Encyclopedia of Comparative Theology

Heresy: Jehovah’s Witnesses (2)

Heresy: Jehovah’s Witnesses

They fight against all governments and religions, viewing them as the work of Satan.
They refuse to join the army and believe that saluting the national flag is a form of idolatry.
They do not believe in the immortality of the soul and think that the wicked—like our father Adam—will perish.
They believe that angels married humans and begot children from them.
They believe that Christ is a created god through whom God created all beings.

Their heresies and false teachings:

1. They fight against all religions and see them as the work of Satan.
   They consider religions as a mire in which some people wallow.

2. They fight against governments, believing that all of them are works of Satan who manages and rules the world.

3. They see the Security Council, the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, and similar organizations as satanic projects used to deceive people.

4. They regard themselves as God’s ambassadors on earth, and as ambassadors, they should be exempt from military service in every country they live in. They also oppose armies and reject joining them.

5. They believe that saluting the national flag is a form of idolatry and refuse to do so.

6. They sanctify Saturday instead of Sunday.

7. Many accuse them of being Zionist or atheistic groups that cause people to doubt religions and values. Their association has been dissolved by our Egyptian government.

8. They believe that angels can take human form, marry women, and have children with them.

9. They do not believe in the eternal punishment of the wicked but think their penalty is annihilation and that their bodies will not rise again. They interpret the word “Hell” as meaning destruction.

10. They do not believe in the immortality of the soul or spirit, but think immortality is a gift given to the righteous rather than an inherent trait of their spirits.
    They view the human soul as similar to that of animals but of a higher kind.

11. They believe immortality is a unique attribute of Jehovah God alone and that Jesus Christ obtained it as a reward for passing the test.

12. They say that the first teacher who proclaimed the immortality of the soul was the devil, the teacher of lies, and that the doctrine of the soul’s immortality is a deceitful invention of Satan and the cornerstone of all earthly religions.

13. They believe that Jesus Christ Himself did not have an immortal soul.

14. They believe that Adam, the father of humanity, perished without salvation, fell into destruction, and will not return to life.

15. They believe that Jesus Christ was the first of God’s creations and that after creating Him, God created all beings through Him.
    They believe He was the first to dwell in heaven and that He is a mighty god but not the Almighty God.

16. They believe that at His baptism, Christ began His second birth, became the spiritual Son of God, and was anointed King. They believe that Christ ascended to heaven not with His human body but in spirit, where He became higher than the angels and all other created beings in the universe, second only to Jehovah the Almighty.

17. They do not believe in the Holy Spirit as a hypostasis (Person) nor in the Holy Trinity.

18. They believe that those who will go to heaven are 144,000 (from Jehovah’s Witnesses). As for the righteous among Jehovah’s Witnesses, they call them the “other sheep.” These will be granted life on earth after the resurrection under the rule of the heavenly church.

19. They believe in the return of Israel to their homeland in Palestine.

20. They do not believe in building houses of God, but rather see every Jehovah’s Witness as a preacher who goes to people’s homes to evangelize them.

For better translation support, please contact the center.