Authoritative Writings

One of the distinctive characteristics of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is the astonishingly large body of writings published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the authoritative source for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their most popular magazine, The Watchtower, is reported to have 21.7 million copies per circulated issue in 444 languages worldwide.¹ To say that the writings of the Watch Tower Society are influential would be a gross understatement. This article will discuss the nature of the authoritative writings produced by the Watch Tower Society as well as the overarching themes of the content within. 

Broadly speaking, the Watch Tower Society is stated to be the ultimate authority for Jehovah’s Witnesses, with the organization and its numerous writings described as “[directing] the minds of God’s people.”² Independent thought, especially if one questions the teachings of the organization, is vehemently opposed and stated to be of Satan.³ Those who question the need for the organization and its authority are referred to as “opposers” who attempt to “mislead God’s people.”⁴

The Watch Tower’s reasoning for such claims of authority comes from their self-identification as the “channel or instrument through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction.”⁵ By this definition, to question the Watch Tower Society’s authority is to question Jehovah, himself. The Watch Tower claims to have scriptural understanding of the utmost authority that members must “adhere absolutely to”⁶ as Jehovah has given the Watch Tower authority over his people. A 2011 issue of The Watchtower perfectly reflects the devotion required of Witnesses towards the organization in saying,  

“We also love the organization that Jehovah uses to teach us wonderful truths. It was Jehovah’s organization that taught us about Jehovah’s name and what it means, his purpose for the earth, what happens to us when we die, and the hope of the resurrection.”⁷

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, obedience to the organization’s authority is everything.  

The most prevalent work of the Watch Tower Society is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ very own Bible translation. As of 2001, more than 100 million copies of this translation have been distributed in its entirety or portions in 34 languages.⁸ What makes the New World Translation distinct, according to the Watch Tower, is its correction of influences from “pagan philosophies and unscriptural traditions” which are said to characterize the ungodly Christendom.⁹

The concept of correcting the doctrines of Christendom echo through both the widespread works of the Watch Tower Society and within the pages of the New World Translation. In their denial of the doctrines of Christendom, three major tenets of the content emerge: Jehovah as the one true God, Jesus as a lesser god, and the rejection of the Trinity.  

Jehovah as the one true God is essential to every aspect of the Watch Tower’s teachings, with Witnesses believing that they are the “only true followers of God”¹⁰ who refer to God by his personal name. The Watch Tower proudly declares that they have restored the personal name of God, Jehovah, in the New World Translation 237 times.¹¹ In addition, they claim that at the time of the Bible’s original writing, the name of Jehovah appeared “some 7,000 times.”¹² But the most unique characteristic of Jehovah stems from the Watch Tower’s interpretation of his relationship with Jesus. 

Instead of understanding Jesus as God incarnate, he is called “a god” in the New World Translation¹³ and referred to as “God’s first creation.”¹⁴ While Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus assisted in the creation of heaven and earth as the “master worker”¹⁵ and his status as the Son of God, they believe that Jesus is not God “in the same sense that Jehovah is” and thus, should not be worshipped as one should worship Jehovah.¹⁶ 

Lastly, the crux of the Jehovah’s Witnesses content of their authoritative writings is in their passionate denial of the Trinity. The Watch Tower states that the doctrine of the Trinity is “unscriptural,” citing the “pagan roots of this central doctrine of Christendom,”¹⁷ claiming that the Trinity points to polytheism rather than monotheism. As such, verses such as Titus 2:13¹⁸ are translated with notable differences to distinguish Jehovah and Christ.¹⁹ 

The Watch Tower society functions as the ever-growing source of authoritative writings for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The authority of the organization is paramount, as are its teachings, such as the denial of the Trinity, Jehovah as the one God, and Jesus as a lesser god. To question the teachings of the organization is to question Jehovah himself, and complete obedience to the organization’s authority is paramount. 

1. Wikipedia Contributors, “The Watchtower,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, October 14, 2024), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchtower#cite_ref-circulation1_3-0. ↩︎
2. “What Is Our Position toward Opposers of the Truth?,” The Watchtower, March 1, 1983, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1983165, 25. ↩︎
3. “Exposing the Devil’s Subtle Designs,” The Watchtower, January 15, 1983, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1983046, 22. ↩︎
4. “What Is Our Position toward Opposers of the Truth?”, 25. ↩︎
5. “Drama of Vindication: Part 6,” The Watchtower, April 15, 1939, https://jws-library.one/?file=data/1939/w_E_19390415/w_E_19390415.html. ↩︎
6. “How Your View of Authority Affects Your Life,” The Watchtower, May 1, 1972, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1972322, 272. ↩︎
7. “Will You Pay Attention to Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?,” The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom (Simplified), July 15, 2011, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011524, 12. ↩︎
8. Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 78. ↩︎
9. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom (Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1993), 608-609. ↩︎
10. Rhodes, 87. ↩︎
11. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 609. ↩︎
12. “Who Is God?,” JW.ORG, accessed March 6, 2025, https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/What-Does-God-Require-of-Us/Who-Is-God/. ↩︎
13. New World Bible Translation Committee, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1984), 1579. ↩︎
14. “Who Is Jesus Christ?,” JW.ORG, accessed March 6, 2025, https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/What-Does-God-Require-of-Us/Who-Is-Jesus-Christ/. ↩︎
15. “Who Is Jesus Christ?,” JW.org. ↩︎
16. Rhodes, 88. ↩︎
17. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 124-125. ↩︎
18. The New World Translation’s version reads like so: “…while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ…” ↩︎
19. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1581. ↩︎

Bibliography

“Drama of Vindication: Part 6.” The Watchtower, April 15, 1939. https://jws-library.one/?file=data/1939/w_E_19390415/w_E_19390415.html. 

“Exposing the Devil’s Subtle Designs.” The Watchtower, January 15, 1983. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1983046. 

Grundy, Paul. “Examples of Misquotes, Lies and Deception in Watchtower Publications.” Jwfacts.com, 2021. https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/misquotes-deception-lies-intro.php. 

“How Your View of Authority Affects Your Life.” The Watchtower, May 1, 1972. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1972322. 

Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. Edited by Ravi K. Zacharias. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2003. 

New World Bible Translation Committee. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1984. 

Rhodes, Ron. The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013. 

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom. Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1993. 

“What Is Our Position toward Opposers of the Truth?” The Watchtower, March 1, 1983. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1983165. 

“What Is the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society?” JW.ORG, n.d. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/watchtower-society/. 

“Who Is God?” JW.ORG. Accessed March 6, 2025. https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/What-Does-God-Require-of-Us/Who-Is-God/. 

“Who Is Jesus Christ?” JW.ORG. Accessed March 6, 2025. https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/What-Does-God-Require-of-Us/Who-Is-Jesus-Christ/. 

Wikipedia Contributors. “The Watchtower.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 14, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchtower#cite_ref-circulation1_3-0. 

“Will You Pay Attention to Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?” The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom (Simplified), July 15, 2011. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011524. 

Featured photo courtesy of JW.org. Source: “Jehovah’s Witnesses Release Newly Revised Bible in a Large-Size Edition.”