subject: What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe? [print this page] How are Jehovah's Witnesses differerent from other Christian religions? What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe? The first thing they would probably tell you is that Jehovahs Witnesses believe that the earth is going to be a paradise. While most Christian religions, and others as well, such as Buddhist and Muslim, teach of heaven and hell. very few touch on the subject of the earth. Many Fundamentalist Christian religions teach that the earth will be destroyed in fire. Most religions teach or allude to the idea that the earth is a type of testing ground, for one to be judged eternally.
The Jehovahs Witness belief is that the earth will stay forever, but will be cleaned up, at the final day, which the Bible refers to as Armageddon. The Bible states that Jesus will separate the good from the bad, and the bad will be destroyed, the meek will inherit the earth. Those who pass through the end of this system, what the Apostles referred to as the end of the world, will help to restore the earth to a paradise, and have the hope of living forever in paradise on the earth.
These are Bible texts used in support of those ideas:
He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever. Psalms 104:5
New American Standard Version
For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalms 37:9-11. American Standard Version
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Infants will play near the hole of the cobra; young children will put their hands into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:6-9.
What about eternal hellfire for the bad? Jehovahs Witnesses have believed, since their earliest days, that the wicked will be destroyed, that hell is the common grave, and that those who are incorrigibly wicked will be destroyed forever, what the Bible refers to as Genhenna, rather than be tormented forever in a fiery hell. The Witnesses teach that no such place exists. The lake of fire in the Bible, and eternal fire are used as symbols of eternal destruction, according to the Witnesses belief, rather than a literal firey place.
In the same way Sodom and Gomorrah recieved the judgment of eternal fire, even thouh they are not buring now, the wicked will recieve the same judgment. Jesus said that God is merciful to the unthankful and to the wicked, making it rain upon the righteous and unrighteous. God is love. To burn someone forever and ever, for what he may have done wrong for 50 years, certainly wouldn't reflect the qualities of a loving God. 1 John 4:8.
"And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outrcy nor pain be anymore, the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:3,4
