Watch Out the Jehovahs Witnesses Say the End of the World Is Near Again and Again and Again
On Monday, July 17, the Russian Supreme Court rejected an entreatment of an earlier ruling sanctioning Jehovah'due south Witnesses as an extremist group. As a concluding ditch attempt, Russian Jehovah's Witnesses intend to appeal to the European Courtroom of Human Rights. But, as of now, Jehovah's Witness gatherings and preaching are criminal offenses in Russian federation. The Russian authorities also has the legal authorization to liquidate any property held past Jehovah'south Witnesses as an arrangement.
There are over eight million Jehovah's Witnesses in 240 countries worldwide. Russia, with a population of more than than 150 million, has a total of 117,000 Jehovah'south Witnesses – one Jehovah'due south Witness per 850 people.
Who are Jehovah's Witnesses, and why would the Russian, or whatever, government consider them to be a threat?
Early history
The story of Jehovah'due south Witnesses begins in the tardily 19th century well-nigh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a group of students studying the Bible. The group was led by Charles Taze Russell, a religious seeker from a Presbyterian groundwork. These students understood "Jehovah," a version of the Hebrew "Yaweh," to be the name of God the Begetter himself.
Russell and his followers looked frontward to Jesus Christ establishing a "millennium" or a thousand-year period of peace on World. This "Golden Age" would see the Earth transformed to its original purity, with a "righteous" social organisation that would non accept poverty or inequality.
Russell died in 1916 without witnessing the return of Jesus Christ.
Only his group endured and grew. The name "Jehovah'south Witnesses" was formally adopted in the 1930s.
Early on Jehovah'south Witnesses believed 1914 to be the get-go of the end of worldly governments that would culminate with the Battle of Armageddon. Armageddon specifically refers to Mountain Megiddo in Israel where some Christians believe the last disharmonize betwixt expert and evil will take place. Jehovah's Witnesses, however, expected that the Battle of Armageddon would be worldwide with Jesus leading a "heavenly army" to defeat the enemies of God.
They besides believed that after Armageddon, Jesus would rule the world from heaven with 144,000 "faithful Christians," as specified in the Book of Revelation. Other faithful Christians would be reunited with dead loved ones and live on a renewed World.
Over the years, Jehovah's Witnesses accept reinterpreted elements of this timeline and have abandoned setting specific dates for the return of Jesus Christ. But they nevertheless wait forward to the Golden Age that Russell and his Bible students expected.
Given the group'south conventionalities in a literal thousand-year earthly reign of Christ, scholars of faith allocate Jehovah's Witnesses as a "millennarian movement."
What are their behavior?
Jehovah'south Witnesses deny the Trinity. For nigh Christians, God is a matrimony of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Instead, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is singled-out from God – not united equally one person with him. The "Holy Spirit," so, refers to God's active power. Such doctrines distinguish Jehovah's Witnesses from mainline Christian denominations, all of which concur that God is "triune" in nature.
But similar other Christian denominations, Jehovah'south Witnesses praise God through worship and vocal. Their gathering places are called "Kingdom Halls," which are ordinary-looking buildings – similar small conference centers – that have the reward of being easily congenital. Inside are rows of chairs and a podium for speakers, but little special beautification. Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for devoting a substantial amount of time to Bible study and door-to-door evangelizing.
Their biblical interpretations and missionary work certainly have critics. Just information technology is the political neutrality of the grouping that has attracted the most suspicion.
Jehovah'south Witnesses accept the legitimate authority of regime in many matters. For example, they pay taxes, following Jesus' admonition in Mark 12:17 "to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."
But they exercise non vote in elections, serve in the military or salute the flag. Such acts, they believe, compromise their primary loyalty to God.
A history of persecution
Jehovah's Witnesses take no political affiliations, and they renounce violence. All the same, they brand an like shooting fish in a barrel target for governments looking for internal enemies, as they refuse to bow downwardly to government symbols. Many nationalists telephone call them "enemies of the land."
As a result, they have often suffered persecution throughout history in many parts of the earth.
Jehovah's Witnesses were jailed as draft evaders in the U.Due south. during both world wars. In a Supreme Court ruling in 1940, school districts were allowed to expel Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to salute the American flag. Through subsequent legal battles in the 1940s and 1950s, Jehovah Witnesses helped expand safeguards for religious liberty and freedom of conscience both in the United States and Europe.
In Nazi Germany, Jehovah'southward Witnesses were killed in concentration camps; a purple triangle was used by the Nazis to marker them. In the 1960s and 'seventy'southward, scores of African Jehovah'south Witnesses were slaughtered by members of The Youth League of the Republic of malaŵi Congress Political party for refusing to support dictator Hastings Banda. Many Witnesses fled to neighboring Mozambique, where they were held in internment camps.
At present it is Russia.
The Russian Supreme Court maintains that the country needs to be protected from disloyal religious fanatics.
But given their commitment to God to a higher place all things, Jehovah'due south Witnesses see themselves equally existence persecuted by those who value loyalty to country over whatsoever other principle. They also believe that the Russian government has "trampled on the guarantees of their own laws."
Many Jehovah's Witnesses still attach a bully importance to dates. Many Jehovah'due south Witnesses are filled with foreboding, every bit Apr xx, the day the Russian Supreme Court first ruled against them, is as well the altogether of Adolf Hitler.
Their memories of persecution have non faded with time.
Source: https://theconversation.com/why-russia-is-afraid-of-jehovahs-witnesses-77077
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