THE REST FROM YESTERDAY

The remainder of those things that JW's believe.

10. Heaven: Only 144,000 individuals go to heaven. This "little flock" began with the twelve apostles, and the number wa filled by the year 1935. Approximately 9,000 elderly JW's are the only remaining ones on earth today who will go to heaven, with the rest of the Jehovah's Witnesses hoping to live on earth forever.
11. Hell: Following the lead of its founder, Charles T. Russell, the Watchtower Society still teaches that hades is merely the grave, that the fire of Gehenna instantly disintegrates its victims into nothingness, and that there is no conscious existence for the dead until the time of their bodily resurrection.
12. Holidays: Celebration of any "worldly holiday" is strickly forbidden for JW's. This prohibition applies to U.S. presidents birthdays, Valentines's Dady, Memorial day, Christmas, Easter, New Years Day, Thanksgiving, Good Friday and so on, even Mother's day and Father's day! Even if a "pagan origin" cannot be researched as the basis for banning a particular observance, the simple fact that"worldly people" celebrate it is sufficient reason for the JW's not to celebrate it.
13. Holy Spirit: The HOly Spirit is neither God nor a person, according to Watchtower teaching. "It" is simply an impersonal "active force" that God uses in doing his will.
14. Hope: JW's believe that God stopped calling Christians to a heavenly hope back in the year 1935. Since then, he has been offering people the opportunity to live forever on earth. ("Millions now living will never die" is a familiar JW's slogan) God will destroy everyone else on the planet, leaving only JW's, and he will rstore a Garden-of-Eden paradise for them worldwide.
15. Jesus Christ: In Watchtower theology, Jesus Christ is a mere angel--the first one that God created when he started creating angels. Witnesses identify Christ as Michael the archangel, although they call Jesus "the Son of God"--because "the first spirit person God made was like a firstborn son to him" . They also call him "a god", and translate John 1:1 accordingly in their Bible.
16: Organization: Witnesses believe that God set up the Watchtower organization as his channel of communication to gather together those of mankind who will be saved. as the visble agency of the kingdom of God on earth, this organization exercises full governmental authority over believers--it promulgates laws, puts violators on trial, operates Kingdom schools, and so on--parallel to the secular government. If there is a conflict between the two, the organization is to be obeyed, rather than the secular rulers. (In the Witnesses minds, they are obeying God rather than men, Acts 5:29)
17. Resurrection: Concerning Christ, JW's believe that he became nonexistent when he died and that he was raised three days later as a "spirit" --an angel. They deny his bodily resurrection. Going along with their teaching that Christ returned invisibly in 1914, Witnesses believe that he raised dead Christians to spirit life shortly thereafter, and that the rest of the human dead will be raised bodily during the thousand year reign of God's kingdom.
18: Salvation: Although giving lip service to salvation through faith in Christ, Witnesses actually believe that salvation is impossible apart from full obedience to the Watchtower Society and vigorous participation in its prescribed works program. Even Individual JW's who are not sufficiently zealour for the organization may not survive Armageddon, and those who do make their way into the earthly paradise must maintain good works throughout Christ's thousand year reign before they can be sealed for life.


OK, my next blog will include some of those questions that need to be ask. I hope this is being helpful, if it is, tell me, I would like to know if you are really reading this and if it helps. If it doesn't help, then I need to move on to something that does.