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History of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged from the Bible Student movement, a restorationist and Adventist-influenced movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the 1870s. Early Bible Students adopted beliefs associated with Adventist chronology, including Christ’s invisible presence beginning in 1874 and the expectation that the “Gentile Times” would end in 1914.[1] Russell founded Zion’s Watch Tower in 1879 and incorporated the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania in 1884.[2]

A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Bible Students

After Russell’s death in 1916, the movement divided amid disputes over leadership and doctrine. Under Joseph Franklin Rutherford, the Watch Tower Society centralized organizational authority, expanded public preaching, and introduced major doctrinal and structural changes that distinguished his followers from other Bible Student groups.[3][4] In 1931, Rutherford’s organization adopted the name “Jehovah’s witnesses”, marking a formal separation from the wider Bible Student movement.[5] Substantial organizational changes continued as congregations and teaching programs worldwide came under centralized control. Further changes in its doctrines led to the prohibition of blood transfusions by members, abandonment of the cross in worship, rejection of Christmas and birthday celebrations, and the view of the biblical Armageddon as a global war by God that will destroy the wicked and restore peace on earth.[6] In 1945, the Watch Tower Society, which Russell had founded as a publishing house, amended its charter to state that its purposes included preaching about God's Kingdom, acting as a servant and governing agency of Jehovah's Witnesses, and sending out missionaries and teachers for the public worship of God and Jesus.[7]

The denomination was banned in Canada in World War I, and in Germany, the Soviet Union, Canada, and Australia during World War II. Members suffered widespread persecution and mob violence in some of those countries and in the United States. The group initiated dozens of high-profile legal actions in the United States and Canada between 1938 and 1955 to establish the right of members to sell literature from door to door, abstain from flag salute ceremonies, and gain legal recognition as wartime conscientious objectors. Members of the denomination suffered persecution in some African countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 2004 the group has suffered a series of official bans in Russia.[8]

Background

[edit]
Timeline—1870–1916
1877Russell and Barbour published Three Worlds
1879Russell begins publishing Watch Tower
1881Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is founded
1909First schism
Letters of protest
1914Photo-Drama of Creation released
1916Russell dies

In about 1869, Charles Taze Russell encountered Adventist preaching associated with Jonas Wendell, which renewed his interest in biblical prophecy and apocalyptic chronology.[9][1] Influenced by Adventist and restorationist ideas, Russell rejected doctrines such as hellfire and the immortal soul, and came to believe that Christ’s return would be invisible rather than physical.[1] In 1876 he came into contact with Adventist publisher Nelson H. Barbour, whose chronology identified 1874 as the beginning of Christ’s invisible presence and 1914 as the end of the “Gentile Times”.[10]

After separating from Barbour in 1879 over doctrinal disagreements, Russell began publishing Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, later known as The Watchtower.[1] In 1881, Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was formed to distribute literature, and in 1884 the organization was legally incorporated with Russell as president.[2]

Russell’s followers became known as Bible Students. Their congregations operated largely autonomously, while Russell’s writings, especially Studies in the Scriptures, formed the movement’s primary doctrinal basis.[11][12] By Russell’s death in 1916, the movement had expanded internationally and developed a distinct prophetic framework centered on biblical chronology and expectations surrounding 1914.[13]

1917-1942

[edit]

Transition from Bible Student movement

[edit]
Timeline—1916–1942
1917Rutherford elected president of Watch Tower
1917Second schism
Control of the headquarters
1919Publication of theGolden Age begins
1920Rutherford publishes Millions Now Living Never Die, setting 1925 as the date for return of Old Testament "Princes"
1929Rutherford builds Beth Sarim to hold resurrected Bible personages
1931Third schism
The name changes to "Jehovah's witnesses"
1942Rutherford dies

Following the death of Charles Taze Russell in 1916, Joseph Franklin Rutherford was elected president of the Watch Tower Society in 1917.[14] His leadership was immediately contested by several directors and prominent Bible Students, resulting in organizational disputes and schisms that divided the movement.[15] A number of independent Bible Student groups emerged during this period, while Rutherford consolidated control of the Society and increasingly centralized authority at the Brooklyn headquarters.

The movement also faced government opposition during this period. Watch Tower leaders were imprisoned in the United States in 1918 under the Espionage Act before their convictions were overturned on appeal.[16] On his release from prison, Rutherford began a major reorganization of Bible Student activities. The Watch Tower Society set up its own printing establishment[17] and in 1919 Rutherford founded the magazine The Golden Age (now Awake!), which the Bible Students began distributing in response to an increasing emphasis by the Brooklyn headquarters on door-to-door preaching.[18] Brooklyn appointed a "director" in each congregation in 1919, and a year later directed all congregation members who participated in the preaching work to report weekly on their witnessing activity.

Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869–1942)

Major annual conventions were organized from 1922 and 1928.[19] At an eight-day assembly at Cedar Point, Ohio in 1922 Rutherford launched a series of international conventions under the theme "Advertise the King and Kingdom", attracting crowds of up to 20,000,[20] The movement’s structure, methods, and teachings changed substantially. Greater emphasis was placed on organized preaching, literature distribution, large conventions, and centralized direction from headquarters.[21] Door-to-door evangelism became increasingly prominent, supplemented by radio broadcasts, sound cars, and portable phonographs featuring Rutherford’s recorded sermons.[22] Congregational autonomy was gradually reduced as the Society adopted increasingly centralized and “theocratic” forms of organization.[23] Bible Students faced bans, arrests, and mob violence in several countries because of their preaching activity and refusal to participate in patriotic ceremonies.[24]

Rutherford's presidency was marked by extensive doctrinal revision, with many teachings associated with Russell altered or abandoned and many new teachings introduced.[25] The Finished Mystery continued expectations that dramatic end-time events were imminent, declaring that God would destroy churches "wholesale" and church members by the millions in 1918,[26] and that all earthly governments would be destroyed in 1920, resulting in anarchy.[27] Expectations also remained strong that the change of the "saints" and completion of the "body of Christ" in heaven was imminent. A Watch Tower report on the 1918 Brooklyn convention said there was good reason to believe the gathering "might be the last in this vicinity, before the great convention beyond the veil".[28]

J.F. Rutherford at the Beth Sarim mansion, San Diego, 1931

Disregarding Russell's rejection of 1925 as a year of prophetic importance,[29] Rutherford delivered the lecture “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” in 1920, announcing that Christ's thousand-year reign would begin in 1925, bringing the restoration of an earthly paradise and the resurrection to earth of biblical “ancient worthies” such as Abraham and Isaac.[30][31][32] Jerusalem was expected to become the world capital, and the resurrected “princes” would communicate with humanity by radio.[33] The predictions prompted some Bible Students to abandon businesses and sell homes in anticipation of the expected events, while Bible Student farmers in Canada and the United States refused to plant spring crops in 1925 and mocked members who did.[34] In 1930, Rutherford had Beth Sarim constructed in San Diego, California, to house the resurrected “princes” expected before Armageddon.[35][36]

The failure of the 1925 expectations contributed to further defections from the movement.[34] Memorial attendance fell sharply between 1925 and 1928, reflecting both internal divisions and the continuing departure of many long-term Bible Students.[37][4] At the same time, Rutherford continued reshaping the movement’s theology and identity. Teachings concerning “character development”, the restoration of natural Israel, and Russell’s role as the movement’s unique prophetic figure were abandoned or reinterpreted.[25] Increasing emphasis was placed on the name “Jehovah”, the vindication of God’s sovereignty, and the organization’s role as God’s exclusive channel.[38]

The new preaching methods introduced by Rutherford brought an influx of members through the early 1920s, but attendance at the Bible Students' yearly Memorial fell sharply again, dropping from 90,434 in 1925[39] to 17,380 in 1928.[40][37][41][42] Rutherford dismissed their defection as the Lord "shaking out" the unfaithful.[43] Author Tony Wills, who analyzed attendance and "field worker" statistics, suggests it was the "more dedicated" Bible Students who quit through the 1920s, to be replaced by newcomers in larger numbers,[44] creating what author Robert Crompton described as one of the most significant of the movement's breaks with its early history.[4][45]

Armageddon was redefined in 1925 as a battle between God and Satan, resulting in the overthrow of human governments and false religion.[46] A 1926 Watchtower article introduced a new emphasis on the importance of the name "Jehovah".[47] From 1926 publications began discrediting earlier teachings on the importance of Christian "character development" or personal "sanctification".[25][48][49] In 1927 they discarded the teaching that Russell had been the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45–47.[25][50] By then the Watch Tower Society had rejected the belief that Russell alone had been the sole channel of scriptural enlightenment.[51] In 1927 the Society disposed of remaining copies of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures and The Finished Mystery and ceased printing the books.[4] In 1928 Russell's teaching that the natural Jews would be restored to Palestine and hold a prominent place in the earthly part of God's kingdom was dropped.[52][53] Christmas celebrations ceased in 1928 after a radio broadcast and Golden Age articles on their pagan origins.[54]

Bible Students were urged to extend their door-to-door preaching to include Sundays. The move quickly attracted opposition from the clergy. In 1928 Bible Students began to be arrested in the U.S. for breaching local by-laws on Sabbath observance.[55] Rutherford challenged the laws in courts, ultimately fighting hundreds of cases in New Jersey alone as he insisted the preachers were not selling literature, but distributing it for a contribution to Society funds.[56] In 1929, Rutherford announced that the vindication of God's name—which would ultimately occur when millions of unbelievers were destroyed at Armageddon—was the primary doctrine of Christianity and more important than God's display of goodness or grace towards humans.[57][58][59][60]

Formal adoption of new name

[edit]

At a convention in Columbus, Ohio on July 26, 1931, Rutherford made a psychological break from the large number of disaffected Bible Students[42] by proposing the adoption of the name "Jehovah's witnesses", based on the scripture at Isaiah 43:10, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord". The Watch Tower said the new, distinctive name was designed to exalt God's name and end public confusion caused by the proliferation of groups carrying the name "Bible Students". It explained: "It will be a name that could not be used by another, and such as none other will want to use."[61][62] In 1932, he eliminated the system of congregations electing bodies of elders, claiming the office of elder was unscriptural;[63] in 1938, he replaced the earlier system of congregational self-government with a "theocratic" or "God-ruled" organizational system in which the Brooklyn headquarters would make all appointments in congregations worldwide.[21][64] Consolation magazine explained: "The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."[65] Rutherford, who had shown an earlier interest in politics, applied terms to the organization that were more common in politics and business: "organization" replaced "congregation" when referring to the worldwide community of believers, while "companies" denoted individual congregations. He pushed for more "field service" and "campaigns" of kingdom "advertising" in "territories", with "publishers" working under the direction of a field service "captain".[17]

By 1933, the timing of Christ's parousia and the start of the "last days" had been moved from 1874 to 1914[66] with the principles of parallel dispensations retained to place Christ's enthronement 3½ years later in 1918.[67] In 1935 a new interpretation of the "great company" of Revelation 7 placed them on earth as survivors of Armageddon rather than in heaven[68] and from that point converts to the movement were generally identified as those who, if worthy, would qualify for life on a paradise earth.[69] In 1935, Witnesses were told they should refuse to salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, or accept alternative service provided for those who had conscientious objection to military service. Reference to the cross and crucifixion in Watch Tower publications ceased in 1936 when it was asserted that Christ had actually died on a tree.[54] By 1939 Watch Tower publications explained that only those who were part of God's "organization" would be spared at Armageddon.[70]

Under Rutherford's presidency, membership grew from about 44,000 in 1928 to about 115,000 at the time of his death on January 8, 1942.

Persecution and opposition

[edit]

In 1935, Witnesses were told they should refuse to salute national flags, stand for national anthems, or accept alternative service provided for those who had conscientious objection to military service. In late 1936 U.S. schools began expelling Witness children who refused to salute the flag. When the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of schools to expel non-conforming children in June 1940, many states began passing laws requiring compulsory flag salute and similarly expelling children. The Supreme Court decision prompted a wave of violence against U.S. Witnesses, mostly in small towns and rural areas, where they were beaten, castrated, tarred and feathered, and in some cases killed.[71][72][73]

More than 2,500 cases were reported from 1940 to 1944. Hundreds of Witnesses were arrested and charged with crimes including sedition. The Witnesses responded with campaigns of mass witnessing, descending on hostile towns in their hundreds, and organizing "information marches", some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long, in which members wore sandwich boards and held placards and banners.[71][72][73]

In Germany, preaching activity was banned and the Watch Tower Society headquarters was seized and closed. Thousands of Witnesses were arrested on peddling charges from 1922. In 1933, following the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, government restrictions were tightened, prompting the public distribution of more than two million copies of a Declaration of Facts in which the Witnesses protested at their treatment and requested the right to preach. It had little effect: Witnesses were fired from their jobs and about 2,000 were imprisoned in concentration camps.[74][75] Jehovah's Witnesses were the first Christian denomination to be banned and the most extensively persecuted Christian group during the Nazi era.[76]

Witnesses in Japan were imprisoned and tortured.[77] Members in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Britain were imprisoned as conscientious objectors. The Witnesses were banned in Germany in 1936, Canada in July 1940,[78] and Australia in January 1941.[79][80] Under Rutherford's leadership, a legal staff was developed to establish their right to preach and their right to refrain from nationalistic ceremonies. Between 1938 and 1955 the Watch Tower Society won 36 out of 45 religion-related court cases.[81] These legal battles resulted in significant expansions in freedom of speech and religion in both countries.[82]

Writers including American essayist Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, William Whalen, Alan Rogerson, and William Schnell have claimed the group was complicit in its own victimisation in the United States, often goading authorities with cartoons and books that ridiculed and denigrated church and state and provocative mass assemblies in which the Witnesses flooded towns with preachers. They claim a deliberate course of martyrdom served to attract society's dispossessed and oppressed members and also provided apparent validation of the "truth" of the Watchtower cause as evidenced by the level of opposition from the outside world as they struggled to serve God.[83][84][85][86]

1942–1975

[edit]
Timeline—1942–1975
1942Knorr elected president of Watch Tower Society
1950New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures started (completed 1961)
1966The year 1975 suggested as possible date for Armageddon
The New York headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr. Knorr's tenure as president was notable for the transfer from individual to corporate leadership. None of the Society's publications after 1942 acknowledged authorship and were instead attributed to an anonymous Writing Committee.[87] From about 1944, the term "governing body" began to be used with a measure of frequency, with the term initially applied to the Watch Tower Society's seven-man Board of Directors.[88]

Knorr began a campaign of real estate acquisition in Brooklyn to expand the organisation's world headquarters, expanded printing production throughout the world, and organized a series of international assemblies that dwarfed those of Rutherford in the 1920s. In 1958, more than 253,000 Witnesses gathered at two New York City venues, Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, for an eight-day convention where more than 7,000 were baptized.[89] Other large conventions were held in the U.S., Canada, and Germany.

He instituted major training programs, including the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead to train missionaries, and the Theocratic Ministry School to give instruction in preaching and public speaking at the congregational level. He commissioned a new translation of the Bible, which was released progressively from 1950. It was published as the complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in 1961. Also produced were a Greek-English New Testament interlinear, The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, and a Bible encyclopedia, Aid to Bible Understanding. The offices of elder and ministerial servant (deacon) were restored to Witness congregations in 1972, with appointments being made from headquarters.[90]

Knorr's vice-president, Frederick William Franz, became the leading theologian for the group[91] and the pace of doctrinal change slowed. Blood transfusions were prohibited for Witnesses from 1945. In 1961 the eating of blood in meat was prohibited. The Watchtower instructed Witnesses to check with their butcher whether the animals and fowl he sold had been properly drained of their blood.[92][93] Birthday celebrations were described as "objectionable" in 1951 because of their pagan origins,[94] and other explicit rules regarding acceptable conduct among members were introduced, with a greater emphasis placed on disfellowshipping as a disciplinary measure.[95]

Adult male Witnesses in the US, Britain, and some European countries were jailed for refusal of military service in the post-war years, with particularly harsh treatment meted out in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, East Germany, and Romania. Wide-scale persecution of Witnesses in several African nations was launched between 1967 and 1975, with as many as 21,000 fleeing Malawi to refugee camps in Zambia after a series of murders and beatings in 1972. 7,000 Mozambiquean members of the denomination were arrested in 1975 to be sent to communist re-education camps.[96]

During Knorr's presidency, membership of Jehovah's Witnesses grew from 108,000 to more than two million.[91]

Predictions for 1975

[edit]

From 1966, Witness publications heightened anticipation of Christ's thousand-year millennial reign beginning in late 1975.[97][98][99][100] Repeating the 1925 cycle of excitement, anticipation, and then disappointment, Witness publications and convention talks intensified focus on 1975 as the "appropriate" time for God to act,[101] with statements that "the immediate future is certain to be filled with climactic events ... within a few years at most the final parts of the Bible prophecy relative to these 'last days' will undergo fulfillment".[102] The September 15, 1971 issue of The Watchtower warned that "all worldly careers are soon to come to an end", and advised youths that they should not "get interested in ‘higher education’ for a future that will never eventuate."[103]

A chart in a 1971 Awake! indicated the "thrilling hope" of a "grand Sabbath of rest and relief" in the mid-1970s at the close of 6000 years of human history.[104] Some Witnesses sold businesses and homes, gave up jobs, deferred medical procedures, and set aside plans to start a family in anticipation of Armageddon's arrival.[105][106] The May 1974 issue of the Watch Tower Society's newsletter, Our Kingdom Ministry, commended Witnesses who had sold homes and property to devote themselves to preaching in the "short time" remaining.[107]

Watch Tower literature did not state dogmatically that 1975 would definitely mark the end,[108] and the buildup was tempered with cautions that there was no certainty that Armageddon would arrive in 1975, but magazines warned that "time is running out rapidly"[109] and that "only a few years, at most" remained before Armageddon.[110] Circuit assemblies in 1970 held a public talk entitled "Who will conquer the world in the 1970s?".[111] In a speech in Australia in 1975, the society's vice-president Frederick Franz went so far as to name a precise date—September 5, 1975—as the "end of the present wicked system".[112]

Witnesses were urged that they should not be "toying with the words of Jesus that 'concerning that day and hour nobody knows' ... to the contrary, one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end."[113] The number of baptisms soared from about 59,000 in 1966, to more than 297,000 in 1974. Membership declined after expectations for 1975 failed.[105][114] In 1976 The Watchtower advised those who had been "disappointed" by the failure of the predictions for 1975 to adjust their viewpoint because their understanding had been "based on wrong premises".[115] In 1980, after several proposals by Governing Body members to apologize to Witnesses were voted down,[116] the Watch Tower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding 1975.[117]

1976–present

[edit]
Timeline—1976–2026
1976Governing Body takes control
1980Purge of senior Brooklyn headquarters staff
1995Teaching that the generation of 1914 would see Armageddon is abandoned
2008Definition of generation changed to 'remnant of anointed'
2010Definition of generation changed to 'living anointed whose lives overlap 1914 anointed'

Organizational developments

[edit]

The leadership structure of Jehovah's Witnesses was reorganized from January 1, 1976, with the power of the presidency passed to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and the establishment of six committees to oversee tasks such as writing, teaching, publishing, and evangelizing work.[118] At this time, Watch Tower Society publications began using the capitalized name, Jehovah's Witnesses. Following Knorr's death in 1977, Frederick William Franz became president of the Watch Tower Society of Pennsylvania.

A purge of senior Brooklyn headquarters staff was carried out in April and May 1980 after it was discovered some at the highest ranks of the hierarchy dissented with core Watch Tower Society doctrines, particularly surrounding the significance of 1914, and wished to propose adjustments as "new understandings" to continue the century-long tradition of changes in doctrines.[119][120] Unease at the chronology doctrines had surfaced within the Governing Body earlier in 1980. In February, three Governing Body members – aware that those who had been alive in 1914 were rapidly dwindling in number, despite the teaching that their generation would be alive to see Armageddon—had proposed a radical change in Watch Tower doctrines to require that the "generation" that would see the arrival of Armageddon had been alive only since 1957, the year of the launch of the Soviet space satellite Sputnik. The proposal, which would have extended the deadline for Armageddon by 43 years, failed to gain a majority vote.[121][122]

Internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. Among those expelled from the Witnesses was former Governing Body member Raymond Franz. Many of those expelled were labeled by Governing Body members as "spiritual fornicators", "mentally diseased" and "insane".[119] The purge resulted in a number of schisms in the movement in Canada, Britain, and northern Europe, and prompted the formation of loose groups of disaffected former Witnesses. The Watch Tower Society responded to the crisis with a new, hardened attitude towards the treatment of defectors and expelled Witnesses.[119][120][123][124]

In 1992, Milton George Henschel, then a member of the Governing Body, succeeded Franz as president of the Watch Tower Society of Pennsylvania. In 2000, members of the Governing Body resigned from positions on the boards of the Watch Tower Society and its subsidiary corporations in order to focus on doctrinal matters.[125] Don Alden Adams then replaced Henschel as president.[126][127] Following Adams' death in 2014, Robert Ciranko became president of the Watch Tower Society.[128]

Beginning in 2004, various Watch Tower Society properties in Brooklyn were sold in preparation for the establishment of a new world headquarters in Warwick, New York, completed in 2016.[129][130]

Doctrinal changes

[edit]

In 1995, changes regarding their understanding of Jesus' comments regarding "this generation" (from Matthew 24:34) were published.[131] Throughout the previous four decades, Jehovah's Witnesses had taught that the generation that saw the events of 1914 would not die out before Armageddon came.[132] The understanding of the "generation" was again adjusted in 2008, to refer to the remnant of the anointed.[133] In 2010, the definition of the generation was changed again, wherein the lives of anointed individuals living in 1914 overlap with a second group alive in the present day, some of whom will see Armageddon.[134] Jehovah's Witnesses continue to teach that Armageddon is imminent.[135]

History of Eschatological Doctrine
Last Days beginStart of Christ's PresenceChrist made KingResurrection of 144,000Judgment of ReligionSeparating Sheep & GoatsGreat Tribulation
1879–1920 1799 1874 1878 during Millennium 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920
1920–1923 1914 1878 1878 1925
1923–1925 during Christ's presence
1925–1927 within generation of 1914
1927–1929 1918
1929–1930 1914
1930–1966 1914 1919
1966–1975 1975?
1975–1995 within generation of 1914
1995–present during Great Tribulation imminent

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 "A sketch of the development of present truth", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906.
  2. 1 2 "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Watchtower, January 15, 1955, page 14.
  3. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 51
  4. 1 2 3 4 Crompton, Robert (1996). Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. p. 101. ISBN 0-227-67939-3.
  5. ↑ "A New Name", The Watch Tower, October 1, 1931, page 296–297.
  6. ↑ Draw Close to Jehovah, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2002, page 157.
  7. ↑ Officers' Certificate of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY. p. 3. ... for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ Jesus.
  8. ↑ "Russia Supreme Court bans Jehovah's Witness congregation", Jurist Legal News and Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, December 10, 2009.
  9. ↑ Crompton, Robert (1996). Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. p. 30. ISBN 0-227-67939-3.
  10. ↑ Zion's Watch Tower, July 1879, page 1.
  11. ↑ "Concerning profitable meetings", Zion's Watch Tower, September 15, 1895.
  12. ↑ Yearbook 1975, Watch Tower Society, 1975.
  13. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 32.
  14. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 51
  15. ↑ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2002, chapter 3.
  16. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. p. 44. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  17. 1 2 Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, 2007. Chapter 6.
  18. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, pp. 259–260
  19. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 59.
  20. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. p. 54. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  21. 1 2 Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, 2007. Chapter 4.
  22. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 54–57. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  23. ↑ "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Restoration of Theocratic Organization", The Watchtower, June 1, 1955.
  24. ↑ "Distress of Nations: Cause, Warning, Remedy" (PDF). The Golden Age: 712–718. September 29, 1920.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Penton 1997, p. 60.
  26. ↑ "The Finished Mystery 1917, p. 485, "In the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by the millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of 'Christianity.'" (Later editions read differently)
  27. ↑ The Finished Mystery, 1917 edition, p. 258, "And the mountains were not found. Even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920. And the mountains were not found. Every kingdom of earth will pass away, be swallowed up in anarchy." (This date was changed in later editions.)
  28. ↑ "Brooklyn convention and memorial", The Watch Tower, April 1, 1918, page 6233, Reprints.
  29. ↑ Watch Tower April 15, 1916 pg 126, "We cannot help it that many of our dear friends continue to tell what The Watch Tower believes, and to misrepresent its teachings ... we are not looking forward to 1925, nor to any other date. As expressly stated in The Watch Tower, we are simply going on, our last date or appointment having been passed more than a year ago... The last place to which he [Elijah] was sent was Jordan, which, we believe, corresponds to October, 1914. ... We have no different time in mind from the Scriptures on the subject and do not expect to have any."
  30. ↑ Crompton, Robert (1996). Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. p. 96. ISBN 0-227-67939-3.
  31. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, chap. 10 p. 138
  32. ↑ Edmond C. Gross, Jehovah's Witnesses: Their Claims, Doctrinal Changes, and Prophetic Speculation. What Does the Record Show?, Xulon Press, 2001, ISBN 1-931232-30-X, chapter 24.
  33. ↑ The Way to Paradise, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1924, pg 225, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 230.
  34. 1 2 Penton 1997, p. 58.
  35. ↑ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, page 235.
  36. ↑ See March 31, 1930 Time magazine, p. 60.
  37. 1 2 Penton 1997, p. 61.
  38. ↑ Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. pp. 181, 182. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
  39. ↑ Your Will Be Done on Earth. Watchtower. 1958. p. 337.
  40. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose. Watchtower. 1959. p. 313.
  41. ↑ When Pastor Russell Died (PDF). Dawn Bible Students Association. 1946. pp. 6–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2008-10-29. Attendance at the annual Memorial (statistics were published each year in the Watch Tower) shows the growth in the period before 1925. 1919: 17,961, 1922: 32,661, 1923: 42,000, 1924: 62,696, 1925: 90,434. 1926 marked the first decrease: 89,278. There are no published statistics from 1929–1934. In 1935, Memorial attendance was 63,146.Watchtower. August 15, 1996. p. 31.
  42. 1 2 Penton 1997, p. 62.
  43. ↑ 1931 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, pg 57.
  44. ↑ Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. pp. 142, 146, 157–159. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
  45. ↑ Your Will be Done on Earth. Watch Tower Society. p. 337.
  46. ↑ "Work for the Anointed", The Watch Tower, January 1, 1925, pages 4,5. "The Remnant", The Watch Tower, July 15, 1925, pages 215–216.
  47. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. 1993. p. 124.
  48. ↑ Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
  49. ↑ "Character or Covenant—Which?", The Watchtower, May 1, 1926, "The expression 'character development' and like expressions repeatedly made from the pulpit and platform, have resulted in much confusion. Christians have been led to believe that they must develop, while in the flesh on earth, a character that is perfect before they can have an entrance into heaven ... the above excerpts or quotations ... are here cited in order that the issue may be clearly drawn. If any of us have relied upon such expressions and have been misled thereby, then it becomes our duty to get them out of our minds that we might see more clearly God's provisions and rejoice. Many have thought ... that this personal development of a character must be brought to perfection before they can enter into eternal life. This wrong conception of the matter has led many to believe that they can reach perfection in the flesh. Questions: (1) What has been the belief of many Christians concerning "character development'? To what absurdities and fatal consequences have some been misled thereby?"
  50. ↑ Watchtower, January 1, 1927, pg 7.
  51. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, pages 91, 95.
  52. ↑ J. F. Rutherford, Favored People, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, as cited by Wills, 2007, pg 129.
  53. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. p. 46. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  54. 1 2 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1975, page 147.
  55. ↑ A. H. Macmillan, Faith on the March, 1959, page 152.
  56. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. p. 56. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  57. ↑ Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. pp. 181, 182. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
  58. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 69.
  59. ↑ "J.F. Rutherford, Prophecy, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1929, pg 319, 328–333". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  60. ↑ "J.F. Rutherford, Vindication, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1931, pg 9–14, 65–68, 135". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  61. ↑ "A New Name", The Watch Tower, October 1, 1931, page 296–297.
  62. ↑ "Riches of the Full Assurance of Our Understanding", The Watchtower, October 15, 1950, page 387.
  63. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 64.
  64. ↑ "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Restoration of Theocratic Organization", The Watchtower, June 1, 1955, "The final change-over to a theocratic organization of Jehovah’s witnesses occurred in 1938 ... Similarly today the power of appointment of all servants in congregations rightfully rests with the governing body of the 'faithful and discreet slave' class, which is under the direct supervision of Christ Jesus at the temple. These powers do not rest democratically with the congregations."
  65. ↑ Consolation, 4 September 1940, pg 25, as cited by Penton, pg. 61.
  66. ↑ Rutherford, Joseph Franklin (1921). The Harp of God. International Bible students association. pp. 231–236. affirms that "the Lord's second presence dates from 1874." Watchtower. Watchtower. March 1, 1922. p. 71. and Prophecy. 1930. pp. 65–66. reiterated this position. The eschatological changes during this period are documented in Thomas Daniels. Historical Idealism and Jehovah's Witnesses (PDF). pp. 3–37. Retrieved 2006-02-01.
  67. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. p. 49. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  68. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 140.
  69. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watchtower. 1993. pp. 84–85.
  70. ↑ J. F. Rutherford, Salvation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1939, pages 25-28, 59, 337.
  71. 1 2 Kaplan, William (1989). State and Salvation: The Jehovah's Witnesses and their Fight for Civil Rights. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-8020-5842-6.
  72. 1 2 Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 62–63. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  73. 1 2 Penton 1997, pp. 71, 129.
  74. ↑ "United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". Retrieved February 22, 2005.
  75. ↑ Hans Hesse (2001). Persecution and Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses During the Nazi Regime. p. 10. ISBN 978-3-86108-750-2.
  76. ↑ Garbe, Detlef (2008). Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-299-20794-6.
  77. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 59, 62–63. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  78. ↑ Kaplan, William (1989). State and Salvation: The Jehovah's Witnesses and their Fight for Civil Rights. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 65. ISBN 0-8020-5842-6.
  79. ↑ Kaplan, William (1989). State and Salvation: The Jehovah's Witnesses and their Fight for Civil Rights. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-8020-5842-6.
  80. ↑ American Civil Liberties Union (1941). The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses (PDF). pp. 1–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-29. Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (1978). Visions of Glory. pp. 185, 281. Jayne Persian (December 2005). "The Banning of Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia in 1941" (PDF). Adelaide Company of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc. v. The Commonwealth of Australia
  81. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 89.
  82. ↑ See, e.g., Cantwell v. State of Connecticut, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.
  83. ↑ Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Visions of Glory, 1978, chapter 6.
  84. ↑ Whalen, William J. (1962). Armageddon Around the Corner: A Report on Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: John Day Company. p. 190.
  85. ↑ Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 59, 61. ISBN 0-0945-5940-6.
  86. ↑ Schnell, William (1971). 30 Years a Watchtower Slave. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8010-6384-1.
  87. ↑ Heather and Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 1984, page 41.
  88. ↑ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, page 74.
  89. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 86.
  90. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, p. 106
  91. 1 2 Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, page 72.
  92. ↑ Whalen, William J. (1962). Armageddon Around the Corner: A Report on Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: John Day Company. p. 198.
  93. ↑ "Questions from readers", The Watchtower, November 1, 1961, pages 669–670.
  94. ↑ "Questions From Readers," The Watchtower,, October 1, 1951, page 607.
  95. ↑ Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, 2007, chapter 8.
  96. ↑ Penton 1997, pp. 145–146.
  97. ↑ Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (PDF). Watch Tower Society. 1966. pp. 29–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-04-04. as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, chapter 9.
  98. ↑ "How Much Longer Will It Be?" (PDF). Awake!. October 8, 1966. pp. 17–20.
  99. ↑ See 1975: 'THE APPROPRIATE TIME FOR GOD TO ACT' Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Page 14 of the October 8, 1968 Awake! demonstrates the disclaimer that was made at the time: "Does this mean that the above evidence positively points to 1975 as the complete end of this system of things? Since the Bible does not specifically state this, no man can say...If the 1970s should see intervention by Jehovah God to bring an end to a corrupt world drifting toward ultimate disintegration, that should surely not surprise us."
  100. ↑ See "Witnessing the End" in the July 18, 1969 Time magazine. Scan available online at: http://www.dannyhaszard.com/time1975.jpg accessed February 14, 2006
  101. ↑ Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (PDF). Watch Tower Society. 1966. pp. 29–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-04-04..
  102. ↑ Watchtower, May 1, 1968, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, chapter 9.
  103. ↑ The Watchtower, 15 September 1971, page 563
  104. ↑ "Time of Rest and Refreshment at Hand", Awake!, October 8, 1971, page 27.
  105. 1 2 Raymond Franz. "1975—The Appropriate Time for God to Act". Crisis of Conscience (PDF). pp. 237–253. Archived from the original on 2003-12-09. Retrieved 2006-07-27.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  106. ↑ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 151–4. ISBN 0-415-26610-6.
  107. ↑ Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, page 3, "Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end."
  108. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 95.
  109. ↑ Awake!, May 1, 1968, pages 272,273.
  110. ↑ Awake!, October 8, 1968, page 13.
  111. ↑ "Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, July 1970
  112. ↑ George D. Chryssides, Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses, Scarecrow Press, 2008, pg lx.
  113. ↑ "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?", The Watchtower, August 15, 1968, page 501.
  114. ↑ This drop in membership has been variously analyzed. Richard Singelenberg ("The '1975'-prophecy and its impact among Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses" Archived 2015-10-01 at the Wayback Machine) in Sociological Analysis 50(1)1989, pp 23–40 notes a nine per cent drop in total publishers (door-to-door preachers) and a 38 per cent drop in pioneers (full-time preachers) in the Netherlands. Stark and Iannoccone have analyzed the impact on US Witnesses. "Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow So Rapidly: A Theoretical Application" (PDF). The Journal of Contemporary Religion: 142–143. 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-12-05. The January 30, 1982 Los Angeles Times ("Defectors Feel 'Witness' Wrath: Critics say Baptism Rise Gives False Picture of Growth" by John Dart, p. B4) cited statistics showing a net increase of publishers worldwide from 1971–1981 of 737,241, while baptisms totaled 1.71 million for the same period.
  115. ↑ "A Solid Basis for Confidence", Watchtower, July 15, 1976, page 441.
  116. ↑ According to Raymond Franz, proposals were put to the Governing Body in 1976, 1977 and 1979 to acknowledge the error, but Milton Henschel and others recommended they ignore the matter and hope Witnesses would eventually forget about it. Crisis of Conscience, page 250.
  117. ↑ The Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p.17 "With the appearance of the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God, ... considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975. ... there were other statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already initiated. ... persons having to do with the publication of the information ... contributed to the buildup of hopes centered on that date."
  118. ↑ 1977 Yearbook, Watch Tower Society, as cited by Penton 1997, p. 220
  119. 1 2 3 Penton 1997, pp. 117–123.
  120. 1 2 Heather and Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 1984, pages 158–165.
  121. ↑ Penton 1997, p. 218.
  122. ↑ Copy of proposal as presented to Governing Body reproduced in Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 1997, page 262.
  123. ↑ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, chapters 11–12.
  124. ↑ John Dart, "Defectors Feel Witnsses' Wrath", Los Angeles Times, January 30, 1982, Part II, page 4, "The Sept. 15 Watchtower magazine told members that anyone who has written a letter of resignation should be shunned as if he had been 'disfellowshipped', or expelled ... 'This is a hardening, a tightening, of our policy,' confirmed William Van De Wall, a headquarters spokesman for the Watchtower Society. Denying any great membership losses, Van De Wall said the new directive was to counteract 'disgruntled' ex-members."
  125. ↑ Georges D. Chryssides, "Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses", 2008, p.22
  126. ↑ "Jehovah's Witnesses Order Changes at Top", Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, October 14, 2000, p. B5
  127. ↑ "New Leadership Structure for Jehovah's Witnesses", Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 10, 2000, p. A02
  128. ↑ George D. Chryssides. Jehovah's Witnesses: Continuity and Change. p. 143.
  129. ↑ "Jehovah Witness World HQ project moving forward". The Warwick Advertiser.
  130. ↑ "Jehovah's Witnesses new world HQ nearly complete". The Warwick Advertiser.
  131. ↑ See ”1914 and ‘This Generation’”, pp. 254–272 in Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz. Available online at: https://web.archive.org/web/20060208160353/http://users.volja.net/izobcenec4/coc/10.pdf accessed February 12, 2006
  132. ↑ "He shows the beginning of this time and how the troubles increase, and mentions some of the sorrows to fall on the world, during the time of trouble. The length of time is indicated by him when he said, 'Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.' (Matt. 24:34, NW) The actual meaning of these words is, beyond question, that which takes a 'generation' in the ordinary sense, as at Mark 8:12 and Acts 13:36, or for those who are living at the given period. So it was on 'this generation' that the accumulated judgments were to fall. (Matt. 23:36) This therefore means that from 1914 a generation shall not pass till all is fulfilled, and amidst a great time of trouble. Vision of the 'Time of the End', The Watchtower, July 1951, p. 404
  133. ↑ The Watchtower, February 15, 2008, page 24 paragraph 15: "As a group, those anointed comprise the present "generation" of contemporaries who won't pass away "until all the things come to pass."
  134. ↑ "United in Love—Annual Meeting Report". The Watchtower: 4. June 15, 2010.
  135. ↑ "A Time To Keep Awake", The Watchtower (November 1, 1995), p. 19 par. 12, and p. 20 par. 15.

Further reading

[edit]

Four official histories of Jehovah's Witnesses have been published by the Watch Tower Society. The first two are out of print. The most recent one is available online.

  • Qualified To Be Ministers, pages 297–345 (1955)
  • Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (1959)
  • Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993)
  • God’s Kingdom Rules! (2014)

Books by members

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  • Jehovah's Witnesses: The New World Society by Marley Cole. This book received a positive review in the August 15, 1955 Watchtower: "Much of the material was gathered by personal interviews with witnesses, some of them being officials of the Society. Frequently in the news is something about the religion of President Eisenhower's parents. This book gives the facts often overlooked or concealed, with documentary proof that they were Jehovah's witnesses for many years." Cole was an active Witness and wrote the book in collaboration with Witness leaders. It was also distributed by the Watch Tower Society. 229 pages. Publisher: The Vantage Press, 1955.
  • Faith on the March by A. H. Macmillan. Macmillan provides a first-person account of the early history of Jehovah's Witnesses from his meeting of Charles Taze Russell in 1900 to the time of the writing of the book (1957). He served with three of the Presidents of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: Russell, Rutherford, and Knorr (who wrote the book's introduction). Publisher: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 57-8528 (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1957)
  • A People for His Name: A History of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation by Tony Wills, (2006) 2nd edition. (The first edition was published under the pseudonym Timothy White.) The author, a lifelong Witness, presents an in-depth look at the Bible Student/Jehovah's Witness movement. He explores its doctrinal growth and shifts and notes schisms from the main body. 300 pages. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
  • Armed with the Constitution: Jehovah's Witnesses in Alabama and the U.S Supreme Court, 1939-1946 by Merlin Newton. Newton researches the contributions of two Jehovah's Witnesses—a black man and a white woman—in expanding the meaning of the First Amendment in 1940s Alabama. She examines two key U.S. Supreme Court decisions, as well as court records, memoirs, letters, and interviews of Jehovah's Witnesses. Publisher: University Alabama Press; Religion and American Culture Series, Reprint edition (June 28, 2002). Paperback: 240 pages. ISBN 0-8173-1228-5
  • O'er the Ramparts They Watched by Victor Blackwell.

Books by non-members

[edit]
  • Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses by Alan Rogerson. Constable. 1969
  • Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada: Champions of freedom of speech and worship by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge (a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses), examines the history of legal activities that led to expansion of religious freedoms in Canada. Referenced in the January 1, 1977 Watchtower, page 11 and the 1979 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 94. Publisher: Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7705-1340-9 (Canada, 1976)
  • Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge, examines the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their doctrines. Read selections from: Google Book Search Publisher: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998)
[edit]
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