Jehovah’s Witnesses — Part 1

General summary (the essence of the lecture)

The lecture by: His Holiness Pope Shenouda III addresses and critiques the movement “Jehovah’s Witnesses” and explains their heresies and core doctrines and their impact on believers and the Christian community.

Introduction

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III gives a brief presentation about the origin of the Jehovah’s Witnesses movement, its spread, and its methods of activity (house visits, publications and a printing center in Brooklyn). He points out that this movement is not recognized by the Christian churches and that it promotes interpretations and heresies contrary to the Coptic Orthodox faith.

Organizational practices and activity

• The movement relies on distributing books and publications in many languages, and its activity focuses on entering homes and repeated, insistent visits.
• They have a special translation of the Holy Bible called the “New World Bible” (New World Translation) which, according to the speaker, is corrupted.

Core doctrinal beliefs that are criticized

• Rejection of the church in the traditional sense: They do not see the church as a place of worship but as a group of believers, and they deny the sacraments and tradition.
• Position towards religions and governments: They consider religions and governments institutions made by the devil; they prohibit joining the army and saluting the flag, which exposes them to expulsion for political reasons.
• Denial of the immortality of the soul and spirit: They see that the soul is not immortal and that death is complete annihilation; and that immortality is a gift granted to those who pass the test (a reward view).
• View of angels and the giants (Nephilim): They believe that angels could incarnate and that some sinned and fell (an interpretation of pre-flood stories), and they deny the immortality of some angels.
• Their doctrine about Christ: They see Christ as a created being, the first created, called “the only Son of God” meaning a distinguished creature, and they consider that Christ is the angel Michael, and that he is not God equal to the Father — a position close to Arianism.
• The second coming and heavenly kingship: They link chronological events (such as 1914 and 1917) to claims of Christ’s entry and the start of his kingdom in heaven, and they believe in a secret coming that is seen only by their followers.
• The kingdom and the chosen few: They claim the existence of the “small flock” (144,000) who enter heaven, and the rest of the believers live in an “earthly paradisal kingdom” on earth for a thousand years.
• Denial of the Trinity: They reject the doctrine of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit as a person; they say it is a power and not a person, and they describe the doctrines of incarnation and the Trinity as satanic heresies or historical inventions.

Theological and behavioral consequences

• Denial of the mysteries (sacraments) and celibacy, rejection of public prayer, and adherence only to private prayer.
• A hostile stance towards major international institutions (like the UN and Security Council) and global churches which are seen as satanic projects to deceive people.

Spiritual and educational dimension from the Coptic Orthodox perspective

• A warning to the flock about the danger of teachings that weaken the true divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that diminish the value of church tradition and its sacraments.
• The necessity to distinguish between truth and heresy by returning to the teachings of the Holy Scripture and the Fathers: belief in the Trinity, bodily resurrection, immortality of the soul according to the Church’s understanding, and the divinity of Christ.
• A spiritual warning to deal with the movement’s missionary activities wisely, and to educate people about the dangers of textual corruption and translations oriented to justify ideas outside the ecclesiastical tradition.
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