beings such as humans , animals and plants living on earth . Therefore, Jehovah's Witnesses reject all scientific doctrines that deny this creative role, especially macroevolution . As long-term creationists, they are of the opinion that the universe and the earth could be billions of years old and that the days of creation in Genesis are not to be understood as 24-hour days, but as "periods" of creation that encompassed indefinitely long periods of time. Using chronological information from the Bible, they date the creation of man to the fifth millennium BC. Chr.

Anti-Trinitarianism

Jehovah's Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity . This is one of the main pillars of their dogma and fundamentally differentiates them from most other Christian beliefs. They believe that the Bible, when translated and interpreted correctly, does not support the doctrine of the Trinity. The statement at the beginning of the Gospel of John "καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος ", which is mostly translated as "and the word was God" ( Jn 1,1  ELB ), they do not interpret trinitarian, because according to their understanding - much criticized by other churches the grammatically correct translation is "the word was a god". In the “Word” that is described here, they see Jesus Christ as “one God” in the sense of a mighty creature who, however, is not without beginning and not of essence with Almighty God. Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses believe in subordination , i.e. that the son is subordinate to the father.

They regard the Holy Spirit neither as a person nor as part of a triune God, but as "God's effective power" through which he worked creatively, inspired the authors of the Bible, in biblical times enabled some people to perform miracles , and through which he is Christians today enable them to profess their faith.

Name Jehovah

Jehovah's Witnesses address God with his proper name, YHWH, used in the Bible . The view held by most biblical scholars, that the name is correctly pronounced Yahweh , they consider to be unverifiable; they stick to the pronunciation Jehovah in many languages . What is essential for them is not the authenticity of the reconstruction of the pronunciation of the name, but rather using a personal name for God in general. They interpret the biblical divine name YHWH as God's promise to become all that is necessary to fulfill his purposes.

prayer

Jehovah's Witnesses address prayers exclusively to Jehovah through the mediator Jesus Christ. This means that there is no prayer to Jesus, nor through saints or Mary .

Jesus Christ

Prehuman existence in heaven

Jehovah's Witnesses regard Jesus as God's first and only directly created creature . In doing so, they represent the pre-existence of Christ . As the Son of God, he is considered subordinate to his Father.

Human, sacrificial death, resurrection

Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the virgin birth . As the Son of God, Jesus was born a sinless man, as the “Second Adam”, and lived without sin. When he was baptized at the age of 30, he was anointed high priest by God with holy spirit. They believe that Jesus was an outstanding teacher and miracle worker during his human life - but at the center of their theology is not the life, but the sacrificial death of Jesus. Only because of the redemption of Jesus' death and personal belief in the worth of that sacrifice can the believer obtain forgiveness from the guilt of sin . Only through Jesus is it possible to achieve future eternal life in reconciliation with God and in physical and psychological perfection.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was executed on a “stake” rather than on a cross . In a veneration of the cross they recognize parallels to pre-Christian, pagan customs; they therefore reject the use of the cross or similar objects for religious acts or as a symbol as "idolatry" ( 2 Mos 20.4,5  ELB ; 1 Cor 10.14  ELB ).

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was resurrected on the third day after his execution with a non-material “spiritual body” . If in the following weeks he occasionally accepted a material body, it was only temporarily in order to show himself to his disciples. Finally he ascended to heaven to wait there at God's right hand for the assumption of rule as messianic king.

King and Archangel Michael

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was instituted by God as King in heaven in 1914, and they anticipate the dawn of his 1,000-year messianic kingship over the earth . Jesus is considered the highest of angels by Jehovah's Witnesses . In his pre- and post-human form as a “spirit person”, Jesus is identical with the Archangel Michael , they interpret Jud 1,9  ELB and 1 Thess 4,16  ELB . They understand Rev 12  EU as a prophecy , according to which Michael / Jesus will drive Satan and his followers out of heaven in 1914 and - before their final annihilation - banish them to the realm of earth.

Satan

The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan is a real spirit person, an angel perfectly created by God, who, however, rebelled against the Creator, became God's main adversary and induced other angels and people to follow him.

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Bible report from Genesis chapter 3 to mean that the devil (in the form of the serpent) insinuated that God did not want the best for people. Satan is supposed to have meant that it would be better for humans to set standards for good and bad themselves, instead of subordinating themselves to the standards communicated by the Creator. The Bible book of Job interpret Jehovah's Witnesses so that the devil had thrown to the people to serve God only when they could derive a personal advantage. According to the view of Jehovah's Witnesses, the fact that God allowed and still allows the rebellion of Satan and humans - and with it suffering - serves to clarify these two issues. In this way, both the devil and humans could show whether they would be able to lead a better life without God. Through the history of mankind is proved that the devil was wrong and the people can not govern themselves successfully, and that there are people who hold despite hostility faithful to God.

The worldview of Jehovah's Witnesses is therefore characterized by a strong dualism between good and evil . The kingdom of God and those who hope for it are hostile to the rest of the world, which is considered the kingdom of Satan. Against this background, the Jehovah's Witnesses reject any ecumenical cooperation with other Christian groups. The Jehovah's Witnesses deny that they can convey salvation and redemption to their followers .

human

Origin of man

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God created the first humans - Adam and Eve -, placed them in the Garden of Eden , and told them to extend Paradise to all of the earth. God created man for eternal life on earth.

soul

People have the opinion of the Jehovah's Witnesses no soul , but - so they understand 1 Mos 2.7  ELB - the whole man as a living being has a soul. The soul is therefore not a part of man, but the whole man; he die, die the soul. In this context they cite Bible passages such as Ezek 18.4  ELB and Koh 9.5-10  ELB .

Loss of paradise, death

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that man was created with free will ; they reject the doctrine of predestination . The abuse of free will created a gap between God and man: Man had to leave paradise and became mortal because - instigated by Satan - he had consciously rebelled against God, took from the tree of knowledge and thereby right have claimed to determine for myself what is good and bad. As a result, he lost paradise, became imperfect and mortal . Since then, man has bequeathed sinfulness and mortality to all of his descendants. The death of man is the result of his sinfulness and at the same time also the punishment for sin.

Reconciliation with God, eternal life

The fall of the first people changed according to the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses nothing on God's purpose: He had willed that people live forever in a paradise on earth. Jehovah immediately found a solution by announcing the Messiah ( 1 Mos 3:15  WEB ). Through the sacrificial death of Jesus, sinful descendants of the first humans would be reconciled to God and could attain eternal life if they believed in Christ. According to Jehovah's Witnesses, there are two different prospects for eternal life: A large, indeterminate number of people would receive eternal life in a paradise on earth that would arise at the return of Christ . In heaven, on the other hand, 144,000 elect, of whom only a small remnant still live on earth, would rule as fellow kings of Christ.

Kingdom of God

Heavenly government over the earth

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Kingdom of God is a government that will restore paradise to earth from heaven. The government consists of Jesus and the 144,000 co-rulers. Jehovah's Witnesses live in anticipation of the imminent dawn of the 1000 year reign of the Kingdom of God, in this sense they are a millenarian faith community.

Selection of the 144,000

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus made a covenant for the kingdom with 144,000 ( Rev 14,1  ELB ) people through which they would be anointed with the Holy Spirit , " children of God " and "brothers of Christ" and have the prospect of becoming with Christ to rule in the kingdom of heaven. Apostolic Christians and many early modern Bible Students are believed to have been among the 144,000. Only those who number themselves among those 144,000 participate in what is known as the Lord's Supper .

The distinction between believers with heavenly and those with earthly hope is described by the German theologian Hans-Diether Reimer as the “two-class system”. According to the British religious scholar George D. Chryssides, however, it does not affect the relationship or the status of the individual Jehovah's Witnesses to one another, since they regard themselves as brothers and sisters regardless of their hope. Those belonging to the heavenly group would not form a special caste in the religious community and would not claim special treatment or prestige. In 2016 this was around 15,000 people, i.e. less than two per thousand of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.

1914: Cleansing of heaven, beginning of the presence of Jesus and the time of the end, first resurrection

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that in 1914 Jesus Christ took control of the Kingdom of God in heaven. As a first official act he banished Satan and his demons near the earth. Since then, the will of God has been unreservedly done in heaven. For the earth, however, the time of the end had dawned at that time , characterized on the one hand by the rage of Satan, which manifests itself in wars, food shortages, epidemics, natural disasters and general lawlessness, lovelessness and godlessness, on the other hand by that directed by Jesus and the angels Worldwide proclamation of the “good news” of the Kingdom of God.

Thereupon the "First Resurrection" began, that is, the resurrection to heavenly life of the persons belonging to Christ's 144,000 co-rulers.

Great Tribulation ahead, Armageddon

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the “last days” that began in 1914 will culminate in the great tribulation : first, politics will turn against religion; so God would execute his judgment on Babylon the great , the totality of false religion. To protect Jehovah's Witnesses as the true worshipers of God, God would destroy all human governments and the disobedient part of the earth's population in the ensuing Battle of Armageddon . This is necessary out of love and justice towards meek people, in order to protect them from those people who are incorrigible against God's love, his standards for good and bad and his sovereignty, and who ruthlessly exploit divine creation and endanger the continued existence of the living earth ( Mt 24:22  ELB , Rev 11 : 17-18  ELB ). Satan would be incapacitated. The earth itself would never set, the worshipers of God would survive.

Millennium, Paradise restored, general resurrection from the dead

Armageddon was followed by the 1000-year reign of the heavenly kingdom of God (a “new heaven”, Rev 21,1  EU ), which consists of Jesus as king and the 144,000 co-rulers, over the earth. The earth will be transformed into a paradise during this millennium. The general resurrection of "the just and the unjust" from the dead takes place in the earthly paradise. Both the resurrected and a “large crowd” of Armageddon survivors would be led to perfection on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus and thus to the possibility of sinless, healthy and eternal life (“a new earth” Rev 21.1  EU ).

From this general resurrection - in addition to the participants in the first resurrection - those people are excluded who had already been "judged" by God earlier (e.g. in Armageddon or by the Flood ) or who consciously opposed God. They remained in " Gehenna ", that is, in eternal nonexistence. Jehovah's Witnesses take an annihilationist point of view. The idea of ​​a hell where sinners would have to suffer forever is rejected by Jehovah's Witnesses as unbiblical.

After the Millennium, Satan, who was released from the “abyss” for a short period of time, would undergo a final examination ( Rev 20: 7-10  EU ). Whoever passes this final test will receive eternal life in paradise. On the other hand, those who oppose Jehovah's sovereignty during or after the final trial would die, as would Satan and his demons after the final trial. According to this, the earthly and spiritual paradise, which was lost through Satan's rebellion and through the fall of Adam and Eve, is finally restored, humanity is reconciled with creation and the Creator and thus achieved the glorious freedom of God's children.

Theocratic organization

The Christian congregation as God's people

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Israel was initially God's chosen people . But after it had rejected the Messiah, God chose the Christian congregation as his special people, which became evident in the year 33 through the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost . The head of the Christian congregation is Jesus.

After the death of the apostles , the Church deviated from the true faith and compromised with the state and paganism . Jehovah's Witnesses see themselves as a restored true Christian congregation as prophesied for the end times; they see themselves as a substitute for Israel as “God's people of salvation”.

The "faithful and discreet slave" and the Governing Body

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Bible account of the Apostles' Council to mean that the early Church was not just a loose association of independent assemblies , but that in apostolic times there was a central governing body of apostles and elders appointed under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Made and communicated decisions to meetings and oversaw the appointment of overseers .

Accordingly, Jehovah's Witnesses today hold doctrinal questions about how a governing body - composed of a small group of spirit anointed men appointed under prayer for leadership by the holy spirit - interprets the Bible. According to the Governing Body's understanding of itself, it is "anointed and guided by God's Holy Spirit", but does not claim to be infallible .

History and change of teachings

End time expectations

Typical of Jehovah's Witnesses from the beginning was the expectation of the dawn of Jehovah's Kingdom. For this they repeatedly published specific dates: Originally Russell had assumed that Christ would return in the flesh in 1873 or 1874. In 1876 he took over the conviction that he had returned invisible, that now only the "small flock" ( Lk 12.32  EU ) had to be collected, which would be completed by 1878. This date was then postponed to 1881. Russel then prophesied the end of the "times of the nations" ( Lk 21:24  Elb ) for October 1914. His successor Joseph Franklin Rutherford reinterpreted this statement in the doctrine that is valid today, according to which this year Christ's kingship began invisibly in heaven, the generation of believers living in 1914 would witness their visible appearance: "Millions who live today will never die," promised the title of his book published in 1920 in which Rutherford predicted the resurrection of the biblical patriarchs in 1925 as a sign of the beginning end times. In the 1960s, the Jehovah's Witnesses focused their calculations on 1975 because that year marked the six thousandth anniversary of the creation of Adam. The passing of all of these appointments triggered violent crises within the religious community.

Today Jehovah's Witnesses refrain from giving specific dates for the dawn of the Kingdom of God.

Governing body

The Governing Body was previously equated with the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania . But since 1970 there has been an increasing distinction between the spiritual direction by the Governing Body and the purely administrative activity of legal entities such as the Watch Tower Society; since 2000 there has been no personal identity between members of the Governing Body and the Board of Directors of the Watch Tower Society.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Schmidt: Jehovah's Witnesses. In: Christoph Auffarth , Jutta Bernard, Hubert Mohr (Hrsg.): Metzler-Lexikon Religion. Present - everyday life - media. Vol. 3, JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2005, p. 709; Matthias Schreiber: Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie , Vol. 36, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 978-3-11-017842-5 , p. 662 (accessed via De Gruyter Online).
  2. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, p. 18 f.
  3. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 100 .
  4. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 145-146 .
  5. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 146 .
  6. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 100 .
  7. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 248 .
  8. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 78-79 .
  9. ↑ Ulrich Kutschera : The issue of evolution . LIT Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8258-7286-1 , Religious special communities, p. 108 .
  10. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 151-153 .
  11. ↑ Irving Hexham : Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Religion Past and Present . 4th edition, UTB, Stuttgart 2008, vol. 8, p. 1851.
  12. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 154 .
  13. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 153-154 .
  14. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 73-74 .
  15. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 78-79 .
  16. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 110-111 .
  17. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 80-81 .
  18. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 154 .
  19. ↑ George D. Chryssides: Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2019, p. 80.
  20. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 80, 115-116 .
  21. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 38-39 .
  22. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 80 .
  23. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 92-93, 105 .
  24. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 154 .
  25. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 92 .
  26. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 122-123 .
  27. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 122-123 .
  28. ↑ Hans-Hermann Dirksen: “No mercy for the enemies of our republic.” The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Soviet Zone / GDR 1945-1990 . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, p. 858-859 .
  29. ↑ David L. Weddle: Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Hans J. Hillerbrand (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Protestantism . Routledge, Abingdon 2014.
  30. ↑ Detlef Garbe: Between Resistance and Martyrdom: The Jehovah's Witnesses in the "Third Reich" . R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1999, p. 53-57, 324 .
  31. ↑ Hans-Diether Reimer: Jehovah's Witnesses . In Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon , vol. 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, col. 806; Matthias Schreiber: Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie , Vol. 36, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 978-3-11-017842-5 , p. 662 (accessed via De Gruyter Online).
  32. ^ Royston Pike: Jehovah's Witnesses. Who They Are. What They Teach. What They Do . Watts & Co, London 1954, pp. 54-55 .
  33. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 76, 126-127 .
  34. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 50 .
  35. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 111 .
  36. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 4 .
  37. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 115-116 .
  38. ↑ Hans-Diether Reimer: Jehovah's Witnesses . In Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon , Vol. 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, Sp. 806.
  39. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 94 ff .
  40. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 83, 115-116 .
  41. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 93-94 .
  42. ↑ George D. Chryssides_The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 3, 7-8, 91, 118
  43. ↑ Hans-Diether Reimer: Jehovah's Witnesses . In Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon , Vol. 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, Sp. 806.
  44. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 95, 133, 220 .
  45. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 93, 107, 239 .
  46. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 1-2 .
  47. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 99 .
  48. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 118, 122 .
  49. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 52 .
  50. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 3, 13, 67 .
  51. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 10 .
  52. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 70, 93, 122 .
  53. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 60, 82-83, 118 .
  54. ↑ Hans-Diether Reimer: Jehovah's Witnesses . In Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon , vol. 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, col. 805; George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, p. 71.
  55. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 1-2, 63 .
  56. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 93, 104-105 .
  57. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 32 .
  58. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 248 .
  59. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 7-8 .
  60. ↑ Merit Petersen: The fine line between tolerance and persecution. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons in the Third Reich . In: Manfred Gailus , Armin Nolzen (ed.): Quarreled “Volksgemeinschaft”. Belief, Denomination and Religion in National Socialism . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, p. 127 .
  61. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 131 .
  62. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 64 .
  63. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 133, 141, 146-147 .
  64. ↑ Hans Hesse: The Jehovah's Witnesses were always the bravest . Edition Temmen, 1988, ISBN 978-3-86108-724-3 , pp. 352 .
  65. ^ Joseph F. Zygmunt: Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity. The Case of Jehovah's Witnesses . In: American Journal of Sociology 75, No. 6 (1970), pp. 926-948, here pp. 931 f.
  66. ↑ Hans-Diether Reimer: Jehovah's Witnesses . In Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon , Vol. 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1989, Sp. 805.
  67. ↑ JF Rutherford: Millions now living will never die! International Bible Students Association, Brooklyn 1920, p. 80, quoted from Robert Crompton: Counting the Days to Armageddon. The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Second Presence of Christ . James Clarke & Co., London 1996, p. 100.
  68. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. XLII f.
  69. ^ Rodney Stark , Laurence R. Iannaccone , Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow so Rapidly: A Theoretical Application. In: Journal of Contemporary Religion 12, No. 2 (1997), p. 135; Matthias Schreiber: Jehovah's Witnesses . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie , Vol. 36, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 978-3-11-017842-5 , p. 662 (accessed via De Gruyter Online); Robert Schmidt: Jehovah's Witnesses. In: Christoph Auffarth, Jutta Bernard, Hubert Mohr (Hrsg.): Metzler-Lexikon Religion. Present - everyday life - media. Vol. 3, JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2005, p. 708.
  70. Jump up ↑ George D. Chryssides: Jehovah's Witnesses. Continuity and Change . Ashgate, Farnham / Burlington 2016, p. 143 .
  71. ↑ George D. Chryssides: The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2009, pp. 135 .

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