What Do Most Religious Communities Think?
Many Christian denominations claim to be God’s people and consider their beliefs and practices to be the right way to serve God. Here are some examples:
The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church claims to be the true church founded by Jesus Christ, with the Pope as his deputy on earth. The Catholic Catechism states: “The one true Church in this world, which our Saviour after his resurrection entrusted Peter to lead… always remains unchangeable as the Church of Christ.” (Catholic Catechism, Article 816). The Pope is considered to be the Apostle Peter’s successor.
The Protestant tradition
Many Protestant denominations, such as Lutheran, Reformed, and Evangelical groups, see their understanding of the Bible as the most correct. For example, some evangelical churches claim that the belief in salvation by faith alone makes them true Christians. A common statement is: “We are a Bible-believing community that preaches the unadulterated word of God and leads people to the truth in Christ.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be the only religion that truly belongs to God and fully abides by his laws. They say: “Only Jehovah’s Witnesses have united worshippers who are taught by God and united in true worship. They are the only people who truly serve Jehovah and follow Jesus Christ.” (Awake!, October 2011). Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that in 1919 C.E., Jehovah gave the Governing Body the authority to teach its members how the Governing Body interprets the Bible. They believe that no one in the organization has the authority to interpret the Bible other than the Governing Body.
These claims show that many faiths view themselves as God’s people and consider their interpretation of the Bible to be correct. Does the Bible support such an exclusive approach?
What the Bible Teaches
In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s people, but this status was contingent on their obedience. When they broke God’s covenant, they lost this status as a nation. In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the concept of “God’s people” is expanded to include all who follow Christ, regardless of ethnic background (Romans 9:6-8). Jesus said: “My mother and my brothers are the ones who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21).
The miraculous signs and the ability to teach the truth were given to identify the Christian doctrine in the beginning. These gifts served as clear evidence of God’s purpose, but the Bible also foretold that God’s people would not remain as one united group after the time of the apostles and that such gifts would cease until the “complete” arrived (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). After the death of the apostles, the Christian congregation ceased to exist as a single unit.
The Bible suggests that the Christian congregation in this system of things is going through a period of spiritual inactivity, often described as a “sleeplike state.” This is evident in the book of Revelation, where symbolism such as the death and resurrection of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-12) and the hidden condition of the woman in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6, 14) point to a time when true Christianity is limited in its visibility and power. Jesus also emphasized this in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), where everyone fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. Matthew 25:1 states that this illustration is about “the kingdom of the heavens,” referring to a sleep until the Messianic kingdom is established in connection with Jesus’ return (Revelation 20:4-6).
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe they are the original Christian congregation that awoke before the Messianic Kingdom arrived. They believe they woke up spiritually around 1919 and they legitimize their role as God’s people by borrowing a statement from Isaiah 43:10 where it says: “You are my witnesses,” says Jehovah. This is the reason why they identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, this verse is addressed to national Israel in a historical context in which the people were called to bear witness to Jehovah’s unity and sovereignty—in contrast to the idols. It is not about a future preaching assignment for a new group. When the Greek Christian Scriptures use the term “witnesses,” they are referring to Jesus’ disciples who were to bear witness to his life, death, and resurrection (Acts 1:8). To claim to be “Jehovah’s Witnesses” today in the sense in which Israel was called in Isaiah, or in the same way that Christians were to be eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, overlooks the historical and theological context and ignores how being a witness is actually used in the Bible. It gives a superficial authority to an organization to which the Bible does not give a specific name or title.
The Bible foretold that the Christian congregation would experience apostasy and be overshadowed by false religion. The apostle Paul warned of this: “For there will come a time when they will not put up with sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts they will take teachers.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Paul wrote that “the man of lawlessness” would be revealed, and that a time of apostasy would come before Jesus’ presence (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). John spoke of how many antichrists were already at work in his day, indicating a deterioration in conditions (1 John 2:18-19). This is in harmony with the fact that after a time the Christian congregation would fall into a sleep-like state, without the ability to fully fulfill its original role as light-bearers. There is no Scriptural basis for claiming that the Christian congregation woke up in 1919. All people on earth are still in a spiritual sleep, and it is not possible for any man or organization to recreate the Christian congregation until the time comes.
Jesus’ parable of the weeds among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) shows that true Christians would be overshadowed by false worship until the end times. This suggests that it would be impossible to identify a unified Christian congregation before the harvest time mentioned at Revelation 14:15, and we have already identified that this harvest time refers to the harvest work at the end of the 1000-year kingdom.
Will the Cristian movement resurrect in its original form?
Jesus said that his followers would follow his example, but nowhere in the Bible does it say that the church will be resurrected in its original form. Like the sleeping state described in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the church had to wait until the time came for its awakening. The Christian congregation laid the foundation for God’s Kingdom to be known, but people who try to copy the true Christian congregation will not succeed unless Jesus restores the congregation in its original form when he sits on the throne during the 1000-year kingdom, so that he will lead the congregation in a visible and direct way. Nor do we know whether the Messiah during the 1000-year kingdom will follow the original form or introduce a new organizational model.
The Christian congregation served as a sign and a warning to the world about God’s purpose. The apostles and early Christians showed how faithfulness to Jehovah could be practiced even under persecution. They also laid the foundation for understanding how the kingdom of God would work in practice—with Christ as the head (Ephesians 1:22-23). The congregation showed what it meant to live in unity and love, thus giving a glimpse of God’s purpose for mankind.
Although the early Christian church went into a sleeplike state, this was not the end of God’s plan. The Bible points to a future time, where truth-seekers will be united under Christ’s leadership. In this Restoration, both the anointed and the other faithful play a role in fulfilling God’s purpose (Revelation 21:3-4). Isaiah 11:9 describes this time: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the bottom of the sea.”
Individual True Christians
Although there is no perfect unified denomination today, the Bible teaches that individuals who earnestly seek God and follow Christ can be counted as true Christians. John 4:23 says, “But the time is coming, yes, it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” Whether or not one is a true worshiper is not identified by belonging to a particular organization but by their behavior and love for others (John 13:35 and Matthew 7:21-23).
Implications for Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Practice of Disfellowshipping
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be the true Christian congregation and to have the authority to disfellowship members in order to maintain the purity of the congregation. However, if no religion can legitimately claim to be a direct successor of the early Christian congregation, this raises the question of whether Jehovah’s Witnesses have the right to exercise such authority.
Jehovah’s Witnesses base disfellowshipping on the pattern laid down by the early congregation, but this pattern was formed during a time of direct apostolic direction. Without a clear divinely appointed authority, the practice of disfellowshipping becomes problematic, especially if it is used as a means of control within the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses rather than education and love.
While the early Christian church practiced disfellowshipping to preserve the purity of the congregation, the goal was also to lead the disfellowshipped to repentance and reconciliation. Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practice of social rejection goes beyond what the Bible provides (see article on disfellowshipping). This practice is often used to enforce organizational authority rather than reflecting the spirit of the original congregation.
The Bible describes the early Christian church as being united in love and faith (John 13:34-35). The fragmentation we see today among Christian denominations shows that no one has been able to fully imitate this unity. This may mean that claiming authority to disfellowship others on behalf of God is difficult to legitimize in our day.
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