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Jehovah's Witnesses 

{juh-hoh'-vuhz} 

Jehovah's Witnesses are a society of
Christians who promote home study of
the Bible, which they hold to be the
complete Word of God. They believe that
God's kingdom is an actual government
now ruling in heaven that will soon
restore the earth to its original
paradisaic condition. They expect an
early end to the present world system
in a "great tribulation" from God that
will rid the earth of wickedness and
suffering. Following Armageddon will
come a millennial reign over the earth
by Jesus. The gaining of eternal life
depends on complete obedience to
Jehovah God and faith in the provision
of Jesus Christ's ransom sacrifice. The
Witnesses encourage adherence to the
Bible's moral standards. Because of
their neutrality as to affairs of
secular government, their refusal to
salute any flag, and their rejection of
the practice of blood transfusion
(which they believe is forbidden by the
Bible), the Witnesses have been the
subject of controversy. 

The activities of Jehovah's Witnesses
are coordinated by a governing body at
international headquarters in Brooklyn,
New York. In the more than 42,000
congregations worldwide, elders, male
members meeting certain scriptural
qualifications, preside as a body.
Instruction and training are provided
for all at five meetings a week, held
primarily in "Kingdom Halls." The
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of
Pennsylvania and the Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society of New York, Inc.,
are the legal agencies of Jehovah's
Witnesses. They print and distribute
the Bible. Their principal periodical,
The Watchtower, has a circulation of
8,300,000 copies in more than 100
languages. 

The Witnesses acknowledge Jehovah God
as their founder. The modern movement
was organized in the 1870s by Charles
Taze RUSSELL. By 1979, Jehovah's
Witnesses numbered 2.2 million in more
than 200 lands. F. W. FRANZ 

Bibliography: Cole, Marley, Jehovah's
Witnesses--The New World Society
(1955); Macmillan, A. H., Faith on the
March (1957); Watchtower Bible and
Tract Society, Yearbook of Jehovah's
Witnesses (annual).