Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses that are not to be Found in the Bible:
The Belief that Jehovah God will be the "Grandfather" of the Great Crowd:
"The prophet Isaiah foretold what would happen in our time: "It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains . . . And many peoples will certainly go and say: `Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways.'" (Isaiah 2:2, 3; Micah 4:2) Who are these persons taught by Jehovah? They include others besides those who will rule in heaven with Christ. As noted earlier, Jesus said he had "other sheep"_earthly subjects of the Kingdom_in addition to the "little flock" of Kingdom heirs. (John 10:16; Luke 12:32) The "great crowd," who survive "the great tribulation," are of the other sheep class, and they enjoy an approved standing before Jehovah on the basis of their faith in Jesus' shed blood. (Revelation 7:9, 14) Even though the other sheep are not directly included among the "sons" spoken of at Isaiah 54:13, they are blessed with being taught by Jehovah. Therefore, they properly address God as "Father" because he will, in effect, be their Grandfather through the "Eternal Father," Jesus Christ._Matthew 6:9; Isaiah 9:6." (*** w95 8/1 13 Jehovah-A God Who Teaches Great Crowd of Taught Ones***, emphasis added)
"The first Adam bequeathed a condemnation to death to all his offspring. Did Adam become the forefather of the man Jesus Christ? No, Jesus did not have a human father but was born from a virgin made pregnant with his life-force that God transferred from the spirit realm. So the sinner Adam did not become a forefather of that earthly Son of God. The second Adam, however, has become a life-giving spirit. In this capacity he can fulfill Isaiah's prophecy and become the "Eternal Father" to the first Adam's offspring, whom he repurchases and adopts for the purpose of bestowing perfect human life on a paradise earth. In such a way the heavenly Father of Jesus Christ will become the heavenly Grandfather of the restored human family. For this reason the human family will enter into a new relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth. Never was there the least possibility that Jehovah would fail in his original purpose. Thus Jehovah will have foiled the vicious, ungodly scheme of Satan the Devil. All the repurchased human family will be brought to the knowledge of this fact. What a wonderful day it will be when Jesus Christ takes over the fatherhood of the human family in order to rear mankind in Paradise restored to earth!" (*** ws 169 20 A Happy Human Family Under a New Fatherhood ***, emphasis added)
The Date "1935" for the time when God was Meant to have had Filled 144,000 Places in Heaven:
"the heavenly hope was held out, highlighted and stressed until the year 1935. Then as "light flashed up" to reveal clearly the identity of the "great crowd" of Revelation 7:9, the emphasis began to be placed on the earthly hope". (The Watchtower, February 1, 1982, p 28).
"In 1935 we came to understand that the "great crowd" was not a secondary heavenly class. We learned that it instead represents a class that survives the great tribulation and has the opportunity of living forever in Paradise on earth. (Revelation 7:9-14) With this new understanding, some who had partaken of the Memorial emblems realized that theirs was an earthly hope, and they discontinued partaking." (Watchtower 1997 October 1, p. 23)
The JW belief that Heaven is Limited to only 144,000 Persons
Even though Rev. 7 and 14 certainly do speak of a 144,000 people nowhere, at all, is it even hinted that Heaven is limited to this number. There is simply no Scripture that says this.
The JW Belief that only 144,000 Persons are in the New Covenant and are Born-Again
Again, this is simply not even indicated anywhere in the Bible. In fact, the opposite is true. The Watchtower's own New World Translation of the Bible says at John 3:5:
"Unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3 NWT, emphasis added)
The Kingdom is the place wherever Jesus is reigning as King, be it earth or heaven. The point is that if you want to see that Kingdom you need to be "born again". Who is this for? Just a 144,000 people? No. It is for "Anyone".
Similarly, the New World Translation also states:
"Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God" (I John 5:1, NWT, emphasis added)
Does the expression "everyone believing" leave any believers out? Would this limit the number of "everyone believing" being "born of God" to 144,000? Of course not.
The Belief that Separate Components of Plasma are Allowed while Forbidding Plasma itself:
The Watchtower do not allow blood transfusions for Jehovah's Witnesses and therefore prohibits all of the main components of blood: plasma, platelets, and red cells. However, on the other hand, they do allow Jehovah's Witnesses to accept all of the separate components of plasma. Since the Watchtower Society allows the separate components of plasma to be accepted by Jehovah's Witnesses, it must be asked why do they forbid the use of plasma itself? Nowhere in the Bible can any verse be pointed to in support of the Watchtower allowing separate components of plasma.
The Belief that Jehovah God "Disposed of" the Body of Jesus:
"The human body of flesh, which Jesus Christ laid down forever as a ransom sacrifice, was disposed of by God's power..." (Things in Which it is Impossible for God to Lie, 1965, p. 354).
"Disposing of Jesus' physical body at the time of his resurrection presented no problem for God." (Reasoning From the Scriptures, 1989, p. 217).
Furthermore, another non-Biblical belief related to this area, is the view that Jehovah "dissolved" Jesus' fleshly body:
"was disposed of by Jehovah God, dissolved into its constituent elements or atoms." (The Watchtower, 1st October 1955, p. 518.).
Another non-Biblical theory connected to the Watchtower's view of the resurrected Jesus is that Jehovah took Jesus' body away to preserve it somewhere:
"Our Lord's human body, the one crucified, was removed from the tomb by the power of God. Had it remained there it would have been an obstacle in the way of the faith of his disciples, who were not yet instructed in spiritual things. They were not thus instructed until the giving of the holy spirit at Pentecost. The scriptures do not reveal what became of that body, except that it did not decay or corrupt. (Acts 2:27-31) We can only surmise that the Lord may have preserved it somewhere to exhibit to the people of the millennial age." (The Harp Of God, 1921; 1928 ed.; p. 172)
Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses that are not to be Found in the Bible:
The Watchtower's Practice of Baptism:
The Watchtower's practice of baptism has many aspects to it that cannot be found in the Bible. These are outlined below:
1. Before baptism, one must answer over 80 questions in front of a panel of elders.
2. Watchtower literature must be studied at least six months before a person can be baptized as a Jehovah's Witness.
In contrast to this, when one reads through the account of the early Church in the book of Acts, we find that not only did believers not have to go through a six month book study and undergo a series of questions before a panel of elders, but they were often baptised at the very instance that they believed in Jesus (e.g. Acts 2:41; 8:12, 36-38; 9:18; 10:47; 16:14-15, 33; 18:18). Some Jehovah's Witnesses may object that there are also Christian churches that discourage people from being baptised straight away as well. While this is probably so, it must be stressed that the difference here is that if a Christian wants to be baptised straight away, he or she can do so. Jehovah's Witnesses are not given that option.
3. Being baptised into an "Organization" rather than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19. Jehovah's Witnesses entering into baptism are asked the following questions:
"(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?"
"(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with Gods spirit-directed organization?" (w85 6/1 30 Subjecting Ourselves to Jehovah by Dedication)
The Recording of One's Time while out in the Field Ministry (or "Door-to-Door Work").
Being Expected to do a Minimum of 10 Hours Per Month in the Field Ministry.
The Non-Wearing of Beards (or at the very least, a strong discouragement from wearing them)
For more on this see the following article on this site: Jehovahs's Witnesses and the Issue of Beards.)
Being Expected to Attend Five Meetings Per Week.
Being Unable to Attend a Church Service.