History of Adventism

Adventists appeared in the United States at the beginning of the XIX century. Its ancestor was William Miller (1781-1849), who belonged to the Baptist community in New York. A thorough study of the Bible and mathematical calculations according to the prophecies of the book of Daniel led him in 1818 to the conviction of the imminence of the end of the world, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial kingdom. The onset of the Last Judgment was accurately calculated - 1843. According to the prophecy of Daniel (Dan. 8:14), the sanctuary of God will be desecrated within 2300 days (read: years), and since these 2300 years began in 457 BC, from the moment of Artaxerxes' decree on the rebuilding of Jerusalem, then, subtracting the figure 457 from 2300, we get 1843. He published a brochure on the Second Coming, in which Miller further developed his eschatological views. Adherents of his teaching were called "Adventists". Soon Miller even gave the exact date – March 21, 1843. But the Lord did not come on this day and year. Then another follower of Miller, Snow, calculated and indicated a more accurate time of the coming of Jesus Christ - October 22, 1844. (Here he added the parable of the ten virgins, where the Bridegroom was late until midnight (Matt. 25:6), and consequently made Himself wait for half a day, i.e. half a year). Everything repeated itself from the beginning - field work was abandoned. Houses and estates were sold (those who still had left), white clothes were bought, in which they were going to meet the Lord. Hopes were disappointed again. After that, many left Adventism; those who remained began to call themselves the "Church of the Faithful Remnant". Only now the Adventists have given up all "calculations," according to the word of the Lord: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons..." (Acts 1:7). At present, the Seventh-day Adventists have a harmonious organization, where their followers are scattered all over the globe. Along with the Bible, the works of Ellen White, one of the founders of this teaching and the spiritual leader of Adventism, are also studied. Her works number several thousand pages. One of its dogmas, taken as a basis in Adventism, is the so-called "Three Angels' Message", where: "The first tidings are about the coming of the hour of judgment in heaven" (Rev. 14:6-7), "The second tidings are about the fall of Babylon" (Rev. 14:8, where by Babylon Adventists mean the Catholic Church), "The third tidings are about the persecution of the latter-time saints" (Rev. 14:6-7). 14:9, where the saints naturally mean Adventists). The Seventh-day Adventist Catholic Church is assigned a special role. According to their ideas, it symbolizes spiritual Babylon, which has already been mentioned above. But Adventists go further; referring to the section of Kabbalah (a mystical religious movement in Judaism), the so-called Gematria, their representatives give a decipherment of the number 666. First of all, it should be explained that Gematria consists in determining the numerical values of the Hebrew letters. The numerical values of the letters in various Hebrew words can be added together in different ways, and a deeper understanding of the content of the Bible text supposedly depends on the sum obtained. The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters, each with numerical values and esoteric content. Many Kabbalists have used this system to prove the inspiration of the Old Testament, pointing to intriguing numerical coincidences whose purpose was to find the hidden allegorical meaning of Scripture. This is the formula by which the Seventh-day Adventist calculated 666 (Rev. 13:18). Latin Greek Hebrew V- 5 30 lateinos 200 romiith 1-1 1 6 C-100 300 40 A-0 5 10 R-0 10 10 I- 1 50 400 U-5 70 666 S - 0 200 112 666 F - 0 I - 1 L - 50 I-1 I-1 53 D - 500 E-0 I- 1 501 Total: 666 E. White in his book "The Great Controversy" gives an explanation. In particular, she explains that this method of reading, known as the Gematria of the rabbis, is that each letter of a name is assigned its usual numerical value, and the sum of these numbers is the equivalent of the name. The Pope of Rome has such a high rank and is so exalted that he is no longer just a man, but a kind of God and the vicar of God. She writes: "The Pope possesses such a majestic title and dignity that, strictly speaking, he is not simply placed among persons of high rank, but is placed on the highest level of all ranks and titles. He is like a divine monarch, supreme emperor and king of all kings, so the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, earth and hell. On his mitre are inscribed the following letters: VICARIWS FILII DEI, which in Latin means: "Vicar of the Son of God". Ellen White then summarizes: "Now we (Seventh-day Adventists) ask the world: Is it possible to find another name in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin that stands for the same number?" (The Great Controversy, p. 575). The entire Adventist movement after 1846 split into six main branches. Evangelical Adventists are the founders of Adventism, but they adhere to common Christian views on eternal torment. The "Church of Adventist Christians" arose in 1855 and teaches that the soul after death is in a state of non-existence. Salvation is obtained by personal faith. During the millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth, sinners and atheists will be resurrected to bear witness to the truth of Adventism, and then they will be destroyed by God finally and irrevocably. The "society of life" is distinguished by the fact that, in their opinion, those who died in evil and unrighteousness will not even be resurrected, and they die in order never to wake up from the dust again. The "Adventist Church of God" awaits an age of "the fulfillment of prophecy and the restoration of all things." The millennial Kingdom of Christ will be restored on earth, where the saints will rule the world. Jerusalem will be the center of world domination. There is no soul after the death of the body, and therefore they associate their new existence only with the coming of Christ. The reason for the separation was the refusal to recognize Ellen White as a blessed prophetess, and they also advocated the abolition of the sanitary reform and the use of pork, tea, coffee, fish without scales, etc. "Seventh-day Adventists" fulfill the Old Testament commandment to honor the 7th day of the week, deriving this statement from Gen. 2:3 B.C. 66:23. The celebration of the resurrection is a human fantasy, not based on the biblical text; introduced in 331 by the Emperor Constantine in order to sublimate (absorb, dissolve) the pagan day of the sun. This last branch of Adventism is the largest, and in 1855 a compulsory tithe was introduced in it, which made it possible to put this religious movement on a firm material basis. Seventh-day Adventists have printed organs, theological colleges, and missionary organizations scattered throughout the world engaged in charity. The Seventh-day Adventists have a special attraction to medical institutions, nursing homes, hospices, orphanages, where, along with active charity and care for people, parallel missionary work is carried out. The governing international body of Adventists is the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; this world association is located in Baitle Creek (USA). Adventist teaching was brought to Russia by German colonists. In November 1883, the first preacher, Johann Pern, arrived in Russia, in the Taurida province. In 1886, there were already 300 followers of this doctrine in this province. Local authorities called Adventist doctrines "heresy of the Judaizers," but on the whole they were lenient towards them. Preachers from Western Europe did not abandon their attention and visits to Russia. These settlements were accompanied by the import of relevant literature, oral sermons and conversations with peasants and artisans, as well as with Baptists in various regions of the Empire. In 1901, there were already 37 Seventh-day Adventist communities in Russia. At present, the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists includes all unions (territorial division according to the geographical principle), including the CIS. The General Congress of the Seventh-day Adventist meets every four years, where its members open new unions, admit them to the confederation and appoint a president. In our country, Adventists also have a print organ: they publish newspapers and magazines, and in the Tula region since 1989 there has been a theological seminary of the Seventh-day Adventists, where future preachers and presbyters receive targeted theological education.

Sect of Jehovah's Witnesses

Adventists appeared in the United States at the beginning of the XIX century. Its ancestor was William Miller (1781-1849), who belonged to the Baptist community in New York. A thorough study of the Bible and mathematical calculations according to the prophecies of the book of Daniel led him in 1818 to the conviction of the imminence of the end of the world, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial kingdom. The onset of the Last Judgment was accurately calculated - 1843. According to the prophecy of Daniel (Dan. 8:14), the sanctuary of God will be desecrated within 2300 days (read: years), and since these 2300 years began in 457 BC, from the moment of Artaxerxes' decree on the rebuilding of Jerusalem, then, subtracting the figure 457 from 2300, we get 1843. He published a brochure on the Second Coming, in which Miller further developed his eschatological views. Adherents of his teaching were called "Adventists". Soon Miller even gave the exact date – March 21, 1843. But the Lord did not come on this day and year. Then another follower of Miller, Snow, calculated and indicated a more accurate time of the coming of Jesus Christ - October 22, 1844. (Here he added the parable of the ten virgins, where the Bridegroom was late until midnight (Matt. 25:6), and consequently made Himself wait for half a day, i.e. half a year). Everything repeated itself from the beginning - field work was abandoned. Houses and estates were sold (those who still had left), white clothes were bought, in which they were going to meet the Lord. Hopes were disappointed again. After that, many left Adventism; those who remained began to call themselves the "Church of the Faithful Remnant". Only now the Adventists have given up all "calculations," according to the word of the Lord: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons..." (Acts 1:7). At present, the Seventh-day Adventists have a harmonious organization, where their followers are scattered all over the globe. Along with the Bible, the works of Ellen White, one of the founders of this teaching and the spiritual leader of Adventism, are also studied. Her works number several thousand pages. One of its dogmas, taken as a basis in Adventism, is the so-called "Three Angels' Message", where: "The first tidings are about the coming of the hour of judgment in heaven" (Rev. 14:6-7), "The second tidings are about the fall of Babylon" (Rev. 14:8, where by Babylon Adventists mean the Catholic Church), "The third tidings are about the persecution of the latter-time saints" (Rev. 14:6-7). 14:9, where the saints naturally mean Adventists). The Seventh-day Adventist Catholic Church is assigned a special role. According to their ideas, it symbolizes spiritual Babylon, which has already been mentioned above. But Adventists go further; referring to the section of Kabbalah (a mystical religious movement in Judaism), the so-called Gematria, their representatives give a decipherment of the number 666. First of all, it should be explained that Gematria consists in determining the numerical values of the Hebrew letters. The numerical values of the letters in various Hebrew words can be added together in different ways, and a deeper understanding of the content of the Bible text supposedly depends on the sum obtained. The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters, each with numerical values and esoteric content. Many Kabbalists have used this system to prove the inspiration of the Old Testament, pointing to intriguing numerical coincidences whose purpose was to find the hidden allegorical meaning of Scripture. This is the formula by which the Seventh-day Adventist calculated 666 (Rev. 13:18). Latin Greek Hebrew V- 5 30 lateinos 200 romiith 1-1 1 6 C-100 300 40 A-0 5 10 R-0 10 10 I- 1 50 400 U-5 70 666 S - 0 200 112 666 F - 0 I - 1 L - 50 I-1 I-1 53 D - 500 E-0 I- 1 501 Total: 666 E. White in his book "The Great Controversy" gives an explanation. In particular, she explains that this method of reading, known as the Gematria of the rabbis, is that each letter of a name is assigned its usual numerical value, and the sum of these numbers is the equivalent of the name. The Pope of Rome has such a high rank and is so exalted that he is no longer just a man, but a kind of God and the vicar of God. She writes: "The Pope possesses such a majestic title and dignity that, strictly speaking, he is not simply placed among persons of high rank, but is placed on the highest level of all ranks and titles. He is like a divine monarch, supreme emperor and king of all kings, so the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, earth and hell. On his mitre are inscribed the following letters: VICARIWS FILII DEI, which in Latin means: "Vicar of the Son of God". Ellen White then summarizes: "Now we (Seventh-day Adventists) ask the world: Is it possible to find another name in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin that stands for the same number?" (The Great Controversy, p. 575). The entire Adventist movement after 1846 split into six main branches. Evangelical Adventists are the founders of Adventism, but they adhere to common Christian views on eternal torment. The "Church of Adventist Christians" arose in 1855 and teaches that the soul after death is in a state of non-existence. Salvation is obtained by personal faith. During the millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth, sinners and atheists will be resurrected to bear witness to the truth of Adventism, and then they will be destroyed by God finally and irrevocably. The "society of life" is distinguished by the fact that, in their opinion, those who died in evil and unrighteousness will not even be resurrected, and they die in order never to wake up from the dust again. The "Adventist Church of God" awaits an age of "the fulfillment of prophecy and the restoration of all things." The millennial Kingdom of Christ will be restored on earth, where the saints will rule the world. Jerusalem will be the center of world domination. There is no soul after the death of the body, and therefore they associate their new existence only with the coming of Christ. The reason for the separation was the refusal to recognize Ellen White as a blessed prophetess, and they also advocated the abolition of the sanitary reform and the use of pork, tea, coffee, fish without scales, etc. "Seventh-day Adventists" fulfill the Old Testament commandment to honor the 7th day of the week, deriving this statement from Gen. 2:3 B.C. 66:23. The celebration of the resurrection is a human fantasy, not based on the biblical text; introduced in 331 by the Emperor Constantine in order to sublimate (absorb, dissolve) the pagan day of the sun. This last branch of Adventism is the largest, and in 1855 a compulsory tithe was introduced in it, which made it possible to put this religious movement on a firm material basis. Seventh-day Adventists have printed organs, theological colleges, and missionary organizations scattered throughout the world engaged in charity. The Seventh-day Adventists have a special attraction to medical institutions, nursing homes, hospices, orphanages, where, along with active charity and care for people, parallel missionary work is carried out. The governing international body of Adventists is the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; this world association is located in Baitle Creek (USA). Adventist teaching was brought to Russia by German colonists. In November 1883, the first preacher, Johann Pern, arrived in Russia, in the Taurida province. In 1886, there were already 300 followers of this doctrine in this province. Local authorities called Adventist doctrines "heresy of the Judaizers," but on the whole they were lenient towards them. Preachers from Western Europe did not abandon their attention and visits to Russia. These settlements were accompanied by the import of relevant literature, oral sermons and conversations with peasants and artisans, as well as with Baptists in various regions of the Empire. In 1901, there were already 37 Seventh-day Adventist communities in Russia. At present, the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists includes all unions (territorial division according to the geographical principle), including the CIS. The General Congress of the Seventh-day Adventist meets every four years, where its members open new unions, admit them to the confederation and appoint a president. In our country, Adventists also have a print organ: they publish newspapers and magazines, and in the Tula region since 1989 there has been a theological seminary of the Seventh-day Adventists, where future preachers and presbyters receive targeted theological education.

Features of Doctrine

The Jehovah's Witness concept boils down to the following. All Christian churches and secular authorities in their entirety make up the modern pagan satanic Babylon. At the same time, the Christian teaching about the earthly world as God's world is condemned. Instead, a new position is put forward, according to which the entire earthly world is declared to be the world of Satan. However, Jehovah God (hence the name of the sect) had already intervened in the "accursed race of this world" and predetermined its end. Signs of a battle with the forces of Satan are approaching. From now on, the task of Jehovah's Witnesses is to proclaim Jehovah's will to people and to warn them that the only way to save mankind from destruction in the coming battle of Christ with Satan's earthly kingdom is to join the Jehovah's Witness sect now, before Christ enters into battle with Satan. The Jehovah's Witnesses also changed the date of the Second Coming of Christ to earth. Rutterford (more on him below) announced that Christ had invisibly begun to purify the spiritual temple of the earth in the spring of 1918, and that the time had finally begun when the fate of all people would be decided in the holy battle of Armageddon. It was no accident that Rutterford chose 1918. As is known, at that time half the world was captured by the revolutionary movement and the crisis that shook the social and economic foundations. In contrast to the teaching prevailing in the Christian world that the main thing in the Bible is the ideas of human salvation, the Jehovah's Witnesses put forward a different position. They argue that the basic idea of the Bible is to protect and justify God as the Supreme Creator of all things. It is precisely because Satan has challenged God's omnipotence by defying God that Jehovah has outlined in the Bible the basic stages during which people are to become convinced of his omnipotence and Satan's powerlessness to turn people away from God. Only by assimilating this main idea of the Bible, according to Jehovah's Witnesses, will man follow the right path to his salvation and gain the strength to resist the pernicious influence of Satan. Jehovah's Witnesses view the Bible only as a history of events in which Jehovah reveals his will to people. But the Bible is a dramatic work, or literally in their words, a "Great Drama." The drama in the Garden of Eden began with the fall of the first people and will end with Armageddon on the planet. So, according to the teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses, this "drama" consists of a prologue, a beginning, a conflict and a finale. According to their teaching, Jehovah had two spirit sons, Christ and Lucifer. Lucifer was not only the son of the Dawn, the bright archangel, but also had to control the behavior of the first people. Adam and Eve were perfect people. Lucifer was not satisfied with his position and wanted to be equal in power to Jehovah God. Lucifer decided to test his power on the first people, Adam and Eve, instilling in them that eating from the tree of knowledge would not bring death, but the power that God Himself possessed. The first people plunged into the abyss of sin, their eyes were opened, they knew good, but they did not have the strength to do it, and having known evil, they did not have the strength to fight it. However, here their interpretation of the Fall has a significant difference from the biblical one. Eve sinned first, but Adam, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, seeing that Eve must die, voluntarily decided to share this lot with her. He became so attached to his wife that separation from her, even in the future, was painful for him. He voluntarily accepted the forbidden food and by this conscious act sentenced himself to death. Having managed to seduce the first couple, Lucifer became convinced that Jehovah God was not so omnipotent if he could not prevent the fall of humans, the crown of His creation. And if so, then we can continue to fight against God. Jehovah left Lucifer to exist for 6,000 years in order to prove to him the impossibility of the victory of evil over good. But let's return to the concept of the "Great Drama". As already mentioned, this drama is divided into parts, and we will briefly consider them. Prologue. Jehovah God creates. Like a great Artist, with the Word He creates and builds everything from non-existent. The angels are frozen in amazement, wondrous chorales of unearthly music cut through the subtle world of light, the laws of the Universe, the path of the stars, the orbits of the planets are given, micro- and macrocosms are created, and the statutes of nature are given. The luminous celestials glorify the Creator with harmonious singing, there is complete harmony, and love embraces and permeates everything. The beginning of the action. And now the first people in an innocent state are in the Garden of Eden. Jehovah God allows one of His spirit sons, Lucifer, to approach and tempt the first couple. Eve is the first to eat the fruit, succumbing to Lucifer's persuasion. Adam, having learned that Eve became mortal, hesitates in his choice (to stay with God or die with Eve), but nevertheless chooses the latter and takes the forbidden food. Therefore, the "lust of the flesh" (pleasant to the taste), "the lust of the eyes" (beautiful to look at) and "the pride of life" (to be equal to God) became the dominant tool of Satan's temptation in all subsequent history of mankind. But Jehovah, as our loving Heavenly Father, predestined this sin to be redeemed by Jesus Christ, His second spiritual son, who remained faithful to Him, so the next stage of the "Drama." Conflict. Satan (Lucifer became such after the fall of the first people through his fault) throws down an open challenge to God; wants to turn away all people from Him and to bow down under his own name "nations, peoples, tongues" on that cursed land in Adam, which will give birth to thistles and thorns, but already having a considerable population. And so, in the first century A.D., the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth in order to seek and save the lost, i.e. all who would accept His redemptive sacrifice. But this is not enough. Membership in the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses is necessary as an indispensable condition for salvation. After all, Satan, who was expelled from paradise and tempted his spiritual brother (Christ) in the wilderness, has now established a kingdom for himself and is waging an increasingly fierce struggle against Jehovah. This kingdom of Satan is vast: it begins with all the churches of the world without exception to political parties, state structures and organizations, to social, international and informal associations. One of Satan's main strongholds is the United Nations. Christ atoned for the sins of people on the tree (the Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognize the cross, claiming that the Savior was simply nailed to a stake), Lucifer was put to shame, but did not give up his positions. The fight against the forces of good is getting tougher. Its forms are different, its scope is great, and the forces involved in it are incalculable. Finale. Jehovah God sends Christ to earth for the second time, but in an invisible form to deal with Lucifer. In Armageddon, the holy war, Christ and His army destroy Lucifer and all his supporters. The thousand-year Kingdom of Christ is established on the planet, which will include 144 thousand leading brothers of the Corporation and the most faithful followers of the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses. (True, the words of the Holy Scriptures do not matter to them at all: "... and 144 thousand... who have not been defiled with their wives", because they do not have the institution of monasticism). Jehovah is justified. Justice has triumphed. All Jehovah's Witnesses will be resurrected in the flesh, and will reign on earth. A true theocratic world state will be restored, headed by Jehovah God and His Angel Son, Jesus. All Christians of other denominations, denominations, sects, representatives of other religions will be destroyed in Armageddon. There is no hell, because hell is literally a "grave", so all non-Jehovah's Witnesses and non-believers will simply disappear into oblivion. These are the basic concepts in the understanding of the Word of God by the sect of "witnesses." Its leaders had the foresight to declare that the Bible could be interpreted only by means of auxiliary literature coming from Brooklyn, the center of Jehovism. Such a prop in the comprehension of God's Word is, in particular, the Watchtower magazine. The title of the magazine reads: "The Watchtower Announces Jehovah's Kingdom." On the back of the title page is the explanation: "The purpose of The Watchtower is to glorify Jehovah God as the sovereign Lord of the universe. She observes the events in the world that fulfill biblical prophecies. It comforts all people with the good news that God's Kingdom will soon destroy those who oppress their neighbors and that it will turn the planet into a paradise. It encourages faith in the now reigning King of God, Jesus Christ, whose shed blood makes it possible for mankind to receive eternal life. The Watchtower, published by Jehovah's Witnesses since 1879, does not take part in the political struggle. She holds to the Bible as her authority. This magazine is published in 111 languages of the world, its average circulation is 1,5290,000 copies. Playing with the concept of the need for auxiliary literature for understanding the Bible, in particular, one of the leaders of the corporation, Rutterford, wrote: "A man will quench his thirst from the well only if there is a tub to get water from the well." That is why The Watchtower is the "spiritual utensil" for Jehovah's Witnesses, with which they draw from the Bible everything that a believer needs to understand it and achieve the ways of salvation. The concept of God. A distinctive feature of the "witnesses" in the doctrine of God is that they deny the dogma of Him as one in essence, but Triune in Persons, i.e. they deny the Holy Trinity. God, in their opinion, is one Almighty God. Christ is not equal to Jehovah, and there are references to the texts of the New Testament: Jn. 14:26; 15:1. Matt. 19:17. Luke. 22:42, etc. But another passage from the Holy Scriptures is not taken into account at all. Scriptures: "... I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me..." (John 14:10) and "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The meaning of redemption. The redemptive feat of Jesus Christ is seen as a personal sacrifice for the sake of only the sinful ancestors, but not for all. Jehovah God's law required that perfect human life be sacrificed for Adam's sinlessness. But sin has already taken possession of mankind at the genetic level, all are mortal, for it is said: "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is none righteous, not one..." (Romans 3:10). Then Jehovah decided to make his second spirit son, Jesus Christ, such a perfect man. By Jehovah's will, Christ was reincarnated from a spiritual being into a human creature, becoming perfect, unlike other humans on earth. He died on the stake as a man, atoning for the sin of Adam, but He was resurrected not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, i.e. already as a spiritual being with a divine nature. Mankind has a chance for salvation because Jehovah has given this right to His spirit Son.

On the Coming of Jesus Christ to Earth

According to the teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christ invisibly came to earth as early as 1918, and now He is on earth, waging a struggle against the forces of Satan. They consider the First and Second World Wars to be a visible manifestation of such a struggle. They carefully monitor political events in the world, local conflicts on continents and regions, international changes and statements by political leaders in order to present the refined and filtered information in Brooklyn to their followers in the right light as another sign of imminent Armageddon. The UN organization has been declared the center of the "demonic race of this world". Another important sign of Christ's coming to earth is the existence and activities of their Brooklyn Corporation. They assert that the Corporation arose according to Jehovah's plan, and their history goes back to the Old Testament, when the Witnesses (read Jehovists) of God were persecuted by the Jews and stoned, and in the New Testament the first "Jehovah's Witness" was the first martyr Stephen (Acts 7:59). The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, in the opinion of Jehovah's Witnesses, is not a person, not a Hypostasis of God, but an invisible active force that emanates from Jehovah. A kind of energy that is dead in itself without its source. Sometimes, in polemics, they compare it to a battery from which the light is on. No battery, no current... About the human soul. Here the witnesses fully agree with the Adventists in teaching about the state of the soul after the death of the body. First of all, they, like the Adventists, seek to prove that in the Bible the soul is understood as life. Both people and animals are souls, and when they die, they cease to be reality. Accordingly, the soul also dies with the body. Such an interpretation of the absence of a soul receives its full completion in the finale of the "Great Drama", where the battle of Armageddon will erase everything "non-Jehovistic" into oblivion and oblivion. About Armageddon. What is this key point in the doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses – Armageddon? Let's first consider the etymology of the word itself. The word Armageddon is complex. It consists of "Ar" and "Megilo". The Hebrew word "Ar" means hilly area, "Megilo" is a geographical place in Palestine. In the time of the judges, it served as a battlefield between Barak and Sisera (Judg. 5:19). At the same place there was a battle between the Egyptian pharaoh Necho and the Judean king Josiah (2 Kings 23:29). Thus, this place is a monument to victory and defeat. Hence the word "Armageddon" has a symbolic meaning. In 1918, the Lord Jesus, having come to earth, began to gather faithful and faithful forces for the future holy war with Satan. He will have 144,000 followers on His side from among the most consistent and loyal members of the Corporation who died before Armageddon. But the Lord will resurrect them for such a holy and necessary work. This battle will take place in Palestine near Mount Gar Megiddon (i.e. Armageddon). So the name of the area gave the name to the event itself, i.e. the war. After the victory over the forces of evil and their complete destruction, the renewed earth will be ruled by Jesus up to 144 thousand faithful. Complete theocracy and harmony will reign, the renewed Earth will become a blooming garden, and all other followers of the "Society" will be resurrected. There will be no illnesses, worries, fear, sorrow and dissatisfaction. As there will be no nation, army, borders, state structures and so on. As the Jehovah's Witnesses (Ilyinians) sing in one of their hymns: Everywhere is holiness among people. The dances of the ladies-maidens Of meek, wise and singers Wind with God's monogram And sing to Him about Him. Everywhere you can hear the game: Alleluia and hurrah.

A Guide to Polemics with Jehovah's Witnesses

The ideologist of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roussel (Brooklyn, USA), pointed out that the final end of the kingdoms of this world and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth would take place in 1914. He also said that the times of the pagans would end in 1914, i.e. in this year the state and political authorities of this world should be abolished. But since this prophecy did not come true, the Jehovah's Witnesses postponed the "divine plan" to 1918. But even then there was a misfire, after which a new term was appointed - 1925. As early as 1941, The Watchtower wrote that "the present war will not be finally ended until Armageddon..." Another Armageddon was postponed to 1975. Is it not clear from all of the above that the Jehovah's Witnesses and all their teaching are based not on God's Revelation – which is the prerogative of the canonical Church – but on human conjectures and fantasies? If God had really prophesied through their mouths, then He could not have been so many times mistaken about the dates to which Armageddon was timed. In the other doctrinal positions of the sect, for polemics, refer to the section "Adventists" of this manual, since they have many similarities.

The ceremonial side of the service

If we say that the concept of the Church is the main factor, this is, if you will, the foundation by which the practical institutions of the Christian faith in Orthodoxy are maintained and realized, such as: Revelation, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the lawful priesthood, the Sacraments... The Jehovah's Witnesses have none of this. The concept of the Church is replaced by the activities of circles, the so-called kilks, which, in turn, are combined into strefs, where the Brooklyn instructions are tuned, and in their elucidation — the text of the Holy Scriptures. Hagiographa. In such classes, there is an exchange of experience in the missionary work of "senior servants", tips for recruiting new members, etc. Communion (in our understanding) takes place once a year, on Nisan 14. It is performed after sunset. Only the leading brothers partake of the "visible signs of the Body," and the rest are only present. And although the Lord said: "... drink of it, all of you..." (Matt. 26:27), the Jehovah's Witnesses explain that in the Kingdom of God there will be only 144,000 witnesses at first, but not all of them will be resurrected for Armageddon. The procedure for submitting the right to missionary work (there is not even a question of legal ordination here) in the sect is as follows. Through water baptism, an ordinary member of the sect chosen by the leading servants acquires the right to be a preacher. Before immersion in the water, the entire community (usually small) sings a hymn of praise to Jehovah, followed by a common prayer. Then the senior servant gives a speech to those present and speaks about the deep significance of the act being performed, about the responsibility, about the merits of Jesus Christ, and then everyone prays again. Finally, the person being baptized with his arms crossed on his chest enters the water and, having asked him the last question about recognizing himself as a sinner, is immersed with his head in the water. At the same time, the senior servant who performs the baptism himself stands in civilian clothes up to his chest in water.

From the history of the creation of the sect

In the American city of Pittsburgh (USA), a small community of Adventists began to carefully count the time of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. At the head of this community was Charles Roussel. In 1874, Roussel published a pamphlet entitled "The Purpose and Method of God's Return," in which he attacked the Adventist teaching about the second visible coming of Jesus Christ and, using references from the Bible, "proved" that the invisible coming would take place in 1874 and the visible coming in 1914. After that, he broke with Adventism. In 1878, he began to publish the magazine "The Watchtower", where the first issue was published in a circulation of 6 thousand copies. At the end of the 19th century, the propaganda of this doctrine spread in many countries of the world. Roussel publishes a six-volume Bible Study. During his 44 years as head of the corporation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Roussel managed to do quite a lot to spread heresy throughout the world: this is extensive publishing work, missionary structures in many countries of the world, and multi-volume personal works. In 1916 he died, and in 1917 Rutterford took over the management of the Corporation. Ten years later, in 1927, Rutterford opened the radio station "Radio New World", which to this day carries out wide broadcasting in various languages of the world. Rutterford, unlike its predecessors, did not set exact dates for Armageddon. In 1942, Rutterford died, and Nathan Knorr became president of the Witnesses World Center Corporation. At present, branches of the Society exist in more than 168 countries. The main guiding document of the sect is the "Organizational Instruction for Proclaimers of the Kingdom," which was officially approved by the Congress of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1945. One of the methods of involvement in the sect is broad charity. Until recently, on the territory of the former USSR, the organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were a semi-political religious structure, and therefore could survive and carry out their activities through a system of deeply conspiratorial chains, studios, kiloks, and traveling preachers. Now the organization in our country has received official registration. The sect is headed by a regional committee consisting of a group of professional preachers, who, in turn, travel a lot to other regions. All work in our country is directly directed by the Brooklyn center with the active assistance of the "Regional Committee" of Jehovah's Witnesses in Poland. In parallel with the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses-Russelites (named after its founder), there are still a few followers of Ilyin, the Jehovah's Witnesses of Ilyin, on the territory of our country. Let's dwell on them a little. In the Urals in 1832, a certain Nikolai Ilyin, a Russian artillery officer, Orthodox by religion, engaged in a deep analysis of mystical and theosophical literature. Gradually, he matured with the idea of the possibility of uniting all religions into a kind of conglomerate. At the same time, he began to study Judaism and attend synagogue. In 1846, Ilyin sharply criticized Orthodoxy with all its institutions. At the same time, from under his pen came the doctrinal treatise "Zion's News". His first proselytes were friends and relatives. This doctrine quickly began to spread in Nizhny Tagil, and then through leaflets and brochures in the Vyatka, Ufa, Samara, and Orenburg provinces. In the summer of 1859, for a second open speech against Orthodoxy, the leader of the newly formed sect, N. Ilyin, was imprisoned for correction in the Solovetsky Monastery. The arrest of the leader only embittered the rank-and-file members of the newly formed sect and spurred on the intensification of work among the masses. They went "to the people", which was a detonator in the spread of heresy in the Urals and the Volga region. Peasants, artisans, and individual representatives of the clergy went to them. Ilyin was imprisoned for almost 20 years, however, his instructions somehow leaked out of Solovki and reached the addressees. And its addressees were Queen Victoria of England, and the Jewish financial magnate Rothschild, and the general of the "Salvation Army" Boots, and the famous Western European writer V. Dixon. Ilyin's most famous works are: "Zion's News", "The Seven-Thousand-Year Battle of Christ with Belial", "The Essence of the Life-Giving Light", "The Testimony of God of the Prophets of the Saints", "Message to the Society of Theosophy of the East and West" and others. But much is put in place by the words of Ilyin himself at the trial of 27 Jehovah's Witnesses in 1887 in Yekaterinburg, who spoke out against Orthodoxy. He literally stated the following: "On the second day of my imprisonment in the Solovetsky Monastery in 1859, the God of the prophets Jehovah Himself revealed to me that I was the one about whom it is said in the 41st and 42nd chapters of the Prophet Isaiah, and who was called the Light of all nations and the uniters of the host of Jews into one faith... The writings you have now presented to me have been written by me with my own hand and sent by me both to you and to America, where there are already followers of Jehovah..." This is how two doctrinal systems that had not previously been contacted met and presented their concepts in approximately the same vein. In the second half of the 19th century, Jehovism was already known in England and the United States. But the Russelites and the Ilyins also have differences. If the Russellite Jehovists emphasize the Bible, considering all its books as the dynamics of divine revelation, then the Elijah people deny the authority of the Bible in its entirety, but base the basis of their teaching only on the Pentateuch of Moses and the Revelation of John the Theologian. Therefore, the teaching of the latter resembles an exotic interweaving of Christianity, Judaism and some elements of Buddhism.