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Restorationist Christian denomination From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jehovah's Witnesses is a nontrinitarian, millenarian, restorationist Christian denomination.[8] The group grew out of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century.[3] In 2024, Jehovah's Witnesses reported a peak membership of approximately 9 million worldwide.
| Jehovah's Witnesses | |
|---|---|
The current world headquarters for Jehovah's Witnesses in Warwick, New York. | |
| Classification | Restorationist |
| Orientation | Premillennialist[1] |
| Scripture | Bible (Protestant canon) |
| Theology | Nontrinitarian |
| Governance | Governing Body |
| Structure | Hierarchical[2] |
| Region | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Warwick, New York, US |
| Founder | Charles Taze Russell (Bible Student movement)[3] Joseph Franklin Rutherford[4] |
| Origin | 1870s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US |
| Branched from | Bible Student movement, Adventism[5] |
| Separations | Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups |
| Congregations | 118,767 (2024)[6] |
| Members | 8.8 million (2024)[6] |
| Missionaries | 4,091 (2021)[7] |
| Publications | Jehovah's Witnesses publications |
| Official website | jw |
Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their evangelism, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake!, and for refusing military service and blood transfusions. They consider the use of God's name vital for proper worship. They reject Trinitarianism, inherent immortality of the soul, and hellfire, which they consider unscriptural doctrines. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the destruction of the present world system at Armageddon is imminent, and the establishment of God's kingdom over earth is the only solution to all of humanity's problems.[9] They do not observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays, or other holidays and customs they consider to have pagan origins incompatible with Christianity.[10] They prefer to use their own Bible translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.[11][12] Adherents commonly call their body of beliefs "The Truth".[13] They consider human society morally corrupt and under the influence of Satan, and most limit their social interaction with non-Witnesses.[14] The denomination is directed by a group known as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, which establishes all doctrines.[15][16] Congregational disciplinary actions include formal expulsion and shunning, for what they consider serious offenses.[17][18] Members who formally leave are considered to be disassociated and are also shunned.[19] Some members who leave voluntarily successfully "fade" without being shunned. Former members may experience significant mental distress as a result of being shunned,[20] and some seek reinstatement to maintain contact with their friends and family.[21]
The group's position on conscientious objection to military service and refusal to salute state symbols (for example, national anthems and flags) has brought it into conflict with several governments.[22] Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted, with their activities banned or restricted in some countries. Persistent legal challenges by Jehovah's Witnesses have influenced legislation related to civil rights in several countries.[23] The organization has been criticized regarding biblical translation, doctrines, and alleged coercion of its members. The Watch Tower Society has made various unfulfilled predictions about major biblical events, such as Jesus' Second Coming, the advent of God's kingdom, and Armageddon. Their policies for handling cases of child sexual abuse have been the subject of various formal inquiries.
Jehovah's Witnesses have an active presence in most countries. For 2024, Jehovah's Witnesses reported approximately 8.8 million publishers—the term they use for members actively involved in preaching—in about 119,000 congregations.[6] In the same year, they conducted Bible studies with 7,480,146 individuals (including those conducted by Witness parents with their children[24][25]). 4,091 members served as missionaries in 2021.[7] In 2024, Jehovah's Witnesses reported a worldwide annual increase of 2.4%. 21,119,442 people attended the annual memorial of Christ's death.[6] According to the Watch Tower Society, more than 25,600 members have died of COVID-19.[26] The official published membership statistics, such as those above, include only those who submit reports for their personal ministry.[27] As a result, only about half of those who self-identify as Jehovah's Witnesses in independent demographic studies are considered active by the faith itself.[28][29] Research regarding the demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses is incredibly limited; sample sizes tend to be small and focused to a specific region. Cross-cultural studies are "virtually non-existent".[30]
The 2008 US Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey found a low retention rate among members of the denomination: about 37% of people raised in the group continued to identify as Jehovah's Witnesses.[31][32] The next lowest retention rates were for Buddhism at 50% and Catholicism at 68%. The study also found that 65% of adult American Jehovah's Witnesses are converts.[33] In 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses had the lowest average household income among surveyed religious groups, with approximately half of Witness households in the United States earning less than $30,000 per year.[34] As of 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses were considered to be the most racially diverse Christian denomination in the United States.[35] A sociological comparative study by the Pew Research Center found that American Jehovah's Witnesses ranked highest in getting no further than high school graduation, belief in God, importance of religion in one's life, frequency of religious attendance, frequency of prayers, frequency of Bible reading outside of religious services, belief that their prayers are answered, belief that their religion can only be interpreted one way, belief that theirs is the only one true faith leading to eternal life, opposition to abortion, and opposition to homosexuality. Jehovah's Witnesses also ranked lowest in interest in politics.[36][37]
Scholarly analysis of Jehovah's Witnesses is limited in Western academia,[38] with most works focusing on legal challenges faced by the group.[39] The denomination does not cooperate with scholars beyond limited communication from anonymous individuals. Consequently, academics often rely on literature written by former members such as James Penton and Raymond Franz to understand its inner workings.[40] The denomination has been variously described as a church, sect, new religious movement, or cult. Usage of the various terms has been debated among sociologists.[41] When the term sect is used by sociologists, it is within the framework of church-sect typology for their activities within a specific country.[41] Sociologists from the 1940s to the 1960s frequently compared the group's structure with totalitarianism.[30] Throughout the 1970s and 80s, sociologists determined that cult was a reductionist label when applied to Jehovah's Witnesses, noting that new members did not undergo "sudden transformations" and made a rational choice to join the group.[30] Academics generally stopped using the term cult in the 1980s due to its pejorative association and its usage by the Christian countercult movement, with new religious movement largely replacing it.[42] George Chryssides and Zoe Knox avoid using the term new religious movement because it also has negative connotations.[42] Chryssides refers to the denomination as an "old new religion".[43]
In 1870, Charles Taze Russell and others formed a group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to study the Bible.[44] During his ministry, Russell disputed many of mainstream Christianity's tenets, including immortality of the soul, hellfire, predestination, Christ's return, the Trinity, and the burning up of the world.[45] In 1876, he met Nelson H. Barbour. Later that year they jointly produced the book Three Worlds, which combined restitutionist views with end time prophecy.[45]
The book taught that God's dealings with humanity were divided dispensationally, with each period ending with a "harvest", and that Jesus inaugurated the "harvest of the Gospel age" by means of his invisible return in 1874.[45] The book asserted that 1914 would mark the end of a 2,520-year period called "the Gentile Times",[46] at which time world society would be replaced by the full establishment of God's kingdom on earth.[47] Beginning in 1878, Russell and Barbour jointly edited a religious magazine, Herald of the Morning.[48] In June 1879, the two split over doctrinal differences, and in July, Russell began publishing the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence,[49] saying its purpose was to demonstrate that the world was in "the last days" and that a new age of earthly and human restitution under Jesus' reign was imminent.[50]
From 1879, Watch Tower supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible topically. Thirty congregations were founded, and during 1879 and 1880, Russell visited each to provide the format he recommended for conducting meetings.[50] In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was presided over by William Henry Conley, and in 1884, Russell incorporated the society as a nonprofit business to distribute tracts and Bibles.[51][52] He also published a six book series entitled Studies in the Scriptures.[53] By about 1900, Russell had organized thousands of part- and full-time colporteurs,[49] and was appointing foreign missionaries and establishing branch offices. By the 1910s, Russell's organization maintained nearly a hundred "pilgrims", or traveling preachers.[54] Russell engaged in significant global publishing efforts during his ministry,[55][56] and by 1912, he was the most distributed Christian author in the United States.[57] He also directed The Photo-Drama of Creation.[58]
Russell moved the Watch Tower Society's headquarters to Brooklyn, New York, in 1909, combining printing and corporate offices with a house of worship; volunteers were housed in a nearby residence he named Bethel. He identified the religious movement as "Bible Students", and more formally as the International Bible Students Association.[59] By 1910, about 50,000 people worldwide were associated with the movement[60] and congregations reelected him annually as their pastor.[61] Russell died on October 31, 1916, at the age of 64 while returning from a ministerial speaking tour.[62]
In January 1917, the Watch Tower Society's legal representative, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, was elected as its next president. His election was disputed, and members of the Board of Directors accused him of acting in an autocratic and secretive manner.[63] The divisions between his supporters and opponents triggered a major turnover of members over the next decade.[16][64] Because of disappointment over the changes and unfulfilled predictions, tens of thousands of defections occurred during the first half of Rutherford's tenure, leading to the formation of several Bible Student organizations independent of the Watch Tower Society,[65][66][67][68] the largest of which was the Dawn Bible Students Association.[69] There are varying estimates of how many Bible Students left during Rutherford's tenure, with Alan Rogerson believing the total number to be unclear.[70] By mid-1919, an estimated one in seven of Russell-era Bible Students had ceased their association with the Society. By the 1920s, three-quarters were estimated to have left.[67][71]
Rutherford enacted several changes under his leadership, many of which are considered "distinctive" to modern Jehovah's Witness beliefs and practices. Some of these changes include advocating for door-to-door preaching, prohibiting celebrations believed to be pagan such as Christmas, the belief that Jesus died on a stake instead of a cross, and a more uniform organizational hierarchy.[72] In 1919, Rutherford instituted the appointment of a director in each congregation, and a year later all members were instructed to report their weekly preaching activity to the Brooklyn headquarters.[73] In 1920, he announced that the Hebrew patriarchs (such as Abraham and Isaac) would be resurrected in 1925, marking the beginning of Christ's thousand-year earthly kingdom.[74][75] In July 1917, he released The Finished Mystery as a seventh volume to the Studies in the Scriptures series. Rutherford claimed it to be Russell's posthumous work, but it was actually written by Clayton Woodworth, George Fisher, and Gertrude Seibert.[76] It strongly criticized Catholic and Protestant clergy and Christian involvement in the Great War.[77] As a result, Watch Tower Society directors were jailed for sedition under the Espionage Act in 1918 and members were subjected to mob violence; the directors were released in March 1919 and charges against them were dropped in 1920.[78]
On July 26, 1931, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford introduced the new name Jehovah's witnesses, based on Isaiah 43:10: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (King James Version). It was adopted by resolution. The name was chosen to distinguish his group of Bible Students from other independent groups that had severed ties with the Society, as well as to symbolize the instigation of new outlooks and the promotion of fresh evangelizing methods.[79][80]
In 1932, Rutherford eliminated the system of locally elected elders.[73] In 1938, he introduced what he called a theocratic organizational system, under which appointments in congregations worldwide were made from the Brooklyn headquarters.[73] Doctrine regarding life after death also evolved under his tenure. In addition to the preexisting belief that there would be 144,000 people to survive Armageddon and live in heaven to rule over earth with Jesus, a separate class of members, the "great multitude", was introduced. This group would live in a paradise restored on earth; from 1935, new converts to the movement were considered part of that class.[81][82] By the mid-1930s, the timing of the beginning of Jesus' presence, his enthronement as king, and the start of the last days were each moved to 1914.[83] As their interpretations of the Bible evolved, Witness publications decreed that saluting national flags is a form of idolatry, which led to a new outbreak of mob violence and government opposition in various countries.[84][85]
Nathan Knorr was appointed as third president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1942. Knorr organized large international assemblies, instituted new training programs for members, and expanded missionary activity and branch offices worldwide.[86] He also increased the use of explicit instructions guiding Jehovah's Witnesses' lifestyle and conduct as well as a greater use of congregational judicial procedures to enforce a strict moral code.[87][88] Watch Tower Society literature stopped crediting individual contributors during his tenure, as he believed that recognition should only be given to God.[89]
Knorr commissioned a new translation of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the full version of which was released in 1961.[90] Various Bible scholars, including Bruce M. Metzger[91] and MacLean Gilmour,[92] have said that while scholarship is evident in New World Translation, its rendering of certain texts is inaccurate and biased in favor of Witness practices and doctrines.[93][94] Critics of the group such as Edmund C. Gruss[95] and Christian writers such as Ray C. Stedman,[96] Walter Martin, Norman Klann,[97] and Anthony Hoekema[98] say the New World Translation is scholastically dishonest. Most criticism of the New World Translation relates to its rendering of the New Testament, particularly regarding the introduction of the name Jehovah and in passages related to the Trinity doctrine.[99][100]
The offices of elder and ministerial servant were restored to Witness congregations in 1972.[101] In a major organizational overhaul in 1976, the power of the Watch Tower Society president was diminished, with authority for doctrinal and organizational decisions being passed to the Governing Body.[102] Knorr introduced these changes as he believed that people making spiritual decisions should be "called by Christ" rather than elected.[103] The presidency's role transitioned into heading the denomination's legal entity.[103] The distinction between these roles grew further when all Governing Body members resigned as directors and the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc. was formed in 2000.[104] Since Knorr's death in 1977, the presidency has been held by Frederick Franz,[105] Milton Henschel,[106] Don Alden Adams[107] and Robert Ciranko.[108]
From 1966, Witness publications and convention talks built anticipation of the possibility that Jesus' thousand-year reign might begin in 1975[109] or shortly thereafter.[110][111] The number of baptisms increased significantly, from about 59,000 in 1966 to more than 297,000 in 1974. By 1975, the number of active members exceeded two million. From 1971 to 1981, there was a net increase of 737,241 publishers worldwide, while baptisms totaled 1.71 million for the same period.[112] Watch Tower Society literature did not say that 1975 would definitely mark the end,[110] though it was strongly implied. Frederick Franz, then–president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, stated at a 1975 convention that the great tribulation could be expected to start by the end of that year. Many Jehovah's Witnesses acted upon this information by quitting their jobs and preaching more fervently. After that prediction failed, ordinary Jehovah's Witness members were blamed for believing in the date rather than the Governing Body acknowledging responsibility. Membership declined significantly for a few years after the failed prediction.[113]
Jehovah's Witnesses have not set any specific dates for the end since 1975. Their publications emphasize that "one cannot know the day or the hour", but they still believe Armageddon to be imminent. Verse 34 of Matthew 24, where Jesus tells his disciples that "this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen", was interpreted to refer to the generation of people alive in 1914. The initial teaching was that Armageddon would begin before the last person alive during that timeframe had died. The time limit was removed in 1995. This doctrine changed further in 2008, where generation was interpreted to refer to both the original anointed class and their remnant, the latter of which would be alive when Armageddon began. In 2010, the meaning of generation was re-interpreted to include individuals whose lives overlapped with anointed individuals alive during 1914.[114]
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Jehovah's Witnesses are organized hierarchically, in what the leadership calls a theocratic organization, reflecting their belief that it is God's visible organization on earth.[115] Jehovah's Witnesses establish branch offices to manage their activities in various countries or regions.[116] Each branch office is also referred to as Bethel.[117] Supporting staff live on these properties where they operate as a religious community and administrative unit.[117] Their living expenses and those of other full-time volunteers are covered along with a basic monthly stipend.[118][119] These volunteers are called Bethelites and are assigned specific tasks such as printing literature or doing laundry. They are allowed to marry but must leave Bethel if they have children. Bethelites are expected to read the Bible cover-to-cover during their first year of service. Consultants are sometimes hired for specialized tasks such as legal advice. Regular Jehovah's Witness members are encouraged to visit Bethel as a recreational activity.[120]
Traveling overseers appoint local elders and ministerial servants, while branch offices may appoint regional committees for matters such as Kingdom Hall construction or disaster relief.[121] Each congregation has a body of appointed unpaid male elders and ministerial servants. Elders maintain general responsibility for congregational governance, setting meeting times, selecting speakers and conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work, and creating judicial committees to investigate and decide disciplinary action for cases involving sexual misconduct or doctrinal breaches.[122] New elders are appointed by a traveling overseer after recommendation by the existing body of elders. Ministerial servants—appointed in a similar manner as elders—fulfill clerical and attendant duties, but may also teach and conduct meetings.[93] Jehovah's Witnesses do not use elder as a title to signify a formal clergy-laity division,[123] though elders may employ ecclesiastical privilege regarding confession of sins.[124]
Much of the denomination's funding is donated, primarily by members. There is no tithing or collection.[125] In 2001 Newsday listed the Watch Tower Society as one of New York's 40 richest corporations, with revenues exceeding $950 million.[126][127] In 2016, it ranked eighteenth for donations received by registered charities in Canada at $80 million.[128] From 1969 until 2015, the denomination's headquarters were housed in Brooklyn, with plans to completely move its operations to Warwick in 2017.[129] The property was sold to Kushner Companies for $340 million in 2016.[130]
The denomination is led by the Governing Body—an all-male group that varies in size. The Governing Body directs several committees that are responsible for administrative functions, including publishing, assembly programs and evangelizing activities.[93] Doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses are established by the Governing Body, which assumes responsibility for interpreting and applying scripture.[16] The Governing Body does not issue a single, comprehensive statement of faith, but expresses its doctrinal positions in a variety of ways through publications published by the Watch Tower Society.[131] The publications teach that doctrinal changes and refinements result from a process of progressive revelation, in which God gradually reveals his will and purpose,[132] and that such enlightenment or "new light" results from the application of reason and study.[133]
Sociologist Andrew Holden's ethnographic study of the group concluded that pronouncements of the Governing Body, through Watch Tower Society publications, carry almost as much weight as the Bible.[134] The organization makes no provision for members to criticize or contribute to its teachings.[135] Witness publications strongly discourage followers from questioning doctrine and counsel received from the Governing Body, reasoning that it is to be trusted as part of "God's organization".[136] The denomination does not tolerate dissent over doctrines and practices;[136] members who openly disagree with the group's teachings are expelled and shunned.[137]
Jehovah's Witnesses have a complementarian view of women. Only men may hold positions of authority, such as ministerial servant or elder. Women may actively participate in the public preaching work, serve at Bethel,[138] and profess to be members of the 144,000.[139] They are not typically allowed to address the congregation directly.[140] In rare circumstances, women can substitute in certain capacities if there are no eligible men. In these situations, women must wear a head covering if they are performing a teaching role.[138] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that transgender people should live as the gender they were assigned at birth and view gender-affirming surgery as mutilation.[141] Modesty in dress and grooming is frequently emphasized for both men and women.[142]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe their denomination is a restoration of first-century Christianity.[143] They believe that mainstream Christianity departed from true worship over time, that groups such as Cathars attempted to restore some aspects of it, and that the Protestant Reformation "did not go far enough".[144] Older books published by the Watch Tower Society such as those by Charles Russell and Joseph Rutherford are usually unfamiliar to a modern Jehovah's Witness, although some congregations have these publications in their libraries.[145] Jehovah's Witnesses consider the Bible scientifically and historically accurate and reliable and interpret much of it literally, but accept parts of it as symbolic.[146] Jehovah's Witnesses are old earth creationists.[147] The entire Protestant canon of scripture is considered the inspired, inerrant word of God.[148] Regular personal Bible reading is frequently recommended. Members are discouraged from formulating doctrines and "private ideas" reached through Bible research independent of Watch Tower Society publications and are cautioned against reading other religious literature.[149]
Jehovah's Witnesses emphasize the use of God's name, and they prefer the form Jehovah—a vocalization of God's name based on the Tetragrammaton.[150][151][152] They believe that Jehovah is the only true god, the creator of all things, and the "Universal Sovereign". They believe that all worship should be directed toward him, and that he is not part of a Trinity;[153] consequently, the group places more emphasis on God than on Christ.[154] They believe that the Holy Spirit is God's applied power or "active force", rather than a person.[155] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they can have a personal relationship with God.[156]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is God's only direct creation, that everything else was created through him by means of God's power, and that the initial unassisted act of creation uniquely identifies Jesus as God's "only-begotten Son".[157] As part of their nontrinitarian beliefs, they do not believe that Jesus is God the Son.[158] They do believe that he was the first angel,[159] and is the only archangel.[160] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin[161] but do not believe that she was born free from sin or that she remained a virgin after his birth.[162] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus served as a redeemer and a ransom sacrifice to atone for original sin.[163][164] They believe that he died on a single upright post rather than a cross,[165] which they regard as a pagan symbol. Accordingly, they do not use the word "crucifixion" when referring to Jesus' death.[158] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was resurrected with a "spirit body", and that he assumed human form only temporarily after his resurrection.[166] Biblical references to the Michael, Abaddon (Apollyon), and the Word are interpreted as names for Jesus in various roles.[167] Jesus is considered the only intercessor and high priest between God and humanity, appointed by God as the king and judge of his kingdom.[166]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe death is a state of nonexistence with no consciousness. There is no Hell of fiery torment; Hades and Sheol are understood to refer to the condition of death, termed the common grave.[168] They consider the soul a life or a living body that can die.[169] They believe that humanity is in a sinful state,[169] from which release is possible only by means of Jesus' shed blood as a ransom, or atonement, for humankind's sins.[170] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that a "little flock" of 144,000 selected humans go to heaven, but that God will resurrect the majority (the "other sheep") to a cleansed earth after Armageddon. They interpret Revelation 14:1–5 to mean that the number of Christians going to heaven is limited to exactly 144,000, who will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth.[171] They believe that baptism as a Jehovah's Witness is vital for salvation,[172] and do not recognize baptism from other denominations as valid.[173] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that some people who died before Armageddon will be resurrected, taught the proper way to worship God, and then face a final test at the end of the millennial reign.[174] This judgment will be based on their actions after resurrection rather than past deeds. At the end of the thousand years, Jesus will hand all authority back to God. Then a final test will take place when Satan is released to mislead humankind. Those who fail will die, along with Satan and his demons.[175] They also believe that those who rejected their beliefs while still alive will not be resurrected.[176]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan was originally a perfect angel who developed feelings of self-importance and craved worship. Satan influenced Adam and Eve to disobey God, and humanity subsequently became participants in a challenge involving the competing claims of Jehovah and Satan to universal sovereignty.[177] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus began to rule invisibly in heaven as king of God's kingdom in October 1914 and that Satan was subsequently ousted from heaven to the earth. They base this belief on a rendering of the Greek word parousia—usually translated as "coming" when referring to Jesus—as "presence".[178] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they are the kingdom's representatives on earth.[179] They also believe that they must remain separate from human governments, which they consider to be controlled by Satan.[180] The kingdom is viewed as the means by which God will accomplish his original purpose for the earth, transforming it into a paradise without sickness or death.[181] Jehovah's Witnesses do not currently suggest any specific date for the end of the world,[182] but Watch Tower Society literature has previously made such statements about 1914, 1925 and 1975.[182] These failed predictions were presented as "beyond doubt" and "approved by God".[183] Some Watch Tower Society publications state that God has used Jehovah's Witnesses and the International Bible Students as a modern-day prophet.[en 1]
A central teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the world faces imminent destruction through intervention by God and Jesus Christ.[184] This belief has been present since the group's founding.[185] They believe that Jesus' inauguration as king in 1914 is a sign that the great tribulation is about to take place.[186] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that all other present-day religions are false, identifying them with Babylon the Great, the "harlot" of Revelation 17.[187] They believe that Nebuchadnezzar II had a dream where he saw a statue with a gold head, silver chest and arms, copper abdomen, iron legs, and feet that were a mixture of clay and iron. This dream is interpreted as a prophecy representing the rise and fall of empires: gold represents Babylon, silver represents Persia, copper represents Greece, iron represents Rome, and clay represents an Ango-American empire. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that humanity is currently living in the last empire that will eventually be destroyed by the United Nations, which is also interpreted as the scarlet-colored wild beast.[188] Satan will subsequently use world governments to attack Jehovah's Witnesses, which will prompt God to begin the war of Armageddon, during which all forms of human government will be destroyed and all people not counted as Jesus' sheep will be killed. After Armageddon, God will extend his heavenly kingdom to include earth, which will be transformed into a paradise like the Garden of Eden.[189] They thus depart from the mainstream Christian belief that the "second coming" of Matthew 24 refers to a single moment of arrival on earth to judge humans.[178]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that dating should only occur if the couple is seriously considering marriage. Dating outside the denomination is strongly discouraged and can lead to religious sanctions. Some Jehovah's Witnesses remain single by choice, while others wish to be in a relationship but have a lack of options. Dating Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to have a chaperone when they are together to avoid acting on sexual desires.[190] All sexual relations outside marriage are grounds for expulsion if the person is not deemed repentant;[191] homosexual activity is considered a serious sin, and same-sex marriage is forbidden.[192] Masturbation is also prohibited.[193]
Jehovah's Witnesses may get married at a Kingdom Hall in a simple ceremony and practices considered pagan such as wishing good luck or throwing rice are prohibited. An elder will give a talk to the congregation.[194] Once married, a husband is considered to have spiritual headship over his wife, unless he is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses.[195] Contraception is allowed.[196] Divorce is forbidden if not sought on the grounds of adultery, which is called a "scriptural divorce".[197] If a divorce is obtained for any other reason, remarriage is considered adulterous unless the former spouse has died or is considered to have committed sexual immorality.