JW Wikipedia pages

Kingdom song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Kingdom songs are the hymns sung by Jehovah's Witnesses at their religious meetings. Since 1879, the Watch Tower Society has published hymnal lyrics; by the 1920s they had published hundreds of adapted and original songs, and by the 1930s they referred to these as "Kingdom songs" in reference to God's Kingdom.[1]
With the 1966 release of Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts, a policy was introduced to use only songs written by Witnesses. Subsequent collections were released in 1984 and in 2009, each retaining, retiring, or revising previous songs and introducing new songs. By 2012, an edition of their current hymnal Sing to Jehovah was available in 171 languages, including several sign languages.
In addition to songbooks containing sheet music and lyrics, releases in various audio formats have included vocals in several languages, piano instrumentals, and orchestral arrangements. The orchestral arrangements, referred to as Kingdom Melodies, are drawn from the three most-recent collections. Jehovah's Witnesses use Kingdom songs in their worship at their congregations meetings and larger events.


Contents  [hide]
1 Collections 1.1 Singing and Accompanying
1.2 Sing Praises to Jehovah
1.3 Sing to Jehovah
1.4 Kingdom Melodies
2 Use in worship
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Collections[edit]
In the late 19th century, the Bible Students (from which Jehovah's Witnesses arose) used many well-known songs and melodies. They also used well-known melodies set to their own texts. The prefaces of Songs of the Bride[2] and Poems and Hymns of Dawn[3] indicate that these hymnals include hymns adapted from other Protestant hymnals such as Hymns of the Morning,[4] Gospel Hymns,[5] Jubilee Harp,[6] Winnowed Hymns,[7] Epworth Hymnal[8] and Songs of Pilgrimage.[9] These melodies were often works of famous composers, including Ludwig van Beethoven and Joseph Haydn. Lyrics were often also adapted from works of famous hymnal writers including Philip P. Bliss, Horatius Bonar, Fanny Crosby, Philip Doddridge, Thomas Hastings, John Newton, Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley. Since 1966, efforts have been made to use only songs composed and written by members of their religion rather than adapting music or lyrics from other religious groups, to ensure they are characteristic of and unique to Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 1877, Charles Taze Russell and Nelson H. Barbour announced Songs of the Morning in their book Three Worlds.[10] Songs of the Bride, a collection of 144 songs, was published in 1879.[2] In 1890, Poems and Hymns of the Millennial Dawn[3]—with 151 poems and 333 songs, most of which were well-known compositions—was released and became the group's official hymnal until 1928. This was followed by lyrics for 11 songs appearing in the February 1, 1896 issue of The Watchtower, under the title Zion's Glad Songs of the Morning,[11] written by members of the denomination. A supplement of 81 songs was released in 1900, many written by a single individual, under the title Zion's Glad Songs.[12][13] Two revised editions of this hymnal were released between 1902 and 1908 with almost identical titles.[14][15] In 1905, the 333 songs published in 1890 along with musical notation were released under the title, Hymns of the Millennial Dawn.[16] This book was released in a number of other languages, mainly in a shortened version. In 1925, Kingdom Hymns was published,[17] with 80 songs intended for children and youths. In 1928 Songs of Praise to Jehovah was released,[18] which included 337 songs.[19]
Following the adoption of the name Jehovah's witnesses in 1931, the Kingdom Service Song Book was released in 1944 (and revised in 1948), which included 62 songs. This was followed by the release of Songs to Jehovah's Praise in 1950, with 91 songs. Some of the music was from hymn tunes of other churches or based on themes from classical music (for example, Beethoven's Piano Sonata no. 23 in F minor, op. 57 ("Appassionata")). Others used relatively new music, which has been used in later songbooks, including the current one.)




Move Ahead!







Sample vocal rendition of Move Ahead!.

Problems playing this file? See media help.




Our Reasons for Joy







Sample vocal rendition of Our Reasons for Joy.

Problems playing this file? See media help.
Singing and Accompanying[edit]
Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts was released in 1966, with 119 songs. Melodies identified as not having been written by Jehovah's Witnesses were replaced. For the first time, a policy was adopted of including only material written and composed by Jehovah's Witnesses, though some songs composed by non-Witnesses were unintentionally included.[20]
Sing Praises to Jehovah[edit]
In 1984, Sing Praises to Jehovah, was released, which includes 225 songs. It was subsequently introduced in many other languages. Many songs in Sing Praises to Jehovah were present in the previous two books; some that were found not to have been written by members of Jehovah's Witnesses were excluded, and many new songs were added. Two songs had the melodies changed, and various textual revisions were made.[20]
Sing to Jehovah[edit]



Sing to Jehovah, Jehovah's Witnesses' current hymnal
In 2009, the release of a new hymnal, Sing to Jehovah, was announced; as of January 2010, it is the current hymnal used at religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses.[21] It contains 135 songs, 42 of which are new. Many songs from earlier editions are retained; some melodies and lyrics have been changed, and some songs have had verses removed. Some melodies have completely new lyrics, and some lyrics have been set to new melodies. Reduced editions comprising 55 songs are available in 55 less common languages.[22] Six volumes of orchestral and vocal arrangements based on 114 songs from Sing to Jehovah have also been released.[23] On October 4, 2014, a revised edition of the songbook was announced, with a number of new songs.[24]
Kingdom Melodies[edit]
A series of light orchestral arrangements of Kingdom songs entitled Kingdom Melodies was first released in 1980.[25] They are intended for listening, and are not well suited for accompanying singing. The earlier recordings in the series were from the 1966 hymnal Singing and Accompanying Yourselves With Music in Your Hearts, and the later ones from Sing Praises to Jehovah.
Installments of Kingdom Melodies were issued in cassette and phonograph formats annually during the 1980s. From 1996 to 2000, the series was re-issued as nine volumes on CD. In 2006, the series was released on CD in MP3 format. Since September 2008, the songs have also been made available for download.
Use in worship[edit]
Typically, Jehovah's Witnesses sing three songs at their midweek- and weekend meetings for worship. The entire congregation sings,[26] usually accompanied by a piano recording on compact disc, although some congregations have a piano or a band. Meetings open and close with a song and prayer, along with a song during an interlude between the two sections of the meeting. Songs are selected to match the theme of the meeting program. Songs to introduce the Congregation Bible Study and the Service Meeting are found in the newsletter, Our Kingdom Ministry, and those for the Watchtower study are on the front cover of The Watchtower Study Edition. The song used to introduce the public talk is normally chosen by the speaker. Songs are also used at assemblies and conventions, and sometimes at different events at Watch Tower Society branch offices. Jehovah's Witnesses' publications also suggest that Witnesses listen to this music in their personal time.[27]
See also[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses practices
Kingdom Hall
List of Watch Tower Society publications#Songbooks
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich by Detlef Garbe, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2008, ISBN 0-299-20790-0, ISBN 978-0-299-20790-8, page 207
2.^ Jump up to: a b Mann, William I. (arr.) Songs of the Bride. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Published at the Office of Zion's Watch Tower, 1879.
3.^ Jump up to: a b RUSSELL, Charles Taze & RUSSELL, Mary Frances (eds.). Poems and Hymns of Dawn. Allegheny, Pa.: Tower Publishing Company, 1890. 493 p.; RUSSELL, Charles Taze & RUSSELL, Mary Frances (eds.). Poems and Hymns of Dawn. Allegheny, Pa.: Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, [1898?]. 493 p.
4.Jump up ^ BARKER, Charles C. (comp.). Hymns of the Morning : Designed for the Use of God’s People. Concord, N.H.: Charles W. Sargent, 1872. 144 p., 283 hymns; BARKER, Charles C. (comp.). Hymns of the Morning : Designed for the Use of God’s People. Concord, N.H.: Charles W. Sargent, 1873. 164 p., 307 hymns
5.Jump up ^ BLISS, P.P. & SANKEY, Ira D. Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs : as used by them in Gospel Meetings. New York: Biglow & Main ; Cincinnati, John Church & Co., 1875. 112 p. 133 hymns; Gospel Hymns consolidated embracing volumes no. 1, 2, 3 and 4 without duplicates, for use in gospel meetings and other religious services. New York: Biglow & Main ; Cincinnati: John Church & Co., cop. 1883. 400 p.
6.Jump up ^ GORHAM, A.T. (compil.). The Jubilee Harp: a Choice Selection of Psalmody, Ancient and Modern: Designed for use in Public and Social Worship. Boston: Advent Christian Publication Society, 1874. 458 p., 822 hymns.
7.Jump up ^ McCABE, C.C. & MacFARLAN, D.T. (eds.). Winnowed hymns: a collection of sacred songs, especially adapted for revivals, prayer and camp meetings. New York: Biglow & Main, [1873?]. 128 p.
8.Jump up ^ The Epworth Hymnal containing standard hymns of the church, songs for the sunday-school, songs for social services, songs for the home circle, songs for special occasions. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe ; New York: Hunt & Eaton, cop. 1885. 231 p.
9.Jump up ^ HASTINGS, H.L. Songs of Pilgrimage : a Hymnal for the Churches of Christ. Boston, Mass.: Scriptural Tract Repository, 1886; 3rd ed., 1888. 1533 hymns
10.Jump up ^ [¿BARBOUR, Nelson H. (arr.)?]. Songs of the Morning. [Rochester, New York?: Office of Herald of the Morning?, 1877?] 67 hymns
11.Jump up ^ [McPHAIL, M.L. (compil.)]. Zion’s Glad Songs of the Mornin. En: Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, 1896, vol. 17, no.3, february 1, 12 p., 11 hymns
12.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs for all ...Christian Gatherings... Allegheny, Pa.: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, [1900?]. 59 p., 82 hymns.
13.Jump up ^ "Zion's Glad Songs". The Watchtower: 274. 15 September 1900. "OUR dear Brother McPhail, who has quite a talent for music, has collected a number of new and beautiful hymns, - the music to the majority being his own composition ... entitled 'Zion's Glad Songs."
14.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs No. 2 : for all ...Christian Gatherings... Chicago, Ills.: K. McPhail, [1907]. 64 p., 65 hymns
15.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs for all ...Christian Gatherings... Chicago, Il.: M.L. McPhail, [1908]. 220 p., 248 hymns
16.Jump up ^ [RUSSELL,C.T.] Hymns of the Millennial Dawn : with Music : a Choice Collection of Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs : to Aid God's People in Singing and Making Melody in their Hearts unto the Lord. Brooklyn : Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1906.
17.Jump up ^ Kingdom Hymns : with music. Brooklyn, N.Y.: International Bible Students Association, 1925. 63 p., 80 hymns.
18.Jump up ^ Songs of Praise to Jehovah. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1928. 299 p., 337 hymns
19.Jump up ^ "16 Meetings for Worship, Instruction, and Encouragement". Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 240.
20.^ Jump up to: a b "Praising Jehovah With Music". The Watchtower: 23. 15 October 1986.
21.Jump up ^ "Theocratic Ministry School Schedule", Our Kingdom Ministry, October, 2009, page 3
22.Jump up ^ The Music of Many Languages
23.Jump up ^ "Music for Christian Worship". JW.org. Watch Tower Society. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
24.Jump up ^ "2014 Annual Meeting Report". Watch Tower Society.
25.Jump up ^ "Announcements". Our Kingdom Ministry: 4. September 1980.
26.Jump up ^ "Music That Pleases God", The Watchtower, June 1, 2000, page 28, Read online
27.Jump up ^ "Music That Refreshes". Our Kingdom Ministry (Watch Tower Society): 1. May 2004.
External links[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses—Official website: Music for Christian Worship
  


Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses




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This page was last modified on 23 April 2015, at 22:05.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_song












Kingdom song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Kingdom songs are the hymns sung by Jehovah's Witnesses at their religious meetings. Since 1879, the Watch Tower Society has published hymnal lyrics; by the 1920s they had published hundreds of adapted and original songs, and by the 1930s they referred to these as "Kingdom songs" in reference to God's Kingdom.[1]
With the 1966 release of Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts, a policy was introduced to use only songs written by Witnesses. Subsequent collections were released in 1984 and in 2009, each retaining, retiring, or revising previous songs and introducing new songs. By 2012, an edition of their current hymnal Sing to Jehovah was available in 171 languages, including several sign languages.
In addition to songbooks containing sheet music and lyrics, releases in various audio formats have included vocals in several languages, piano instrumentals, and orchestral arrangements. The orchestral arrangements, referred to as Kingdom Melodies, are drawn from the three most-recent collections. Jehovah's Witnesses use Kingdom songs in their worship at their congregations meetings and larger events.


Contents  [hide]
1 Collections 1.1 Singing and Accompanying
1.2 Sing Praises to Jehovah
1.3 Sing to Jehovah
1.4 Kingdom Melodies
2 Use in worship
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Collections[edit]
In the late 19th century, the Bible Students (from which Jehovah's Witnesses arose) used many well-known songs and melodies. They also used well-known melodies set to their own texts. The prefaces of Songs of the Bride[2] and Poems and Hymns of Dawn[3] indicate that these hymnals include hymns adapted from other Protestant hymnals such as Hymns of the Morning,[4] Gospel Hymns,[5] Jubilee Harp,[6] Winnowed Hymns,[7] Epworth Hymnal[8] and Songs of Pilgrimage.[9] These melodies were often works of famous composers, including Ludwig van Beethoven and Joseph Haydn. Lyrics were often also adapted from works of famous hymnal writers including Philip P. Bliss, Horatius Bonar, Fanny Crosby, Philip Doddridge, Thomas Hastings, John Newton, Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley. Since 1966, efforts have been made to use only songs composed and written by members of their religion rather than adapting music or lyrics from other religious groups, to ensure they are characteristic of and unique to Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 1877, Charles Taze Russell and Nelson H. Barbour announced Songs of the Morning in their book Three Worlds.[10] Songs of the Bride, a collection of 144 songs, was published in 1879.[2] In 1890, Poems and Hymns of the Millennial Dawn[3]—with 151 poems and 333 songs, most of which were well-known compositions—was released and became the group's official hymnal until 1928. This was followed by lyrics for 11 songs appearing in the February 1, 1896 issue of The Watchtower, under the title Zion's Glad Songs of the Morning,[11] written by members of the denomination. A supplement of 81 songs was released in 1900, many written by a single individual, under the title Zion's Glad Songs.[12][13] Two revised editions of this hymnal were released between 1902 and 1908 with almost identical titles.[14][15] In 1905, the 333 songs published in 1890 along with musical notation were released under the title, Hymns of the Millennial Dawn.[16] This book was released in a number of other languages, mainly in a shortened version. In 1925, Kingdom Hymns was published,[17] with 80 songs intended for children and youths. In 1928 Songs of Praise to Jehovah was released,[18] which included 337 songs.[19]
Following the adoption of the name Jehovah's witnesses in 1931, the Kingdom Service Song Book was released in 1944 (and revised in 1948), which included 62 songs. This was followed by the release of Songs to Jehovah's Praise in 1950, with 91 songs. Some of the music was from hymn tunes of other churches or based on themes from classical music (for example, Beethoven's Piano Sonata no. 23 in F minor, op. 57 ("Appassionata")). Others used relatively new music, which has been used in later songbooks, including the current one.)




Move Ahead!







Sample vocal rendition of Move Ahead!.

Problems playing this file? See media help.




Our Reasons for Joy







Sample vocal rendition of Our Reasons for Joy.

Problems playing this file? See media help.
Singing and Accompanying[edit]
Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts was released in 1966, with 119 songs. Melodies identified as not having been written by Jehovah's Witnesses were replaced. For the first time, a policy was adopted of including only material written and composed by Jehovah's Witnesses, though some songs composed by non-Witnesses were unintentionally included.[20]
Sing Praises to Jehovah[edit]
In 1984, Sing Praises to Jehovah, was released, which includes 225 songs. It was subsequently introduced in many other languages. Many songs in Sing Praises to Jehovah were present in the previous two books; some that were found not to have been written by members of Jehovah's Witnesses were excluded, and many new songs were added. Two songs had the melodies changed, and various textual revisions were made.[20]
Sing to Jehovah[edit]



Sing to Jehovah, Jehovah's Witnesses' current hymnal
In 2009, the release of a new hymnal, Sing to Jehovah, was announced; as of January 2010, it is the current hymnal used at religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses.[21] It contains 135 songs, 42 of which are new. Many songs from earlier editions are retained; some melodies and lyrics have been changed, and some songs have had verses removed. Some melodies have completely new lyrics, and some lyrics have been set to new melodies. Reduced editions comprising 55 songs are available in 55 less common languages.[22] Six volumes of orchestral and vocal arrangements based on 114 songs from Sing to Jehovah have also been released.[23] On October 4, 2014, a revised edition of the songbook was announced, with a number of new songs.[24]
Kingdom Melodies[edit]
A series of light orchestral arrangements of Kingdom songs entitled Kingdom Melodies was first released in 1980.[25] They are intended for listening, and are not well suited for accompanying singing. The earlier recordings in the series were from the 1966 hymnal Singing and Accompanying Yourselves With Music in Your Hearts, and the later ones from Sing Praises to Jehovah.
Installments of Kingdom Melodies were issued in cassette and phonograph formats annually during the 1980s. From 1996 to 2000, the series was re-issued as nine volumes on CD. In 2006, the series was released on CD in MP3 format. Since September 2008, the songs have also been made available for download.
Use in worship[edit]
Typically, Jehovah's Witnesses sing three songs at their midweek- and weekend meetings for worship. The entire congregation sings,[26] usually accompanied by a piano recording on compact disc, although some congregations have a piano or a band. Meetings open and close with a song and prayer, along with a song during an interlude between the two sections of the meeting. Songs are selected to match the theme of the meeting program. Songs to introduce the Congregation Bible Study and the Service Meeting are found in the newsletter, Our Kingdom Ministry, and those for the Watchtower study are on the front cover of The Watchtower Study Edition. The song used to introduce the public talk is normally chosen by the speaker. Songs are also used at assemblies and conventions, and sometimes at different events at Watch Tower Society branch offices. Jehovah's Witnesses' publications also suggest that Witnesses listen to this music in their personal time.[27]
See also[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses practices
Kingdom Hall
List of Watch Tower Society publications#Songbooks
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich by Detlef Garbe, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2008, ISBN 0-299-20790-0, ISBN 978-0-299-20790-8, page 207
2.^ Jump up to: a b Mann, William I. (arr.) Songs of the Bride. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Published at the Office of Zion's Watch Tower, 1879.
3.^ Jump up to: a b RUSSELL, Charles Taze & RUSSELL, Mary Frances (eds.). Poems and Hymns of Dawn. Allegheny, Pa.: Tower Publishing Company, 1890. 493 p.; RUSSELL, Charles Taze & RUSSELL, Mary Frances (eds.). Poems and Hymns of Dawn. Allegheny, Pa.: Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, [1898?]. 493 p.
4.Jump up ^ BARKER, Charles C. (comp.). Hymns of the Morning : Designed for the Use of God’s People. Concord, N.H.: Charles W. Sargent, 1872. 144 p., 283 hymns; BARKER, Charles C. (comp.). Hymns of the Morning : Designed for the Use of God’s People. Concord, N.H.: Charles W. Sargent, 1873. 164 p., 307 hymns
5.Jump up ^ BLISS, P.P. & SANKEY, Ira D. Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs : as used by them in Gospel Meetings. New York: Biglow & Main ; Cincinnati, John Church & Co., 1875. 112 p. 133 hymns; Gospel Hymns consolidated embracing volumes no. 1, 2, 3 and 4 without duplicates, for use in gospel meetings and other religious services. New York: Biglow & Main ; Cincinnati: John Church & Co., cop. 1883. 400 p.
6.Jump up ^ GORHAM, A.T. (compil.). The Jubilee Harp: a Choice Selection of Psalmody, Ancient and Modern: Designed for use in Public and Social Worship. Boston: Advent Christian Publication Society, 1874. 458 p., 822 hymns.
7.Jump up ^ McCABE, C.C. & MacFARLAN, D.T. (eds.). Winnowed hymns: a collection of sacred songs, especially adapted for revivals, prayer and camp meetings. New York: Biglow & Main, [1873?]. 128 p.
8.Jump up ^ The Epworth Hymnal containing standard hymns of the church, songs for the sunday-school, songs for social services, songs for the home circle, songs for special occasions. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe ; New York: Hunt & Eaton, cop. 1885. 231 p.
9.Jump up ^ HASTINGS, H.L. Songs of Pilgrimage : a Hymnal for the Churches of Christ. Boston, Mass.: Scriptural Tract Repository, 1886; 3rd ed., 1888. 1533 hymns
10.Jump up ^ [¿BARBOUR, Nelson H. (arr.)?]. Songs of the Morning. [Rochester, New York?: Office of Herald of the Morning?, 1877?] 67 hymns
11.Jump up ^ [McPHAIL, M.L. (compil.)]. Zion’s Glad Songs of the Mornin. En: Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, 1896, vol. 17, no.3, february 1, 12 p., 11 hymns
12.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs for all ...Christian Gatherings... Allegheny, Pa.: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, [1900?]. 59 p., 82 hymns.
13.Jump up ^ "Zion's Glad Songs". The Watchtower: 274. 15 September 1900. "OUR dear Brother McPhail, who has quite a talent for music, has collected a number of new and beautiful hymns, - the music to the majority being his own composition ... entitled 'Zion's Glad Songs."
14.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs No. 2 : for all ...Christian Gatherings... Chicago, Ills.: K. McPhail, [1907]. 64 p., 65 hymns
15.Jump up ^ McPHAIL, M.L. Zion's Glad Songs for all ...Christian Gatherings... Chicago, Il.: M.L. McPhail, [1908]. 220 p., 248 hymns
16.Jump up ^ [RUSSELL,C.T.] Hymns of the Millennial Dawn : with Music : a Choice Collection of Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs : to Aid God's People in Singing and Making Melody in their Hearts unto the Lord. Brooklyn : Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1906.
17.Jump up ^ Kingdom Hymns : with music. Brooklyn, N.Y.: International Bible Students Association, 1925. 63 p., 80 hymns.
18.Jump up ^ Songs of Praise to Jehovah. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1928. 299 p., 337 hymns
19.Jump up ^ "16 Meetings for Worship, Instruction, and Encouragement". Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 240.
20.^ Jump up to: a b "Praising Jehovah With Music". The Watchtower: 23. 15 October 1986.
21.Jump up ^ "Theocratic Ministry School Schedule", Our Kingdom Ministry, October, 2009, page 3
22.Jump up ^ The Music of Many Languages
23.Jump up ^ "Music for Christian Worship". JW.org. Watch Tower Society. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
24.Jump up ^ "2014 Annual Meeting Report". Watch Tower Society.
25.Jump up ^ "Announcements". Our Kingdom Ministry: 4. September 1980.
26.Jump up ^ "Music That Pleases God", The Watchtower, June 1, 2000, page 28, Read online
27.Jump up ^ "Music That Refreshes". Our Kingdom Ministry (Watch Tower Society): 1. May 2004.
External links[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses—Official website: Music for Christian Worship
  


Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses




Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Italiano
മലയാളം
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Suomi
Edit links
This page was last modified on 23 April 2015, at 22:05.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
  

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_song











Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
A dispute developed in 1917 within the leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society following the death of society president Charles Taze Russell and election of legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford as his successor. An acrimonious battle ensued between Rutherford and four of the society's seven directors, who accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. Rutherford claimed the dissident directors had formed a conspiracy to seize control of the society and overcame the challenge by gaining a legal opinion that his four opposers had not been legally appointed. He subsequently replaced them with four new sympathetic directors.[1][2] The four ousted directors later gained 12 legal opinions that Rutherford's actions were unlawful. The leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and helped contribute to the loss of one-seventh of the Watch Tower adherents by 1919.


Contents  [hide]
1 Origins of the dispute
2 Rutherford's re-election and aftermath
3 References
4 Bibliography

Origins of the dispute[edit]
Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, Joseph Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at a convention in Pittsburgh. Controversy soon followed. Author Tony Wills claims that nominations were suspended once Rutherford had been nominated, preventing votes for other candidates,[3][4] and within months Rutherford felt the need to defend himself against rumors within the Brooklyn Bethel that he had used "political methods" to secure his election. In the first of a series of pamphlets from opposing sides, Rutherford told Bible Students: "There is no person on earth who can truthfully say that I ever asked them directly or indirectly to vote for me."[5] By June, the dispute surrounding Rutherford's election as president was turning into what he called a "storm"[6] that ruptured the Watch Tower Society for the remainder of 1917.
In January 1917,[7] Bethel pilgrim Paul S. L. Johnson had been sent to England with orders to inspect the management and finances of the Watch Tower Society's London corporation.[8] He dismissed two managers of the corporation, seized its funds and attempted to reorganize the body. Rutherford—who was convinced Johnson was insane and suffering religious delusions—ordered his recall to New York in late February, but Johnson refused and claimed he was answerable only to the full board of directors.[9] When he finally returned to New York and apologized to the Bethel family for his excesses in London,[10] Johnson became caught up in a move against Rutherford by four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors.



 Joseph F. Rutherford c. 1910
At issue were new by-laws that had been passed in January by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors, stating that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the Watch Tower Society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[11] Opinions on the need for the by-laws were sharply divided. Rutherford maintained that Russell, as president, had always acted as the society's manager, and that the January 6 vote by shareholders to approve the by-laws proved they wanted this process to continue under his successor.[12] He claimed it was a matter of efficiency and said the work of the Watch Tower Society "peculiarly requires the direction of one mind".[13] Bible Student Francis McGee, a lawyer and an assistant to the New Jersey Attorney-General, responded: "This is then the crux of the matter. He says he is that one mind."[14] By June, four board members—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright—had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's powers of management.[15] They claimed Rutherford had become autocratic, refusing to open the Watch Tower Society's books for scrutiny and denying Johnson a fair hearing over his actions in London.[15]
At a board meeting on June 20, Hirsh presented a resolution to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[16] but a vote was deferred for a month after strenuous objections by Rutherford.[17] A week later, four of the directors requested an immediate board meeting to seek information on the society's finances. Rutherford refused the meeting, later claiming he had by then detected a conspiracy between Johnson and the four directors with the aim of seizing control of the society, as he believed Johnson had attempted in Britain.[18]
Within weeks, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that a clause of the Watch Tower Society charter stipulating that its directors were elected for life was contrary to Pennsylvania law, and that all directors were required by law to be re-elected annually. The legal opinion stated that because the January 6 shareholders' meeting had elected only three men to office—Rutherford, Secretary-Treasurer Van Amburgh and Vice-President Andrew N. Pierson—the remaining four board members, who had joined as early as 1904 and had not faced re-election, had no legal status as directors of the society. Even Hirsh, who had been appointed by the board on March 29, 1917 following the resignation of Henry C. Rockwell, was said to have no legal standing because his appointment had taken place in New York rather than Allegheny, as required by law. Rutherford claimed to have known these facts since 1909 and to have conveyed them to Russell on more than one occasion.[19]
On July 12, Rutherford traveled to Pittsburgh and exercised his right under the society's charter to fill what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[20] Rutherford called a meeting of the new board on July 17, where the directors passed a resolution expressing "hearty approval" of the actions of their president and affirming him as "the man the Lord has chosen to carry on the work that yet remains to be done."[21] On July 31 he called a meeting of the People's Pulpit Association, a Watch Tower Society subsidiary incorporated in New York, to expel Hirsh and Hoskins as directors on the grounds that they were opposing the work of the Association. When the resolution failed to gain a majority, Rutherford exercised shareholder proxies provided for the annual meeting in New York the previous January to secure their expulsion.[22][23] On August 1 the Watch Tower Society published a 24-page journal, Harvest Siftings, subtitled "The evil one again attempts to disrupt the Society", in which Rutherford stated his version of the events and explained why he had appointed the new board members.
A month later the four ousted directors responded with a self-funded rebuttal of Rutherford's statement. The publication, Light After Darkness, contained a letter by Pierson, dated July 26, in which the vice-president declared he was now siding with the old board. Although he believed both sides of the conflict had displayed "a measure of wrongs", Pierson had decided Rutherford had been wrong to appoint new directors.[24] The ousted directors' publication disputed the legality of their expulsion, stating that the clause in the Pennsylvania law prohibiting life memberships on boards had been only recently introduced and was not retroactive, exempting existing corporations from the statute.[25][26] They also claimed that the Watch Tower Society's charter allowed only directors to be elected as officers, and that therefore the election of Rutherford, Van Amburgh and Pierson as officers was void because none had been directors in January. Their advice from several lawyers, they said, was that Rutherford's course was "wholly unlawful".[25][27]
The ex-directors' publication claimed Rutherford had required all Bethel workers to sign a petition supporting him and condemning the former directors, with the threat of dismissal for any who refused to sign.[28] Some workers complained that they had signed under duress; it was claimed that as many as 35 members of the Bethel family were forced to leave for failing to support Rutherford during his "reign of terror".[10][29][30] Rutherford denied anyone had been forced out for refusing to sign the letter.[31] Despite attempts by Pierson to reconcile the two groups,[31] the former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[32]
Rutherford's re-election and aftermath[edit]



 Pamphlets published by opposing sides during the dispute over Rutherford's leadership, 1917.
Publications continued through late 1917, with Rutherford on one side and Johnson and the four expelled directors on the other, each accusing their opponents of gross misrepresentation and trying to usurp authority.[33][34][35] The controversy fractured the harmony of the Bible Student movement and many congregations split into opposing groups loyal to either Rutherford or those he had expelled.[32][36]
The four expelled board members made a final attempt to unseat Rutherford, claiming that although he had the backing of the most powerful shareholders, he lacked the support of the Bible Student movement in general. They therefore called for a democratic vote from all the Bible Students.[37] Rutherford wrote in October, "I did not seek election to the office of President, and I am not seeking re-election. The Lord is able to attend to his own business."[38] Then in December 1918, he outmaneuvered his opponents, organizing a referendum of all Bible Students and Watch Tower subscribers, a month before the annual Pittsburgh convention. Although not binding, votes were counted in more than 800 U.S. congregations, giving Rutherford 95 percent of the vote for president. His opposers ranked 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th on the list of prospective directors, with the highest support given to Rutherford's existing six co-directors.[37] On January 5, 1918, Rutherford was returned to office, receiving 194,106 shareholders' votes. Hirsh received 23,198 votes—the highest among the ex-directors—putting him in 10th place. A resolution was promptly passed to request that Hirsh resign from the editorial committee.[39]
Rutherford stated at the convention that he was aware he had made many mistakes.[39] By mid-1919, about one in seven Bible Students had left rather than accept his leadership,[40] and as many as seventy-five percent by 1928, resulting in the formation of various Bible Student groups such as the Standfast Movement, the Layman's Home Missionary Movement, the Dawn Bible Students Association, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Elijah Voice Movement, and the Eagle Society.[41] The splinter groups that were independent of the Watch Tower Society remained relatively small. In 1931, the group under Rutherford's leadership became known as Jehovah's witnesses.
A later Watchtower described the outcome of the 1917 leadership dispute as the removal of "a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord" before Christ's inspection and approval of the "faithful and discreet slave class" in 1918.[42][43]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 50
2.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 37
3.Jump up ^ Wills 2007, pp. 115
4.Jump up ^ An essay at the Pastoral Bible Institute website claims Macmillan chaired the meeting; Rutherford in Harvest Siftings II (pg 26) refers to Ritchie as the chairman.
5.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10.
6.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 28
7.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31
8.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 2,3
9.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 35,36
10.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 15
11.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
12.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31
13.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10
14.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 19
15.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
16.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
17.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 6
18.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
19.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 15
20.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
21.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 1, 17
22.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 10
23.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 27,28
24.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 8,9
25.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 7
26.Jump up ^ Wills & 2007 95
27.Jump up ^ Legal opinion, Davies, Auerbach & Cornell, New York, July 23, 1917.
28.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
29.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 37
30.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 17, 18
31.^ Jump up to: a b Rutherford October 1917, pp. 29
32.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
33.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 1
34.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 1
35.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 9
36.Jump up ^ Watch Tower publications since 1917 have continued to denounce those who opposed Rutherford. In its account of the events of 1917, the Society's 1993 history book Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom refers to the opposing camps as "those loyal to the Society and those who were easy prey to the smooth talk of the opposers", describing Rutherford's opponents as "disturbers" (pg. 68); The Watchtower of April 1, 1955 described the ousted directors as "ambitious opponents", "rebellious ones" and "anti-society sick ones" and describes those who supported them as "deceived ones"; 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses dismissed the four ousted directors as "rebellious individuals who claimed to be board members" (pg. 87) and men who "ambitiously sought to gain administrative control of the Society" (pg. 92). The 1959 history book Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose also claims the legal advice given to the ousted directors confirmed that given to Rutherford.
37.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 38
38.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 32
39.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
40.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
42.Jump up ^ "Esther and Mordecai," The Watchtower, June 1, 1931, page 169, "Christ Jesus was placed upon his throne in the autumn season of 1914, and in the third year thereafter, to wit, at the end of 1917, among those consecrated to the Lord there was a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord. Being in line for the kingdom, and becoming offended, insubordinate and rebellious, these were gathered out at the time the judgment of the Lord began at his temple in 1918."
43.Jump up ^ "The Faithful Slave Passes the Test!", The Watchtower, March 1, 2004, pages 13-18.
Bibliography[edit]
Penton, James M. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Constable, London.
Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1975). 1975 Yearbook. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1959). Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993). Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Macmillan, A.H. (1957). Faith on the March. Prentice-Hall.
Rutherford, J.F. (August 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
Rutherford, J.F. (October 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings, Part II" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
Pierson, A.N. et al. (September 1, 1917). "Light After Darkness" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
Johnson, Paul S.L. (November 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings Reviewed" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
Penton, M. J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
  


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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_Tower_Society_presidency_dispute_(1917)









Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
A dispute developed in 1917 within the leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society following the death of society president Charles Taze Russell and election of legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford as his successor. An acrimonious battle ensued between Rutherford and four of the society's seven directors, who accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. Rutherford claimed the dissident directors had formed a conspiracy to seize control of the society and overcame the challenge by gaining a legal opinion that his four opposers had not been legally appointed. He subsequently replaced them with four new sympathetic directors.[1][2] The four ousted directors later gained 12 legal opinions that Rutherford's actions were unlawful. The leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and helped contribute to the loss of one-seventh of the Watch Tower adherents by 1919.


Contents  [hide]
1 Origins of the dispute
2 Rutherford's re-election and aftermath
3 References
4 Bibliography

Origins of the dispute[edit]
Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, Joseph Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at a convention in Pittsburgh. Controversy soon followed. Author Tony Wills claims that nominations were suspended once Rutherford had been nominated, preventing votes for other candidates,[3][4] and within months Rutherford felt the need to defend himself against rumors within the Brooklyn Bethel that he had used "political methods" to secure his election. In the first of a series of pamphlets from opposing sides, Rutherford told Bible Students: "There is no person on earth who can truthfully say that I ever asked them directly or indirectly to vote for me."[5] By June, the dispute surrounding Rutherford's election as president was turning into what he called a "storm"[6] that ruptured the Watch Tower Society for the remainder of 1917.
In January 1917,[7] Bethel pilgrim Paul S. L. Johnson had been sent to England with orders to inspect the management and finances of the Watch Tower Society's London corporation.[8] He dismissed two managers of the corporation, seized its funds and attempted to reorganize the body. Rutherford—who was convinced Johnson was insane and suffering religious delusions—ordered his recall to New York in late February, but Johnson refused and claimed he was answerable only to the full board of directors.[9] When he finally returned to New York and apologized to the Bethel family for his excesses in London,[10] Johnson became caught up in a move against Rutherford by four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors.



 Joseph F. Rutherford c. 1910
At issue were new by-laws that had been passed in January by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors, stating that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the Watch Tower Society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[11] Opinions on the need for the by-laws were sharply divided. Rutherford maintained that Russell, as president, had always acted as the society's manager, and that the January 6 vote by shareholders to approve the by-laws proved they wanted this process to continue under his successor.[12] He claimed it was a matter of efficiency and said the work of the Watch Tower Society "peculiarly requires the direction of one mind".[13] Bible Student Francis McGee, a lawyer and an assistant to the New Jersey Attorney-General, responded: "This is then the crux of the matter. He says he is that one mind."[14] By June, four board members—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright—had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's powers of management.[15] They claimed Rutherford had become autocratic, refusing to open the Watch Tower Society's books for scrutiny and denying Johnson a fair hearing over his actions in London.[15]
At a board meeting on June 20, Hirsh presented a resolution to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[16] but a vote was deferred for a month after strenuous objections by Rutherford.[17] A week later, four of the directors requested an immediate board meeting to seek information on the society's finances. Rutherford refused the meeting, later claiming he had by then detected a conspiracy between Johnson and the four directors with the aim of seizing control of the society, as he believed Johnson had attempted in Britain.[18]
Within weeks, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that a clause of the Watch Tower Society charter stipulating that its directors were elected for life was contrary to Pennsylvania law, and that all directors were required by law to be re-elected annually. The legal opinion stated that because the January 6 shareholders' meeting had elected only three men to office—Rutherford, Secretary-Treasurer Van Amburgh and Vice-President Andrew N. Pierson—the remaining four board members, who had joined as early as 1904 and had not faced re-election, had no legal status as directors of the society. Even Hirsh, who had been appointed by the board on March 29, 1917 following the resignation of Henry C. Rockwell, was said to have no legal standing because his appointment had taken place in New York rather than Allegheny, as required by law. Rutherford claimed to have known these facts since 1909 and to have conveyed them to Russell on more than one occasion.[19]
On July 12, Rutherford traveled to Pittsburgh and exercised his right under the society's charter to fill what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[20] Rutherford called a meeting of the new board on July 17, where the directors passed a resolution expressing "hearty approval" of the actions of their president and affirming him as "the man the Lord has chosen to carry on the work that yet remains to be done."[21] On July 31 he called a meeting of the People's Pulpit Association, a Watch Tower Society subsidiary incorporated in New York, to expel Hirsh and Hoskins as directors on the grounds that they were opposing the work of the Association. When the resolution failed to gain a majority, Rutherford exercised shareholder proxies provided for the annual meeting in New York the previous January to secure their expulsion.[22][23] On August 1 the Watch Tower Society published a 24-page journal, Harvest Siftings, subtitled "The evil one again attempts to disrupt the Society", in which Rutherford stated his version of the events and explained why he had appointed the new board members.
A month later the four ousted directors responded with a self-funded rebuttal of Rutherford's statement. The publication, Light After Darkness, contained a letter by Pierson, dated July 26, in which the vice-president declared he was now siding with the old board. Although he believed both sides of the conflict had displayed "a measure of wrongs", Pierson had decided Rutherford had been wrong to appoint new directors.[24] The ousted directors' publication disputed the legality of their expulsion, stating that the clause in the Pennsylvania law prohibiting life memberships on boards had been only recently introduced and was not retroactive, exempting existing corporations from the statute.[25][26] They also claimed that the Watch Tower Society's charter allowed only directors to be elected as officers, and that therefore the election of Rutherford, Van Amburgh and Pierson as officers was void because none had been directors in January. Their advice from several lawyers, they said, was that Rutherford's course was "wholly unlawful".[25][27]
The ex-directors' publication claimed Rutherford had required all Bethel workers to sign a petition supporting him and condemning the former directors, with the threat of dismissal for any who refused to sign.[28] Some workers complained that they had signed under duress; it was claimed that as many as 35 members of the Bethel family were forced to leave for failing to support Rutherford during his "reign of terror".[10][29][30] Rutherford denied anyone had been forced out for refusing to sign the letter.[31] Despite attempts by Pierson to reconcile the two groups,[31] the former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[32]
Rutherford's re-election and aftermath[edit]



 Pamphlets published by opposing sides during the dispute over Rutherford's leadership, 1917.
Publications continued through late 1917, with Rutherford on one side and Johnson and the four expelled directors on the other, each accusing their opponents of gross misrepresentation and trying to usurp authority.[33][34][35] The controversy fractured the harmony of the Bible Student movement and many congregations split into opposing groups loyal to either Rutherford or those he had expelled.[32][36]
The four expelled board members made a final attempt to unseat Rutherford, claiming that although he had the backing of the most powerful shareholders, he lacked the support of the Bible Student movement in general. They therefore called for a democratic vote from all the Bible Students.[37] Rutherford wrote in October, "I did not seek election to the office of President, and I am not seeking re-election. The Lord is able to attend to his own business."[38] Then in December 1918, he outmaneuvered his opponents, organizing a referendum of all Bible Students and Watch Tower subscribers, a month before the annual Pittsburgh convention. Although not binding, votes were counted in more than 800 U.S. congregations, giving Rutherford 95 percent of the vote for president. His opposers ranked 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th on the list of prospective directors, with the highest support given to Rutherford's existing six co-directors.[37] On January 5, 1918, Rutherford was returned to office, receiving 194,106 shareholders' votes. Hirsh received 23,198 votes—the highest among the ex-directors—putting him in 10th place. A resolution was promptly passed to request that Hirsh resign from the editorial committee.[39]
Rutherford stated at the convention that he was aware he had made many mistakes.[39] By mid-1919, about one in seven Bible Students had left rather than accept his leadership,[40] and as many as seventy-five percent by 1928, resulting in the formation of various Bible Student groups such as the Standfast Movement, the Layman's Home Missionary Movement, the Dawn Bible Students Association, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Elijah Voice Movement, and the Eagle Society.[41] The splinter groups that were independent of the Watch Tower Society remained relatively small. In 1931, the group under Rutherford's leadership became known as Jehovah's witnesses.
A later Watchtower described the outcome of the 1917 leadership dispute as the removal of "a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord" before Christ's inspection and approval of the "faithful and discreet slave class" in 1918.[42][43]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 50
2.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 37
3.Jump up ^ Wills 2007, pp. 115
4.Jump up ^ An essay at the Pastoral Bible Institute website claims Macmillan chaired the meeting; Rutherford in Harvest Siftings II (pg 26) refers to Ritchie as the chairman.
5.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10.
6.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 28
7.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31
8.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 2,3
9.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 35,36
10.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 15
11.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
12.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31
13.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10
14.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 19
15.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
16.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
17.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 6
18.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
19.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 15
20.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
21.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 1, 17
22.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 10
23.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 27,28
24.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 8,9
25.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 7
26.Jump up ^ Wills & 2007 95
27.Jump up ^ Legal opinion, Davies, Auerbach & Cornell, New York, July 23, 1917.
28.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
29.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 37
30.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 17, 18
31.^ Jump up to: a b Rutherford October 1917, pp. 29
32.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
33.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 1
34.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 1
35.Jump up ^ Johnson 1917, pp. 9
36.Jump up ^ Watch Tower publications since 1917 have continued to denounce those who opposed Rutherford. In its account of the events of 1917, the Society's 1993 history book Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom refers to the opposing camps as "those loyal to the Society and those who were easy prey to the smooth talk of the opposers", describing Rutherford's opponents as "disturbers" (pg. 68); The Watchtower of April 1, 1955 described the ousted directors as "ambitious opponents", "rebellious ones" and "anti-society sick ones" and describes those who supported them as "deceived ones"; 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses dismissed the four ousted directors as "rebellious individuals who claimed to be board members" (pg. 87) and men who "ambitiously sought to gain administrative control of the Society" (pg. 92). The 1959 history book Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose also claims the legal advice given to the ousted directors confirmed that given to Rutherford.
37.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 38
38.Jump up ^ Rutherford October 1917, pp. 32
39.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
40.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
42.Jump up ^ "Esther and Mordecai," The Watchtower, June 1, 1931, page 169, "Christ Jesus was placed upon his throne in the autumn season of 1914, and in the third year thereafter, to wit, at the end of 1917, among those consecrated to the Lord there was a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord. Being in line for the kingdom, and becoming offended, insubordinate and rebellious, these were gathered out at the time the judgment of the Lord began at his temple in 1918."
43.Jump up ^ "The Faithful Slave Passes the Test!", The Watchtower, March 1, 2004, pages 13-18.
Bibliography[edit]
Penton, James M. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Constable, London.
Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1975). 1975 Yearbook. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1959). Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993). Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Macmillan, A.H. (1957). Faith on the March. Prentice-Hall.
Rutherford, J.F. (August 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
Rutherford, J.F. (October 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings, Part II" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
Pierson, A.N. et al. (September 1, 1917). "Light After Darkness" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
Johnson, Paul S.L. (November 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings Reviewed" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
Penton, M. J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
  


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Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine

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Jehovah's Witnesses

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W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
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D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


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Raymond Franz ·
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The doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses have developed since publication of The Watchtower magazine began in 1879. Early doctrines were based on interpretations of the Bible by Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society founder Charles Taze Russell, then added to, altered or discarded by his successors, Joseph Rutherford and Nathan Knorr. Since 1976, doctrinal changes have been made at closed meetings of the religion's Governing Body,[1] whose decisions are described as "God's progressive revelations"[2] to the faithful and discreet slave.[3][4] These teachings are disseminated through The Watchtower, and at conventions and congregation meetings. Most members of the religion outside the Governing Body play no role in the development of doctrines[5] and are expected to adhere to all those decided at the Brooklyn headquarters.[6][7][8] Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to welcome changes to their religion's doctrine, regarding such "adjustments" as "new light" or "new understanding" from God and proving that they are on the "path of the righteous".[9][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Method of doctrinal development
2 Watch Tower Society founding doctrines 2.1 Millennialist teachings
3 Timeline of doctrinal changes 3.1 Doctrines unchanged since 1879
3.2 1880–1889
3.3 1890–1899
3.4 1900–1909
3.5 1910–1919
3.6 1920–1929
3.7 1930–1939
3.8 1940–1949
3.9 1950–1959
3.10 1960–1969
3.11 1970–1979
3.12 1980–1989
3.13 1990-1999
3.14 2000–2009
3.15 2010–2019
4 Criticism
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography

Method of doctrinal development[edit]
Some core beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses have remained unchanged throughout the religion's history. Certain doctrines, particularly relating to biblical chronology, were based on what Russell called a "venerable tradition" that he conceded was not directly confirmed by facts or scripture, but "based on faith".[11][12] Watch Tower publications claim that doctrinal changes and refinements result from a process of progressive revelation, in which God gradually reveals his will and purpose.[13][14][15][16] Watch Tower literature has suggested such enlightenment results from the application of reason and study,[17] the guidance of holy spirit, and direction from Jesus Christ and angels.[18] Rutherford spoke of spiritual "lightning flashes in the temple",[19] the Society claims its doctrine of the "great crowd" and "other sheep" were "revealed" to "God’s earthly servants" in 1935,[20][21] and Witness literature has also described sudden changes in doctrines as "flashes of light" given by God through his holy spirit.[22] A 1930 publication claimed God used "invisible deputies" and "invisible angels" to pass his "messages" to The Watchtower,[23][24] although The Watchtower told Witnesses it was not necessary for them to understand how this took place.[25] A 1973 policy change to disfellowship tobacco users was explained as a decision that "Jehovah has brought to the attention of his 'holy' people".[26]
Watch Tower publications often cite Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established" (NWT) when explaining the need to change doctrines.[27] The organization's earlier literature has included claims that its predictions about dates such as 1925 were "indisputable",[28] "absolutely and unqualifiedly correct"[29] and bearing "the stamp of approval of Almighty God",[29] but the Governing Body which was established later says its teachings are neither infallibile nor divinely inspired.[30][31][32]
Robert Crompton, author of a book on Watch Tower eschatology, has noted that it is difficult to trace the development of doctrines because explicit changes are often not identified in Jehovah's Witness literature, leaving readers to assume which details have been superseded.[33] Edmund C. Gruss, a critic of the religion, found that a 1943 Watch Tower Society publication that established a new creation chronology, changing the date of Adam's creation by 100 years, made no mention of the old time reckoning, which had previously been said to be "correct beyond a doubt".[34]
Watch Tower Society founding doctrines[edit]
From the first issue of Zion's Watch Tower in July 1879, Russell began publicising a number of doctrines, many of them drawn from Adventist teachings, including the atonement, resurrection, the soul, the invisible parousia (or return) of Christ[35] and God's "plan of the ages".[36] Russell taught that mankind was to be redeemed not from torment but from the death penalty that had been imposed on Adam and subsequently passed on to all his descendants. He wrote that Christ's "ransom for all" mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:5 would be applied to all humankind rather than just the righteously inclined.[37][38] Christ's death provided the ransom payment to free humans from death.[39] He believed an elect few would be resurrected to serve as a heavenly priesthood and all humans who had died would be resurrected to earth, which would be restored to Edenic perfection.[40]
Millennialist teachings[edit]
The dominant and central theme of Russell's teachings concerned the timing, nature and purpose of Christ's second coming.[41] His beliefs on the timing of Christ's Advent and God's overarching plan for humans had gained their first exposure in Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World, a book he paid Millerite Adventist Nelson H. Barbour to write in 1877.[42] Russell and Barbour parted company in 1879 and from 1886 Russell began writing his own books that further developed his Millennialist beliefs.
Russell's doctrines on the Millennium followed a tradition of interpretation of Scripture that had begun in the 1st century, when Jewish rabbis sought to identify the due time for the appearance of the Messiah by interpreting the prophecy of the 70 weeks of years of Daniel 9:24-27. Their approach to prophetic interpretation was based on the Day-year principle, drawn from Ezekiel 4 and Numbers 14, in which one day in prophecy represents one year in fulfillment.[43] Such teachings were revived and popularised in the early 19th century by American Adventist preacher William Miller.
Russell also incorporated Miller's teaching of types and antitypes, in which an actual historical situation (the type) prefigures a corresponding situation (the antitype),[44] as well as a modified version of John Nelson Darby's teachings on dispensationalism. Russell modified Darby's teachings to create his own doctrine of parallel dispensations, in which the timing of certain events in the Jewish age are a prophetic indication of corresponding events at the close of the Gospel age.[45] He believed the internal harmony of his "plan of the ages" proved its validity beyond reasonable doubt, noting that a change of just one year would destroy the parallelisms,[46] and found further confirmation in internal measurements of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which he viewed as a divinely built supporting witness to the Bible.[47][48]
The main points of his doctrines on Bible chronology were:
##Seventy weeks of years: Russell believed the Adventist interpretation of the prophecy of the 70 weeks "until Messiah the Prince" at Daniel 9:24-27 could be used to demonstrate the validity of the year-for-a-day rule. He took 454 BCE as the date of Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild Jerusalem, and by converting 69 weeks of seven days (483 days) to 483 years arrived at 29 CE as the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Christ's crucifixion took place at the midpoint of the 70th week; the covenant with the Jewish nation remained in force another "week" (seven years) from the beginning of his ministry and its end was signified by the conversion of Cornelius in 36, when the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles.[49]
##Times of the Gentiles: Using the year-for-a-day rule, Russell adopted and adjusted the teachings of Miller and Englishman John Aquila Brown, who both taught that the chastisement of the Israelites "seven times" for their sins (at Leviticus 26) indicated a period of 2520 years—seven prophetic years of 360 days each. In Russell's chronology system the period began with the deposing of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, an event that marked the end of the typical Kingdom of God and beginning of the consequent lease of earthly dominion to Gentile governments, as foretold in Ezekiel 21:25-27. Russell calculated that Zedekiah's removal occurred in 606 BCE, and therefore claimed the "times of the Gentiles" ran from that date until 1914, when the kingdom would be re-established on earth under Jewish leadership. The end of the Gentile times would be marked by a return of the Jews to Palestine. Russell believed the period was also one of degradation for mankind in general, which he believed was prefigured by the account in Daniel 4 of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great tree being cut down and restrained from growth for seven years.[50][51]
##The time of the end: Miller had formulated doctrines drawn from Daniel 12:4,9 on the "time of the end", when the meaning of certain prophecies would be finally revealed. Russell made a slight amendment to the teaching, explaining that it began in 1799[52] when French general Berthier entered Rome, abolished papal government and established the Republic of Italy.[53] The "time of the end" would last 115 years to 1914.[54] The 1799 date, in turn, had been established by linking the 1260 days of Revelation 11:3 with time periods mentioned in Daniel 2, 7, and 12. Using the year-day principle, the period indicated 1260 years from 539 (when Justinian I recognised the pope as universal bishop) to 1799.[55][56]
##Great Jubilee: Russell adopted and amended Miller's teaching of a secondary indicator of the due date for the Millennium. The ancient Jewish law provided for a series of sabbaths, each culminating in the Jubilee year in the 50th year, when slaves were released and leased property returned to its rightful owners.[57] Like Miller, Russell believed the arrangement foreshadowed the release of humans from the debt of sin and bondage through the intervention of Christ.[58] He taught that the Millennium was the antitypical Great Jubilee (the 50th 50-year jubilee) and marked the beginning of the second presence of Christ. Using his calculations of the date of the last jubilee before the Jewish exile, he added 2500 years (50 x 50) and calculated it had begun at the end of 1874.[59]
##The greath sabbath: Russell embraced Miller's view that because "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years",[60] the seventh thousand-year period after creation would be a 1000-year-long sabbath "day". But whereas Miller had believed 1843 was 6000 years after creation,[61] Russell believed Adam was created in 4129 BC[62] and calculated 1872 as the end of 6000 years. He thought it reasonable that Adam and Eve had lived two years in Eden before sinning, and thus calculated the 6000 years ran from the time sin entered the world to October 1874, when Christ had returned and the times of restitution began.[63]
##Parallel dispensations: Russell expanded Darby's doctrine of dispensationalism, explaining that events that befell the Jewish nation were prophetic counterparts of events during the Gospel age, with the timing of those events also having prophetic significance. He argued that the Jews had enjoyed 1845 years of favor from the death of Jacob to 33 CE[64] (the Jewish Age) and they would have to endure the same length of time in God's disfavor—thus from 33 to 1878 (the Gospel Age).[65] The Jews' fall from favour was gradual, spanning 37 years from 33 to 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed, and that period corresponded to a gradual restoration of God's favour to them between 1878 and 1914.[66] But although the Jewish nation's fall began in 33, God's favor towards individual Jews continued another 3½ years from Pentecost, during which time the gospel call was limited to Jews. That typified a 3½-year opportunity from 1878 until 1881 when the "high calling" or invitation to become joint heirs with Christ closed. The 3½-year period between Christ's anointing as Messiah and his riding into Jerusalem on an ass, being acclaimed as king and cleansing the temple of money-changers typified the period between his parousia (1874) and his assuming kingly power and rejection of "nominal church systems" (1878).[67] The 40-year "harvest" of the Jewish Age from 29–69 typified a 40-year harvest of the Gospel Age from 1874 to 1914.[68] The Jews expectation of the Messiah's arrival at the time of Jesus' birth, 30 years before his anointing,[69] was correlated with the Great Disappointment, the failure of Miller's prediction of the second coming of Christ in 1844, 30 years before the date indicated by Russell's system.[70]
Timeline of doctrinal changes[edit]
Doctrines unchanged since 1879[edit]
##Biblical infallibility. Early copies of Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence made reference to the Bible as God's "infallible Word".[71]
##God's name is Jehovah. Watch Tower Society founder Charles Taze Russell used the name "Jehovah" occasionally, but not consistently, when referring to God.[72]
##Jesus Christ gave his human life as a ransom sacrifice; belief in Jesus necessary for salvation. Russell believed that God's design for mankind was a restitution or restoration to the perfection and glory lost in Eden. This depended on God providing a ransom for all mankind to release them from the inevitability of death. Christ became that ransom sacrifice.[73][74]
##The timing of Christ's Second Coming, or "presence", can be calculated through Bible chronology. Russell believed the timing of Christ's advent could be calculated by determining the length and termination point of the "Gentile Times"[75][76] and also by calculating the close of six "thousand-year days" (6000 years) of human history, at which point God's Kingdom would be established.[62][77][78][79][80]
##Christ's return to earth was invisible. Russell claimed the Greek word parousia (Matthew 24:37) referred to a period of time, rendered more accurately as "presence" than "coming"[81]
##Paradise earth to be restored, humans to live forever.[82][83][84]
##Evolution is a teaching contrary to the Bible and denies the need of redemption by Christ.[85][86]
##Humans created as living souls.[87]
##The dead are unconscious, awaiting resurrection.[88]
##Anointed individuals are resurrected to heaven with spirit bodies.[89]
##God's Kingdom is an organized heavenly government over earth, ruled by Jesus and the anointed.[90]
1880–1889[edit]
##1880: Clergy-laity distinction viewed as unscriptural.[91]
##1881: Rejection of the Trinity doctrine.[92][93][94] Russell claimed the Trinity doctrine had "not a word of Scripture" to support it. He explained: "We understand the Scriptures to teach that the holy Spirit is not a separate and distinct person, but that it is the divine mind or influence—the motive power of Divinity exercised everywhere and for any purpose, at His pleasure."[95][96][97] In 1877 Russell and co-author N. H. Barbour had criticized the anti-Trinitarian view of the Christadelphians;[98] an 1880 book by Zion's Watch Tower writer J. H. Paton emphasised that the Holy Spirit was a person[99] and early Watch Tower issues referred to the Holy Spirit as "he"[100][101][102] and part of the "Divine Three".[103]
##1881: Faith alone is not enough for someone's becoming a joint-heir with Christ in heaven, but also a life of "self-sacrifice in the service of the truth" is required.[104]
##1882: No hellfire. According to Russell, most references to "hell" in the New Testament were more accurately translated as "grave".[105][106]
##1887: The New Covenant, which Russell had claimed since 1880 would be inaugurated only after the last of the 144,000 anointed Christians had been taken to heaven,[107] was said to be "now in force".[108][109]
1890–1899[edit]
##1890: The "Time of the End" of Daniel 12:4 is identified as beginning in October 1799—when Napoleon invaded Egypt and ended the power of the papacy—and closing in 1914, at which point violent worldwide revolution would mark the end of the old world order and the beginning of a new one.[110]
##1891: Biblical rapture is not a sudden event. The anointed are changed into spirit form, throughout the whole period of Christ's presence, at the time of each one's physical death.[111][112]
##1897: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36 defined as "people living contemporaneously."[113]
1900–1909[edit]
##1904: Worldwide descent into anarchy and disintegration of human rule, previously predicted to occur in October 1914,[114][115] changed to "after October 1914".[116]
##1904: 144,000 "elect" to go to heaven. Russell believed God had chosen a "fixed and limited ... number who should constitute the New Creation of God". God had not foreordained individuals, but those who met his "moral qualities and heart measurements" would be chosen to go to heaven.[117][118]
##1904: "Great Company" of Revelation 7:9, 14 identified as a secondary spiritual class who have "insufficient zeal for the Lord, the Truth and the brethren" who are granted heavenly life, but on a lower spiritual plane.[119] In heaven they serve as servants rather than kings and priests.[120][121]
##1907: The inauguration of the New Covenant described as belonging "exclusively to the coming age."[122] Russell began to teach that the "church" (144,000 anointed Christians) had no mediator, but itself joined Christ as a joint messiah and mediator during the millennium.[109][123]
1910–1919[edit]
##1914: Length of each creative 'day' of Genesis defined as precisely 7000 years.[124]
##1914: Russell "by no means confident" 1914 would bring the upheaval he had predicted.[125]
##1916: Timing of Armageddon, previously claimed to have begun in 1874 and to culminate in 1914,[126][127] changed to have begun in 1914.[128][129]
##1919: Preaching work displaces "character development" as the "chief concern" of Bible Students. Russell had taught that Christians should embark on the gradual process of "sanctification" and personality improvement to fight sinful inclinations[130][131] In 1919 The Watch Tower declared that the primary concern for Bible Students was to labor with God to find members of the elect class.[132]
##1919: The seven angels, or "messengers", of Revelation chapters 1 and 2 are identified "for the first time in the history of the church" as St Paul, St John, Arius, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and Charles Taze Russell.[133]
1920–1929[edit]
##1920: Jesus Christ's crowning as king of God's kingdom, previously 1878,[134] changed to 1914.[135]
##1920: The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom "in all the world for a witness unto all nations", (Matthew 24:14), previously claimed to have already been completed,[136] identified as a work for modern-day anointed Christians.[137]
##1922: Establishment of God's kingdom over earth, previously expected to result in the destruction of human governments and a "new rule of righteousness" by the end of 1914[138] changed to an invisible event in heaven in 1914.[139][140]
##1923: "Sheep class", mentioned at Matthew 25:31-46 defined as those who do good to "elect" class and are rewarded by surviving Armageddon and gaining life under Christ's thousand-year reign.[141][142][143] Russell had previously applied the parable to the work of dividing the people in the Millennial Age.[144]
##1923: Limitations placed on extent of Christ's ransom and resurrection hope. Russell had taught that Christ had provided a ransom for all; a 1923 Watch Tower article asserted that clergymen would not be resurrected and benefit from the ransom;[145] later articles claimed that benefits of the ransom would also be denied to Adam and Eve; those who died in the Noachian flood; those who died at Sodom and Gomorrah; both the falls of Jerusalem and those who will die at Armageddon.[146]
##1925: Armageddon identified as a battle between God and Satan, resulting in the overthrow of human governments and false religion. Armageddon had previously been understood to mean a "melee between contending forces of mankind", resulting in social revolution and political anarchy.[147][148][149][150][151][152]
##1925: Michael, the dragon and the man-child in Revelation chapter 12, previously defined as the Pope, the Roman Empire and the papacy, redefined as Jesus, Satan and the New Nation (or Kingdom), respectively.[153][154]
##1926: Use of name Jehovah, previously used sparingly at assemblies and in public preaching, given new emphasis. Announced in January 1, 1926 issue of The Watchtower.[155]
##1926: "Satan's organization" defined as the rulers of politics, commerce and religion and all their followers.[156]
##1927: "First resurrection" of "sleeping saints", previously 1878,[157] changed to 1918.[158][159]
##1927: "Faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45-47, previously defined as Russell since 1897,[160][161][162][163] changed to a "class" comprising all remaining "anointed" Christians.[164]
##1927: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36, previously defined as "people living contemporaneously"[113] changed to a remnant of the "anointed" on earth during Armageddon.[165]
##1928: Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, previously regarded as a testimony to the Bible and its chronology,[48][166] declared to have no prophetic significance and built under the direction of Satan.[167]
##1928: Celebration of Christmas, previously embraced as a "tribute of respect" to Christ,[168][169] discontinued because of its "pagan origin".[170]
##1929: Honoring of God's name described as "the outstanding issue facing all intelligent creation".[171]
##1929: "Superior authorities" of Romans 13:1 to whom Christians had to show subjection and obedience, previously defined as governmental authorities, redefined as God and Christ only.[172][173] Secular state then regarded as demonic and almost without redeeming features.[174]
##1929: The "time of the end" of Daniel 12:4, previously defined as a 115-year period from 1799 to 1914,[175][176][177] redefined as a period of unspecified length starting in 1914.[178]
1930–1939[edit]
##1931: Adoption of the name "Jehovah's witnesses".[179]
##1932: Assertion that God's Holy Spirit ceased operating on his people when "[Jesus] the Lord came to his temple, in 1918",[180][181] at which point Jesus 'took charge of feeding the flock'.[182]
##1932: The "Jews" who will be restored to their homeland, previously defined as literal Jews,[183] redefined as the Christian congregation.[174][184][185]
##1932: Identification of "Jonadabs", a "sheep" class of people who take a stand for righteousness and who are to be preserved by God through Armageddon to gain everlasting life on earth. The term was drawn from the account at 2 Kings 10.[186] In 1920 Rutherford had written that it was "unreasonable" to think God was developing any class other than the little flock (the 144,000 to attain heavenly kingship) and the "great company" (second spiritual class also with a heavenly hope). In 1934 the Watchtower explained that the "Jonadabs" survive Armageddon by living in the figurative "City of refuge", represented by remaining affiliated with the Watch Tower Society.[187]
##1932: Watch Tower Society adherents with an earthly hope should join the worldwide preaching work.[188] In 1927 The Watchtower had directed that only anointed Christians were "entitled" to take part in the ministry.[189]
##1933: Christ's parousia – his second coming or invisible "presence" – previously established as 1874 and reaffirmed as late as 1929,[190] changed to 1914.[191]
##1934: Vindication of God's name becomes central doctrine.[192] Rutherford noted that God had provided Jesus Christ's sacrifice as the redemption price for sinful humankind, but wrote that this was "secondary to the vindication of Jehovah's name".[193]
##1934: The 1917 teaching that Russell was exercising strong influence from heaven on the "harvesting" of anointed Christians[194] described as "foolish".[195]
##1935: "Great crowd" of Revelation 7 defined as the "sheep" of Matthew 25, resulting in a redirection of proselytizing efforts from gathering the "elect" (remnant of the 144,000 with a heavenly destiny) to gathering an indeterminate number of people who could survive Armageddon and receive everlasting life on earth. Previously, the "great crowd" was believed to have a heavenly hope.[141][196]
##1935: Tobacco use "unclean" and prohibited for Bethel (branch office) staff and traveling overseers.[197]
##1935: Vaccines, described since 1921 as "devilish" and "an outrage",[198][199] condemned as a violation of God's law.[200]
##1936: Device on which Jesus was killed, previously defined as a wooden cross, redefined as a "tree".[201] An image of the cross appeared on the front page of The Watch Tower until October 1931.[202]
##1937: Jehovah's Witnesses with an earthly hope could be described as "Christian".[203] In 1930 the Watchtower had asserted that the term "Christian" could be applied only to anointed followers of Christ.[204]
##1938: God's mandate to "be fruitful and multiply" said to apply only after the start of the millennium. The Watchtower said the mandate had never been carried out under righteous conditions, and so had failed to be fulfilled according to God's will. Rutherford urged Witnesses to delay marriage and the bearing of children until after Armageddon.[205]
##1939: Witnesses required to demonstrate complete neutrality in worldly affairs.[206]
1940–1949[edit]
##1942: Tobacco prohibition applied to all appointed positions, such as congregation overseers and servants.[207]
##1943: Destruction of Jerusalem moved from 606 BCE to 607 BCE, when the Watch Tower Society realised there was no year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE, in order to maintain calculations regarding 1914; return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem moved from 536 BCE to 537 BCE to maintain 70 years after 607 BCE.[208][209]
##1943: Adam's creation, previously 4129 BCE[210] or 4128 BCE,[211] moved forward 100 years to 4028 BCE. The shift in dates also moved the termination point of 6,000 years of human history from October 1872[212] to 1972.[213][214]
##1944: Responsibility for administering discipline, including disfellowshipping, of dissident members passed from entire congregation to congregational judicial committees.[215][216] Russell had recommended in a 1904 publication that a congregation "committee" investigate a congregant's serious "error or sin", but the entire congregation voted whether "to withdraw from him its fellowship".[217]
##1944: Adam's creation, previously 4028 BCE, changed to 4026 BCE.[218]
##1945: Blood transfusions forbidden.[219][220] Russell had viewed the prohibition on eating blood in Acts 15:19-29 as a "suggestion" to gentile Christians in order to "guard against stumbling themselves or becoming stumbling blocks to others"[221] and ensure peace within the early church.[222]
1950–1959[edit]
##1951: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36, previously defined as a remnant of the "anointed" on earth during Armageddon[165] changed to "a 'generation' in the ordinary sense" who were alive in 1914.[223]
##1951: Celebration of birthdays considered "objectionable" because celebrations are "steeped in false worship" and exalt humans.[224]
##1952: Vaccines, previously condemned, considered acceptable.[225][226]
##1953: Adam's creation, previously 4026 BCE, changed to 4025 BCE. End of God's 6,000-year "rest day" ending in northern hemisphere autumn 1976.[227]
##1954: Worship of Jesus, previously considered appropriate and necessary,[228][229][230] deemed inappropriate, with the New World Translation translating proskyne′ō as "do obeisance to" rather than "worship" (King James Version).[231]
##1955: Operation of Holy Spirit, asserted in 1932 to have ceased in 1918, stated as having been still operative after 1918.[232]
1960–1969[edit]
##1961: Acceptance of blood transfusion deemed a disfellowshipping offence.[233] Acceptance of human organ transplant stipulated a personal matter to be decided without criticism.[234]
##1962: "Superior authorities" of Romans 13:1 redefined as earthly governments, reverting the 1929 change[235] to Russell's 1886 teaching.[236] A year earlier, Russell's view was considered to have made the Watch Tower Bible Students unclean in God's eyes.[172][237]
##1963: Adam's creation changed back to 4026 BCE.[238] End of 6,000 years of human history due in northern hemisphere autumn 1975.[239]
##1967: Human organ transplants equated with cannibalism,[240] "a practice abhorrent to all civilized people", and said to be a procedure not permitted by God.[241] The Watchtower article announcing the view is interpreted by commentators as a prohibition.[9][242] In a 1972 article, Jehovah's Witnesses are described as having taken a "stand" against organ transplants, saving them from the consequences of such operations, on the basis of the description of the procedure as "a form of cannibalism".[243]
##1968: Interval between Adam's creation and the close of the sixth creative "day", previously "quite some time",[214][218][244][245] changed to "a comparatively short period of time" that "may involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years." The change led to expectations that Christ's 1,000 year reign could begin in 1975.[246]
1970–1979[edit]
##1973: Tobacco use banned. Tobacco users not to be accepted for baptism and baptized Witnesses to be disfellowshipped if they continue to smoke after "a reasonable period of time, such as six months".[247]
1980–1989[edit]
##1980: Acceptance of human organ transplants stipulated as a matter of personal choice not warranting congregational discipline. View of transplants as cannibalism now said to be held only by "some Christians".[248] The Watchtower article is regarded by commentators as a reversal of Society's 1967 position that the procedure is not permitted by God.[9][242]
##1981: Members who formally resign membership of the religion (disassociate) are to be shunned in the same manner as disfellowshipped Witnesses.[249]
##1983: Martial arts and carrying "firearms for protection against humans" disqualify a Witness from "special privileges in the congregation", such as appointment as elder.[250]
##1988: Length of creative 'days' in Genesis, previously defined as exactly 7,000 years each,[251] changed to "at least thousands of years in length" [emphasis added][252]
1990-1999[edit]
##1990: Interval between Adam's creation and the close of the sixth creative "day" changed to "some time", employing a 1963 reference rather than the 1968 change.[253]
##1992: The "modern-day Nethinim", previously defined as synonymous with the "other sheep",[254] redefined as a subset of the "other sheep" who serve in positions of authority within the organization as "helpers" to the Governing Body.[255]
##1995: "This generation" at Matthew 23:36, previously defined as a typical human lifespan since Jesus' parousia in 1914,[223] redefined as a class of people displaying certain characteristics for an indefinite period of time.[256][257][258][259][260]
##1995: Fulfillment of Jesus' parable of the separating of sheep and goats, previously considered to have been ongoing since 1914, changed to after the start of the 'Great Tribulation'.[261][262]
##1995: The expression "vindication of Jehovah’s name" declared unnecessary, with emphasis on "vindicating his sovereignty" and "sanctifying his name" as being more accurate.[263] The former expression had not appeared in any publication since 1991.[264]
2000–2009[edit]
##2007: Selection of the 144,000 "anointed", previously considered to have ended in 1935,[265] changed to an indefinite period.[266]
##2008: "This generation" redefined as "anointed" believers, who will "not pass away" before the great tribulation begins.[267] This was a return to the belief held in 1927.[165]
2010–2019[edit]
##2010: "This generation" redefined to include "other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation", whose lives "overlap" with "the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914".[268]
##2012: "Faithful and discreet slave", previously defined as synonymous with the "anointed" and represented by the Governing Body,[269] redefined to refer to the Governing Body only. The "domestics", previously defined as each member of the "anointed" individually, redefined as including all members of the "anointed" and the "great crowd". The "evil slave" of Matthew 24:48, previously defined as former "anointed" members who reject Jesus, redefined as a hypothetical warning to the "faithful slave".[270][271]
##2014: "Gog of Magog", previously identified as Satan, redefined as an unspecified "coalition of nations".[272]
Criticism[edit]
Former Governing Body member Raymond Franz and Sociology lecturer Andrew Holden have pointed out that doctrines—including those relating to sexual behaviour in marriage and the "superior authorities" of Romans 13:4—have sometimes been altered, only to revert to those held decades earlier.[273] Holden, author of a major ethnographic study on the religion, commented: "It could be that many Witnesses have not yet been in the organisation long enough to realise that 'new lights' have a habit of growing dimmer, while old ones are switched back on!"[274] In his study of the Witnesses and their history, Tony Wills has suggested that when third president Nathan H. Knorr altered major doctrines established by his predecessor, J. F. Rutherford, he was returning the Witnesses to many of Russell's teachings. He asked: "How can the Society harmonize this circular development with the claimed progressive development?"[275]
In testimony at a 1954 court case in Scotland, senior Watch Tower Society figures admitted that although doctrines were subject to change if they were later regarded as erroneous, all Witnesses were required to accept current teachings or risk expulsion. Under cross-examination, Fred Franz, then vice president of the Watch Tower Society, conceded a Witness could be disfellowshipped and shunned for "causing trouble" over a belief they held that was contrary to Society teaching but subsequently embraced by the religion.[276] Society lawyer Hayden G. Covington told the court that although the Society had for decades published a "false prophecy ... a false statement" about the date of Christ's Second Coming, members of the religion had been required to accept it and any who had rejected it would have been expelled. He explained: "You must understand we must have unity, we cannot have disunity with a lot of people going every way."[276]
See also[edit]
##Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Faithful and discreet slave
##Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs
##Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, p. 106
2.Jump up ^ "Jehovah, the God of Progressive Revelation", Watchtower, June 15, 1964, page 365,"The abundance of spiritual food and the amazing details of Jehovah’s purposes that have been revealed to Jehovah’s anointed witnesses are clear evidence that they are the ones mentioned by Jesus when he foretold a 'faithful and discreet slave' class that would be used to dispense God’s progressive revelations in these last days ... How thankful we should be for the provision God has made of this slave class, the modern spiritual remnant, as they faithfully dispense the revealed truths of Jehovah! ... Jehovah’s faithful witnesses have been progressively brought to an understanding of Jehovah’s purposes, which are clearer now than ever before in history."
3.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
4.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
5.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 152–164
6.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, pp. 22, 10, 158, 163
7.Jump up ^ "The Godly Qualities of Love and Hate". The Watchtower, 15 July 1974, "Christians have implicit trust in their heavenly Father; they do not question what he tells them through his written Word and organization."
8.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Theocratic Organization Today", The Watchtower, February 1, 1952, page 79, "Are we assigned as individuals to bring forth the food for the spiritual table? No? Then let us not try to take over the slave’s duties. We should eat and digest and assimilate what is set before us, without shying away from parts of the food because it may not suit the fancy of our mental taste. The truths we are to publish are the ones provided through the discreet-slave organization, not some personal opinions contrary to what the slave has provided as timely food. Jehovah and Christ direct and correct the slave as needed, not we as individuals. If we do not see a point at first we should keep trying to grasp it, rather than opposing and rejecting it and presumptuously taking the position that we are more likely to be right than the discreet slave. We should meekly go along with the Lord’s theocratic organization and wait for further clarification ... Theocratic ones will appreciate the Lord’s visible organization and not be so foolish as to pit against Jehovah’s channel their own human reasoning and sentiment and personal feelings."
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998, Vol 24, Issue 4, page 223-230.
10.Jump up ^ "The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter", The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pages 26-31.
11.Jump up ^ The Time is At Hand, By C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1891, page B39, "And though the Bible contains no direct statement that the seventh thousand will be the epoch of Christ's reign, the great Sabbath Day of restitution to the world, yet the venerable tradition is not without a reasonable foundation.".
12.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, October 1, 1907, R4067: page 294, "Can we feel absolutely sure that the Chronology set forth in the DAWN-STUDIES is correct? ...we have never claimed our calculations to be infallibly correct; we have never claimed that they were knowledge, nor based upon indisputable evidence, facts, knowledge; our claim has always been that they are based on faith. We have set forth the evidences as plainly as possible and stated the conclusions of faith we draw from them, and have invited others to accept as much or as little of them as their hearts and heads could endorse. ...Possibly some who have read the DAWNS have presented our conclusions more strongly than we; but if so that is their own responsibility."
13.Jump up ^ "Impart God’s Progressive Revelation to Mankind", The Watchtower, March 1, 1965, p. 158-159
14.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 165–171
15.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light—Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 15.
16.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 709
17.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 165
18.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, Preparation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1933, page 64, 67, "Enlightenment proceeds from Jehovah by and through Christ Jesus and is given to the faithful anointed on earth at the temple, and brings great peace and consolation to them. Again Zechariah talked with the angel of the Lord, which shows that the remnant are instructed by the angels of the Lord. The remnant do not hear audible sounds, because such is not necessary. Jehovah has provided his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones ... Those of the remnant, being honest and true, must say, We do not know; and the Lord enlightens them, sending his angels for that very purpose."
19.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1933, pages 53, 62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 165.
20.Jump up ^ Life Everlasting in Freedom in the Sons of God Watchtower Society, 1966, page 149, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 165.
21.Jump up ^ "The Things Revealed Belong to Us", The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, pages 10-15, "In 1925 God’s earthly servants became possessors of an accurate understanding... In 1932 their understanding was deepened still further. Jehovah revealed that the prophecies related ...to spiritual Israel, the Christian congregation. (Romans 2:28, 29) Then, in 1935 a corrected understanding of John’s vision of the “great crowd” in Revelation chapter 7 opened the eyes of anointed ones to the huge gathering work that still lay ahead of them.".
22.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light - Great and Small", Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 17, 18.
23.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 64
24.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 106
25.Jump up ^ Watchtower, December 1, 1933, page 364, "Without doubt these angels are delegated by the Lord to convey his instructions to the members of his organization on earth. Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand."
26.Jump up ^ "You Must Be Holy Because Jehovah Is Holy", Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 123
27.Jump up ^ "Keep in Step With Jehovah’s Organization", Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 18.
28.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 228.
29.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower, July 15, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 226.
30.Jump up ^ "To Whom Shall We Go but Jesus Christ?", The Watchtower, March 1, 1979, pages 23-24.
31.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 1954, page 638.
32.Jump up ^ "Name and Purpose of The Watchtower", The Watchtower, August 15, 1950, page 263.
33.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 115
34.Jump up ^ Edmund C. Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, page 64. Gruss based his comments on The Truth Shall Make You Free, 1943, pages 141-52.
35.Jump up ^ "The Sign of His Presence", Zion's Watch Tower, May 1880.
36.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 26
37.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 5
38.Jump up ^ "If Death Ends All", Zion's Watch Tower, July 1879.
39.Jump up ^ "Why Did Christ Die?", Zion's Watch Tower, November 1879.
40.Jump up ^ "The Royal Priesthood", "If Death Ends All", Zion's Watch Tower, July 1879.
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, p. 17
42.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 9
43.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 17
44.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 21
45.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 43–48,144
46.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 243–244
47.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 47
48.^ Jump up to: a b Russell 1891, pp. 313–376
49.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 36–37
50.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 74–102
51.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 37–39
52.Jump up ^ Miller's chronology pinpointed the start in 1798, according to Crompton (pg 23).
53.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 21
54.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, pp. 23–60
55.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 23
56.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 69
57.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 25
58.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 177
59.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 39–41
60.Jump up ^ 2 Peter 3:8.
61.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 25
62.^ Jump up to: a b Russell 1889, p. 53
63.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 127,128
64.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 213
65.Jump up ^ Russell's belief in a "repetition" or doubling of iniquity was drawn from Jeremiah 16:18. See The Time Is At Hand, pg 218.
66.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 221
67.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 235
68.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 105, 150, 222, 234
69.Jump up ^ Luke 3:15.
70.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 47
71.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1, 1908, page 2.
72.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 492
73.Jump up ^ Russell 1886, pp. 149–172
74.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3821 (reprint).
75.Jump up ^ 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 36.
76.Jump up ^ "Who Can Read the Sign Aright?", Watchtower, February 1, 1985, page 10.
77.Jump up ^ Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable & Co, London, pp. 17–23, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0
78.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, pp. 67–77
79.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 20
80.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 38, 39
81.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, August 1879, Reprints 20, page 3.
82.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return, 1877.
83.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, July 1, 1879, p. 7 (reprint).
84.Jump up ^ "Speak the Pure Language and Live Forever!", The Watchtower, May 1, 1991, page 17, "In 1879...a small Bible-study group led by Charles Taze Russell was meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. They had become certain that Jesus’ second coming...would restore Paradise on earth, with eternal life for obedient humans."
85.Jump up ^ Russell, Charles (1 March 1906). Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence "Views From the Watch Tower". Allegheny, PA: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. pp. 68–69 (p.3731–3732 reprint). "Then came the suggestion that all the larger forms of being were mere evolutions from lower to higher. With this thought the learned of this world have been wrestling for the past fifty years, shaking the foundations of faith in the Bible for millions. For if the Bible be true this theory is false as respects man's origin. Instead of further evolution being our salvation the Bible points us to our fall, to the redemption accomplished for the world by the Son of God, and to the coming deliverance of the groaning creation from sin and its death penalty. Only those who trust the Bible record are safe from the blighting influence of this evolution error."
86.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Divine Plan of the Ages, 1886, study IX, page 172, "These things are clearly taught in the Scriptures, from beginning to end, and are in direct opposition to the Evolution theory; or, rather, such "babblings of science, falsely so called," are in violent and irreconcilable conflict with the Word of God."
87.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, pp. 6, 42
88.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 42
89.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 165
90.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 48,49
91.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1880, Watch Tower Reprints page 64 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 2
92.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, April 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 207 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 7, "And why did they thus keep the people in ignorance? Because they feared that if people knew this, the only text which gives even a shadow of support to the doctrine of the TRINITY, to be an interpolation to support a papal error, they might renounce the error".
93.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, September 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 278 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 132, "As to the motives and errors which may have led to these unwarranted interpolations of the [Bible] text, we may be able to offer a suggestion, viz., the last mentioned (1 John 5:7,8) was probably intended to give authority and sanction to the doctrine of the "Trinity."
94.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 290 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 4, ""He gave his only begotten Son." This phraseology brings us into conflict with an old Babylonian theory, viz.: Trinitarianism. If that doctrine is true, how could there be any Son to give? A begotten Son, too? Impossible. If these three are one, did God send himself? And how could Jesus say: "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28. [emphasis retained from original]"
95.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, July 1882, Reprints 370, page 3.
96.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 343, note 64, "Barbour and Paton were trinitarians ... although Henry Grew and George Stetson, two others who had influenced him, were non–trinitarians, Russell did not take a stand on the matter, at least publicly, until after his split with Paton."
97.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 120.
98.Jump up ^ N. H. Barbour, C. T. Russell, Three Worlds, 1877, page 57, "I am beginning to think Age-to-come people, and many others among pre-millennialists, do not believe in anything of a spiritual nature, or have the most remote comprehension of things of that order; either that the saint is raised 'a spiritual body,' or in the existence of spiritual beings, or even of the Holy Spirit itself. I know one class of age-to-come believers, the Christadelphians, do not. The Holy Spirit, say they, is but a principle, or element of power, and not an intelligence. It is nothing more nor less than 'electricity;' is taught in one of their books, now before me. What wonder they discern only a fleshly future."
99.Jump up ^ J. H. Paton, Day Dawn, A.D. Jones, 1880, page 225, 229, "The work of the Holy Spirit is one of the most important elements in the plan of revelation and salvation. He is always spoken of by the Saviour as a Person, and is called the " Spirit of truth." We will follow the Saviour's example in this, though we do not propose to deal with the philosophy of that fact. He being the Spirit of truth, it is His mission to make known the truth."
100.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, July 1880, page 8, "But the Spirit cannot resign his work until it is complete."
101.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, August 1880, page 4, "Then let the Spirit use his sword upon others as he may see fit to humble them, strip them of pride, and bring them to the rock that is higher than they."
102.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, November 1880, page 8, "The Spirit is still our leader and instructor. He is now telling us of Him who comes by way of unseen presence that He is here present."
103.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, March 1881, page 5, "The number three is surprisingly prominent, as the subject opens before us ... We would first call attention to the Divine Three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – often mentioned in the Bible."
104.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3825 (reprint).
105.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, May 1882, Reprints 356, page 8.
106.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, September 1882, Reprints 392, page 4.
107.Jump up ^ "The Three Great Covenants", Zion's Watch Tower, March 1880.
108.Jump up ^ "The New Covenant vs the Law Covenant", Zion's Watch Tower, September 1887.
109.^ Jump up to: a b Wills 2006, pp. 63–68
110.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, pp. 38,47–59
111.Jump up ^ Rusell 1891, pp. 239–242
112.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3823 (reprint).
113.^ Jump up to: a b Studies in the Scriptures 4. pp. 602–603.
114.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 78
115.Jump up ^ "The Outlook - War & Prosperity", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, September 15, 1901 (R2876 page 292)
116.Jump up ^ "Universal Anarchy", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, July 1, 1904 (R3389 page 197)
117.Jump up ^ The New Creation, (Volume VI of Studies in the Scriptures), 1904, page 179: “We have every reason to believe that the definite, fixed number of the elect [chosen anointed ones] is that several times stated in Revelation (7:4; 14:1); namely, 144,000 ‘redeemed from amongst men."
118.Jump up ^ "The Great Company", Zion's Watch Tower, October 15, 1904.
119.Jump up ^ The New Creation, (Volume VI of Studies in the Scriptures), 1904, page 168-170.
120.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 57, 58
121.Jump up ^ "The Rank of the Ancient Worthies", "The Great Company", Zion's Watch Tower, October 15, 1904.
122.Jump up ^ "Our Advocate, the World's Mediator," Zion's Watch Tower, January 1, 1907.
123.Jump up ^ "The Word Mediator Used Differently,", Watch Tower, January 1909.
124.Jump up ^ Scenario of the Photo-Drama of Creation, ©1914 International Bible Students Association, page 3
125.Jump up ^ "Views from the Watch Tower", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1, 1914 (R5373: page 3)
126.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 101
127.Jump up ^ "Overcome With Wine", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 15, 1892 (R1357: page 27)
128.Jump up ^ "What Smiting of the Waters May Mean", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, February 1, 1916 (R5845: page 38)
129.Jump up ^ "The Burning of the Tares", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, September 1, 1916 (R5951: page 265)
130.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, October 1, 1913, pgs 291-295.
131.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, April 1, 1916, pages 98-99.
132.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, December 15, 1919, pg 375.
133.Jump up ^ "The Table of the Great King,", The Watchtower, April 1, 1919, as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pg 181.
134.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 233
135.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, July 1, 1920, page 196.
136.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Battle of Armageddon, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1897, page 568.
137.Jump up ^ "Gospel of the Kingdom", The Watchtower, July 1, 1920, pages 199-200.
138.Jump up ^ "View from the Tower", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 15, 1892 (R1354: page 19)
139.Jump up ^ New Heavens and a New Earth, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1953, page 225.
140.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, pages 332-337.
141.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, p. 72
142.Jump up ^ "The Keys of the Kingdom and the Great Crowd", Watchtower, October 1, 1971, page 14.
143.Jump up ^ "The Parable of the sheep and goats", The Watchtower, October 15, 1923, pages 307-314.
144.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 113
145.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 15, 1923.
146.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 141, 142
147.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1, 1925.
148.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 134
149.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 223
150.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 251
151.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, August 1, 1892, page 238.
152.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, pages 256-258. See comment on Rev. 16:16-20.
153.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1925, page 69.
154.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, The Battle of Armageddon, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1889, page 541.
155.Jump up ^ "Restoration of True Religion", Watchtower, March 1, 1954, page 150.
156.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Deliverance, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1926, pages 268,269.
157.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 306
158.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, June 1, 1927.
159.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 226
160.Jump up ^ The Battle of Armageddon (Part IV, "Studies in the Scriptures") by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1897, page 613.
161.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, July 15, 1906, page 215.
162.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, pp. 78–79
163.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, pages 68 and 71, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, page 63.
164.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1, 1927 and February, pages 7, 51-7, as cited by Penton, Apocalypse Delayed.
165.^ Jump up to: a b c "Interesting Questions". The Watchtower: 62. February 15, 1927.
166.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1922, page 187, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 225, 226.
167.Jump up ^ Watchtower, 1928, pages 339-45, 355-62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 170.
168.Jump up ^ "The Prince of Peace", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, December 1, 1904, page 364.
169.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, December 24, 1919, page 215: "Christmas is regarded by many people as the date of the birth of the babe Jesus in a manger at Bethlehem. Whether the date is correct or not is of small importance, but the event was and is of the greatest importance."
170.Jump up ^ 1975 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, page 146
171.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 152.
172.^ Jump up to: a b Franz 2007, p. 484
173.Jump up ^ "The Higher Powers", Watch Tower, June 1929, pages 163-169, 179-185.
174.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, p. 65
175.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 23
176.Jump up ^ Creation by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1927, chapter 12, page 314.
177.Jump up ^ Joseph Rutherford (1928). The Harp of God (Revised ed.). p. 233.
178.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, December 1, 1929, pages 355-357, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society, page 117 and Tony Wills, A People For His name, page 48.
179.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 62
180.Jump up ^ Preservation by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, page 103-194.
181.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1, 1932, page 294.
182.Jump up ^ Preparation, ©1933 by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower, page 196
183.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1925, page 57, "We know the work of restitution must come to the Jews first, and through them to the rest of the world. As the Scriptures state that Jerusalem is to be the capital of the world and that the ancient worthies are to be princes in all the earth, we are warranted in expecting that the kingdom work will begin at Jerusalem."
184.Jump up ^ Vindication, Book 2, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, pages 258, 269, 295.
185.Jump up ^ Vindication, Book 3, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, page 333.
186.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 165.
187.Jump up ^ Watchtower, August 15, 1934, as cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name, pg 192-193.
188.Jump up ^ Vindication, J. F. Rutherford, Book III, pages 83. 84.
189.Jump up ^ Watchtower, January 15, 1927, pg 26, 27, "He who is called to be a minister of God must be a new creature, begotten of God's holy spirit; none other can have a share. In this ministry only those who are new creatures in Jesus Christ are entitled to share." As cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name,(2007), pg 194.
190.Jump up ^ Prophecy by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1929, chapter 4, page 65.
191.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 1, 1933, page 362: "In the year 1914 that due time of waiting came to an end. Christ Jesus received the authority of the kingdom and was sent forth by Jehovah to rule amidst his enemies. The year 1914, therefore, marks the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of glory."
192.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 69
193.Jump up ^ Jehovah, J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1934.
194.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1917, page 6161.
195.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Jehovah, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1934, page 191.
196.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 140.
197.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1935
198.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, October 12, 1921, Page 17, "Vaccination never prevented anything and never will, and is the most barbarous practice ... We are in the last days; and the devil is slowly losing his hold, making a strenuous effort meanwhile to do all the damage he can, and to his credit can such evils be placed ... Use your rights as American citizens to forever abolish the devilish practice of vaccinations."
199.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, January 5, 1929, Page 502, "Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows seeds of syphilis, cancers, eczema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccinations is a crime, an outrage, and a delusion."
200.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, April 2, 1935, Page 465, "As vaccination is a direct injection of animal matter in the blood stream, vaccination is a direct violation of the law of Jehovah God."
201.Jump up ^ Riches, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1936, page 27.
202.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 150
203.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1937, page 336, as cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name, pg 195.
204.Jump up ^ Watchtower, March 1, 1930, page 71, "Since "Christ' means the anointed of God, it is manifestly true that no one can properly be termed a Christian who is not in Christ and who has not received the anointing."
205.Jump up ^ A People for His Name, Tony Wills, pgs 186-187, citing Watchtower October 15, 1938, pg 307, Watchtower, November 1, 1938, page 323, Watchtower, November 15, 1938, page 346.
206.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1939, as cited by Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 193.
207.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1, 1942, pages 205-206
208.Jump up ^ "Questions from Readers". The Watchtower: 94. February 1, 1955. "Jehovah's witnesses from 1877 up to and including the publishing of "The Truth Shall Make You Free" of 1943 considered 536 B.C. as the year for the return of the Jews to Palestine"
209.Jump up ^ "Determining the Year by Fact and Bible". The Watchtower: 271–2. May 1, 1952. "Concerning the first error, Russell and others considered 1 B.C. to A.D. 1 as being two years whereas in fact this is only one year because, as has been said above, there is no "zero" year in the B.C.-A.D. system for counting years."
210.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 54
211.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, May 15, 1896, R1980 page 112.
212.Jump up ^ Three Worlds, by N. H. Barbour and C. T. Russell, 1877, pages 67, 186, as cited by Edmund Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, 1972, pages 62-63.
213.Jump up ^ The Truth Shall Make You Free, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1943, chapter 11, page 151.
214.^ Jump up to: a b Gruss, Edmond C. (1972), The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, pp. 68–69, ISBN 0-87552-306-4
215.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 89
216.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 15, 1944.
217.Jump up ^ The New Creation, Watch Tower, 1904, pages 289-290, "The administration of discipline is not the function of the elders only, but of the entire [congregation]. ... If the reproved one fails to clear himself, and continues in the error or sin, then two or three brethren without previous prejudice should be asked to hear the matter and advise the disputants. (Elders they may or may not be, but their eldership would add no force or authority in the case except as their judgment might be the riper and their influence the more potent.) If this committee decide unanimously with either party, the other should acquiesce and the matter be wholly at an end--correction, or restitution, so far as possible, being promptly made. If either of the original disputants still persists in the wrong course, the [accuser, a committee member] or, preferably, all of these together, may then (but not sooner) exercise their privilege of bringing the matter before the [congregation]. Thus it is evident that the Elders were in no sense to be judges of the members—hearing and judgment were left to the [congregation]. The two preliminary steps (above mentioned) having been taken, the facts being certified to the elders, it would be their duty to call a general meeting of the [congregation], as a court--to hear the case in all of its particulars, and in the name and reverence of its Head to render a decision. ... if the transgressor refuse to hear (obey) the decision of the entire [congregation], ... the [congregation] is to withdraw from him its fellowship and any and all signs or manifestations of brotherhood. [emphasis retained from original]
218.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, 1 February 1955: 94–95
219.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 153
220.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1. 1945.
221.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, November 15, 1892 p. 351.
222.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, April 15, 1909 pp. 116-117, "These prohibitions had never come to the Gentiles, because they had never been under the Law Covenant; but so deeply rooted were the Jewish ideas on this subject that it was necessary to the peace of the Church that the Gentiles should observe this matter also ... these items thus superadded to the Law of Love should be observed by all spiritual Israelites as representing the Divine will.”
223.^ Jump up to: a b "Vision of the "Time of the End"". The Watchtower: 404. July 1, 1951.
224.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. October 1, 1951.
225.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. December 15, 1952.
226.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. September 15, 1958. "Q: Are we to consider the injection of serums such as diphtheria toxin antitoxin and blood fractions such as gamma globulin into the blood stream, for the purpose of building up resistance to disease by means of antibodies, the same as the drinking of blood or the taking of blood or blood plasma by means of transfusion? A: No, it does not seem necessary that we put the two in the same category, although we have done so in times past."
227.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, 1 February 1955: 95
228.Jump up ^ "Interesting Queries", Watch Tower, July 15, 1898, page 216.
229.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1939, page 339: "Jehovah God commands all to worship Christ Jesus because Christ Jesus is the express image of his Father, Jehovah"
230.Jump up ^ Watchtower, October 15, 1945, page 313: "Since Jehovah God now reigns as King by means of his capital organization Zion, then whosoever would worship Him must also worship and bow down to Jehovah's Chief One in that capital organization, namely, Christ Jesus."
231.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", Watchtower, January 1, 1954, page 30.
232.Jump up ^ "Modern Restoration of True Worship (1919-1932)", The Watchtower, May 15, 1955, page 296, "Jesus—then to expand on a global scale—so now in the spring of 1919 there was an outpouring of Jehovah’s holy spirit organizationally upon the Christian remnant."
233.Jump up ^ Watchtower, January 15, 1961, page 63.
234.Jump up ^ Watchtower, August 1, 1961, page 480.
235.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1962.
236.Jump up ^ The Divine Plan of the Ages, by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1886, page 266: "They taught the Church to obey the laws, and to respect those in authority because of their office, even if they were not personally worthy of esteem; to pay their appointed taxes, and, except where they conflicted with God's laws (Acts 4: 19; 5: 29), to offer no resistance to any established law. (Rom. 13: 1 - 7)"
237.Jump up ^ "The Congregation in the Time of the End", Watchtower, March 1, 1961, page 146.
238.Jump up ^ All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1963, page 286.
239.Jump up ^ "The Removal of Mankind's Chief Disturber", The Watchtower, 15 July 1967: 446–447
240.Jump up ^ Awake, June 8, 1968, Page 21 “Christian witnesses of Jehovah,... consider all transplants between humans as cannibalism.”
241.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1967, pages 702-704
242.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. J. Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pp. 165–171, "In 1967 the society suddenly decided that what had been permissible no longer was. Organ transplants suddenly became a form of human cannibalism ... Yet after many faithful Jehovah's Witnesses had suffered for their faith by giving up transplants which in some cases could have made their lives more pleasant and comfortable and by saving them from early death in others, the society again reversed itself."
243.Jump up ^ "Keep Abstaining from Blood", Awake!, July 8, 1972, page 28, "The stand of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah—that such transplants are in effect a form of cannibalism—proved a safeguard. How so? In that it spared them much frustration, grief and anxiety, which were experienced not only by the patients and their relatives but even by many of the assisting medical personnel."
244.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, February 1, 1955, page 95, "However, from our present chronology (which is admitted imperfect) at best the fall of the year 1976 would be the end of 6,000 years of human history for mankind... Obviously, whatever amount of Adam’s 930 years was lived before the beginning of that seventh-day rest of Jehovah, that unknown amount would have to be added to the 1976 date."
245.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1889, pages 127-128. "long enough [for Adam] to realize his lack of a companion" and an additional "two years would not be an improbable estimate" to have passed between Adam's creation and Edenic expulsion (beginning the seventh creative day).
246.Jump up ^ "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?", The Watchtower, August 15, 1968, page 499-500
247.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 1, 1973, page 340.
248.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", Watchtower, March 15, 1980, page 31.
249.Jump up ^ 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."
250.Jump up ^ “Seek Peace and Pursue It”, The Watchtower, July 15, 1983, page 25
251.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers", The Watctower, January 1, 1987, page 30, "A study of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and of our location in the stream of time strongly indicate that each of the creative days is 7,000 years long. It is understood that Christ’s reign of a thousand years will bring to a close God’s 7,000-year ‘rest day,’ the last ‘day’ of the creative week. Based on this reasoning, the entire creative week would be 49,000 years long."
252.Jump up ^ "Creation", Insight, volume 1, 1988 Watch Tower, page 545, "Since the seventh day has been continuing for thousands of years, it may reasonably be concluded that each of the six creative periods, or days, was at least thousands of years in length ... Ascribing not just 24 hours but a longer period of time, thousands of years, to each of the creative days better harmonizes with the evidence found in the earth itself."
253.Jump up ^ All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1990, page 286.
254.Jump up ^ Man's Salvation Out of World Distress at Hand!, pages 167–168 (1975)
255.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, pages 12–17
256.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1995, page 20.
257.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, June 1, 1997, page 28: "The recent information in The Watchtower about "this generation" did not change our understanding of what occurred in 1914. But it did give us a clearer grasp of Jesus' use of the term "generation," helping us to see that his usage was no basis for calculating-counting from 1914 – how close to the end we are."
258.Jump up ^ Joel P. Engardio (December 18, 1995), "Apocalypse Later", Newsweek
259.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 317
260.Jump up ^ John Dart, "Jehovah's Witnesses Abandon Key Tenet", Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1995.
261.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 1, 1995.
262.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 316
263.Jump up ^ "Part 2—Flashes of Light—Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 25
264.Jump up ^ "Chapter 24: Why Jesus Came to Earth", The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, ©1991, "Jesus came to earth particularly to preach about God’s Kingdom, which will vindicate his Father’s name"
265.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 15, 1995, p.19.
266.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 1, 2007, pages 30-31: "It appears that we can not set a specific date for when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends."
267.Jump up ^ "Watchtower", February 15, 2008, pages 23-24: "On the other hand, Christ's faithful anointed brothers, the modern-day John class, have recognized this sign as if it were a flash of lightning and have understood its true meaning. As a class, these anointed ones make up the modern-day "generation" of contemporaries that will not pass away "until all these things occur."* This suggests that some who are Christ's anointed brothers will still be alive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins."
268.Jump up ^ "Holy spirit's role in the outworking of Jehovah's purposes", The Watchtower, 15 April 2010: 10
269.Jump up ^ "Your Leader Is One, the Christ". The Watchtower: 23. September 15, 2010.
270.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
271.Jump up ^ ""Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?"". The Watchtower: 20–25. July 15, 2013.
272.Jump up ^ 2014 Annual Meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses
273.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 480–488
274.Jump up ^ Holden, p. 32
275.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 253
276.^ Jump up to: a b Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, page 119.
Bibliography[edit]
##Barbour, N. H. (1877), Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World (PDF), N. H. Barbour, C. T. Russell
##Crompton, Robert (1996), Counting the Days to Armageddon, Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, ISBN 0-227-67939-3
##Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, Fourth edition, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
##Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
##Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-26610-6
##Penton, M. James (1997), Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-7973-3
##Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable & Co, London, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0
##Russell, C. T. (1886), The Divine Plan of the Ages, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Russell, C. T. (1889), The Time Is At Hand, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Russell, C. T. (1891), Thy Kingdom Come, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Rutherford, J. F. (1930), Light, Book 1, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993), Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Wills, Tony (2006), A People For His Name, Lulu Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4
  


Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses


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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_doctrine















Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses have developed since publication of The Watchtower magazine began in 1879. Early doctrines were based on interpretations of the Bible by Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society founder Charles Taze Russell, then added to, altered or discarded by his successors, Joseph Rutherford and Nathan Knorr. Since 1976, doctrinal changes have been made at closed meetings of the religion's Governing Body,[1] whose decisions are described as "God's progressive revelations"[2] to the faithful and discreet slave.[3][4] These teachings are disseminated through The Watchtower, and at conventions and congregation meetings. Most members of the religion outside the Governing Body play no role in the development of doctrines[5] and are expected to adhere to all those decided at the Brooklyn headquarters.[6][7][8] Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to welcome changes to their religion's doctrine, regarding such "adjustments" as "new light" or "new understanding" from God and proving that they are on the "path of the righteous".[9][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Method of doctrinal development
2 Watch Tower Society founding doctrines 2.1 Millennialist teachings
3 Timeline of doctrinal changes 3.1 Doctrines unchanged since 1879
3.2 1880–1889
3.3 1890–1899
3.4 1900–1909
3.5 1910–1919
3.6 1920–1929
3.7 1930–1939
3.8 1940–1949
3.9 1950–1959
3.10 1960–1969
3.11 1970–1979
3.12 1980–1989
3.13 1990-1999
3.14 2000–2009
3.15 2010–2019
4 Criticism
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography

Method of doctrinal development[edit]
Some core beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses have remained unchanged throughout the religion's history. Certain doctrines, particularly relating to biblical chronology, were based on what Russell called a "venerable tradition" that he conceded was not directly confirmed by facts or scripture, but "based on faith".[11][12] Watch Tower publications claim that doctrinal changes and refinements result from a process of progressive revelation, in which God gradually reveals his will and purpose.[13][14][15][16] Watch Tower literature has suggested such enlightenment results from the application of reason and study,[17] the guidance of holy spirit, and direction from Jesus Christ and angels.[18] Rutherford spoke of spiritual "lightning flashes in the temple",[19] the Society claims its doctrine of the "great crowd" and "other sheep" were "revealed" to "God’s earthly servants" in 1935,[20][21] and Witness literature has also described sudden changes in doctrines as "flashes of light" given by God through his holy spirit.[22] A 1930 publication claimed God used "invisible deputies" and "invisible angels" to pass his "messages" to The Watchtower,[23][24] although The Watchtower told Witnesses it was not necessary for them to understand how this took place.[25] A 1973 policy change to disfellowship tobacco users was explained as a decision that "Jehovah has brought to the attention of his 'holy' people".[26]
Watch Tower publications often cite Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established" (NWT) when explaining the need to change doctrines.[27] The organization's earlier literature has included claims that its predictions about dates such as 1925 were "indisputable",[28] "absolutely and unqualifiedly correct"[29] and bearing "the stamp of approval of Almighty God",[29] but the Governing Body which was established later says its teachings are neither infallibile nor divinely inspired.[30][31][32]
Robert Crompton, author of a book on Watch Tower eschatology, has noted that it is difficult to trace the development of doctrines because explicit changes are often not identified in Jehovah's Witness literature, leaving readers to assume which details have been superseded.[33] Edmund C. Gruss, a critic of the religion, found that a 1943 Watch Tower Society publication that established a new creation chronology, changing the date of Adam's creation by 100 years, made no mention of the old time reckoning, which had previously been said to be "correct beyond a doubt".[34]
Watch Tower Society founding doctrines[edit]
From the first issue of Zion's Watch Tower in July 1879, Russell began publicising a number of doctrines, many of them drawn from Adventist teachings, including the atonement, resurrection, the soul, the invisible parousia (or return) of Christ[35] and God's "plan of the ages".[36] Russell taught that mankind was to be redeemed not from torment but from the death penalty that had been imposed on Adam and subsequently passed on to all his descendants. He wrote that Christ's "ransom for all" mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:5 would be applied to all humankind rather than just the righteously inclined.[37][38] Christ's death provided the ransom payment to free humans from death.[39] He believed an elect few would be resurrected to serve as a heavenly priesthood and all humans who had died would be resurrected to earth, which would be restored to Edenic perfection.[40]
Millennialist teachings[edit]
The dominant and central theme of Russell's teachings concerned the timing, nature and purpose of Christ's second coming.[41] His beliefs on the timing of Christ's Advent and God's overarching plan for humans had gained their first exposure in Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World, a book he paid Millerite Adventist Nelson H. Barbour to write in 1877.[42] Russell and Barbour parted company in 1879 and from 1886 Russell began writing his own books that further developed his Millennialist beliefs.
Russell's doctrines on the Millennium followed a tradition of interpretation of Scripture that had begun in the 1st century, when Jewish rabbis sought to identify the due time for the appearance of the Messiah by interpreting the prophecy of the 70 weeks of years of Daniel 9:24-27. Their approach to prophetic interpretation was based on the Day-year principle, drawn from Ezekiel 4 and Numbers 14, in which one day in prophecy represents one year in fulfillment.[43] Such teachings were revived and popularised in the early 19th century by American Adventist preacher William Miller.
Russell also incorporated Miller's teaching of types and antitypes, in which an actual historical situation (the type) prefigures a corresponding situation (the antitype),[44] as well as a modified version of John Nelson Darby's teachings on dispensationalism. Russell modified Darby's teachings to create his own doctrine of parallel dispensations, in which the timing of certain events in the Jewish age are a prophetic indication of corresponding events at the close of the Gospel age.[45] He believed the internal harmony of his "plan of the ages" proved its validity beyond reasonable doubt, noting that a change of just one year would destroy the parallelisms,[46] and found further confirmation in internal measurements of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which he viewed as a divinely built supporting witness to the Bible.[47][48]
The main points of his doctrines on Bible chronology were:
##Seventy weeks of years: Russell believed the Adventist interpretation of the prophecy of the 70 weeks "until Messiah the Prince" at Daniel 9:24-27 could be used to demonstrate the validity of the year-for-a-day rule. He took 454 BCE as the date of Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild Jerusalem, and by converting 69 weeks of seven days (483 days) to 483 years arrived at 29 CE as the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Christ's crucifixion took place at the midpoint of the 70th week; the covenant with the Jewish nation remained in force another "week" (seven years) from the beginning of his ministry and its end was signified by the conversion of Cornelius in 36, when the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles.[49]
##Times of the Gentiles: Using the year-for-a-day rule, Russell adopted and adjusted the teachings of Miller and Englishman John Aquila Brown, who both taught that the chastisement of the Israelites "seven times" for their sins (at Leviticus 26) indicated a period of 2520 years—seven prophetic years of 360 days each. In Russell's chronology system the period began with the deposing of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, an event that marked the end of the typical Kingdom of God and beginning of the consequent lease of earthly dominion to Gentile governments, as foretold in Ezekiel 21:25-27. Russell calculated that Zedekiah's removal occurred in 606 BCE, and therefore claimed the "times of the Gentiles" ran from that date until 1914, when the kingdom would be re-established on earth under Jewish leadership. The end of the Gentile times would be marked by a return of the Jews to Palestine. Russell believed the period was also one of degradation for mankind in general, which he believed was prefigured by the account in Daniel 4 of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great tree being cut down and restrained from growth for seven years.[50][51]
##The time of the end: Miller had formulated doctrines drawn from Daniel 12:4,9 on the "time of the end", when the meaning of certain prophecies would be finally revealed. Russell made a slight amendment to the teaching, explaining that it began in 1799[52] when French general Berthier entered Rome, abolished papal government and established the Republic of Italy.[53] The "time of the end" would last 115 years to 1914.[54] The 1799 date, in turn, had been established by linking the 1260 days of Revelation 11:3 with time periods mentioned in Daniel 2, 7, and 12. Using the year-day principle, the period indicated 1260 years from 539 (when Justinian I recognised the pope as universal bishop) to 1799.[55][56]
##Great Jubilee: Russell adopted and amended Miller's teaching of a secondary indicator of the due date for the Millennium. The ancient Jewish law provided for a series of sabbaths, each culminating in the Jubilee year in the 50th year, when slaves were released and leased property returned to its rightful owners.[57] Like Miller, Russell believed the arrangement foreshadowed the release of humans from the debt of sin and bondage through the intervention of Christ.[58] He taught that the Millennium was the antitypical Great Jubilee (the 50th 50-year jubilee) and marked the beginning of the second presence of Christ. Using his calculations of the date of the last jubilee before the Jewish exile, he added 2500 years (50 x 50) and calculated it had begun at the end of 1874.[59]
##The greath sabbath: Russell embraced Miller's view that because "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years",[60] the seventh thousand-year period after creation would be a 1000-year-long sabbath "day". But whereas Miller had believed 1843 was 6000 years after creation,[61] Russell believed Adam was created in 4129 BC[62] and calculated 1872 as the end of 6000 years. He thought it reasonable that Adam and Eve had lived two years in Eden before sinning, and thus calculated the 6000 years ran from the time sin entered the world to October 1874, when Christ had returned and the times of restitution began.[63]
##Parallel dispensations: Russell expanded Darby's doctrine of dispensationalism, explaining that events that befell the Jewish nation were prophetic counterparts of events during the Gospel age, with the timing of those events also having prophetic significance. He argued that the Jews had enjoyed 1845 years of favor from the death of Jacob to 33 CE[64] (the Jewish Age) and they would have to endure the same length of time in God's disfavor—thus from 33 to 1878 (the Gospel Age).[65] The Jews' fall from favour was gradual, spanning 37 years from 33 to 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed, and that period corresponded to a gradual restoration of God's favour to them between 1878 and 1914.[66] But although the Jewish nation's fall began in 33, God's favor towards individual Jews continued another 3½ years from Pentecost, during which time the gospel call was limited to Jews. That typified a 3½-year opportunity from 1878 until 1881 when the "high calling" or invitation to become joint heirs with Christ closed. The 3½-year period between Christ's anointing as Messiah and his riding into Jerusalem on an ass, being acclaimed as king and cleansing the temple of money-changers typified the period between his parousia (1874) and his assuming kingly power and rejection of "nominal church systems" (1878).[67] The 40-year "harvest" of the Jewish Age from 29–69 typified a 40-year harvest of the Gospel Age from 1874 to 1914.[68] The Jews expectation of the Messiah's arrival at the time of Jesus' birth, 30 years before his anointing,[69] was correlated with the Great Disappointment, the failure of Miller's prediction of the second coming of Christ in 1844, 30 years before the date indicated by Russell's system.[70]
Timeline of doctrinal changes[edit]
Doctrines unchanged since 1879[edit]
##Biblical infallibility. Early copies of Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence made reference to the Bible as God's "infallible Word".[71]
##God's name is Jehovah. Watch Tower Society founder Charles Taze Russell used the name "Jehovah" occasionally, but not consistently, when referring to God.[72]
##Jesus Christ gave his human life as a ransom sacrifice; belief in Jesus necessary for salvation. Russell believed that God's design for mankind was a restitution or restoration to the perfection and glory lost in Eden. This depended on God providing a ransom for all mankind to release them from the inevitability of death. Christ became that ransom sacrifice.[73][74]
##The timing of Christ's Second Coming, or "presence", can be calculated through Bible chronology. Russell believed the timing of Christ's advent could be calculated by determining the length and termination point of the "Gentile Times"[75][76] and also by calculating the close of six "thousand-year days" (6000 years) of human history, at which point God's Kingdom would be established.[62][77][78][79][80]
##Christ's return to earth was invisible. Russell claimed the Greek word parousia (Matthew 24:37) referred to a period of time, rendered more accurately as "presence" than "coming"[81]
##Paradise earth to be restored, humans to live forever.[82][83][84]
##Evolution is a teaching contrary to the Bible and denies the need of redemption by Christ.[85][86]
##Humans created as living souls.[87]
##The dead are unconscious, awaiting resurrection.[88]
##Anointed individuals are resurrected to heaven with spirit bodies.[89]
##God's Kingdom is an organized heavenly government over earth, ruled by Jesus and the anointed.[90]
1880–1889[edit]
##1880: Clergy-laity distinction viewed as unscriptural.[91]
##1881: Rejection of the Trinity doctrine.[92][93][94] Russell claimed the Trinity doctrine had "not a word of Scripture" to support it. He explained: "We understand the Scriptures to teach that the holy Spirit is not a separate and distinct person, but that it is the divine mind or influence—the motive power of Divinity exercised everywhere and for any purpose, at His pleasure."[95][96][97] In 1877 Russell and co-author N. H. Barbour had criticized the anti-Trinitarian view of the Christadelphians;[98] an 1880 book by Zion's Watch Tower writer J. H. Paton emphasised that the Holy Spirit was a person[99] and early Watch Tower issues referred to the Holy Spirit as "he"[100][101][102] and part of the "Divine Three".[103]
##1881: Faith alone is not enough for someone's becoming a joint-heir with Christ in heaven, but also a life of "self-sacrifice in the service of the truth" is required.[104]
##1882: No hellfire. According to Russell, most references to "hell" in the New Testament were more accurately translated as "grave".[105][106]
##1887: The New Covenant, which Russell had claimed since 1880 would be inaugurated only after the last of the 144,000 anointed Christians had been taken to heaven,[107] was said to be "now in force".[108][109]
1890–1899[edit]
##1890: The "Time of the End" of Daniel 12:4 is identified as beginning in October 1799—when Napoleon invaded Egypt and ended the power of the papacy—and closing in 1914, at which point violent worldwide revolution would mark the end of the old world order and the beginning of a new one.[110]
##1891: Biblical rapture is not a sudden event. The anointed are changed into spirit form, throughout the whole period of Christ's presence, at the time of each one's physical death.[111][112]
##1897: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36 defined as "people living contemporaneously."[113]
1900–1909[edit]
##1904: Worldwide descent into anarchy and disintegration of human rule, previously predicted to occur in October 1914,[114][115] changed to "after October 1914".[116]
##1904: 144,000 "elect" to go to heaven. Russell believed God had chosen a "fixed and limited ... number who should constitute the New Creation of God". God had not foreordained individuals, but those who met his "moral qualities and heart measurements" would be chosen to go to heaven.[117][118]
##1904: "Great Company" of Revelation 7:9, 14 identified as a secondary spiritual class who have "insufficient zeal for the Lord, the Truth and the brethren" who are granted heavenly life, but on a lower spiritual plane.[119] In heaven they serve as servants rather than kings and priests.[120][121]
##1907: The inauguration of the New Covenant described as belonging "exclusively to the coming age."[122] Russell began to teach that the "church" (144,000 anointed Christians) had no mediator, but itself joined Christ as a joint messiah and mediator during the millennium.[109][123]
1910–1919[edit]
##1914: Length of each creative 'day' of Genesis defined as precisely 7000 years.[124]
##1914: Russell "by no means confident" 1914 would bring the upheaval he had predicted.[125]
##1916: Timing of Armageddon, previously claimed to have begun in 1874 and to culminate in 1914,[126][127] changed to have begun in 1914.[128][129]
##1919: Preaching work displaces "character development" as the "chief concern" of Bible Students. Russell had taught that Christians should embark on the gradual process of "sanctification" and personality improvement to fight sinful inclinations[130][131] In 1919 The Watch Tower declared that the primary concern for Bible Students was to labor with God to find members of the elect class.[132]
##1919: The seven angels, or "messengers", of Revelation chapters 1 and 2 are identified "for the first time in the history of the church" as St Paul, St John, Arius, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and Charles Taze Russell.[133]
1920–1929[edit]
##1920: Jesus Christ's crowning as king of God's kingdom, previously 1878,[134] changed to 1914.[135]
##1920: The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom "in all the world for a witness unto all nations", (Matthew 24:14), previously claimed to have already been completed,[136] identified as a work for modern-day anointed Christians.[137]
##1922: Establishment of God's kingdom over earth, previously expected to result in the destruction of human governments and a "new rule of righteousness" by the end of 1914[138] changed to an invisible event in heaven in 1914.[139][140]
##1923: "Sheep class", mentioned at Matthew 25:31-46 defined as those who do good to "elect" class and are rewarded by surviving Armageddon and gaining life under Christ's thousand-year reign.[141][142][143] Russell had previously applied the parable to the work of dividing the people in the Millennial Age.[144]
##1923: Limitations placed on extent of Christ's ransom and resurrection hope. Russell had taught that Christ had provided a ransom for all; a 1923 Watch Tower article asserted that clergymen would not be resurrected and benefit from the ransom;[145] later articles claimed that benefits of the ransom would also be denied to Adam and Eve; those who died in the Noachian flood; those who died at Sodom and Gomorrah; both the falls of Jerusalem and those who will die at Armageddon.[146]
##1925: Armageddon identified as a battle between God and Satan, resulting in the overthrow of human governments and false religion. Armageddon had previously been understood to mean a "melee between contending forces of mankind", resulting in social revolution and political anarchy.[147][148][149][150][151][152]
##1925: Michael, the dragon and the man-child in Revelation chapter 12, previously defined as the Pope, the Roman Empire and the papacy, redefined as Jesus, Satan and the New Nation (or Kingdom), respectively.[153][154]
##1926: Use of name Jehovah, previously used sparingly at assemblies and in public preaching, given new emphasis. Announced in January 1, 1926 issue of The Watchtower.[155]
##1926: "Satan's organization" defined as the rulers of politics, commerce and religion and all their followers.[156]
##1927: "First resurrection" of "sleeping saints", previously 1878,[157] changed to 1918.[158][159]
##1927: "Faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45-47, previously defined as Russell since 1897,[160][161][162][163] changed to a "class" comprising all remaining "anointed" Christians.[164]
##1927: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36, previously defined as "people living contemporaneously"[113] changed to a remnant of the "anointed" on earth during Armageddon.[165]
##1928: Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, previously regarded as a testimony to the Bible and its chronology,[48][166] declared to have no prophetic significance and built under the direction of Satan.[167]
##1928: Celebration of Christmas, previously embraced as a "tribute of respect" to Christ,[168][169] discontinued because of its "pagan origin".[170]
##1929: Honoring of God's name described as "the outstanding issue facing all intelligent creation".[171]
##1929: "Superior authorities" of Romans 13:1 to whom Christians had to show subjection and obedience, previously defined as governmental authorities, redefined as God and Christ only.[172][173] Secular state then regarded as demonic and almost without redeeming features.[174]
##1929: The "time of the end" of Daniel 12:4, previously defined as a 115-year period from 1799 to 1914,[175][176][177] redefined as a period of unspecified length starting in 1914.[178]
1930–1939[edit]
##1931: Adoption of the name "Jehovah's witnesses".[179]
##1932: Assertion that God's Holy Spirit ceased operating on his people when "[Jesus] the Lord came to his temple, in 1918",[180][181] at which point Jesus 'took charge of feeding the flock'.[182]
##1932: The "Jews" who will be restored to their homeland, previously defined as literal Jews,[183] redefined as the Christian congregation.[174][184][185]
##1932: Identification of "Jonadabs", a "sheep" class of people who take a stand for righteousness and who are to be preserved by God through Armageddon to gain everlasting life on earth. The term was drawn from the account at 2 Kings 10.[186] In 1920 Rutherford had written that it was "unreasonable" to think God was developing any class other than the little flock (the 144,000 to attain heavenly kingship) and the "great company" (second spiritual class also with a heavenly hope). In 1934 the Watchtower explained that the "Jonadabs" survive Armageddon by living in the figurative "City of refuge", represented by remaining affiliated with the Watch Tower Society.[187]
##1932: Watch Tower Society adherents with an earthly hope should join the worldwide preaching work.[188] In 1927 The Watchtower had directed that only anointed Christians were "entitled" to take part in the ministry.[189]
##1933: Christ's parousia – his second coming or invisible "presence" – previously established as 1874 and reaffirmed as late as 1929,[190] changed to 1914.[191]
##1934: Vindication of God's name becomes central doctrine.[192] Rutherford noted that God had provided Jesus Christ's sacrifice as the redemption price for sinful humankind, but wrote that this was "secondary to the vindication of Jehovah's name".[193]
##1934: The 1917 teaching that Russell was exercising strong influence from heaven on the "harvesting" of anointed Christians[194] described as "foolish".[195]
##1935: "Great crowd" of Revelation 7 defined as the "sheep" of Matthew 25, resulting in a redirection of proselytizing efforts from gathering the "elect" (remnant of the 144,000 with a heavenly destiny) to gathering an indeterminate number of people who could survive Armageddon and receive everlasting life on earth. Previously, the "great crowd" was believed to have a heavenly hope.[141][196]
##1935: Tobacco use "unclean" and prohibited for Bethel (branch office) staff and traveling overseers.[197]
##1935: Vaccines, described since 1921 as "devilish" and "an outrage",[198][199] condemned as a violation of God's law.[200]
##1936: Device on which Jesus was killed, previously defined as a wooden cross, redefined as a "tree".[201] An image of the cross appeared on the front page of The Watch Tower until October 1931.[202]
##1937: Jehovah's Witnesses with an earthly hope could be described as "Christian".[203] In 1930 the Watchtower had asserted that the term "Christian" could be applied only to anointed followers of Christ.[204]
##1938: God's mandate to "be fruitful and multiply" said to apply only after the start of the millennium. The Watchtower said the mandate had never been carried out under righteous conditions, and so had failed to be fulfilled according to God's will. Rutherford urged Witnesses to delay marriage and the bearing of children until after Armageddon.[205]
##1939: Witnesses required to demonstrate complete neutrality in worldly affairs.[206]
1940–1949[edit]
##1942: Tobacco prohibition applied to all appointed positions, such as congregation overseers and servants.[207]
##1943: Destruction of Jerusalem moved from 606 BCE to 607 BCE, when the Watch Tower Society realised there was no year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE, in order to maintain calculations regarding 1914; return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem moved from 536 BCE to 537 BCE to maintain 70 years after 607 BCE.[208][209]
##1943: Adam's creation, previously 4129 BCE[210] or 4128 BCE,[211] moved forward 100 years to 4028 BCE. The shift in dates also moved the termination point of 6,000 years of human history from October 1872[212] to 1972.[213][214]
##1944: Responsibility for administering discipline, including disfellowshipping, of dissident members passed from entire congregation to congregational judicial committees.[215][216] Russell had recommended in a 1904 publication that a congregation "committee" investigate a congregant's serious "error or sin", but the entire congregation voted whether "to withdraw from him its fellowship".[217]
##1944: Adam's creation, previously 4028 BCE, changed to 4026 BCE.[218]
##1945: Blood transfusions forbidden.[219][220] Russell had viewed the prohibition on eating blood in Acts 15:19-29 as a "suggestion" to gentile Christians in order to "guard against stumbling themselves or becoming stumbling blocks to others"[221] and ensure peace within the early church.[222]
1950–1959[edit]
##1951: "This generation" of Matthew 23:36, previously defined as a remnant of the "anointed" on earth during Armageddon[165] changed to "a 'generation' in the ordinary sense" who were alive in 1914.[223]
##1951: Celebration of birthdays considered "objectionable" because celebrations are "steeped in false worship" and exalt humans.[224]
##1952: Vaccines, previously condemned, considered acceptable.[225][226]
##1953: Adam's creation, previously 4026 BCE, changed to 4025 BCE. End of God's 6,000-year "rest day" ending in northern hemisphere autumn 1976.[227]
##1954: Worship of Jesus, previously considered appropriate and necessary,[228][229][230] deemed inappropriate, with the New World Translation translating proskyne′ō as "do obeisance to" rather than "worship" (King James Version).[231]
##1955: Operation of Holy Spirit, asserted in 1932 to have ceased in 1918, stated as having been still operative after 1918.[232]
1960–1969[edit]
##1961: Acceptance of blood transfusion deemed a disfellowshipping offence.[233] Acceptance of human organ transplant stipulated a personal matter to be decided without criticism.[234]
##1962: "Superior authorities" of Romans 13:1 redefined as earthly governments, reverting the 1929 change[235] to Russell's 1886 teaching.[236] A year earlier, Russell's view was considered to have made the Watch Tower Bible Students unclean in God's eyes.[172][237]
##1963: Adam's creation changed back to 4026 BCE.[238] End of 6,000 years of human history due in northern hemisphere autumn 1975.[239]
##1967: Human organ transplants equated with cannibalism,[240] "a practice abhorrent to all civilized people", and said to be a procedure not permitted by God.[241] The Watchtower article announcing the view is interpreted by commentators as a prohibition.[9][242] In a 1972 article, Jehovah's Witnesses are described as having taken a "stand" against organ transplants, saving them from the consequences of such operations, on the basis of the description of the procedure as "a form of cannibalism".[243]
##1968: Interval between Adam's creation and the close of the sixth creative "day", previously "quite some time",[214][218][244][245] changed to "a comparatively short period of time" that "may involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years." The change led to expectations that Christ's 1,000 year reign could begin in 1975.[246]
1970–1979[edit]
##1973: Tobacco use banned. Tobacco users not to be accepted for baptism and baptized Witnesses to be disfellowshipped if they continue to smoke after "a reasonable period of time, such as six months".[247]
1980–1989[edit]
##1980: Acceptance of human organ transplants stipulated as a matter of personal choice not warranting congregational discipline. View of transplants as cannibalism now said to be held only by "some Christians".[248] The Watchtower article is regarded by commentators as a reversal of Society's 1967 position that the procedure is not permitted by God.[9][242]
##1981: Members who formally resign membership of the religion (disassociate) are to be shunned in the same manner as disfellowshipped Witnesses.[249]
##1983: Martial arts and carrying "firearms for protection against humans" disqualify a Witness from "special privileges in the congregation", such as appointment as elder.[250]
##1988: Length of creative 'days' in Genesis, previously defined as exactly 7,000 years each,[251] changed to "at least thousands of years in length" [emphasis added][252]
1990-1999[edit]
##1990: Interval between Adam's creation and the close of the sixth creative "day" changed to "some time", employing a 1963 reference rather than the 1968 change.[253]
##1992: The "modern-day Nethinim", previously defined as synonymous with the "other sheep",[254] redefined as a subset of the "other sheep" who serve in positions of authority within the organization as "helpers" to the Governing Body.[255]
##1995: "This generation" at Matthew 23:36, previously defined as a typical human lifespan since Jesus' parousia in 1914,[223] redefined as a class of people displaying certain characteristics for an indefinite period of time.[256][257][258][259][260]
##1995: Fulfillment of Jesus' parable of the separating of sheep and goats, previously considered to have been ongoing since 1914, changed to after the start of the 'Great Tribulation'.[261][262]
##1995: The expression "vindication of Jehovah’s name" declared unnecessary, with emphasis on "vindicating his sovereignty" and "sanctifying his name" as being more accurate.[263] The former expression had not appeared in any publication since 1991.[264]
2000–2009[edit]
##2007: Selection of the 144,000 "anointed", previously considered to have ended in 1935,[265] changed to an indefinite period.[266]
##2008: "This generation" redefined as "anointed" believers, who will "not pass away" before the great tribulation begins.[267] This was a return to the belief held in 1927.[165]
2010–2019[edit]
##2010: "This generation" redefined to include "other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation", whose lives "overlap" with "the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914".[268]
##2012: "Faithful and discreet slave", previously defined as synonymous with the "anointed" and represented by the Governing Body,[269] redefined to refer to the Governing Body only. The "domestics", previously defined as each member of the "anointed" individually, redefined as including all members of the "anointed" and the "great crowd". The "evil slave" of Matthew 24:48, previously defined as former "anointed" members who reject Jesus, redefined as a hypothetical warning to the "faithful slave".[270][271]
##2014: "Gog of Magog", previously identified as Satan, redefined as an unspecified "coalition of nations".[272]
Criticism[edit]
Former Governing Body member Raymond Franz and Sociology lecturer Andrew Holden have pointed out that doctrines—including those relating to sexual behaviour in marriage and the "superior authorities" of Romans 13:4—have sometimes been altered, only to revert to those held decades earlier.[273] Holden, author of a major ethnographic study on the religion, commented: "It could be that many Witnesses have not yet been in the organisation long enough to realise that 'new lights' have a habit of growing dimmer, while old ones are switched back on!"[274] In his study of the Witnesses and their history, Tony Wills has suggested that when third president Nathan H. Knorr altered major doctrines established by his predecessor, J. F. Rutherford, he was returning the Witnesses to many of Russell's teachings. He asked: "How can the Society harmonize this circular development with the claimed progressive development?"[275]
In testimony at a 1954 court case in Scotland, senior Watch Tower Society figures admitted that although doctrines were subject to change if they were later regarded as erroneous, all Witnesses were required to accept current teachings or risk expulsion. Under cross-examination, Fred Franz, then vice president of the Watch Tower Society, conceded a Witness could be disfellowshipped and shunned for "causing trouble" over a belief they held that was contrary to Society teaching but subsequently embraced by the religion.[276] Society lawyer Hayden G. Covington told the court that although the Society had for decades published a "false prophecy ... a false statement" about the date of Christ's Second Coming, members of the religion had been required to accept it and any who had rejected it would have been expelled. He explained: "You must understand we must have unity, we cannot have disunity with a lot of people going every way."[276]
See also[edit]
##Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Faithful and discreet slave
##Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs
##Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, p. 106
2.Jump up ^ "Jehovah, the God of Progressive Revelation", Watchtower, June 15, 1964, page 365,"The abundance of spiritual food and the amazing details of Jehovah’s purposes that have been revealed to Jehovah’s anointed witnesses are clear evidence that they are the ones mentioned by Jesus when he foretold a 'faithful and discreet slave' class that would be used to dispense God’s progressive revelations in these last days ... How thankful we should be for the provision God has made of this slave class, the modern spiritual remnant, as they faithfully dispense the revealed truths of Jehovah! ... Jehovah’s faithful witnesses have been progressively brought to an understanding of Jehovah’s purposes, which are clearer now than ever before in history."
3.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
4.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
5.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 152–164
6.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, pp. 22, 10, 158, 163
7.Jump up ^ "The Godly Qualities of Love and Hate". The Watchtower, 15 July 1974, "Christians have implicit trust in their heavenly Father; they do not question what he tells them through his written Word and organization."
8.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Theocratic Organization Today", The Watchtower, February 1, 1952, page 79, "Are we assigned as individuals to bring forth the food for the spiritual table? No? Then let us not try to take over the slave’s duties. We should eat and digest and assimilate what is set before us, without shying away from parts of the food because it may not suit the fancy of our mental taste. The truths we are to publish are the ones provided through the discreet-slave organization, not some personal opinions contrary to what the slave has provided as timely food. Jehovah and Christ direct and correct the slave as needed, not we as individuals. If we do not see a point at first we should keep trying to grasp it, rather than opposing and rejecting it and presumptuously taking the position that we are more likely to be right than the discreet slave. We should meekly go along with the Lord’s theocratic organization and wait for further clarification ... Theocratic ones will appreciate the Lord’s visible organization and not be so foolish as to pit against Jehovah’s channel their own human reasoning and sentiment and personal feelings."
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998, Vol 24, Issue 4, page 223-230.
10.Jump up ^ "The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter", The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pages 26-31.
11.Jump up ^ The Time is At Hand, By C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1891, page B39, "And though the Bible contains no direct statement that the seventh thousand will be the epoch of Christ's reign, the great Sabbath Day of restitution to the world, yet the venerable tradition is not without a reasonable foundation.".
12.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, October 1, 1907, R4067: page 294, "Can we feel absolutely sure that the Chronology set forth in the DAWN-STUDIES is correct? ...we have never claimed our calculations to be infallibly correct; we have never claimed that they were knowledge, nor based upon indisputable evidence, facts, knowledge; our claim has always been that they are based on faith. We have set forth the evidences as plainly as possible and stated the conclusions of faith we draw from them, and have invited others to accept as much or as little of them as their hearts and heads could endorse. ...Possibly some who have read the DAWNS have presented our conclusions more strongly than we; but if so that is their own responsibility."
13.Jump up ^ "Impart God’s Progressive Revelation to Mankind", The Watchtower, March 1, 1965, p. 158-159
14.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 165–171
15.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light—Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 15.
16.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 709
17.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 165
18.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, Preparation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1933, page 64, 67, "Enlightenment proceeds from Jehovah by and through Christ Jesus and is given to the faithful anointed on earth at the temple, and brings great peace and consolation to them. Again Zechariah talked with the angel of the Lord, which shows that the remnant are instructed by the angels of the Lord. The remnant do not hear audible sounds, because such is not necessary. Jehovah has provided his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones ... Those of the remnant, being honest and true, must say, We do not know; and the Lord enlightens them, sending his angels for that very purpose."
19.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1933, pages 53, 62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 165.
20.Jump up ^ Life Everlasting in Freedom in the Sons of God Watchtower Society, 1966, page 149, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 165.
21.Jump up ^ "The Things Revealed Belong to Us", The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, pages 10-15, "In 1925 God’s earthly servants became possessors of an accurate understanding... In 1932 their understanding was deepened still further. Jehovah revealed that the prophecies related ...to spiritual Israel, the Christian congregation. (Romans 2:28, 29) Then, in 1935 a corrected understanding of John’s vision of the “great crowd” in Revelation chapter 7 opened the eyes of anointed ones to the huge gathering work that still lay ahead of them.".
22.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light - Great and Small", Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 17, 18.
23.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 64
24.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 106
25.Jump up ^ Watchtower, December 1, 1933, page 364, "Without doubt these angels are delegated by the Lord to convey his instructions to the members of his organization on earth. Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand."
26.Jump up ^ "You Must Be Holy Because Jehovah Is Holy", Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 123
27.Jump up ^ "Keep in Step With Jehovah’s Organization", Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 18.
28.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 228.
29.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower, July 15, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 226.
30.Jump up ^ "To Whom Shall We Go but Jesus Christ?", The Watchtower, March 1, 1979, pages 23-24.
31.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 1954, page 638.
32.Jump up ^ "Name and Purpose of The Watchtower", The Watchtower, August 15, 1950, page 263.
33.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 115
34.Jump up ^ Edmund C. Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, page 64. Gruss based his comments on The Truth Shall Make You Free, 1943, pages 141-52.
35.Jump up ^ "The Sign of His Presence", Zion's Watch Tower, May 1880.
36.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 26
37.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 5
38.Jump up ^ "If Death Ends All", Zion's Watch Tower, July 1879.
39.Jump up ^ "Why Did Christ Die?", Zion's Watch Tower, November 1879.
40.Jump up ^ "The Royal Priesthood", "If Death Ends All", Zion's Watch Tower, July 1879.
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, p. 17
42.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 9
43.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 17
44.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 21
45.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 43–48,144
46.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 243–244
47.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 47
48.^ Jump up to: a b Russell 1891, pp. 313–376
49.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 36–37
50.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 74–102
51.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 37–39
52.Jump up ^ Miller's chronology pinpointed the start in 1798, according to Crompton (pg 23).
53.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 21
54.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, pp. 23–60
55.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 23
56.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 69
57.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 25
58.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 177
59.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, pp. 39–41
60.Jump up ^ 2 Peter 3:8.
61.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 25
62.^ Jump up to: a b Russell 1889, p. 53
63.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 127,128
64.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 213
65.Jump up ^ Russell's belief in a "repetition" or doubling of iniquity was drawn from Jeremiah 16:18. See The Time Is At Hand, pg 218.
66.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 221
67.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 235
68.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 105, 150, 222, 234
69.Jump up ^ Luke 3:15.
70.Jump up ^ Crompton 1996, p. 47
71.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1, 1908, page 2.
72.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 492
73.Jump up ^ Russell 1886, pp. 149–172
74.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3821 (reprint).
75.Jump up ^ 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 36.
76.Jump up ^ "Who Can Read the Sign Aright?", Watchtower, February 1, 1985, page 10.
77.Jump up ^ Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable & Co, London, pp. 17–23, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0
78.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, pp. 67–77
79.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 20
80.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, pp. 38, 39
81.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, August 1879, Reprints 20, page 3.
82.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return, 1877.
83.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, July 1, 1879, p. 7 (reprint).
84.Jump up ^ "Speak the Pure Language and Live Forever!", The Watchtower, May 1, 1991, page 17, "In 1879...a small Bible-study group led by Charles Taze Russell was meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. They had become certain that Jesus’ second coming...would restore Paradise on earth, with eternal life for obedient humans."
85.Jump up ^ Russell, Charles (1 March 1906). Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence "Views From the Watch Tower". Allegheny, PA: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. pp. 68–69 (p.3731–3732 reprint). "Then came the suggestion that all the larger forms of being were mere evolutions from lower to higher. With this thought the learned of this world have been wrestling for the past fifty years, shaking the foundations of faith in the Bible for millions. For if the Bible be true this theory is false as respects man's origin. Instead of further evolution being our salvation the Bible points us to our fall, to the redemption accomplished for the world by the Son of God, and to the coming deliverance of the groaning creation from sin and its death penalty. Only those who trust the Bible record are safe from the blighting influence of this evolution error."
86.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Divine Plan of the Ages, 1886, study IX, page 172, "These things are clearly taught in the Scriptures, from beginning to end, and are in direct opposition to the Evolution theory; or, rather, such "babblings of science, falsely so called," are in violent and irreconcilable conflict with the Word of God."
87.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, pp. 6, 42
88.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 42
89.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 165
90.Jump up ^ Barbour 1877, p. 48,49
91.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1880, Watch Tower Reprints page 64 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 2
92.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, April 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 207 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 7, "And why did they thus keep the people in ignorance? Because they feared that if people knew this, the only text which gives even a shadow of support to the doctrine of the TRINITY, to be an interpolation to support a papal error, they might renounce the error".
93.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, September 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 278 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 132, "As to the motives and errors which may have led to these unwarranted interpolations of the [Bible] text, we may be able to offer a suggestion, viz., the last mentioned (1 John 5:7,8) was probably intended to give authority and sanction to the doctrine of the "Trinity."
94.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1881, Watch Tower Reprints page 290 As Retrieved 2009-09-23, page 4, ""He gave his only begotten Son." This phraseology brings us into conflict with an old Babylonian theory, viz.: Trinitarianism. If that doctrine is true, how could there be any Son to give? A begotten Son, too? Impossible. If these three are one, did God send himself? And how could Jesus say: "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28. [emphasis retained from original]"
95.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, July 1882, Reprints 370, page 3.
96.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 343, note 64, "Barbour and Paton were trinitarians ... although Henry Grew and George Stetson, two others who had influenced him, were non–trinitarians, Russell did not take a stand on the matter, at least publicly, until after his split with Paton."
97.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 120.
98.Jump up ^ N. H. Barbour, C. T. Russell, Three Worlds, 1877, page 57, "I am beginning to think Age-to-come people, and many others among pre-millennialists, do not believe in anything of a spiritual nature, or have the most remote comprehension of things of that order; either that the saint is raised 'a spiritual body,' or in the existence of spiritual beings, or even of the Holy Spirit itself. I know one class of age-to-come believers, the Christadelphians, do not. The Holy Spirit, say they, is but a principle, or element of power, and not an intelligence. It is nothing more nor less than 'electricity;' is taught in one of their books, now before me. What wonder they discern only a fleshly future."
99.Jump up ^ J. H. Paton, Day Dawn, A.D. Jones, 1880, page 225, 229, "The work of the Holy Spirit is one of the most important elements in the plan of revelation and salvation. He is always spoken of by the Saviour as a Person, and is called the " Spirit of truth." We will follow the Saviour's example in this, though we do not propose to deal with the philosophy of that fact. He being the Spirit of truth, it is His mission to make known the truth."
100.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, July 1880, page 8, "But the Spirit cannot resign his work until it is complete."
101.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, August 1880, page 4, "Then let the Spirit use his sword upon others as he may see fit to humble them, strip them of pride, and bring them to the rock that is higher than they."
102.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, November 1880, page 8, "The Spirit is still our leader and instructor. He is now telling us of Him who comes by way of unseen presence that He is here present."
103.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, March 1881, page 5, "The number three is surprisingly prominent, as the subject opens before us ... We would first call attention to the Divine Three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – often mentioned in the Bible."
104.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3825 (reprint).
105.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, May 1882, Reprints 356, page 8.
106.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, September 1882, Reprints 392, page 4.
107.Jump up ^ "The Three Great Covenants", Zion's Watch Tower, March 1880.
108.Jump up ^ "The New Covenant vs the Law Covenant", Zion's Watch Tower, September 1887.
109.^ Jump up to: a b Wills 2006, pp. 63–68
110.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, pp. 38,47–59
111.Jump up ^ Rusell 1891, pp. 239–242
112.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, "Haverst Gatherings and Siftings", Zion's Watch Tower, July 15, 1906, p. 3823 (reprint).
113.^ Jump up to: a b Studies in the Scriptures 4. pp. 602–603.
114.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 78
115.Jump up ^ "The Outlook - War & Prosperity", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, September 15, 1901 (R2876 page 292)
116.Jump up ^ "Universal Anarchy", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, July 1, 1904 (R3389 page 197)
117.Jump up ^ The New Creation, (Volume VI of Studies in the Scriptures), 1904, page 179: “We have every reason to believe that the definite, fixed number of the elect [chosen anointed ones] is that several times stated in Revelation (7:4; 14:1); namely, 144,000 ‘redeemed from amongst men."
118.Jump up ^ "The Great Company", Zion's Watch Tower, October 15, 1904.
119.Jump up ^ The New Creation, (Volume VI of Studies in the Scriptures), 1904, page 168-170.
120.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 57, 58
121.Jump up ^ "The Rank of the Ancient Worthies", "The Great Company", Zion's Watch Tower, October 15, 1904.
122.Jump up ^ "Our Advocate, the World's Mediator," Zion's Watch Tower, January 1, 1907.
123.Jump up ^ "The Word Mediator Used Differently,", Watch Tower, January 1909.
124.Jump up ^ Scenario of the Photo-Drama of Creation, ©1914 International Bible Students Association, page 3
125.Jump up ^ "Views from the Watch Tower", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1, 1914 (R5373: page 3)
126.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 101
127.Jump up ^ "Overcome With Wine", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 15, 1892 (R1357: page 27)
128.Jump up ^ "What Smiting of the Waters May Mean", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, February 1, 1916 (R5845: page 38)
129.Jump up ^ "The Burning of the Tares", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, September 1, 1916 (R5951: page 265)
130.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, October 1, 1913, pgs 291-295.
131.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, April 1, 1916, pages 98-99.
132.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, December 15, 1919, pg 375.
133.Jump up ^ "The Table of the Great King,", The Watchtower, April 1, 1919, as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pg 181.
134.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 233
135.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, July 1, 1920, page 196.
136.Jump up ^ C. T. Russell, The Battle of Armageddon, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1897, page 568.
137.Jump up ^ "Gospel of the Kingdom", The Watchtower, July 1, 1920, pages 199-200.
138.Jump up ^ "View from the Tower", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, January 15, 1892 (R1354: page 19)
139.Jump up ^ New Heavens and a New Earth, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1953, page 225.
140.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, pages 332-337.
141.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, p. 72
142.Jump up ^ "The Keys of the Kingdom and the Great Crowd", Watchtower, October 1, 1971, page 14.
143.Jump up ^ "The Parable of the sheep and goats", The Watchtower, October 15, 1923, pages 307-314.
144.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 113
145.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 15, 1923.
146.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 141, 142
147.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1, 1925.
148.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 134
149.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 223
150.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 251
151.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, August 1, 1892, page 238.
152.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, pages 256-258. See comment on Rev. 16:16-20.
153.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1925, page 69.
154.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, The Battle of Armageddon, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1889, page 541.
155.Jump up ^ "Restoration of True Religion", Watchtower, March 1, 1954, page 150.
156.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Deliverance, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1926, pages 268,269.
157.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 306
158.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, June 1, 1927.
159.Jump up ^ Rutherford 1930, p. 226
160.Jump up ^ The Battle of Armageddon (Part IV, "Studies in the Scriptures") by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1897, page 613.
161.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, July 15, 1906, page 215.
162.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, pp. 78–79
163.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, pages 68 and 71, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, 2007, page 63.
164.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, January 1, 1927 and February, pages 7, 51-7, as cited by Penton, Apocalypse Delayed.
165.^ Jump up to: a b c "Interesting Questions". The Watchtower: 62. February 15, 1927.
166.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1922, page 187, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 225, 226.
167.Jump up ^ Watchtower, 1928, pages 339-45, 355-62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 170.
168.Jump up ^ "The Prince of Peace", Zion's Watch Tower & Herald of Christ's Presence, December 1, 1904, page 364.
169.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, December 24, 1919, page 215: "Christmas is regarded by many people as the date of the birth of the babe Jesus in a manger at Bethlehem. Whether the date is correct or not is of small importance, but the event was and is of the greatest importance."
170.Jump up ^ 1975 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, page 146
171.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 152.
172.^ Jump up to: a b Franz 2007, p. 484
173.Jump up ^ "The Higher Powers", Watch Tower, June 1929, pages 163-169, 179-185.
174.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, p. 65
175.Jump up ^ Russell 1891, p. 23
176.Jump up ^ Creation by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1927, chapter 12, page 314.
177.Jump up ^ Joseph Rutherford (1928). The Harp of God (Revised ed.). p. 233.
178.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, December 1, 1929, pages 355-357, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society, page 117 and Tony Wills, A People For His name, page 48.
179.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 62
180.Jump up ^ Preservation by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, page 103-194.
181.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1, 1932, page 294.
182.Jump up ^ Preparation, ©1933 by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower, page 196
183.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1925, page 57, "We know the work of restitution must come to the Jews first, and through them to the rest of the world. As the Scriptures state that Jerusalem is to be the capital of the world and that the ancient worthies are to be princes in all the earth, we are warranted in expecting that the kingdom work will begin at Jerusalem."
184.Jump up ^ Vindication, Book 2, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, pages 258, 269, 295.
185.Jump up ^ Vindication, Book 3, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1932, page 333.
186.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 165.
187.Jump up ^ Watchtower, August 15, 1934, as cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name, pg 192-193.
188.Jump up ^ Vindication, J. F. Rutherford, Book III, pages 83. 84.
189.Jump up ^ Watchtower, January 15, 1927, pg 26, 27, "He who is called to be a minister of God must be a new creature, begotten of God's holy spirit; none other can have a share. In this ministry only those who are new creatures in Jesus Christ are entitled to share." As cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name,(2007), pg 194.
190.Jump up ^ Prophecy by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1929, chapter 4, page 65.
191.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 1, 1933, page 362: "In the year 1914 that due time of waiting came to an end. Christ Jesus received the authority of the kingdom and was sent forth by Jehovah to rule amidst his enemies. The year 1914, therefore, marks the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of glory."
192.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 69
193.Jump up ^ Jehovah, J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1934.
194.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1917, page 6161.
195.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Jehovah, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1934, page 191.
196.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 140.
197.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1935
198.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, October 12, 1921, Page 17, "Vaccination never prevented anything and never will, and is the most barbarous practice ... We are in the last days; and the devil is slowly losing his hold, making a strenuous effort meanwhile to do all the damage he can, and to his credit can such evils be placed ... Use your rights as American citizens to forever abolish the devilish practice of vaccinations."
199.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, January 5, 1929, Page 502, "Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows seeds of syphilis, cancers, eczema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccinations is a crime, an outrage, and a delusion."
200.Jump up ^ The Golden Age, April 2, 1935, Page 465, "As vaccination is a direct injection of animal matter in the blood stream, vaccination is a direct violation of the law of Jehovah God."
201.Jump up ^ Riches, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1936, page 27.
202.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 150
203.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1937, page 336, as cited by Tony Wills, A People For His Name, pg 195.
204.Jump up ^ Watchtower, March 1, 1930, page 71, "Since "Christ' means the anointed of God, it is manifestly true that no one can properly be termed a Christian who is not in Christ and who has not received the anointing."
205.Jump up ^ A People for His Name, Tony Wills, pgs 186-187, citing Watchtower October 15, 1938, pg 307, Watchtower, November 1, 1938, page 323, Watchtower, November 15, 1938, page 346.
206.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1939, as cited by Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 193.
207.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1, 1942, pages 205-206
208.Jump up ^ "Questions from Readers". The Watchtower: 94. February 1, 1955. "Jehovah's witnesses from 1877 up to and including the publishing of "The Truth Shall Make You Free" of 1943 considered 536 B.C. as the year for the return of the Jews to Palestine"
209.Jump up ^ "Determining the Year by Fact and Bible". The Watchtower: 271–2. May 1, 1952. "Concerning the first error, Russell and others considered 1 B.C. to A.D. 1 as being two years whereas in fact this is only one year because, as has been said above, there is no "zero" year in the B.C.-A.D. system for counting years."
210.Jump up ^ Russell 1889, p. 54
211.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, May 15, 1896, R1980 page 112.
212.Jump up ^ Three Worlds, by N. H. Barbour and C. T. Russell, 1877, pages 67, 186, as cited by Edmund Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, 1972, pages 62-63.
213.Jump up ^ The Truth Shall Make You Free, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1943, chapter 11, page 151.
214.^ Jump up to: a b Gruss, Edmond C. (1972), The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, pp. 68–69, ISBN 0-87552-306-4
215.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 89
216.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 15, 1944.
217.Jump up ^ The New Creation, Watch Tower, 1904, pages 289-290, "The administration of discipline is not the function of the elders only, but of the entire [congregation]. ... If the reproved one fails to clear himself, and continues in the error or sin, then two or three brethren without previous prejudice should be asked to hear the matter and advise the disputants. (Elders they may or may not be, but their eldership would add no force or authority in the case except as their judgment might be the riper and their influence the more potent.) If this committee decide unanimously with either party, the other should acquiesce and the matter be wholly at an end--correction, or restitution, so far as possible, being promptly made. If either of the original disputants still persists in the wrong course, the [accuser, a committee member] or, preferably, all of these together, may then (but not sooner) exercise their privilege of bringing the matter before the [congregation]. Thus it is evident that the Elders were in no sense to be judges of the members—hearing and judgment were left to the [congregation]. The two preliminary steps (above mentioned) having been taken, the facts being certified to the elders, it would be their duty to call a general meeting of the [congregation], as a court--to hear the case in all of its particulars, and in the name and reverence of its Head to render a decision. ... if the transgressor refuse to hear (obey) the decision of the entire [congregation], ... the [congregation] is to withdraw from him its fellowship and any and all signs or manifestations of brotherhood. [emphasis retained from original]
218.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, 1 February 1955: 94–95
219.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 153
220.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1. 1945.
221.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, November 15, 1892 p. 351.
222.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, April 15, 1909 pp. 116-117, "These prohibitions had never come to the Gentiles, because they had never been under the Law Covenant; but so deeply rooted were the Jewish ideas on this subject that it was necessary to the peace of the Church that the Gentiles should observe this matter also ... these items thus superadded to the Law of Love should be observed by all spiritual Israelites as representing the Divine will.”
223.^ Jump up to: a b "Vision of the "Time of the End"". The Watchtower: 404. July 1, 1951.
224.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. October 1, 1951.
225.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. December 15, 1952.
226.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower. September 15, 1958. "Q: Are we to consider the injection of serums such as diphtheria toxin antitoxin and blood fractions such as gamma globulin into the blood stream, for the purpose of building up resistance to disease by means of antibodies, the same as the drinking of blood or the taking of blood or blood plasma by means of transfusion? A: No, it does not seem necessary that we put the two in the same category, although we have done so in times past."
227.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, 1 February 1955: 95
228.Jump up ^ "Interesting Queries", Watch Tower, July 15, 1898, page 216.
229.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1939, page 339: "Jehovah God commands all to worship Christ Jesus because Christ Jesus is the express image of his Father, Jehovah"
230.Jump up ^ Watchtower, October 15, 1945, page 313: "Since Jehovah God now reigns as King by means of his capital organization Zion, then whosoever would worship Him must also worship and bow down to Jehovah's Chief One in that capital organization, namely, Christ Jesus."
231.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", Watchtower, January 1, 1954, page 30.
232.Jump up ^ "Modern Restoration of True Worship (1919-1932)", The Watchtower, May 15, 1955, page 296, "Jesus—then to expand on a global scale—so now in the spring of 1919 there was an outpouring of Jehovah’s holy spirit organizationally upon the Christian remnant."
233.Jump up ^ Watchtower, January 15, 1961, page 63.
234.Jump up ^ Watchtower, August 1, 1961, page 480.
235.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1962.
236.Jump up ^ The Divine Plan of the Ages, by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1886, page 266: "They taught the Church to obey the laws, and to respect those in authority because of their office, even if they were not personally worthy of esteem; to pay their appointed taxes, and, except where they conflicted with God's laws (Acts 4: 19; 5: 29), to offer no resistance to any established law. (Rom. 13: 1 - 7)"
237.Jump up ^ "The Congregation in the Time of the End", Watchtower, March 1, 1961, page 146.
238.Jump up ^ All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1963, page 286.
239.Jump up ^ "The Removal of Mankind's Chief Disturber", The Watchtower, 15 July 1967: 446–447
240.Jump up ^ Awake, June 8, 1968, Page 21 “Christian witnesses of Jehovah,... consider all transplants between humans as cannibalism.”
241.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 15, 1967, pages 702-704
242.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. J. Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pp. 165–171, "In 1967 the society suddenly decided that what had been permissible no longer was. Organ transplants suddenly became a form of human cannibalism ... Yet after many faithful Jehovah's Witnesses had suffered for their faith by giving up transplants which in some cases could have made their lives more pleasant and comfortable and by saving them from early death in others, the society again reversed itself."
243.Jump up ^ "Keep Abstaining from Blood", Awake!, July 8, 1972, page 28, "The stand of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah—that such transplants are in effect a form of cannibalism—proved a safeguard. How so? In that it spared them much frustration, grief and anxiety, which were experienced not only by the patients and their relatives but even by many of the assisting medical personnel."
244.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, February 1, 1955, page 95, "However, from our present chronology (which is admitted imperfect) at best the fall of the year 1976 would be the end of 6,000 years of human history for mankind... Obviously, whatever amount of Adam’s 930 years was lived before the beginning of that seventh-day rest of Jehovah, that unknown amount would have to be added to the 1976 date."
245.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come by C. T. Russell, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1889, pages 127-128. "long enough [for Adam] to realize his lack of a companion" and an additional "two years would not be an improbable estimate" to have passed between Adam's creation and Edenic expulsion (beginning the seventh creative day).
246.Jump up ^ "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?", The Watchtower, August 15, 1968, page 499-500
247.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 1, 1973, page 340.
248.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", Watchtower, March 15, 1980, page 31.
249.Jump up ^ 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."
250.Jump up ^ “Seek Peace and Pursue It”, The Watchtower, July 15, 1983, page 25
251.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers", The Watctower, January 1, 1987, page 30, "A study of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and of our location in the stream of time strongly indicate that each of the creative days is 7,000 years long. It is understood that Christ’s reign of a thousand years will bring to a close God’s 7,000-year ‘rest day,’ the last ‘day’ of the creative week. Based on this reasoning, the entire creative week would be 49,000 years long."
252.Jump up ^ "Creation", Insight, volume 1, 1988 Watch Tower, page 545, "Since the seventh day has been continuing for thousands of years, it may reasonably be concluded that each of the six creative periods, or days, was at least thousands of years in length ... Ascribing not just 24 hours but a longer period of time, thousands of years, to each of the creative days better harmonizes with the evidence found in the earth itself."
253.Jump up ^ All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1990, page 286.
254.Jump up ^ Man's Salvation Out of World Distress at Hand!, pages 167–168 (1975)
255.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, pages 12–17
256.Jump up ^ Watchtower, November 1, 1995, page 20.
257.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, June 1, 1997, page 28: "The recent information in The Watchtower about "this generation" did not change our understanding of what occurred in 1914. But it did give us a clearer grasp of Jesus' use of the term "generation," helping us to see that his usage was no basis for calculating-counting from 1914 – how close to the end we are."
258.Jump up ^ Joel P. Engardio (December 18, 1995), "Apocalypse Later", Newsweek
259.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 317
260.Jump up ^ John Dart, "Jehovah's Witnesses Abandon Key Tenet", Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1995.
261.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 1, 1995.
262.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 316
263.Jump up ^ "Part 2—Flashes of Light—Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 25
264.Jump up ^ "Chapter 24: Why Jesus Came to Earth", The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, ©1991, "Jesus came to earth particularly to preach about God’s Kingdom, which will vindicate his Father’s name"
265.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 15, 1995, p.19.
266.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 1, 2007, pages 30-31: "It appears that we can not set a specific date for when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends."
267.Jump up ^ "Watchtower", February 15, 2008, pages 23-24: "On the other hand, Christ's faithful anointed brothers, the modern-day John class, have recognized this sign as if it were a flash of lightning and have understood its true meaning. As a class, these anointed ones make up the modern-day "generation" of contemporaries that will not pass away "until all these things occur."* This suggests that some who are Christ's anointed brothers will still be alive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins."
268.Jump up ^ "Holy spirit's role in the outworking of Jehovah's purposes", The Watchtower, 15 April 2010: 10
269.Jump up ^ "Your Leader Is One, the Christ". The Watchtower: 23. September 15, 2010.
270.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
271.Jump up ^ ""Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?"". The Watchtower: 20–25. July 15, 2013.
272.Jump up ^ 2014 Annual Meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses
273.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 480–488
274.Jump up ^ Holden, p. 32
275.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 253
276.^ Jump up to: a b Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, page 119.
Bibliography[edit]
##Barbour, N. H. (1877), Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World (PDF), N. H. Barbour, C. T. Russell
##Crompton, Robert (1996), Counting the Days to Armageddon, Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, ISBN 0-227-67939-3
##Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, Fourth edition, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
##Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
##Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-26610-6
##Penton, M. James (1997), Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-7973-3
##Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable & Co, London, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0
##Russell, C. T. (1886), The Divine Plan of the Ages, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Russell, C. T. (1889), The Time Is At Hand, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Russell, C. T. (1891), Thy Kingdom Come, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Rutherford, J. F. (1930), Light, Book 1, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993), Jehovah's Witnesses, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
##Wills, Tony (2006), A People For His Name, Lulu Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4
  


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Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

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"Watch Tower Society" redirects here. For related corporations, including the Watchtower Society of New York, see Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
Watchtower.svg
Predecessor
Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society
Founded
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. (December 15, 1884)
Founder
Charles Taze Russell
Headquarters
New York City, New York, United States

Key people
 Don Adams (President)
Subsidiaries
Various
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The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization[1] headquartered in the New York City, New York borough of Brooklyn. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and develop doctrines for the religion and is often referred to by members of the religion simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Society of New York and International Bible Students Association.[2] The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses.[3] About 5800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labour, as members of a religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York;[4] nearly 15,000 other members of the order work at the Watch Tower Society's other facilities worldwide.[4][5][6]
The organization was formed in 1881 as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society for the purpose of distributing religious tracts.[1] The society was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 15, 1884. In 1896, the society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[7] Following a leadership dispute in the Bible Student movement, the Watch Tower Society remained associated with the branch of the movement that became known as Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1955, the corporation was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[8] In 1976, all activities of the Watch Tower Society were brought under the supervision of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.[9]


Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Incorporation
1.2 Leadership dispute
1.3 Amendments to charter
1.4 Governing Body
1.5 Presidents
2 Operations
3 Property ownership 3.1 United States 3.1.1 Brooklyn property sales
3.2 Other countries
4 Directors 4.1 Current
4.2 Former
5 Criticism
6 See also
7 References
8 Bibliography

History[edit]
On February 16, 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, for the purpose of organizing the printing and distribution of religious tracts. William Henry Conley, a Pittsburgh industrialist and philanthropist, served as president, with Charles Taze Russell serving as secretary-treasurer.[10] The society's primary journal was Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christs Presence, first published in 1879 by Russell,[11] founder of the Bible Student movement.[12] Other early writers for the Watch Tower Society included J. H. Paton and W. I. Mann.[10][13] Formation of the society was announced in the April 1881 issue of Zion's Watch Tower.[14] That year, the society received donations of $35,391.18.[15]
Incorporation[edit]
On December 15, 1884, the society was incorporated as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in Pennsylvania as a non-profit, non-stock corporation with Russell as president. The corporation was located in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In its charter, written by Russell, the society's purpose was stated as "the mental, moral and religious improvement of men and women, by teaching the Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles, books, papers, pamphlets and other Bible literature, and by providing oral lectures free for the people".[16] The charter provided for a board of seven directors, three of who served as officers—a president, vice-president (initially William I. Mann) and secretary-treasurer (initially Maria Russell). The charter stipulated that the officers be chosen from the directors and be elected annually by ballot. Board members would hold office for life unless removed by a two-thirds vote by shareholders. Vacancies on the board resulting from death, resignation or removal would be filled by a majority vote of the remaining board members within 20 days; if such vacancies were not filled within 30 days an appointment could be made by the president, with the appointments lasting only until the next annual corporation meeting, when vacancies would be filled by election.[17]
Anyone subscribing to $10 or more of the society's Old Testament Tracts or donating $10 or more to the society was deemed a voting member and entitled to one vote per $10 donated.[17] Russell indicated that despite having a board and shareholders, the society would be directed by only two people—him and his wife Maria.[18] Russell said that as at December 1893 he and his wife owned 3705, or 58 percent, of the 6383 voting shares, "and thus control the Society; and this was fully understood by the directors from the first. Their usefulness, it was understood, would come to the front in the event of our death... For this reason, also, formal elections were not held; because it would be a mere farce, a deception, to call together voting shareholders from all over the world, at great expense, to find upon arrival that their coming was useless, Sister Russell and myself having more than a majority over all that could gather. However, no one was hindered from attending such elections." The influx of donations gradually diluted the proportion of the Russells' shares and in 1908 their voting shares constituted less than half the total.[19][20] Russell emphasized the limitations of the corporation, explaining: "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society is not a 'religious society' in the ordinary meaning of this term"[21] He also stated, "This is a business association merely... It has no creed or confession. It is merely a business convenience in disseminating the truth."[17] Incorporation of the society meant that it would outlive Russell, so individuals who wished to bequeath their money or property to him would not have to alter their will if he died before they did.[22] On September 19, 1896, the name of the corporation was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[23]



Charles Taze Russell
From 1908 Russell required the directors to write out resignations when they were appointed so Russell could dismiss them by simply filling in the date.[19] In 1909, Russell instructed legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford to determine whether the society's headquarters could be moved to Brooklyn, New York.[24] Rutherford reported that because it had been established under Pennsylvania law, the corporation could not be registered in New York state, but suggested that a new corporation be registered there to do the society's work. Rutherford subsequently organized the formation of the People's Pulpit Association, which was incorporated on February 23, 1909, and wrote the charter which gave the president—to be elected for life at the first meeting—"absolute power and control" of its activities in New York.[25][24] The society sold its buildings in Pittsburgh[26] and moved staff to its new base in Brooklyn. Although all New York property was bought in the name of the New York corporation and all legal affairs of the society done in its name, Russell insisted on the continued use of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society name on all correspondence and publications.[24]
The move from Pennsylvania to New York occurred during court proceedings over the breakdown of Russells' marriage. His wife Maria had been granted a "limited divorce" on March 4, 1908, but in 1909 returned to court in Pittsburgh to request an increase in alimony,[27] which her former husband refused.[28] Authors Barbara Grizzuti Harrison and Edmond C. Gruss have claimed Russell's move to Brooklyn was motivated by his desire to transfer from the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania courts. They claim he transferred all his assets to the Watch Tower Society so he could declare himself bankrupt and avoid being jailed for failure to pay alimony.[27][29][30]
In 1914, the International Bible Students Association was incorporated in Britain to administer affairs in that country. Like the People's Pulpit Association, it was subsidiary to the Pennsylvania parent organization and all work done through both subsidiaries was described as the work of the Watch Tower Society. The Watchtower noted: "The editor of The Watchtower is the President of all three of these Societies. All financial responsibility connected with the work proceeds from [the Pennsylvania corporation]. From it the other Societies and all the branches of the work receive their financial support... we use sometimes the one name and sometimes the other in various parts of our work—yet they all in the end mean the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, to which all donations should be made."[2]
Leadership dispute[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)
Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, board member and society legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at the Pittsburgh convention. Under his presidency, the role of the society underwent a major change.[31] By-laws passed by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors stated that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[32]



Joseph Franklin Rutherford
By June 1917, four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors, Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright, had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's expanded powers of management,[33] claiming Rutherford had become autocratic.[33] Hirsch attempted to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[34] but Rutherford later claimed he had by then detected a conspiracy among the directors to seize control of the society.[35] In July, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that none of his opposers were legally directors of the society.
On July 12, 1917, Rutherford filled what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[36] Between August and November the society and the four ousted directors published a series of pamphlets, with each side accusing the other of ambitious and reckless behavior. The former directors also claimed Rutherford had required all headquarters workers to sign a petition supporting him and threatened dismissal for any who refused to sign.[37] The former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8, 1917.[38] On January 5, 1918, Rutherford was returned to office.
In May 1918, Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower directors and officers were arrested on charges of sedition under the Espionage Act. On June 21, 1918, they were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. Rutherford feared his opponents would gain control of the Society in his absence, but on January 2, 1919, he learned he had been re-elected president at the Pittsburgh convention the day before.[39] However, by mid-1919 about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept Rutherford's leadership,[40] forming groups such as The Standfast Movement, Paul Johnson Movement, Dawn Bible Students Association, Pastoral Bible Institute of Brooklyn, Elijah Voice Movement and Eagle Society.[41]
Although formed as a "business convenience" with the purpose of publishing and distributing Bible-based literature and managing the funds necessary for that task, the corporation from the 1920s began its transformation into the "religious society" Russell had insisted it was not, introducing centralized control and regulation of Bible Student congregations worldwide.[42] In 1938, Rutherford introduced the term "theocracy" to describe the hierarchical leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses, with Consolation explaining: "The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."[43] The society appointed "zone servants" to supervise congregations and in a Watchtower article Rutherford declared the need for congregations to "get in line" with the changed structure.[44][45]
Amendments to charter[edit]



Nathan Homer Knorr


Frederick William Franz


Milton George Henschel


Don Alden Adams
Following Rutherford's death in 1942, Nathan H. Knorr became president of the Watch Tower Society, and subsequently introduced further changes to the role of the society. At a series of talks given in Pittsburgh on September 30, 1944, coinciding with the society's annual meeting, it was announced that changes would be made to the 1884 charter to bring it into "closer harmony with theocratic principles". The amendments, most of which were passed unanimously,[46] significantly altered the terms of membership and stated for the first time that the society's purposes included preaching about God's kingdom, acting as a servant and governing agency of Jehovah's Witnesses, and sending missionaries and teachers for the public worship of God and Jesus Christ. The new charter, which took effect from January 1, 1945 included the following changes:
##An altered and expanded explanation of article II, detailing the purpose of the society. This included the preaching of the gospel of God's kingdom to all nations; to print and distribute Bibles and disseminate Bible truths with literature explaining Bible truths and prophecy concerning the establishment of God's kingdom; to authorise and appoint agents, servants, employees, teachers evangelists, missionaries, ministers and others "to go all the world publicly and from house to house to preach Bible truths to persons willing to listen by leaving with such persons said literature and by conducting Bible studies thereon"; to improve people mentally and morally by instruction "on the Bible and incidental scientific, historical and literary subjects"; to establish and maintain Bible schools and classes; to "teach, train, prepare and equip men and women as ministers, missionaries, evangelists, preachers, teachers and instructors in the Bible and Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Jesus Christ" and "to arrange for and hold local and worldwide assemblies for such worship".
##An amendment to article V, detailing the qualifications for membership of the society. Each donation of $10 to the society funds had formerly entitled the contributor to one voting share; the amendment limited membership to "only men who are mature, active and faithful witnesses of Jehovah devoting full time to performance of one or more of its chartered purposes... or such men who are devoting part time as active presiding ministers or servants of congregations of Jehovah's witnesses". The amended article stipulated that "a man who is found to be in harmony with the purposes of the Society and who possesses the above qualifications may be elected as a member upon being nominated by a member, director or officer, or upon written application to the president or secretary. Such members shall be elected upon a finding by the Board of Directors that he possesses the necessary qualifications and by receiving a majority vote of the members." The amendment limited membership at any one time to between 300 and 500, including approximately seven residents of each of the 48 states of the US. It also introduced a clause providing for the suspension or expulsion of a member for wilfully violating the society's rules, or "becoming out of harmony with any of the Society's purposes or any of its work or for wilful conduct prejudicial to the best interests of the Society and contrary to his duties as a member, or upon ceasing to be a full-time servant of the Society or a part-time servant of a congregation of Jehovah's witnesses".
##An amendment to article VII, dealing with the governance of the society by its board of directors. The amendment deleted reference to adherence to the constitution and laws of Pennsylvania of the US. It also specified powers of the board including matters of finance and property.
##An amendment to article VIII, detailing the office holders of the society and the terms of office and method of appointment of officers and directors. A clause stating that board members would hold office for life was deleted. The new clause provided for board membership for a maximum of three years, with directors qualifying for re-election at the expiration of their term.[47]
Governing Body[edit]
In 1976, direction of the Watch Tower Society and of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide came under the control of the Governing Body, reducing the power of the society's president. The society has described the change as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses."[48]
Following the death of Knorr in 1977, subsequent presidents of the Watch Tower Society have been Frederick W. Franz (June 1977 – December 1992); Milton G. Henschel (December 1992 – October 2000) and Don A. Adams (October 2000–).
Presidents[edit]

Name
Date of birth
Date of death
Started
Ended
William Henry Conley June 11, 1840 July 25, 1897 February 16, 1881 December, 1884
Incorporated
Charles Taze Russell February 16, 1852 October 31, 1916 December 15, 1884 October 31, 1916
Joseph Franklin Rutherford November 8, 1869 January 8, 1942 January 6, 1917 January 8, 1942
Nathan Homer Knorr April 23, 1905 June 8, 1977 January 13, 1942 June 8, 1977
Frederick William Franz September 12, 1893 December 22, 1992 June 22, 1977 December 22, 1992
Milton George Henschel August 9, 1920 March 22, 2003 December 30, 1992 October 7, 2000
Don Alden Adams 1925 – October 7, 2000 incumbent
Operations[edit]
The corporation is a major publisher of religious publications, including books, tracts, magazines and Bibles. By 1979, the society had 39 printing branches worldwide. In 1990, it was reported that in one year the society printed 696 million copies of its magazines, The Watchtower and Awake! as well as another 35,811,000 pieces of literature worldwide, which are offered door-to-door by Jehovah's Witnesses.[49] As of 2013, the Society prints more than 43 million of its public issues of these magazines each month, totaling over 1 billion annually.
The society describes its headquarters and branch office staff as volunteers rather than employees,[4] and identifies them as members of the Worldwide Order of Special Full-Time Servants of Jehovah's Witnesses.[5] Workers receive a small monthly stipend[50] with meals and accommodation provided by the society. The "Bethel family" in the Brooklyn headquarters includes hairdressers, dentists, doctors, housekeepers and carpenters, as well as shops for repairing personal appliances, watches, shoes and clothing without charge for labor.[51]
The society files no publicly accessible financial figures, but reported in 2011 that it had spent more than $173 million that year "in caring for special pioneers, missionaries and traveling overseers in their field service assignments".[5][52] Donations obtained from the distribution of literature is a major source of income, most of which is used to promote its evangelical activities.[53]
Author James Beckford has claimed the status of voting members of the society is purely symbolic. He said they cannot be considered to be representatives of the mass of Jehovah's Witnesses and are in no position to challenge the actions or authority of the society's directors.[54]
Property ownership[edit]
United States[edit]
The corporation was first located at 44 Federal Street, Allegheny, Pennsylvania (the city was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907), but in 1889 moved to "Bible House", newly built premises at 56–60 Arch Street, Allegheny, owned by Russell's privately owned Tower Publishing Company. The new building contained an assembly hall seating about 200, as well as editorial, printing and shipping facilities and living quarters for some staff.[55] The title for the building was transferred in April 1898 to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
In 1909, the society moved its base to Brooklyn. A four-story brownstone parsonage formerly owned by Congregationalist clergyman and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher at 124 Columbia Heights was converted to a residence for a headquarters staff of 30, as well as an office for Russell. A former Plymouth church building at 13–17 Hicks Street was also purchased and converted into Watch Tower headquarters, with room for 350 staff. It contained an 800-seat assembly hall, shipping department and printing facilities.[56] The Watch Tower announced: "The new home we shall call 'Bethel,' and the new office and auditorium, 'The Brooklyn Tabernacle'; these names will supplant the term 'Bible House.'"[57] In October 1909, an adjoining building at 122 Columbia Heights was bought.[58] In 1911, a new nine-story residential block was built at the rear of the headquarters, fronting on Furman Street and overlooking the Brooklyn waterfront.[56] The Brooklyn Tabernacle was sold in 1918 or 1919.[59]
Printing facilities were established in Myrtle Street, Brooklyn in 1920 and from the February 1, 1920 issue The Watch Tower was printed by the society at the plant. Two months later the plant began printing The Golden Age. In 1922, the printing factory was moved to a six-story building at 18 Concord Street, Brooklyn; four years later it moved again to larger premises, a new eight-story building at 117 Adams Street, Brooklyn, at which time the society's headquarters was rebuilt and enlarged. In December 1926, a building at 126 Columbia Heights was bought, and a month later the three buildings from 122–126 Columbia Heights were demolished and rebuilt for accommodation and executive offices, using the official address of 124 Columbia Heights.[58]
In 1946, property surrounding the Adams Street factory was bought to expand printing operations (when completed in 1949 the factory occupied an entire block bounded by Adams, Sands Pearl and Prospect Streets) and five more properties adjoining 124 Columbia Heights were purchased for a 10-story building.[60][61] In the late 1950s a property at 107 Columbia Heights, across the road from 124 Columbia Heights, was bought[62] and by 1960 a residential building for staff was constructed there.[63][64] More residences were built at 119 Columbia Heights in 1969.[64]
The Watchtower detailed further expansion in the 1950s and 1960s: "In 1956, a 13-story building was constructed at 77 Sands Street. Then just across the street, another (10-story building) was purchased in 1958. In 1968, an adjoining 11-story new printing factory was completed. Along with the factory at 117 Adams Street, these fill out four city blocks of factories that are all tied together by overhead bridges. Then in November 1969, the Squibb complex located a few blocks away was purchased."[64]
The society bought the Towers Hotel at 79–99 Willow Street in 1974 for accommodation,[65] which is connected to the society's other Columbia Heights properties via underground tunnels.[66] In 1978, a property at 25 Columbia Heights underwent renovation for use as offices[64] and in the early 1980s properties were bought at 175 Pearl Street and 360 Furman Street for factory and office use.[67] A building at 360 Furman Street was bought in March 1983 and renovated, providing almost 9 hectares of floor space[65] for shipping, carpentry and construction.[68] The Bossert Hotel at 98 Montague Street was also bought in 1983 as a residence building.[69] 97 Columbia Heights, the former site of the Margaret Hotel, was purchased in 1986[65] as it was ideally located next to WTBTS residences at 107 and 124 Columbia Heights and it could easily tie in with the main complex on the other side of the street by means of an under-street tunnel. An 11-story residential building was erected on the site to house 250 workers.[70][71] A property at 90 Sands Street was also bought in December 1986 and a 30-story residential building[65] for 1000 workers was completed on the site in 1995. A 1996 publication listed other Watch Tower residential buildings in Brooklyn including the 12-story Bossert Hotel, 34 Orange Street (1945), Standish Arms Hotel at 169 Columbia Heights (1981), 67 Livingston Street (1989), and 108 Joralemon Street (1988).[65]
Two properties known as Watchtower Farms, at Wallkill, 160 km north of Brooklyn and totaling 1200 hectares, were bought in 1963 and 1967 and factories erected in 1973 and 1975.[64] 2012-2014 the Society is adding an office building, residence building and garage.[72] In 1984, the society paid $2.1 million for a 270 hectare farm at Patterson, New York[73] for a development that would include 624 apartments, garages for 800 cars and a 149-room hotel.[74] Other rural purchases included a 220 hectare farm near South Lansing, New York and a 60 hectare farm near Port Murray, New Jersey.[73]
In February 2009, the society paid $11.5 million for 100 hectares of land in Ramapo, Rockland County, New York for an administration and residential complex.[75] The site was reported to be planned as a base for about 850 Watch Tower workers, creating a compound combining residential and publishing facilities currently located in Brooklyn. A Witness spokesman said the land was currently zoned for residential uses, but an application would be made to rezone it, adding that "Construction is several years in the future."[76]
A year later, the Society announced it planned to move its world headquarters from Brooklyn to a proposed eight-building complex, replacing the pre-existing four-building complex on a 100-hectare Watch Tower property in Warwick, New York,[72] 1.5 km from its Ramapo site.[77][78] A Watch Tower presentation to Warwick planning authorities said the complex would house up to 850 people.[79][80] In July 2012, the Warwick planning commission approved the environmental impact statement for building the Warwick site.[81][82] In July 2013, Warwick approved building plans of the multiple building complex of the new headquarters, including four residence buildings of 588 rooms for about 1,000 people.[83] In August 2011, a 50-acre property was bought in Tuxedo, NY, with 184,000 square foot building, for $3.2 million, six miles from the Warwick site to facilitate the staging of machinery and building materials.[84][85][86] The Society bought a 48-unit apartment building in Suffern, NY near Warwick, NY for housing temporary construction workers in June 2013.[87] On December 3, 2014 the Society bought 250-unit Rivercrest Luxury Apartments in Fishkill, Dutchess County, NY. The sale price was not released, though taxes on the sale indicated a transaction of $57 million. The current leases will not be renewed.[88]
Brooklyn property sales[edit]



 Watch Tower headquarters in Columbia Heights, Brooklyn.
In 2004 the society began transferring its printing operations to its Wallkill factory complex.[89][90] The move triggered the sale of a number of Brooklyn factory and residential properties including:
##360 Furman Street, sold in 2004 for $205 million;[91]
##67 Livingston Street, (nicknamed the Sliver)[92] sold in 2006 for $18.6 million.[91]
##89 Hicks Street, sold in 2006 for $14 million.[91]
##Standish Arms Hotel, 169 Columbia Heights, sold in 2007 for $50 million.[93]
##183 Columbia Heights, bought in 1986, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in April 2012 for $6.6 million.[90][94][95]
##161 Columbia Heights, bought in 1988, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in March 2012 for $3 million.[90][94]
##165 Columbia Heights, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in January 2012 for $4.1 million.[90][96]
##105 Willow Street, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in April 2012 for $3.3 million.[90][97]
##34 Orange Street, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in November 2012 for $2,825,000.[90][98]
##Bossert Hotel, 98 Montague Street, bought in 1983,[69] offered for sale in 2008.[76] sold in 2012 to a hotel developer, Rosewood Realty Group, for $81 million.[99][100]
##50 Orange Street, bought in 1988, renovated to sell 2006, and sold in December 2011 for $7.1 million.[101]
##67 Remsen Street, offered for sale in July 2012,[102] and sold the same year for $3.25 million.[103]
##Three adjoining properties (173 Front Street, 177 Front Street and 200 Water Street) sold together for 30.6 million in April 2013 to Urban Realty Partners.[104][105]
##55 Furman Street, 400,000 sq. ft., is for sale as of June 2013.[106]
##Five adjoining properties (175 Pearl Street, 55 Prospect Street, 81 Prospect Street, 117 Adams Street, and 77 Sands Street totaling 700,000 sq. ft.), offered for sale in September 2011,[107][108] under contract as of July 2013 to a three company buy-out. A sixth building (90 Sands Street, about 500,000 sq. ft., a 505 room, 30 story building) in this sale will be released in 2017, after the scheduled completion of the Jehovah's Witnesses' new headquarters in Warwick, NY. The properties are under contract for $375 million at completion of the sale.[106][109]
##Two private parking lots are for sale as of June 2013.[106]
In 2011 the Watch Tower Society was reported to still own 34 properties in Brooklyn;[4][110] a 2009 report calculated "a dozen or more" properties in the Brooklyn area.[76] In a 2010 news report the Watch Tower Society said it was "not actively promoting" the sale of eight Brooklyn properties still on the market.[79] Watch Tower Society's remaining sixteen occupied Brooklyn properties are 25, 30, 50, 58, 97, 107, 119, and 124 Columbia Heights; 55 and 67 Furman Street; 80 and 86 Willow Street; 21 Clark Street; parking lots at 1 York Street and 85 Jay Street; and 90 Sands Street already arranged to sell in 2017.[111] The Furman Street properties and parking lots are for sale currently as stated above.
Other countries[edit]
In 1900, the Watch Tower Society opened its first overseas branch office in Britain.[112] Germany followed in 1903[113] and Australia in 1904.[114] By 1979 the society had 39 printing branches throughout the world, with facilities transferred to farming properties in many countries including Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Australia.[115] In 2011, the Watch Tower Society had 98 branch offices worldwide reporting to New York directly; other nations' offices report to large branches nearby.[116]
Directors[edit]
Current[edit]
##Don Alden Adams, director since 2000, president since 2000
##Danny L. Bland, director since 2000
##William F. Malenfant, director since 2000, vice-president since 2000
##Robert W. Wallen, director since 2000, vice-president since 2000
##Philip D. Wilcox, director since 2000
##John N. Wischuk, director since 2000
Former[edit]
Directors are listed generally from most to least recent. List may not be complete.
##Richard E. Abrahamson (director 2000-2004, secretary-treasurer 2000-2004)
##Milton George Henschel (director 1947–2000, vice-president 1977–1992, president 1992–2000)
##Lyman Alexander Swingle (director 1945–2000)[117]
##W. Lloyd Barry (director ?–1999, vice-president ?–1999)
##Frederick William Franz (director 1945–1992, vice-president 1945–1977, president 1977–1992)[118]
##Grant Suiter (director 1941–1983, secretary-treasurer)[119]
##William K. Jackson (director 1973–1981)[120]
##Nathan Homer Knorr (director 1940–1977, vice-president 1940–1942, president 1942–1977)[121]
##John O. Groh (director 1965–1975)
##Thomas J. Sullivan (director 1932–1973)[122][123]
##Alexander Hugh Macmillan (director 1918–1938)
##Hugo Henry Riemer (1943–1965)[124][125][126]
##William Edwin Van Amburgh (director 1916–1947, secretary-treasurer)[127][128][129][130]
##Hayden Cooper Covington (director 1940–1945, vice-president 1942–1945)[131]
##Joseph Franklin Rutherford (director 1916–1942, acting president[132] 1916–1917, president 1917–1942)[133]
##Charles A. Wise (director 1919–1940, vice-president 1919–1940)[134][135][136][137]
##J. A. Baeuerlcin (director 1923 fl)[138]
##R. H. Barber (director 1919)[139]
##Charles H. Anderson (director 1918–?, vice-president 1918–1919)[133]
##J. A. Bohnet (director 1917–?)[133]
##George H. Fisher (director 1917–?)[133]
##W. E. Spill (director 1917–?)[133]
##Andrew N. Pierson (director 1916–1918, vice-president)[127]
##Robert H. Hirsh (director 1917)
##J. D. Wright (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Isaac F. Hoskins (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Alfred I. Ritchie (director 1916–1917, vice-president)[127][140]
##Henry Clay Rockwell (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Charles Taze Russell (director 1884–1916, president 1884–1916)[141]
##William M. Wright (?–1906)[142]
##Henry Weber (director 1884–1904, vice-president 1884–1904)[143][144]
##Maria Russell (née Ackley) (director 1884–1897, secretary-treasurer 1884–?, then-wife of Charles Taze Russell)[141][145][146]
##J. B. Adamson (director 1884–?)[141]
##Rose J. Ball (director 1884–?)[143]
##Simon O. Blunden (director 1884–?)[143]
##W. C. McMillan (director 1884–?)[141]
##W. I. Mann (director 1884, vice-president 1884)[141]
##J. F. Smith (director 1884)[141]
Criticism[edit]
Critics including Raymond Franz, Edmond C. Gruss and James Penton have accused the society of being authoritarian, controlling and coercive in its dealings with Witnesses. Franz, a former Governing Body member, has claimed the Watch Tower Society's emphasis of the term "theocratic organization" to describe the authority structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, which places God at the apex of its organization, is designed to exercise control over every aspect of the lives of Jehovah's Witnesses[147] and condition them to think it is wrong for them to question anything the society publishes as truth.[148][149] The Watch Tower Society has been accused of employing techniques of mind control on Witnesses including the direction to avoid reading criticism of the organization,[150][151] frequent and tightly controlled "indoctrination" meetings, regimentation, social alienation and elaborate promises of future rewards.[152][153] Apart from life stories, the authors of all Watch Tower Society magazine articles and other publications are anonymous and correspondence from the society does not typically indicate a specific author or personal signature.[154]
See also[edit]
##Bible Student movement
##Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Pennsylvania Department of State.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 49
3.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. p. 229.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d "Jehovahs loses comp case: Church may be forced to pay millions", New York Daily News, January 6, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2009.
6.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2012, page 55.
7.Jump up ^ "Report for Fiscal Year", Watch Tower, December 1, 1896, page 301, Reprints page 2077 Retrieved 2010-03-30, "WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY. REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC. 1, 1896. ALTHOUGH the above has been the recognized name of our Society for some four years, it was not until this year that the Board of Directors took the proper steps to have the name legally changed from ZION'S WATCH TOWER TRACT SOCIETY to that above. The new name seems to be in every way preferable."
8.Jump up ^ "Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 229, "Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society. First formed in 1881 and then legally incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania on December 15, 1884. In 1896, its name was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Since 1955 it has been known as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."
9.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 80–107
10.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 575–576
11.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower: 1. July 1879. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12.Jump up ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica – Russell, Charles Taze"
13.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, January 1881, Reprints page 1.]
14.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, April 1881, Reprints page 214.
15.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower: 2. January 1882. Missing or empty |title= (help)
16.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, 1915, p. 14.
17.^ Jump up to: a b c C.T. Russell, "A Conspiracy Exposed", Zion's Watch Tower Extra edition, April 25, 1894, page 55-60.
18.Jump up ^ C.T. Russell, "A Conspiracy Exposed", Zion's Watch Tower Extra edition, April 25, 1894, page 55-60, "The affairs of the Society are so arranged that its entire control rests in the care of Brother and Sister Russell as long as they shall live... The fact is that, by the grace of God, Sister R. and myself have been enabled not only to give our own time without charge to the service of the truth, in writing and overseeing, but also to contribute more money to the Tract Society's fund for the scattering of the good tidings, than all others combined."
19.^ Jump up to: a b Wills 2006, p. 91
20.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, 1915, p. 14., "While there are nearly two hundred thousand shares, and it would be an easy matter to elect some other man as president, there never has been cast a vote against Pastor Russell. At the last election he was absent, his own votes were not cast, yet more than one hundred thousand votes of others were cast for him as president."
21.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, October 1894, page 330.
22.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 75
23.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, p. 22
24.^ Jump up to: a b c Rutherford August 1917, p. 16
25.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 48
26.Jump up ^ Allegheny City was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1909.
27.^ Jump up to: a b Grizzuti Harrison 1978
28.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 39
29.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, p. 17
30.Jump up ^ "Girl's midnight visit to Pastor Russell", Brooklyn Eagle, August 14, 1909, "His wife, whom he married 30 years ago, when she was Maria F. Ackley, obtained a limited divorce from him in Pittsburg on the ground of cruelty. The judge who decided for Mrs Russell granted her $100 a month alimony. Pastor Russell was slow in coming to the front with payments and finally stopped paying alimony altogether. An order was ordered for the pastor's arrest in Pittsburg, but Brooklyn is a comfortable enough place and Pastor Russell didn't like going back to Pittsburg where a yawning prison awaited him. He said that his friends had paid the alimony, anyhow, and that he was purged of contempt of court thereby."
31.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, pp. 25–27
32.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
33.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
34.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
35.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
36.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
37.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
38.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
39.Jump up ^ Macmillan 1957, pp. 106
40.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
42.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 175, 176
43.Jump up ^ Consolation, September 4, 1940, pg 25, as cited by Penton, pg. 61.
44.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 201
45.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1938.
46.Jump up ^ Amendments to articles II, III, VII, VIII and X were passed unanimously, with more than 225,000 votes cast; the amendments to article V of the Charter, affecting qualifications for membership of the society, were passed 225,255 to 47.
47.Jump up ^ Articles of amendment to Watch Tower Society charter, February 15, 1945. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
48.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 108–109
49.Jump up ^ Brooklyn Heights Press, March 15, 1990, page 1, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, 2003, pages 72–73.
50.Jump up ^ A 1990 news report stated that Brooklyn workers received $80 per month to buy personal needs. See "A sect grows in Brooklyn", Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1990.
51.Jump up ^ "A sect grows in Brooklyn", Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1990.
52.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2012, page 55.
53.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 231
54.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 83. ISBN 0-631-16310-7.
55.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 27
56.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 47–48
57.Jump up ^ Watch Tower March 1, 1909, pages 67,68.
58.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 115
59.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 97
60.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 234
61.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 253–255
62.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 292
63.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 1989, page 29.
64.^ Jump up to: a b c d e The Watchtower, December 1, 1982, page 23.
65.^ Jump up to: a b c d e The Watchtower, April 15, 1996, page 24.
66.Jump up ^ Awake!, April 22, 1989, pages 25–27; "In fact, the Towers, 124 Columbia Heights, 107 Columbia Heights, and 119 Columbia Heights, which accommodate nearly 2000 of the family, are connected by underground tunnels."
67.Jump up ^ Centennial of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1984, pages 8–9.
68.Jump up ^ "New Shipping Facilities of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Awake!, August 22, 1987, pages 16–18.
69.^ Jump up to: a b Jehovah's Witnesses sell the former Hotel Bossert
70.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 25.
71.Jump up ^ Awake 1989, April 22, pp 23-24
72.^ Jump up to: a b "Wallkill and Warwick Projects Moving Ahead", JW.org News, May 13, 2013.
73.^ Jump up to: a b Awake!, February 22, 1987, pages 25–27.
74.Jump up ^ "Watchtower project grows in Patterson", New York Times, April 18, 1983, 1993. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
75.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Society may move some NY offices", WCAX website, March 26, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
76.^ Jump up to: a b c "A Witness to the future as Watchtower buys land upstate", The Brooklyn Paper, April 2, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
77.Jump up ^ "Watchtower's move to Warwick? 'Not anytime soon'", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 24, 2011.
78.Jump up ^ "The Watchtower is getting tired of being shown the door in Brooklyn Heights", The New York Observer, October 25, 2011.
79.^ Jump up to: a b "Historic Turning Point: After Century in Brooklyn, Watchtower Pulls Out of Heights", Brooklyn Heights, February 23, 2010.
80.Jump up ^ "The Witnesses Leave. Then What?", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 24, 2010.
81.Jump up ^ "Town OKs impact plan for Jehovah's Witnesses", Times Herald-Record, July 17, 2012.
82.Jump up ^ "Witnesses to Relocate World Headquarters", jw.org News, August 15, 2012.
83.Jump up ^ "Warwick OKs Watchtower Site", Recordonline.com, Times Herald Record, July 19, 2013.
84.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Buys Another Parcel", Times Herald-Record, August 25, 2011.
85.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of NY Pay 3.2M for Flex Building", Costar Group, Sept. 21, 2011.
86.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report", Aug. 15, 2012 Watchtower, page 17
87.Jump up ^ "Suffern tenants must move after Jehovah's Witnesses group buys building", Lohud.com, June 12, 2013.
88.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses buy Fishkill apartments", Poughkeepie Journal, December 22, 2014.
89.Jump up ^ "Increased Activity at United States Bethel", Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2003.
90.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Watchtower to sell 6 Brooklyn Heights properties", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 26, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
91.^ Jump up to: a b c "Selloff! But Witnesses say they will remain kings of Kings", The Brooklyn Paper, May 12, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
92.Jump up ^ Yearbook, 1991, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, page 10.
93.Jump up ^ "Have a seat in the Standish", The Brooklyn Paper, December 15, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
94.^ Jump up to: a b Different Building, Same Buyer for Witnesses
95.Jump up ^ Group with big Brooklyn plan snaps up property
96.Jump up ^ Second Witnesses property fetches $4.1M
97.Jump up ^ Praise God! Another Watchtower Property Sells
98.Jump up ^ Watchtower Sells Yet Another Heights Property, Brownstoner Brooklyn Inside and Out, November 30, 2012.
99.Jump up ^ New York Post, Brooklyn Blog, May 8, 2012, Brooklyn's Bossert Hotel could become a hotel again
100.Jump up ^ The Real Deal News, Nov. 12, 2012, Chetrit, Bistricer pay $81 million for Brooklyn's Bossert Hotel
101.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Sell First Property for $7.1 million
102.Jump up ^ Latest Witnesses-owned property in Brooklyn Heights hits the market, THE REAL DEAL, July 24, 2012.
103.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Sells 67 Remsen Street for 3.25 million", Brooklyn Heights Blog, October 10, 2012.
104.Jump up ^ "Witnesses put prime Dumbo site on the block", Crain's New York Business, June 4, 2012.
105.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Sell Latest Dumbo Development Site for $31M", The Real Deal, April 25, 2013.
106.^ Jump up to: a b c Brooklyn-Bridge-Park "Developers Jostling for a piece of Brooklyn Bridge Park", The Real Deal, June 10, 2013.
107.Jump up ^ Watchtower Society selling five more properties in Brooklyn, NY, THE REAL DEAL, Sept. 16, 2011.
108.Jump up ^ "Big Deal: Jehovah's Witnesses List Prime Properties, The New York Times – City Room, September 16, 2011.
109.Jump up ^ "Witnesses knocking on $375M bldg. sale", New York Post, July 7, 2013.
110.Jump up ^ Hallelujah! "Jehovah's Witnesses land sell-off has Brooklyn dreaming big", Crain's New York Business, October 16, 2011.
111.Jump up ^ "No longer 'Vatican City' for Watchtower, Brooklyn watches jehovahs retreat", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 9, 2013
112.Jump up ^ "Bible Truth Triumphs Amid Tradition", The Watchtower, May 15, 1985, page 27.
113.Jump up ^ "Your Will Be Done on Earth", The Watchtower, 1960, page 30.
114.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 33
115.Jump up ^ "Building to Jehovah’s Glory", The Watchtower, May 1, 1979, pages 26–29.
116.Jump up ^ 2012 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses p.32, 33, 55.
117.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 91.
118.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 28.
119.Jump up ^ "Moving Ahead With God’s Organization", The Watchtower, September 1, 1983, page 13.
120.Jump up ^ "The Governing Body", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, page 258
121.Jump up ^ "Background of N. H. Knorr", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 91
122.Jump up ^ "He Ran for 'The Prize of the Upward Call' and Won!", The Watchtower, September 15, 1974, page 554, "On October 31, 1932, he [Sullivan] was made a member of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; he was also one of the eleven-member governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses."
123.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 71, "Thomas (Bud) Sullivan, who later served as a member of the Governing Body, recalled, "It was my privilege to visit Brooklyn Bethel in the late summer of 1918 during the brothers’ incarceration."
124.Jump up ^ "Happy are the dead who die in union with the Lord", The Watchtower, May 15, 1965, page 320.
125.Jump up ^ "Experiencing Jehovah’s Love", The Watchtower, September 15, 1964, page 571
126.Jump up ^ "Announcements", The Watchtower, May 15, 1965, page 320, "Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania announces herewith the death of Brother Hugo H. Riemer on March 31, 1965. After years of service as a pioneer publisher in the field, he was called to the Society’s Brooklyn headquarters in 1918, since which time he served with the Society’s headquarters till his death at eighty-six years of age. He was on the boards of directors of both the Society’s Pennsylvania corporation and its New York corporation, also serving in the official capacity of assistant secretary-treasurer of both corporations."
127.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Organization of the Work", Watch Tower, December 1, 1916, page 391, Reprints page 6024 Retrieved 2010-03-30, "Two days after his [C. T. Russell's 1916] death the Board met and elected Brother A. N. Pierson as a member of the Board to fill the vacancy caused by Brother Russell's change. The seven members of the Board as now constituted are A. I. Ritchie, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. C. Rockwell, J. D. Wright, I. F. Hoskins, A. N. Pierson and J. F. Rutherford."
128.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 65, "So, two days after Russell’s death, the board of directors met and elected A. N. Pierson to be a member. The seven members of the board at that point were A. I. Ritchie, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. C. Rockwell, J. D. Wright, I. F. Hoskins, A. N. Pierson, and J. F. Rutherford."
129.Jump up ^ "Moving Ahead With God’s Organization", The Watchtower, September 1, 1983, page 14, "The Society's secretary and treasurer, W. E. Van Amburgh, had become incapacitated due to advanced age and illness and so resigned from his position. I was elected to succeed him on February 6, 1947, and Brother Van Amburgh died the following day."
130.Jump up ^ "Testing and Sifting From Within", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 622, "In 1916, W. E. Van Amburgh declared, "This great worldwide work is not the work of one person... It is God’s work." Although he saw others turn away, he remained firm in that conviction right down till his death in 1947, at 83 years of age."
131.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 1, 2001, page 28, "In 1940, Hayden C. Covington—then the Society's legal counsel and one of the "other sheep," with the earthly hope—was elected a director of the Society. (John 10:16) He served as the Society’s vice president from 1942 to 1945. At that time, Brother Covington stepped aside as a director"
132.Jump up ^ Rutherford chaired executive meetings in 1916 but was not formally elected president until 1917. During Rutherford's 1918–1919 incarceration, vice-presidents Anderson and Wise chaired executive meetings.
133.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 68, "At the annual meeting held on January 5, 1918, the seven persons receiving the highest number of votes were J. F. Rutherford, C. H. Anderson, W. E. Van Amburgh, A. H. Macmillan, W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet, and G. H. Fisher. From these seven board members, the three officers were chosen—J. F. Rutherford as president, C. H. Anderson as vice president, and W. E. Van Amburgh as secretary-treasurer."
134.Jump up ^ Faith on the March by A. H. Macmillan, 1957, Prentice-Hall, pages 106, 110, "At New Year's time the Society held its [1919] annual election of officers in Pittsburgh... He [Rutherford] handed me a telegram saying that he had been elected president and C. A. Wise vice-president... C. A. Wise was there too. He had been elected vice-president while we were in prison."
135.Jump up ^ "Part 2—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, pages 113–114, "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 2–5, 1919. This assembly was combined with the very significant annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society on Saturday, January 4, 1919... There were nominations, a vote was taken and J. F. Rutherford was elected as president, C. A. Wise, as vice-president, and W. E. Van Amburgh, as secretary-treasurer."
136.Jump up ^ "Sweden", 1991 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, page 135
137.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 15, 1939, pages 316–317
138.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 15, 1923, page 333
139.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 15, 1939, pages 316–317, "The Society’s annual meeting in 1919 Jan. 4 in Pittsburgh reelected J. F. Rutherford President and W. E. VanAmburgh Secretary-Treasurer. But the others elected to the Board of Directors, viz. C. A. Wise (Vice President), R. H. Barber [...] were freer to carry out their responsibilities. When the imprisoned leaders were released, Barber resigned"
140.Jump up ^ "Ritchie, A. I.", Watchtower Publications Index 1930–1985, "Ritchie, A. I. vice president of Watch Tower Society (1916)"
141.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Watch Tower, January 1885, Vol VI, No. 5, page 1, [Reprints page 707], "A charter of incorporation for Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was granted December 13, 1884. ... The incorporators are the Directors, named below... Directors C. T. Russell, Pres., M. F. Russell, Sec and Treas., W. C. McMillan, W. I. Mann, Vice Pres., J. B. Adamson, J. F. Smith."
142.Jump up ^ "Passed Beyond the Vail", Watch Tower, April 15, 1906, page 126, Reprints page 3765, "ANOTHER member of the Board... Brother William M. Wright, passed beyond the vail, into the Most Holy, we trust, on April 3."
143.^ Jump up to: a b c "Harvest Gleanings III", Watch Tower, April 25, 1894, page 131, "The Corporation is to be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members, and the names and residences of those already chosen directors are (we given names of the present board and officers) as follows: -Charles T Russell, President, W C McMillan, Henry Weber, Vice President, J B Adamson, Maria F Russell, Sec’y & Treas, Simon O Blunden. Rose J Ball."
144.Jump up ^ "Entered Into His Rest", Watch Tower, February 1, 1904, page 36, Reprints page 3314, Retrieved 2010-03-30, "PILGRIM Brother Henry Weber has passed beyond the vail, to be forever with the Lord. We rejoice on his behalf. He finished his earthly course on Thursday, January 21, at 2.15 pm, at his home --Oakland, Md.--and was buried on Saturday, the 23rd. A large gathering, composed of his family, friends and neighbors, was addressed by the Editor of this journal... we will sadly miss our dear Brother, as a friend and as a Pilgrim and as Vice-President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society"
145.Jump up ^ "Part 1—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, pages 65–66, "During the trouble in 1894, Mrs. C. T. Russell (the former Maria Frances Ackley, whom Russell had married in 1879) undertook a tour from New York to Chicago, meeting with Bible Students along the way and speaking in her husband’s behalf. Being an educated, intelligent woman, she was well received when visiting the congregations at that time. Mrs. Russell was a director of the Watch Tower Society and served as its secretary and treasurer for some years."
146.Jump up ^ The January 15, 1955 The Watchtower, page 46, referred to the former "Maria Frances Ackley, who had become a colaborer and a contributor of articles to the Watch Tower magazine. They came to have no children. Nearly eighteen years later, in 1897, due to Watch Tower Society members’ objecting to a woman’s teaching and being a member of the board of directors contrary to 1 Timothy 2:12, Russell and his wife disagreed about the management of the journal, Zion’s Watch Tower. Thereupon she voluntarily separated herself"
147.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 614–654
148.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 69–124
149.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 124, as cited by R. Franz, "In Search if Christian Freedom", page 107,"Would not a failure to respond to direction from God through his organization really indicate a rejection of divine rulership?"
150.Jump up ^ "Do not be quickly shaken from your reason", Watchtower, March 15, 1986
151.Jump up ^ "At which table are you feeding?" Watchtower, July 1, 1994
152.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 391–431
153.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, pp. 110–114
154.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 32
Bibliography[edit]
##Penton, James M. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
##Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Constable, London.
##Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1975). 1975 Yearbook. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1959). Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993). Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Macmillan, A. H. (1957). Faith on the March. Prentice-Hall.
##Rutherford, J. F. (August 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Rutherford, J. F. (October 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings, Part II" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Pierson, A. N. et al. (September 1, 1917). "Light After Darkness" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Johnson, Paul S. L. (November 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings Reviewed" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Grizzuti Harrison, Barbara (1978). Visions of Glory – A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7091-8013-5.
##Gruss, Edmond C. (2003). The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society. Xulon Press. ISBN 1-59467-131-1.
##Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
##Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
##Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
  


Categories: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
Religious organizations established in 1881
1881 establishments in Pennsylvania






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Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

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"Watch Tower Society" redirects here. For related corporations, including the Watchtower Society of New York, see Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
Watchtower.svg
Predecessor
Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society
Founded
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. (December 15, 1884)
Founder
Charles Taze Russell
Headquarters
New York City, New York, United States

Key people
 Don Adams (President)
Subsidiaries
Various
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The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization[1] headquartered in the New York City, New York borough of Brooklyn. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and develop doctrines for the religion and is often referred to by members of the religion simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Society of New York and International Bible Students Association.[2] The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses.[3] About 5800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labour, as members of a religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York;[4] nearly 15,000 other members of the order work at the Watch Tower Society's other facilities worldwide.[4][5][6]
The organization was formed in 1881 as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society for the purpose of distributing religious tracts.[1] The society was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 15, 1884. In 1896, the society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[7] Following a leadership dispute in the Bible Student movement, the Watch Tower Society remained associated with the branch of the movement that became known as Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1955, the corporation was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[8] In 1976, all activities of the Watch Tower Society were brought under the supervision of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.[9]


Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Incorporation
1.2 Leadership dispute
1.3 Amendments to charter
1.4 Governing Body
1.5 Presidents
2 Operations
3 Property ownership 3.1 United States 3.1.1 Brooklyn property sales
3.2 Other countries
4 Directors 4.1 Current
4.2 Former
5 Criticism
6 See also
7 References
8 Bibliography

History[edit]
On February 16, 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, for the purpose of organizing the printing and distribution of religious tracts. William Henry Conley, a Pittsburgh industrialist and philanthropist, served as president, with Charles Taze Russell serving as secretary-treasurer.[10] The society's primary journal was Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christs Presence, first published in 1879 by Russell,[11] founder of the Bible Student movement.[12] Other early writers for the Watch Tower Society included J. H. Paton and W. I. Mann.[10][13] Formation of the society was announced in the April 1881 issue of Zion's Watch Tower.[14] That year, the society received donations of $35,391.18.[15]
Incorporation[edit]
On December 15, 1884, the society was incorporated as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in Pennsylvania as a non-profit, non-stock corporation with Russell as president. The corporation was located in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In its charter, written by Russell, the society's purpose was stated as "the mental, moral and religious improvement of men and women, by teaching the Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles, books, papers, pamphlets and other Bible literature, and by providing oral lectures free for the people".[16] The charter provided for a board of seven directors, three of who served as officers—a president, vice-president (initially William I. Mann) and secretary-treasurer (initially Maria Russell). The charter stipulated that the officers be chosen from the directors and be elected annually by ballot. Board members would hold office for life unless removed by a two-thirds vote by shareholders. Vacancies on the board resulting from death, resignation or removal would be filled by a majority vote of the remaining board members within 20 days; if such vacancies were not filled within 30 days an appointment could be made by the president, with the appointments lasting only until the next annual corporation meeting, when vacancies would be filled by election.[17]
Anyone subscribing to $10 or more of the society's Old Testament Tracts or donating $10 or more to the society was deemed a voting member and entitled to one vote per $10 donated.[17] Russell indicated that despite having a board and shareholders, the society would be directed by only two people—him and his wife Maria.[18] Russell said that as at December 1893 he and his wife owned 3705, or 58 percent, of the 6383 voting shares, "and thus control the Society; and this was fully understood by the directors from the first. Their usefulness, it was understood, would come to the front in the event of our death... For this reason, also, formal elections were not held; because it would be a mere farce, a deception, to call together voting shareholders from all over the world, at great expense, to find upon arrival that their coming was useless, Sister Russell and myself having more than a majority over all that could gather. However, no one was hindered from attending such elections." The influx of donations gradually diluted the proportion of the Russells' shares and in 1908 their voting shares constituted less than half the total.[19][20] Russell emphasized the limitations of the corporation, explaining: "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society is not a 'religious society' in the ordinary meaning of this term"[21] He also stated, "This is a business association merely... It has no creed or confession. It is merely a business convenience in disseminating the truth."[17] Incorporation of the society meant that it would outlive Russell, so individuals who wished to bequeath their money or property to him would not have to alter their will if he died before they did.[22] On September 19, 1896, the name of the corporation was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[23]



Charles Taze Russell
From 1908 Russell required the directors to write out resignations when they were appointed so Russell could dismiss them by simply filling in the date.[19] In 1909, Russell instructed legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford to determine whether the society's headquarters could be moved to Brooklyn, New York.[24] Rutherford reported that because it had been established under Pennsylvania law, the corporation could not be registered in New York state, but suggested that a new corporation be registered there to do the society's work. Rutherford subsequently organized the formation of the People's Pulpit Association, which was incorporated on February 23, 1909, and wrote the charter which gave the president—to be elected for life at the first meeting—"absolute power and control" of its activities in New York.[25][24] The society sold its buildings in Pittsburgh[26] and moved staff to its new base in Brooklyn. Although all New York property was bought in the name of the New York corporation and all legal affairs of the society done in its name, Russell insisted on the continued use of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society name on all correspondence and publications.[24]
The move from Pennsylvania to New York occurred during court proceedings over the breakdown of Russells' marriage. His wife Maria had been granted a "limited divorce" on March 4, 1908, but in 1909 returned to court in Pittsburgh to request an increase in alimony,[27] which her former husband refused.[28] Authors Barbara Grizzuti Harrison and Edmond C. Gruss have claimed Russell's move to Brooklyn was motivated by his desire to transfer from the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania courts. They claim he transferred all his assets to the Watch Tower Society so he could declare himself bankrupt and avoid being jailed for failure to pay alimony.[27][29][30]
In 1914, the International Bible Students Association was incorporated in Britain to administer affairs in that country. Like the People's Pulpit Association, it was subsidiary to the Pennsylvania parent organization and all work done through both subsidiaries was described as the work of the Watch Tower Society. The Watchtower noted: "The editor of The Watchtower is the President of all three of these Societies. All financial responsibility connected with the work proceeds from [the Pennsylvania corporation]. From it the other Societies and all the branches of the work receive their financial support... we use sometimes the one name and sometimes the other in various parts of our work—yet they all in the end mean the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, to which all donations should be made."[2]
Leadership dispute[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)
Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, board member and society legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at the Pittsburgh convention. Under his presidency, the role of the society underwent a major change.[31] By-laws passed by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors stated that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[32]



Joseph Franklin Rutherford
By June 1917, four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors, Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright, had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's expanded powers of management,[33] claiming Rutherford had become autocratic.[33] Hirsch attempted to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[34] but Rutherford later claimed he had by then detected a conspiracy among the directors to seize control of the society.[35] In July, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that none of his opposers were legally directors of the society.
On July 12, 1917, Rutherford filled what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[36] Between August and November the society and the four ousted directors published a series of pamphlets, with each side accusing the other of ambitious and reckless behavior. The former directors also claimed Rutherford had required all headquarters workers to sign a petition supporting him and threatened dismissal for any who refused to sign.[37] The former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8, 1917.[38] On January 5, 1918, Rutherford was returned to office.
In May 1918, Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower directors and officers were arrested on charges of sedition under the Espionage Act. On June 21, 1918, they were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. Rutherford feared his opponents would gain control of the Society in his absence, but on January 2, 1919, he learned he had been re-elected president at the Pittsburgh convention the day before.[39] However, by mid-1919 about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept Rutherford's leadership,[40] forming groups such as The Standfast Movement, Paul Johnson Movement, Dawn Bible Students Association, Pastoral Bible Institute of Brooklyn, Elijah Voice Movement and Eagle Society.[41]
Although formed as a "business convenience" with the purpose of publishing and distributing Bible-based literature and managing the funds necessary for that task, the corporation from the 1920s began its transformation into the "religious society" Russell had insisted it was not, introducing centralized control and regulation of Bible Student congregations worldwide.[42] In 1938, Rutherford introduced the term "theocracy" to describe the hierarchical leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses, with Consolation explaining: "The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."[43] The society appointed "zone servants" to supervise congregations and in a Watchtower article Rutherford declared the need for congregations to "get in line" with the changed structure.[44][45]
Amendments to charter[edit]



Nathan Homer Knorr


Frederick William Franz


Milton George Henschel


Don Alden Adams
Following Rutherford's death in 1942, Nathan H. Knorr became president of the Watch Tower Society, and subsequently introduced further changes to the role of the society. At a series of talks given in Pittsburgh on September 30, 1944, coinciding with the society's annual meeting, it was announced that changes would be made to the 1884 charter to bring it into "closer harmony with theocratic principles". The amendments, most of which were passed unanimously,[46] significantly altered the terms of membership and stated for the first time that the society's purposes included preaching about God's kingdom, acting as a servant and governing agency of Jehovah's Witnesses, and sending missionaries and teachers for the public worship of God and Jesus Christ. The new charter, which took effect from January 1, 1945 included the following changes:
##An altered and expanded explanation of article II, detailing the purpose of the society. This included the preaching of the gospel of God's kingdom to all nations; to print and distribute Bibles and disseminate Bible truths with literature explaining Bible truths and prophecy concerning the establishment of God's kingdom; to authorise and appoint agents, servants, employees, teachers evangelists, missionaries, ministers and others "to go all the world publicly and from house to house to preach Bible truths to persons willing to listen by leaving with such persons said literature and by conducting Bible studies thereon"; to improve people mentally and morally by instruction "on the Bible and incidental scientific, historical and literary subjects"; to establish and maintain Bible schools and classes; to "teach, train, prepare and equip men and women as ministers, missionaries, evangelists, preachers, teachers and instructors in the Bible and Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Jesus Christ" and "to arrange for and hold local and worldwide assemblies for such worship".
##An amendment to article V, detailing the qualifications for membership of the society. Each donation of $10 to the society funds had formerly entitled the contributor to one voting share; the amendment limited membership to "only men who are mature, active and faithful witnesses of Jehovah devoting full time to performance of one or more of its chartered purposes... or such men who are devoting part time as active presiding ministers or servants of congregations of Jehovah's witnesses". The amended article stipulated that "a man who is found to be in harmony with the purposes of the Society and who possesses the above qualifications may be elected as a member upon being nominated by a member, director or officer, or upon written application to the president or secretary. Such members shall be elected upon a finding by the Board of Directors that he possesses the necessary qualifications and by receiving a majority vote of the members." The amendment limited membership at any one time to between 300 and 500, including approximately seven residents of each of the 48 states of the US. It also introduced a clause providing for the suspension or expulsion of a member for wilfully violating the society's rules, or "becoming out of harmony with any of the Society's purposes or any of its work or for wilful conduct prejudicial to the best interests of the Society and contrary to his duties as a member, or upon ceasing to be a full-time servant of the Society or a part-time servant of a congregation of Jehovah's witnesses".
##An amendment to article VII, dealing with the governance of the society by its board of directors. The amendment deleted reference to adherence to the constitution and laws of Pennsylvania of the US. It also specified powers of the board including matters of finance and property.
##An amendment to article VIII, detailing the office holders of the society and the terms of office and method of appointment of officers and directors. A clause stating that board members would hold office for life was deleted. The new clause provided for board membership for a maximum of three years, with directors qualifying for re-election at the expiration of their term.[47]
Governing Body[edit]
In 1976, direction of the Watch Tower Society and of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide came under the control of the Governing Body, reducing the power of the society's president. The society has described the change as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses."[48]
Following the death of Knorr in 1977, subsequent presidents of the Watch Tower Society have been Frederick W. Franz (June 1977 – December 1992); Milton G. Henschel (December 1992 – October 2000) and Don A. Adams (October 2000–).
Presidents[edit]

Name
Date of birth
Date of death
Started
Ended
William Henry Conley June 11, 1840 July 25, 1897 February 16, 1881 December, 1884
Incorporated
Charles Taze Russell February 16, 1852 October 31, 1916 December 15, 1884 October 31, 1916
Joseph Franklin Rutherford November 8, 1869 January 8, 1942 January 6, 1917 January 8, 1942
Nathan Homer Knorr April 23, 1905 June 8, 1977 January 13, 1942 June 8, 1977
Frederick William Franz September 12, 1893 December 22, 1992 June 22, 1977 December 22, 1992
Milton George Henschel August 9, 1920 March 22, 2003 December 30, 1992 October 7, 2000
Don Alden Adams 1925 – October 7, 2000 incumbent
Operations[edit]
The corporation is a major publisher of religious publications, including books, tracts, magazines and Bibles. By 1979, the society had 39 printing branches worldwide. In 1990, it was reported that in one year the society printed 696 million copies of its magazines, The Watchtower and Awake! as well as another 35,811,000 pieces of literature worldwide, which are offered door-to-door by Jehovah's Witnesses.[49] As of 2013, the Society prints more than 43 million of its public issues of these magazines each month, totaling over 1 billion annually.
The society describes its headquarters and branch office staff as volunteers rather than employees,[4] and identifies them as members of the Worldwide Order of Special Full-Time Servants of Jehovah's Witnesses.[5] Workers receive a small monthly stipend[50] with meals and accommodation provided by the society. The "Bethel family" in the Brooklyn headquarters includes hairdressers, dentists, doctors, housekeepers and carpenters, as well as shops for repairing personal appliances, watches, shoes and clothing without charge for labor.[51]
The society files no publicly accessible financial figures, but reported in 2011 that it had spent more than $173 million that year "in caring for special pioneers, missionaries and traveling overseers in their field service assignments".[5][52] Donations obtained from the distribution of literature is a major source of income, most of which is used to promote its evangelical activities.[53]
Author James Beckford has claimed the status of voting members of the society is purely symbolic. He said they cannot be considered to be representatives of the mass of Jehovah's Witnesses and are in no position to challenge the actions or authority of the society's directors.[54]
Property ownership[edit]
United States[edit]
The corporation was first located at 44 Federal Street, Allegheny, Pennsylvania (the city was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907), but in 1889 moved to "Bible House", newly built premises at 56–60 Arch Street, Allegheny, owned by Russell's privately owned Tower Publishing Company. The new building contained an assembly hall seating about 200, as well as editorial, printing and shipping facilities and living quarters for some staff.[55] The title for the building was transferred in April 1898 to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
In 1909, the society moved its base to Brooklyn. A four-story brownstone parsonage formerly owned by Congregationalist clergyman and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher at 124 Columbia Heights was converted to a residence for a headquarters staff of 30, as well as an office for Russell. A former Plymouth church building at 13–17 Hicks Street was also purchased and converted into Watch Tower headquarters, with room for 350 staff. It contained an 800-seat assembly hall, shipping department and printing facilities.[56] The Watch Tower announced: "The new home we shall call 'Bethel,' and the new office and auditorium, 'The Brooklyn Tabernacle'; these names will supplant the term 'Bible House.'"[57] In October 1909, an adjoining building at 122 Columbia Heights was bought.[58] In 1911, a new nine-story residential block was built at the rear of the headquarters, fronting on Furman Street and overlooking the Brooklyn waterfront.[56] The Brooklyn Tabernacle was sold in 1918 or 1919.[59]
Printing facilities were established in Myrtle Street, Brooklyn in 1920 and from the February 1, 1920 issue The Watch Tower was printed by the society at the plant. Two months later the plant began printing The Golden Age. In 1922, the printing factory was moved to a six-story building at 18 Concord Street, Brooklyn; four years later it moved again to larger premises, a new eight-story building at 117 Adams Street, Brooklyn, at which time the society's headquarters was rebuilt and enlarged. In December 1926, a building at 126 Columbia Heights was bought, and a month later the three buildings from 122–126 Columbia Heights were demolished and rebuilt for accommodation and executive offices, using the official address of 124 Columbia Heights.[58]
In 1946, property surrounding the Adams Street factory was bought to expand printing operations (when completed in 1949 the factory occupied an entire block bounded by Adams, Sands Pearl and Prospect Streets) and five more properties adjoining 124 Columbia Heights were purchased for a 10-story building.[60][61] In the late 1950s a property at 107 Columbia Heights, across the road from 124 Columbia Heights, was bought[62] and by 1960 a residential building for staff was constructed there.[63][64] More residences were built at 119 Columbia Heights in 1969.[64]
The Watchtower detailed further expansion in the 1950s and 1960s: "In 1956, a 13-story building was constructed at 77 Sands Street. Then just across the street, another (10-story building) was purchased in 1958. In 1968, an adjoining 11-story new printing factory was completed. Along with the factory at 117 Adams Street, these fill out four city blocks of factories that are all tied together by overhead bridges. Then in November 1969, the Squibb complex located a few blocks away was purchased."[64]
The society bought the Towers Hotel at 79–99 Willow Street in 1974 for accommodation,[65] which is connected to the society's other Columbia Heights properties via underground tunnels.[66] In 1978, a property at 25 Columbia Heights underwent renovation for use as offices[64] and in the early 1980s properties were bought at 175 Pearl Street and 360 Furman Street for factory and office use.[67] A building at 360 Furman Street was bought in March 1983 and renovated, providing almost 9 hectares of floor space[65] for shipping, carpentry and construction.[68] The Bossert Hotel at 98 Montague Street was also bought in 1983 as a residence building.[69] 97 Columbia Heights, the former site of the Margaret Hotel, was purchased in 1986[65] as it was ideally located next to WTBTS residences at 107 and 124 Columbia Heights and it could easily tie in with the main complex on the other side of the street by means of an under-street tunnel. An 11-story residential building was erected on the site to house 250 workers.[70][71] A property at 90 Sands Street was also bought in December 1986 and a 30-story residential building[65] for 1000 workers was completed on the site in 1995. A 1996 publication listed other Watch Tower residential buildings in Brooklyn including the 12-story Bossert Hotel, 34 Orange Street (1945), Standish Arms Hotel at 169 Columbia Heights (1981), 67 Livingston Street (1989), and 108 Joralemon Street (1988).[65]
Two properties known as Watchtower Farms, at Wallkill, 160 km north of Brooklyn and totaling 1200 hectares, were bought in 1963 and 1967 and factories erected in 1973 and 1975.[64] 2012-2014 the Society is adding an office building, residence building and garage.[72] In 1984, the society paid $2.1 million for a 270 hectare farm at Patterson, New York[73] for a development that would include 624 apartments, garages for 800 cars and a 149-room hotel.[74] Other rural purchases included a 220 hectare farm near South Lansing, New York and a 60 hectare farm near Port Murray, New Jersey.[73]
In February 2009, the society paid $11.5 million for 100 hectares of land in Ramapo, Rockland County, New York for an administration and residential complex.[75] The site was reported to be planned as a base for about 850 Watch Tower workers, creating a compound combining residential and publishing facilities currently located in Brooklyn. A Witness spokesman said the land was currently zoned for residential uses, but an application would be made to rezone it, adding that "Construction is several years in the future."[76]
A year later, the Society announced it planned to move its world headquarters from Brooklyn to a proposed eight-building complex, replacing the pre-existing four-building complex on a 100-hectare Watch Tower property in Warwick, New York,[72] 1.5 km from its Ramapo site.[77][78] A Watch Tower presentation to Warwick planning authorities said the complex would house up to 850 people.[79][80] In July 2012, the Warwick planning commission approved the environmental impact statement for building the Warwick site.[81][82] In July 2013, Warwick approved building plans of the multiple building complex of the new headquarters, including four residence buildings of 588 rooms for about 1,000 people.[83] In August 2011, a 50-acre property was bought in Tuxedo, NY, with 184,000 square foot building, for $3.2 million, six miles from the Warwick site to facilitate the staging of machinery and building materials.[84][85][86] The Society bought a 48-unit apartment building in Suffern, NY near Warwick, NY for housing temporary construction workers in June 2013.[87] On December 3, 2014 the Society bought 250-unit Rivercrest Luxury Apartments in Fishkill, Dutchess County, NY. The sale price was not released, though taxes on the sale indicated a transaction of $57 million. The current leases will not be renewed.[88]
Brooklyn property sales[edit]



 Watch Tower headquarters in Columbia Heights, Brooklyn.
In 2004 the society began transferring its printing operations to its Wallkill factory complex.[89][90] The move triggered the sale of a number of Brooklyn factory and residential properties including:
##360 Furman Street, sold in 2004 for $205 million;[91]
##67 Livingston Street, (nicknamed the Sliver)[92] sold in 2006 for $18.6 million.[91]
##89 Hicks Street, sold in 2006 for $14 million.[91]
##Standish Arms Hotel, 169 Columbia Heights, sold in 2007 for $50 million.[93]
##183 Columbia Heights, bought in 1986, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in April 2012 for $6.6 million.[90][94][95]
##161 Columbia Heights, bought in 1988, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in March 2012 for $3 million.[90][94]
##165 Columbia Heights, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in January 2012 for $4.1 million.[90][96]
##105 Willow Street, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in April 2012 for $3.3 million.[90][97]
##34 Orange Street, offered for sale in 2007 and sold in November 2012 for $2,825,000.[90][98]
##Bossert Hotel, 98 Montague Street, bought in 1983,[69] offered for sale in 2008.[76] sold in 2012 to a hotel developer, Rosewood Realty Group, for $81 million.[99][100]
##50 Orange Street, bought in 1988, renovated to sell 2006, and sold in December 2011 for $7.1 million.[101]
##67 Remsen Street, offered for sale in July 2012,[102] and sold the same year for $3.25 million.[103]
##Three adjoining properties (173 Front Street, 177 Front Street and 200 Water Street) sold together for 30.6 million in April 2013 to Urban Realty Partners.[104][105]
##55 Furman Street, 400,000 sq. ft., is for sale as of June 2013.[106]
##Five adjoining properties (175 Pearl Street, 55 Prospect Street, 81 Prospect Street, 117 Adams Street, and 77 Sands Street totaling 700,000 sq. ft.), offered for sale in September 2011,[107][108] under contract as of July 2013 to a three company buy-out. A sixth building (90 Sands Street, about 500,000 sq. ft., a 505 room, 30 story building) in this sale will be released in 2017, after the scheduled completion of the Jehovah's Witnesses' new headquarters in Warwick, NY. The properties are under contract for $375 million at completion of the sale.[106][109]
##Two private parking lots are for sale as of June 2013.[106]
In 2011 the Watch Tower Society was reported to still own 34 properties in Brooklyn;[4][110] a 2009 report calculated "a dozen or more" properties in the Brooklyn area.[76] In a 2010 news report the Watch Tower Society said it was "not actively promoting" the sale of eight Brooklyn properties still on the market.[79] Watch Tower Society's remaining sixteen occupied Brooklyn properties are 25, 30, 50, 58, 97, 107, 119, and 124 Columbia Heights; 55 and 67 Furman Street; 80 and 86 Willow Street; 21 Clark Street; parking lots at 1 York Street and 85 Jay Street; and 90 Sands Street already arranged to sell in 2017.[111] The Furman Street properties and parking lots are for sale currently as stated above.
Other countries[edit]
In 1900, the Watch Tower Society opened its first overseas branch office in Britain.[112] Germany followed in 1903[113] and Australia in 1904.[114] By 1979 the society had 39 printing branches throughout the world, with facilities transferred to farming properties in many countries including Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Australia.[115] In 2011, the Watch Tower Society had 98 branch offices worldwide reporting to New York directly; other nations' offices report to large branches nearby.[116]
Directors[edit]
Current[edit]
##Don Alden Adams, director since 2000, president since 2000
##Danny L. Bland, director since 2000
##William F. Malenfant, director since 2000, vice-president since 2000
##Robert W. Wallen, director since 2000, vice-president since 2000
##Philip D. Wilcox, director since 2000
##John N. Wischuk, director since 2000
Former[edit]
Directors are listed generally from most to least recent. List may not be complete.
##Richard E. Abrahamson (director 2000-2004, secretary-treasurer 2000-2004)
##Milton George Henschel (director 1947–2000, vice-president 1977–1992, president 1992–2000)
##Lyman Alexander Swingle (director 1945–2000)[117]
##W. Lloyd Barry (director ?–1999, vice-president ?–1999)
##Frederick William Franz (director 1945–1992, vice-president 1945–1977, president 1977–1992)[118]
##Grant Suiter (director 1941–1983, secretary-treasurer)[119]
##William K. Jackson (director 1973–1981)[120]
##Nathan Homer Knorr (director 1940–1977, vice-president 1940–1942, president 1942–1977)[121]
##John O. Groh (director 1965–1975)
##Thomas J. Sullivan (director 1932–1973)[122][123]
##Alexander Hugh Macmillan (director 1918–1938)
##Hugo Henry Riemer (1943–1965)[124][125][126]
##William Edwin Van Amburgh (director 1916–1947, secretary-treasurer)[127][128][129][130]
##Hayden Cooper Covington (director 1940–1945, vice-president 1942–1945)[131]
##Joseph Franklin Rutherford (director 1916–1942, acting president[132] 1916–1917, president 1917–1942)[133]
##Charles A. Wise (director 1919–1940, vice-president 1919–1940)[134][135][136][137]
##J. A. Baeuerlcin (director 1923 fl)[138]
##R. H. Barber (director 1919)[139]
##Charles H. Anderson (director 1918–?, vice-president 1918–1919)[133]
##J. A. Bohnet (director 1917–?)[133]
##George H. Fisher (director 1917–?)[133]
##W. E. Spill (director 1917–?)[133]
##Andrew N. Pierson (director 1916–1918, vice-president)[127]
##Robert H. Hirsh (director 1917)
##J. D. Wright (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Isaac F. Hoskins (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Alfred I. Ritchie (director 1916–1917, vice-president)[127][140]
##Henry Clay Rockwell (director fl1916–1917)[127]
##Charles Taze Russell (director 1884–1916, president 1884–1916)[141]
##William M. Wright (?–1906)[142]
##Henry Weber (director 1884–1904, vice-president 1884–1904)[143][144]
##Maria Russell (née Ackley) (director 1884–1897, secretary-treasurer 1884–?, then-wife of Charles Taze Russell)[141][145][146]
##J. B. Adamson (director 1884–?)[141]
##Rose J. Ball (director 1884–?)[143]
##Simon O. Blunden (director 1884–?)[143]
##W. C. McMillan (director 1884–?)[141]
##W. I. Mann (director 1884, vice-president 1884)[141]
##J. F. Smith (director 1884)[141]
Criticism[edit]
Critics including Raymond Franz, Edmond C. Gruss and James Penton have accused the society of being authoritarian, controlling and coercive in its dealings with Witnesses. Franz, a former Governing Body member, has claimed the Watch Tower Society's emphasis of the term "theocratic organization" to describe the authority structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, which places God at the apex of its organization, is designed to exercise control over every aspect of the lives of Jehovah's Witnesses[147] and condition them to think it is wrong for them to question anything the society publishes as truth.[148][149] The Watch Tower Society has been accused of employing techniques of mind control on Witnesses including the direction to avoid reading criticism of the organization,[150][151] frequent and tightly controlled "indoctrination" meetings, regimentation, social alienation and elaborate promises of future rewards.[152][153] Apart from life stories, the authors of all Watch Tower Society magazine articles and other publications are anonymous and correspondence from the society does not typically indicate a specific author or personal signature.[154]
See also[edit]
##Bible Student movement
##Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Pennsylvania Department of State.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 49
3.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. p. 229.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d "Jehovahs loses comp case: Church may be forced to pay millions", New York Daily News, January 6, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2009.
6.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2012, page 55.
7.Jump up ^ "Report for Fiscal Year", Watch Tower, December 1, 1896, page 301, Reprints page 2077 Retrieved 2010-03-30, "WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY. REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC. 1, 1896. ALTHOUGH the above has been the recognized name of our Society for some four years, it was not until this year that the Board of Directors took the proper steps to have the name legally changed from ZION'S WATCH TOWER TRACT SOCIETY to that above. The new name seems to be in every way preferable."
8.Jump up ^ "Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 229, "Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society. First formed in 1881 and then legally incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania on December 15, 1884. In 1896, its name was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Since 1955 it has been known as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."
9.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 80–107
10.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 575–576
11.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower: 1. July 1879. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12.Jump up ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica – Russell, Charles Taze"
13.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, January 1881, Reprints page 1.]
14.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, April 1881, Reprints page 214.
15.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower: 2. January 1882. Missing or empty |title= (help)
16.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, 1915, p. 14.
17.^ Jump up to: a b c C.T. Russell, "A Conspiracy Exposed", Zion's Watch Tower Extra edition, April 25, 1894, page 55-60.
18.Jump up ^ C.T. Russell, "A Conspiracy Exposed", Zion's Watch Tower Extra edition, April 25, 1894, page 55-60, "The affairs of the Society are so arranged that its entire control rests in the care of Brother and Sister Russell as long as they shall live... The fact is that, by the grace of God, Sister R. and myself have been enabled not only to give our own time without charge to the service of the truth, in writing and overseeing, but also to contribute more money to the Tract Society's fund for the scattering of the good tidings, than all others combined."
19.^ Jump up to: a b Wills 2006, p. 91
20.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, 1915, p. 14., "While there are nearly two hundred thousand shares, and it would be an easy matter to elect some other man as president, there never has been cast a vote against Pastor Russell. At the last election he was absent, his own votes were not cast, yet more than one hundred thousand votes of others were cast for him as president."
21.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower, October 1894, page 330.
22.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 75
23.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, p. 22
24.^ Jump up to: a b c Rutherford August 1917, p. 16
25.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 48
26.Jump up ^ Allegheny City was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1909.
27.^ Jump up to: a b Grizzuti Harrison 1978
28.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 39
29.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, p. 17
30.Jump up ^ "Girl's midnight visit to Pastor Russell", Brooklyn Eagle, August 14, 1909, "His wife, whom he married 30 years ago, when she was Maria F. Ackley, obtained a limited divorce from him in Pittsburg on the ground of cruelty. The judge who decided for Mrs Russell granted her $100 a month alimony. Pastor Russell was slow in coming to the front with payments and finally stopped paying alimony altogether. An order was ordered for the pastor's arrest in Pittsburg, but Brooklyn is a comfortable enough place and Pastor Russell didn't like going back to Pittsburg where a yawning prison awaited him. He said that his friends had paid the alimony, anyhow, and that he was purged of contempt of court thereby."
31.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, pp. 25–27
32.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
33.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
34.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
35.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
36.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
37.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
38.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
39.Jump up ^ Macmillan 1957, pp. 106
40.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
41.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
42.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 175, 176
43.Jump up ^ Consolation, September 4, 1940, pg 25, as cited by Penton, pg. 61.
44.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, pp. 201
45.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1938.
46.Jump up ^ Amendments to articles II, III, VII, VIII and X were passed unanimously, with more than 225,000 votes cast; the amendments to article V of the Charter, affecting qualifications for membership of the society, were passed 225,255 to 47.
47.Jump up ^ Articles of amendment to Watch Tower Society charter, February 15, 1945. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
48.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 108–109
49.Jump up ^ Brooklyn Heights Press, March 15, 1990, page 1, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, 2003, pages 72–73.
50.Jump up ^ A 1990 news report stated that Brooklyn workers received $80 per month to buy personal needs. See "A sect grows in Brooklyn", Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1990.
51.Jump up ^ "A sect grows in Brooklyn", Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1990.
52.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2012, page 55.
53.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 231
54.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 83. ISBN 0-631-16310-7.
55.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 27
56.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 47–48
57.Jump up ^ Watch Tower March 1, 1909, pages 67,68.
58.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 115
59.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 97
60.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 234
61.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 253–255
62.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 292
63.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 1989, page 29.
64.^ Jump up to: a b c d e The Watchtower, December 1, 1982, page 23.
65.^ Jump up to: a b c d e The Watchtower, April 15, 1996, page 24.
66.Jump up ^ Awake!, April 22, 1989, pages 25–27; "In fact, the Towers, 124 Columbia Heights, 107 Columbia Heights, and 119 Columbia Heights, which accommodate nearly 2000 of the family, are connected by underground tunnels."
67.Jump up ^ Centennial of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1984, pages 8–9.
68.Jump up ^ "New Shipping Facilities of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Awake!, August 22, 1987, pages 16–18.
69.^ Jump up to: a b Jehovah's Witnesses sell the former Hotel Bossert
70.Jump up ^ Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 25.
71.Jump up ^ Awake 1989, April 22, pp 23-24
72.^ Jump up to: a b "Wallkill and Warwick Projects Moving Ahead", JW.org News, May 13, 2013.
73.^ Jump up to: a b Awake!, February 22, 1987, pages 25–27.
74.Jump up ^ "Watchtower project grows in Patterson", New York Times, April 18, 1983, 1993. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
75.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Society may move some NY offices", WCAX website, March 26, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
76.^ Jump up to: a b c "A Witness to the future as Watchtower buys land upstate", The Brooklyn Paper, April 2, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
77.Jump up ^ "Watchtower's move to Warwick? 'Not anytime soon'", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 24, 2011.
78.Jump up ^ "The Watchtower is getting tired of being shown the door in Brooklyn Heights", The New York Observer, October 25, 2011.
79.^ Jump up to: a b "Historic Turning Point: After Century in Brooklyn, Watchtower Pulls Out of Heights", Brooklyn Heights, February 23, 2010.
80.Jump up ^ "The Witnesses Leave. Then What?", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 24, 2010.
81.Jump up ^ "Town OKs impact plan for Jehovah's Witnesses", Times Herald-Record, July 17, 2012.
82.Jump up ^ "Witnesses to Relocate World Headquarters", jw.org News, August 15, 2012.
83.Jump up ^ "Warwick OKs Watchtower Site", Recordonline.com, Times Herald Record, July 19, 2013.
84.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Buys Another Parcel", Times Herald-Record, August 25, 2011.
85.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of NY Pay 3.2M for Flex Building", Costar Group, Sept. 21, 2011.
86.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report", Aug. 15, 2012 Watchtower, page 17
87.Jump up ^ "Suffern tenants must move after Jehovah's Witnesses group buys building", Lohud.com, June 12, 2013.
88.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses buy Fishkill apartments", Poughkeepie Journal, December 22, 2014.
89.Jump up ^ "Increased Activity at United States Bethel", Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2003.
90.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Watchtower to sell 6 Brooklyn Heights properties", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 26, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
91.^ Jump up to: a b c "Selloff! But Witnesses say they will remain kings of Kings", The Brooklyn Paper, May 12, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
92.Jump up ^ Yearbook, 1991, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, page 10.
93.Jump up ^ "Have a seat in the Standish", The Brooklyn Paper, December 15, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
94.^ Jump up to: a b Different Building, Same Buyer for Witnesses
95.Jump up ^ Group with big Brooklyn plan snaps up property
96.Jump up ^ Second Witnesses property fetches $4.1M
97.Jump up ^ Praise God! Another Watchtower Property Sells
98.Jump up ^ Watchtower Sells Yet Another Heights Property, Brownstoner Brooklyn Inside and Out, November 30, 2012.
99.Jump up ^ New York Post, Brooklyn Blog, May 8, 2012, Brooklyn's Bossert Hotel could become a hotel again
100.Jump up ^ The Real Deal News, Nov. 12, 2012, Chetrit, Bistricer pay $81 million for Brooklyn's Bossert Hotel
101.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Sell First Property for $7.1 million
102.Jump up ^ Latest Witnesses-owned property in Brooklyn Heights hits the market, THE REAL DEAL, July 24, 2012.
103.Jump up ^ "Watchtower Sells 67 Remsen Street for 3.25 million", Brooklyn Heights Blog, October 10, 2012.
104.Jump up ^ "Witnesses put prime Dumbo site on the block", Crain's New York Business, June 4, 2012.
105.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Sell Latest Dumbo Development Site for $31M", The Real Deal, April 25, 2013.
106.^ Jump up to: a b c Brooklyn-Bridge-Park "Developers Jostling for a piece of Brooklyn Bridge Park", The Real Deal, June 10, 2013.
107.Jump up ^ Watchtower Society selling five more properties in Brooklyn, NY, THE REAL DEAL, Sept. 16, 2011.
108.Jump up ^ "Big Deal: Jehovah's Witnesses List Prime Properties, The New York Times – City Room, September 16, 2011.
109.Jump up ^ "Witnesses knocking on $375M bldg. sale", New York Post, July 7, 2013.
110.Jump up ^ Hallelujah! "Jehovah's Witnesses land sell-off has Brooklyn dreaming big", Crain's New York Business, October 16, 2011.
111.Jump up ^ "No longer 'Vatican City' for Watchtower, Brooklyn watches jehovahs retreat", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 9, 2013
112.Jump up ^ "Bible Truth Triumphs Amid Tradition", The Watchtower, May 15, 1985, page 27.
113.Jump up ^ "Your Will Be Done on Earth", The Watchtower, 1960, page 30.
114.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 33
115.Jump up ^ "Building to Jehovah’s Glory", The Watchtower, May 1, 1979, pages 26–29.
116.Jump up ^ 2012 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses p.32, 33, 55.
117.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 91.
118.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 28.
119.Jump up ^ "Moving Ahead With God’s Organization", The Watchtower, September 1, 1983, page 13.
120.Jump up ^ "The Governing Body", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, page 258
121.Jump up ^ "Background of N. H. Knorr", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 91
122.Jump up ^ "He Ran for 'The Prize of the Upward Call' and Won!", The Watchtower, September 15, 1974, page 554, "On October 31, 1932, he [Sullivan] was made a member of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; he was also one of the eleven-member governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses."
123.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 71, "Thomas (Bud) Sullivan, who later served as a member of the Governing Body, recalled, "It was my privilege to visit Brooklyn Bethel in the late summer of 1918 during the brothers’ incarceration."
124.Jump up ^ "Happy are the dead who die in union with the Lord", The Watchtower, May 15, 1965, page 320.
125.Jump up ^ "Experiencing Jehovah’s Love", The Watchtower, September 15, 1964, page 571
126.Jump up ^ "Announcements", The Watchtower, May 15, 1965, page 320, "Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania announces herewith the death of Brother Hugo H. Riemer on March 31, 1965. After years of service as a pioneer publisher in the field, he was called to the Society’s Brooklyn headquarters in 1918, since which time he served with the Society’s headquarters till his death at eighty-six years of age. He was on the boards of directors of both the Society’s Pennsylvania corporation and its New York corporation, also serving in the official capacity of assistant secretary-treasurer of both corporations."
127.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Organization of the Work", Watch Tower, December 1, 1916, page 391, Reprints page 6024 Retrieved 2010-03-30, "Two days after his [C. T. Russell's 1916] death the Board met and elected Brother A. N. Pierson as a member of the Board to fill the vacancy caused by Brother Russell's change. The seven members of the Board as now constituted are A. I. Ritchie, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. C. Rockwell, J. D. Wright, I. F. Hoskins, A. N. Pierson and J. F. Rutherford."
128.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 65, "So, two days after Russell’s death, the board of directors met and elected A. N. Pierson to be a member. The seven members of the board at that point were A. I. Ritchie, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. C. Rockwell, J. D. Wright, I. F. Hoskins, A. N. Pierson, and J. F. Rutherford."
129.Jump up ^ "Moving Ahead With God’s Organization", The Watchtower, September 1, 1983, page 14, "The Society's secretary and treasurer, W. E. Van Amburgh, had become incapacitated due to advanced age and illness and so resigned from his position. I was elected to succeed him on February 6, 1947, and Brother Van Amburgh died the following day."
130.Jump up ^ "Testing and Sifting From Within", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 622, "In 1916, W. E. Van Amburgh declared, "This great worldwide work is not the work of one person... It is God’s work." Although he saw others turn away, he remained firm in that conviction right down till his death in 1947, at 83 years of age."
131.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 1, 2001, page 28, "In 1940, Hayden C. Covington—then the Society's legal counsel and one of the "other sheep," with the earthly hope—was elected a director of the Society. (John 10:16) He served as the Society’s vice president from 1942 to 1945. At that time, Brother Covington stepped aside as a director"
132.Jump up ^ Rutherford chaired executive meetings in 1916 but was not formally elected president until 1917. During Rutherford's 1918–1919 incarceration, vice-presidents Anderson and Wise chaired executive meetings.
133.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "A Time of Testing (1914–1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, page 68, "At the annual meeting held on January 5, 1918, the seven persons receiving the highest number of votes were J. F. Rutherford, C. H. Anderson, W. E. Van Amburgh, A. H. Macmillan, W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet, and G. H. Fisher. From these seven board members, the three officers were chosen—J. F. Rutherford as president, C. H. Anderson as vice president, and W. E. Van Amburgh as secretary-treasurer."
134.Jump up ^ Faith on the March by A. H. Macmillan, 1957, Prentice-Hall, pages 106, 110, "At New Year's time the Society held its [1919] annual election of officers in Pittsburgh... He [Rutherford] handed me a telegram saying that he had been elected president and C. A. Wise vice-president... C. A. Wise was there too. He had been elected vice-president while we were in prison."
135.Jump up ^ "Part 2—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, pages 113–114, "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 2–5, 1919. This assembly was combined with the very significant annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society on Saturday, January 4, 1919... There were nominations, a vote was taken and J. F. Rutherford was elected as president, C. A. Wise, as vice-president, and W. E. Van Amburgh, as secretary-treasurer."
136.Jump up ^ "Sweden", 1991 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, page 135
137.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 15, 1939, pages 316–317
138.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 15, 1923, page 333
139.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 15, 1939, pages 316–317, "The Society’s annual meeting in 1919 Jan. 4 in Pittsburgh reelected J. F. Rutherford President and W. E. VanAmburgh Secretary-Treasurer. But the others elected to the Board of Directors, viz. C. A. Wise (Vice President), R. H. Barber [...] were freer to carry out their responsibilities. When the imprisoned leaders were released, Barber resigned"
140.Jump up ^ "Ritchie, A. I.", Watchtower Publications Index 1930–1985, "Ritchie, A. I. vice president of Watch Tower Society (1916)"
141.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Watch Tower, January 1885, Vol VI, No. 5, page 1, [Reprints page 707], "A charter of incorporation for Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was granted December 13, 1884. ... The incorporators are the Directors, named below... Directors C. T. Russell, Pres., M. F. Russell, Sec and Treas., W. C. McMillan, W. I. Mann, Vice Pres., J. B. Adamson, J. F. Smith."
142.Jump up ^ "Passed Beyond the Vail", Watch Tower, April 15, 1906, page 126, Reprints page 3765, "ANOTHER member of the Board... Brother William M. Wright, passed beyond the vail, into the Most Holy, we trust, on April 3."
143.^ Jump up to: a b c "Harvest Gleanings III", Watch Tower, April 25, 1894, page 131, "The Corporation is to be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members, and the names and residences of those already chosen directors are (we given names of the present board and officers) as follows: -Charles T Russell, President, W C McMillan, Henry Weber, Vice President, J B Adamson, Maria F Russell, Sec’y & Treas, Simon O Blunden. Rose J Ball."
144.Jump up ^ "Entered Into His Rest", Watch Tower, February 1, 1904, page 36, Reprints page 3314, Retrieved 2010-03-30, "PILGRIM Brother Henry Weber has passed beyond the vail, to be forever with the Lord. We rejoice on his behalf. He finished his earthly course on Thursday, January 21, at 2.15 pm, at his home --Oakland, Md.--and was buried on Saturday, the 23rd. A large gathering, composed of his family, friends and neighbors, was addressed by the Editor of this journal... we will sadly miss our dear Brother, as a friend and as a Pilgrim and as Vice-President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society"
145.Jump up ^ "Part 1—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watch Tower, pages 65–66, "During the trouble in 1894, Mrs. C. T. Russell (the former Maria Frances Ackley, whom Russell had married in 1879) undertook a tour from New York to Chicago, meeting with Bible Students along the way and speaking in her husband’s behalf. Being an educated, intelligent woman, she was well received when visiting the congregations at that time. Mrs. Russell was a director of the Watch Tower Society and served as its secretary and treasurer for some years."
146.Jump up ^ The January 15, 1955 The Watchtower, page 46, referred to the former "Maria Frances Ackley, who had become a colaborer and a contributor of articles to the Watch Tower magazine. They came to have no children. Nearly eighteen years later, in 1897, due to Watch Tower Society members’ objecting to a woman’s teaching and being a member of the board of directors contrary to 1 Timothy 2:12, Russell and his wife disagreed about the management of the journal, Zion’s Watch Tower. Thereupon she voluntarily separated herself"
147.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 614–654
148.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 69–124
149.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 124, as cited by R. Franz, "In Search if Christian Freedom", page 107,"Would not a failure to respond to direction from God through his organization really indicate a rejection of divine rulership?"
150.Jump up ^ "Do not be quickly shaken from your reason", Watchtower, March 15, 1986
151.Jump up ^ "At which table are you feeding?" Watchtower, July 1, 1994
152.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 391–431
153.Jump up ^ Gruss 2003, pp. 110–114
154.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 32
Bibliography[edit]
##Penton, James M. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
##Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Constable, London.
##Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1975). 1975 Yearbook. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1959). Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993). Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
##Macmillan, A. H. (1957). Faith on the March. Prentice-Hall.
##Rutherford, J. F. (August 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Rutherford, J. F. (October 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings, Part II" (PDF). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Pierson, A. N. et al. (September 1, 1917). "Light After Darkness" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Johnson, Paul S. L. (November 1, 1917). "Harvest Siftings Reviewed" (PDF). Retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Grizzuti Harrison, Barbara (1978). Visions of Glory – A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7091-8013-5.
##Gruss, Edmond C. (2003). The Four Presidents of the Watch Tower Society. Xulon Press. ISBN 1-59467-131-1.
##Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
##Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
##Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
  


Categories: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
Religious organizations established in 1881
1881 establishments in Pennsylvania






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Bible Student movement

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 A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Bible Students
Part of a series on
Bible Students
Communities
Free Bible Students
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
Publishing houses
Dawn Bible Students Association
Pastoral Bible Institute
Publications
The Dawn·The New Creation
Frank and Ernest (broadcast)
Studies in the Scriptures
The Photo-Drama of Creation

Biographies
Charles Taze Russell
Jonas Wendell · William Henry Conley
Nelson H. Barbour · Paul S. L. Johnson
A. H. Macmillan · J. F. Rutherford
Conrad C. Binkele
Beliefs
Jehovah · Nontrinitarianism · Atonement
Dispensationalism · Sheol and Hades
Resurrection · Annihilationism
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The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist[1] Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell. Members of the movement have variously referred to themselves as Bible Students, International Bible Students, Associated Bible Students, or Independent Bible Students. The origins of the movement are associated with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881.
A number of schisms developed within the congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society between 1909 and 1932.[2][3] The most significant split began in 1917 following the election of Joseph Franklin Rutherford as president of the Watch Tower Society two months after Russell's death. The schism began with Rutherford's controversial replacement of four of the Society's board of directors and publication of The Finished Mystery.
Thousands of members left congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society throughout the 1920s prompted in part by Rutherford's failed predictions for the year 1925, increasing disillusionment with his on-going doctrinal and organizational changes, and his campaign for centralized control of the movement.[2] William Schnell, author and former Jehovah's Witness, claims that three-quarters of the original Bible Students who had been associating with the Watch Tower Society in 1921 had left by 1931.[4][a][b][6] In 1930 Rutherford stated that "the total number of those who have withdrawn from the Society... is comparatively large."[7]
Between 1918 and 1929, several factions formed their own independent fellowships, including the Standfast Movement, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement founded by PSL Johnson, and the Dawn Bible Students Association. These groups range from conservative, claiming to be Russell's true followers, to more liberal, claiming that Russell's role is not as important as once believed.[8] Rutherford's faction of the movement retained control of the Watch Tower Society[8] and adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses in July 1931.[c] The cumulative worldwide membership of the various Bible Students groups independent of the Watch Tower Society is estimated at less than 75,000.[9][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Foundation 1.1 Watch Tower Society
1.2 International Bible Students Association
2 Formative influences
3 First schism
4 Leadership dispute
5 Associated Bible Students 5.1 Pastoral Bible Institute
5.2 Berean Bible Institute
5.3 StandFast Bible Students Association
5.4 Dawn Bible Students Association
5.5 Independent Bible Students
6 Free Bible Students 6.1 New Covenant Believers
6.2 Christian Discipling Ministries International
6.3 Free Bible Students Association
7 Jehovah's Witnesses
8 Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
9 Other groups 9.1 Friends of Man
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 Bibliography
14 External links

Foundation[edit]



 Charles Russell in 1911
In 1869 Charles Russell viewed a presentation by Advent Christian preacher Jonas Wendell[11][12] (influenced by the Millerites)[13] and soon after began attending an Adventist Bible study group in Allegheny, Pennsylvania led by George Stetson. Russell acknowledged the influence of Adventist ministers including George Storrs, an old acquaintance of William Miller and semi-regular attendee at the Bible study group in Allegheny.[14]
In early January 1876 Russell met independent Adventist preachers Nelson H. Barbour and John H. Paton, publishers of the Herald of the Morning, who convinced him that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874.[13][d][16][e] Russell provided financial backing for Barbour and became co-editor of Barbour's magazine, Herald of the Morning; the pair jointly issued Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World (1877), written mostly by Barbour.[f][19] Various concepts in the book are still taught by the Bible Student movement and Jehovah's Witnesses, including a 2520-year period termed "the Gentile Times" predicted to end in 1914. Deviating from most Second Adventists the book taught that the earth would not be burned up when Christ returned, but that humankind since Adam would eventually be resurrected to the earth and given the opportunity to attain eternal perfect human life if obedient. It also revealed an expectation that all of the "saints" would be taken to heaven in April, 1878.[20][21]
Russell continued to develop his interpretations of biblical chronology. In 1877, he published 50,000 copies of the pamphlet The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return, teaching that Christ would return invisibly before the battle of Armageddon. By 1878 he was teaching the Adventist view that the "time of the end" had begun in 1799,[22] and that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874[23] and had been crowned in heaven as king in 1878. Russell believed that 1878 also marked the resurrection of the "sleeping saints" (all faithful Christians who had died up to that time) and the "fall of Babylon" which he taught to be God's final judgment of unfaithful Christendom.[24][25] October 1914 was held as the end of a harvest period that would culminate in the beginning of Armageddon, manifested by the emergence of worldwide anarchy and the decline and destruction of civilized society.[26][27]
Russell broke with Barbour in July 1879 over the doctrine of substitutionary atonement and began publishing his own monthly magazine, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence (now known as The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom), and the pair competed through their rival publications for the minds of their readers.[20][28] (Semi-monthly publication of the magazine began in 1892.)[g][29]
In early 1881, Russell predicted that the churches ('Babylon') would begin to fall apart and that the rapture of the saints would take place that year, although they would remain on earth as materialized spirit beings.[20] In 1882 he outlined his nontrinitarian views concluding that the doctrine is not taught in the Bible.[20]
Readers of Zion's Watch Tower formed thirty Bible study groups in seven states in the United States in 1879–80, with each congregation electing its own elders. In 1880 Russell visited the congregations to conduct six-hour study sessions, teaching each congregation how to carry out topical Bible study.[20][30]
Watch Tower Society[edit]
In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed as an unincorporated administrative agency for the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles, with Russell as secretary and William Henry Conley as president.[29] Three years later, on December 15, 1884, Russell became president of the society when it was legally incorporated in Pennsylvania.[31] (The society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in September 1896).[32] Russell wrote many articles, books, pamphlets and sermons, which by his death totaled 50,000 printed pages, with almost 20 million copies of his books printed and distributed around the world.[20] In 1886, he wrote the first of what would become a six-volume Bible textbook series called Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures,[33][h] which presented his fundamental doctrines. As a consequence, the Bible Students were sometimes called Millennial Dawnists.
Russell advertised for 1000 preachers in 1881, and encouraged all who were members of "the body of Christ" to preach to their neighbors, to gather the "little flock" of saints while the vast majority of mankind would be given the opportunity to gain salvation during Christ's 1000-year reign.[13] Russell's supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible and his writings. Russell rejected the concept of a formal organization as "wholly unnecessary" for his followers and declared that his group had no record of its members' names, no creeds, and no sectarian name.[34] He wrote in February 1884: "By whatsoever names men may call us, it matters not to us... we call ourselves simply Christians."[35] Elders and deacons were elected by congregations and Russell tolerated a great latitude of belief among members. He opposed formal disciplinary procedures by congregation elders, claiming this was beyond their authority,[36] instead recommending that an individual who continued in a wrong course be judged by the entire congregation, which could ultimately "withdraw from him its fellowship" if the undesirable behavior continued.[i] Disfellowshipping did not mean the wrongdoer was to be shunned in all social circumstances or by all Bible Students, though fellowship would be limited.[38] From 1895, Russell encouraged congregations to study his Bible textbook series, Studies in the Scriptures, paragraph by paragraph to properly discern God's plan for humanity. In 1905 he recommended replacing verse-by-verse Bible studies with what he called "Berean Studies" of topics he chose.[13]
The Watch Tower Society opened overseas branches in London (1900),[39] Germany (1903), and Australia and Switzerland (1904).[40] The Society's headquarters were transferred to Brooklyn, New York in 1909.[41]
In January 1914 the Bible Students began public showings of The Photo-Drama of Creation.[42] It presented Russell's views of God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the establishment and administration of God's kingdom on earth. The Photo-Drama represented a significant advancement in film production, as the first major presentation to synchronize motion pictures with audio by use of phonograph records.[43][44] Worldwide attendance in 1914 exceeded nine million.[citation needed]
International Bible Students Association[edit]
In 1910 Russell introduced the name International Bible Students Association as a means of identifying his worldwide community of Bible study groups. He wrote:

Now in the Lord's providence we have thought of a title suitable, we believe, to the Lord's people everywhere, and free from objection, we believe, on every score—the title at the head of this article (IBSA). It fairly represents our sentiments and endeavors. We are Bible students. We welcome all of God's people to join with us in the study. We believe that the result of such studies is blessed and unifying. We recommend therefore that the little classes everywhere and the larger ones adopt this unobjectionable style and that they use it in the advertising columns of their newspapers. Thus friends everywhere will know how to recognize them when visiting strange cities.[45]
Russell explained that the Association would be directed and managed by the Peoples [sic] Pulpit Association which, in turn, represented the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. All Bible Student classes using Watch Tower Society publications could consider themselves identified with the Association and were authorized to use the name International Bible Students Association in connection with their meetings. The name was also used when advertising and conducting Bible Students conventions.[citation needed]
Formative influences[edit]
In addition to Russell other early influences include:
##Nelson H. Barbour (1824–1905)
##John Nelson Darby (1800–1882)
##Henry Dunn (1801–1878)
##Henry Grew (1781–1862)
##Dunbar Isidore Heath (1816–1888)
##William Miller (1782–1849)
##George Stetson (1814–1879)
##George Storrs (1796–1879)
##R. E. Streeter (1847–1924)
##Jonas Wendell (1815–1873)
##Joseph Seiss (1823–1904)
First schism[edit]
See also: Free Bible Students
In 1905 Paul S. L. Johnson, one of the traveling "Pilgrim" speakers and a former Lutheran minister, pointed out to Russell that his doctrines on the New Covenant had undergone a complete reversal: until 1880 he had taught that the New Covenant would be inaugurated only after the last of the 144,000 anointed Christians had been taken to heaven,[46] but since 1881 he had written that it was already in force.[47][48] Russell reconsidered the question and in January 1907 wrote several Watch Tower articles reaffirming his 1880 position—that "the new covenant belongs exclusively to the coming age"[49]—adding that the church had no mediator, but that Christ was the "advocate". He also taught that Christians making up the 144,000 would join Christ as a "joint heir" and assistant mediator during the millennium.[50]
On October 24, 1909 former Watch Tower Society secretary-treasurer E.C. Henninges, who was by then the Australian branch manager based in Melbourne, wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching, and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship. Hundreds of the estimated 10,000 U.S. Bible Students also left, including pilgrim M. L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students, and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn, forming the New Covenant Believers.[48][51] The group, which informally referred to members as Free Bible Students, published The Kingdom Scribe magazine until 1975. The group is currently known as the Berean Bible Students Church, with fewer than 200 members.
Leadership dispute[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)



 Joseph Rutherford
Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, board member and society legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at the Pittsburgh convention. Rutherford then announced publication of The Finished Mystery, which he claimed was a posthumous volume of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures.[52] By-laws passed by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors stated that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[53]
By June, four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright— had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's expanded powers of management,[54] claiming Rutherford had become autocratic.[54] In June Hirsch attempted to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[55] but Rutherford later claimed he had by then detected a conspiracy among the directors to seize control of the society.[56] In July, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that the four were not legally directors of the society. On July 12, Rutherford filled what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[57] Between August and November the society and the four ousted directors published a series of pamphlets, with each side accusing the other of ambitious, disruptive and dishonest conduct. The former directors also claimed Rutherford had required all headquarters workers to sign a petition supporting him and threatened dismissal for any who refused to sign.[58] The former directors were forcibly escorted by police from the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[59] On January 5, 1918 Rutherford was returned to office.
By mid-1919, about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept Rutherford's leadership,[60] forming groups such as The Standfast Movement, Paul Johnson Movement, and the Pastoral Bible Institute of Brooklyn.[61] It is estimated that as many as three quarters of the Bible Students associating in 1921 left the movement by 1931 in protest to Rutherford's rejection of Pastor Russell's teachings. To reduce public confusion regarding the existence of several groups of Bible Students no longer associated with the Watch Tower Society, Rutherford's faction of Bible Students adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses on July 26, 1931 at a convention in Columbus, Ohio.[62][63]
Associated Bible Students[edit]
The Associated Bible Students groups, which adhere to Charles Taze Russell's teachings, include the Independent Bible Students, StandFast Bible Students and Dawn Bible Students. Congregations are autonomous, and may not necessarily have contact with other congregations, though many do. The Dawn Bible Students collectively form the largest segment of the Bible Student movement separate from the Watch Tower Society.[64]
Pastoral Bible Institute[edit]
In 1918, the former directors held the first Bible Student Convention independent of the Watch Tower Society. At the second convention a few months later, the informal Pastoral Bible Institute was founded. They began publishing The Herald of Christ's Kingdom, edited by RE Streeter. An editorial committee continues publication of the magazine[65] in a reduced capacity, and reproduces other Bible Student movement literature, including Russell's six-volume Studies in the Scriptures.[64]
Berean Bible Institute[edit]
The Australian Berean Bible Institute (BBI) formally separated from the Watch Tower Society in 1918. It published The Voice, and continues to publish the People's Paper magazine. There are several 'classes' of Bible students in Australia that hold similar beliefs to those promulgated by the BBI, but there is no official affiliation. Two conventions are held annually in Anglesea, Victoria and Alexandra Headlands, Queensland. There is no official creed; members are allowed to come to their own conclusions regarding interpretations of the Bible; the role of fellowship is to provide mutual help and stimulation. The number of Bible Students in Australia is estimated at approximately 100.[64]
StandFast Bible Students Association[edit]
In December 1918, Charles E. Heard and others considered[citation needed] Rutherford's indifference[66] regarding the purchase of war bonds to be a perversion of Russell's pacifist teachings, and contrary to scripture.[67] As a result, they founded the StandFast Bible Students Association in Portland, Oregon, USA. The name originated from their decision to "stand fast" on principles involving war that Russell had espoused. Membership dwindled and the group was eventually disbanded. A splinter group known as the Elijah Voice Society, was founded by John A. Herdersen and C. D. McCray in 1923. They were especially noted for their preaching and pacifist activity.[citation needed]
Dawn Bible Students Association[edit]
Main article: Dawn Bible Students Association
See also: Frank and Ernest (broadcast)
In 1928, Norman Woodworth, cousin of Clayton J. Woodworth, left the Watch Tower Society after having been in charge of their radio ministry. Woodworth created an independent Bible Students radio program called Frank and Ernest.[68] Funding was provided by the Brooklyn congregation of Bible Students and broadcasting continued into the 1980s. In 1929 the station sponsored the First Annual Reunion Convention of Bible Students at the old Bible House used by Russell in Pittsburgh.
In 1931 Woodworth and others founded the Dawn Bible Students Association to resume publication of Studies in the Scriptures, which the Watch Tower Society had officially ceased printing in 1927. The Dawn Bible Students published a leaflet, The Bible Students Radio Echo, to follow up interest in the radio program. The leaflet was soon developed into a 16-page magazine and renamed The Dawn—A Herald of Christ's Presence, which they continue to publish, along with radio, television, and Internet radio programs.[68]
Independent Bible Students[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)
Over the past thirty-five years, controversy surrounded the Dawn Bible Students Association as their publishing and editorial committee began to promote more-liberal points of view, distancing themselves from some of Russell's viewpoints, alienating many Bible Students as a result.[citation needed] In 1974, a group of Bible Students meeting at a convention in Fort Collins, Colorado formally ceased their spiritual fellowship with, and financial support of, the Dawn Bible Students Association. They refer to themselves as Independent Bible Students. The split was not intended to eliminate or restrict personal fellowship, but was viewed as a "stand for the truth"[citation needed] by ceasing sponsorship of elders associated with the Dawn Bible Students, and avoiding attendance at their conventions. In recent years, attempts have been made to reintegrate the groups. The Independent Bible Students publishes a non-doctrinal magazine, The Bible Students Newsletter.[citation needed]
Free Bible Students[edit]
Main article: Free Bible Students
The Free Bible Students separated very early from the Watchtower Society, as Russell began to change some teachings.
New Covenant Believers[edit]
In 1909, M. L. McPhail, a traveling elder ("Pilgrim") and member of the Chicago Bible Students, disassociated from Russell's movement when controversy arose over Russell's expanded view of the application and timing of the "New Covenant" mentioned by Jeremiah, and led the New Covenant Bible Students in the United States, founding the New Covenant Believers in that year. The community, which members informally refer to as Free Bible Students, published The Kingdom Scribe magazine until 1975.[69] The founding group is now known as the Berean Bible Students Church in Lombard.[70]
Christian Discipling Ministries International[edit]
In 1928 the Italian Bible Students Association[clarification needed] in Hartford, Connecticut withdrew its support from the Watch Tower Society and changed its name to the Millennial Bible Students Church or Christian Millennial Fellowship and later to Christian Discipling Ministries International. They came to reject many of Russell's writings as erroneous. Now located in New Jersey, the group is known as the Free Bible Students; it has published The New Creation magazine since 1940.[69]
Free Bible Students Association[edit]
Conrad C. Binkele the former Branch Manager of Watchtower Society founded in 1928 the community of "Free Bible Students Association" in the German region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) with other brethren and began publishing "Der Pilgrim" a religious magazine from 1931 to 1934. Free Bible Students in Germany were persecuted during World War II. Only after the war, were rehabilitated in the Bible Students and approved the publication again.
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses
Bible Students who submitted to Rutherford's leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society became known as Jehovah's witnesses in 1931. The Watch Tower Society remains the religion's primary administrative body, and their beliefs and organizational structure have diverged considerably from Russell's.[71] Their literature states that Bible Students is the former name for their group,[72] and does not acknowledge the continued existence of other Bible Student groups. In 1955, the Watch Tower Society claimed that those who separated from the movement during Rutherford's presidency constituted the "evil slave" of Matthew 24:48-51.[73] (The Society altered its view in 2013, calling the "evil slave" a hypothetical warning to the 'faithful slave'.[74]) Jehovah's Witnesses report worldwide membership of approximately 8 million.[75]
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement[edit]
Main article: Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
Paul S. L. Johnson founded the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement in 1919. Johnson's death in 1950 led to an internal disagreement over his role as a teacher chosen by God, and resulted in the formation of new splinter groups, such as the Epiphany Bible Students Association, and the Laodicean Home Missionary Movement. Johnson believed he had been appointed by God as Russell's official spiritual successor, that he was the last member of the 144,000 of Revelation 7, and that hope of a heavenly reward of immortality for the Christian faithful would cease after his death. His associate and successor, Raymond Jolly, taught that he himself was the last member of the "great multitude", also of Revelation 7. After Jolly's death, remaining members of the fellowship believed they would live on a perfected earth in God's kingdom as a group referred to as the "modern worthies", as associates of the "ancient worthies"—the ancient Jewish prophets God would resurrect to guide and instruct the world in his kingdom.[citation needed]
Other groups[edit]
Friends of Man[edit]
Main article: Friends of Man
Alexander FL Freytag, manager of the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Switzerland since 1898, had disagreed with Russell's teachings before Russell's death in 1916. He began publishing his own views using the Watch Tower Society's printing equipment in 1917, and was ousted from the Watch Tower Society by Rutherford in 1919. In 1920, Freytag founded the Angel of Jehovah Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Philanthropic Assembly of the Friends of Man and The Church of the Kingdom of God. He published two journals, the monthly The Monitor of the Reign of Justice and the weekly Paper for All.[76]
See also[edit]
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##International Bible Students Association
Notes[edit]
a.Jump up ^ Rogerson notes that it is not clear exactly how many Bible Students left, but quotes Rutherford (Jehovah, 1934, page 277) as saying "only a few" who left other religions were then "in God's organisation".
b.Jump up ^ Annual Memorial attendance figures in 1925 (90, 434) with 1928 (17, 380).[5]
c.Jump up ^ 'witnesses' was not capitalised until the 1970s
d.Jump up ^ Barbour had originally predicted a visible return of Christ for 1873, but when that failed to eventuate, he concluded that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874 based on a reference in Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott.[15]
e.Jump up ^ Russell explains how he accepted the idea of an invisible return of Christ in 1874 from N.H. Barbour[17]
f.Jump up ^ Though the book bore the names of both men as authors, James Penton (Apocalypse Delayed) points out that in early issues of the Watch Tower, Russell repeatedly referred to Barbour as its author. In the July 15, 1906 Watch Tower Russell said it was "mostly written by Mr Barbour"[18]
g.Jump up ^ Online copies of the Watch Tower from 1879–1916 can be viewed by issue at Most holy faith or by article at AGS Consulting . These are taken from the 7 volume Watch Tower Reprints published by the Watch Tower Society in 1920 which reprinted all the issues from 1879–1919.
h.Jump up ^ The titles of the six volumes are: 1) The Divine Plan of the Ages, 2)The Time is At Hand, 3)Thy Kingdom Come, 4)The Battle of Armageddon, 5)The At-one-ment Between God and Man, 6) The New Creation (PDF) (study) 6, Bible Students.
i.Jump up ^ Russell directed that an unrepentant person be judged by the entire ecclesia, rather than the elders. He directed that the ecclesia not make the wrongdoer's faults public.[37]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Crompton, Robert (1996). Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. p. 12. ISBN 0-227-67939-3.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, pp. 43–62.
3.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 52.
4.Jump up ^ Schnell, William J (1956), Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave, Grand Rapids: Baker[page needed], as cited by Rogerson 1969, pp. 52.
5.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1959, pp. 110, 312–13.
6.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 167 cites The Watch Tower December 1, 1927 (p 355) in which Rutherford states, "the larger percentage" of original Bible Students had by then departed.
7.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower November 15, 1930 p. 342 col 1.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 39.
9.Jump up ^ Present Truth February, 2006 pp 9–13.
10.Jump up ^ Blankman, Drew; Augustine, Todd, eds. (2004), Pocket Dictionary of North American Denominations, p. 79, "A smaller group rejected Rutherford's leadership and became the Dawn Bible Student's Association and in the late 1980s had a membership of about 60000."
11.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1993, pp. 43.
12.Jump up ^ Wendell, Jonas, The Present Truth or Meat in Due Season (PDF) (treatise), Pastor Russell, pp. 35–36 pointed to 1873 for the time of Christ's visible return.
13.^ Jump up to: a b c d Penton 1997, pp. 13–46.
14.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, 1906, as cited by Penton 1997, p. 17.
15.Jump up ^ Barbour, Nelson H (1871), Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873: or the Midnight Cry, retrieved February 20, 2006.
16.Jump up ^ "The Midnight Cry and Herald of the Morning", Herald, March 1874 |chapter= ignored (help).
17.Jump up ^ "Harvest Gatherings and Siftings", Watch Tower (AGS Consulting), July 15, 1906: 3822 |chapter= ignored (help).
18.Jump up ^ "Emphatic Diaglott", Watch Tower (reprint) (Jehovah’s Witness truth).
19.Jump up ^ Barbour, NH; Russell, Charles T (1877), "Three Worlds and The Harvest of This World" (PDF), Herald (magazine), retrieved March 15, 2006.
20.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Penton 1997, pp. 13–46
21.Jump up ^ Three Worlds, pp. 184–85.
22.Jump up ^ "The 'Time of the End,' a period of one hundred and fifteen (115) years, from A.D. 1799 to A.D. 1914, is particularly marked in the Scriptures." Thy Kingdom Come, 1890, p. 23.
23.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 631–32.
24.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come (1890), Volume 3 of Studies in the Scriptures, pp. 305–8.
25.Jump up ^ "This spuing out, or casting off, of the nominal church as an organization in 1878, we then understood, and still proclaim, to be the date of the commencement of Babylon's fall..."—"The Consummation of Our Hope" in Zion's Watch Tower, April 1883. Reprints pp. 474–5.
26.Jump up ^ [1] The Watch Tower, July 1881, "Future Work and Glory"
27.Jump up ^ "Things to Come—And The Present European Situation", The Watch Tower, January 15, 1892, Reprints, p. 1355
28.Jump up ^ Russell explained his side of the break with Barbour in the first issue of the Watch Tower.
29.^ Jump up to: a b "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Watchtower, January 15, 1955, page 14.
30.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, p. 12.
31.Jump up ^ Holden, A. (2002) Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. (p. 18)
32.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 22.
33.Jump up ^ Yearbook 1975, Watch Tower Society, 1975.
34.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, chapter 4.
35.Jump up ^ Watch Tower (reprint), Most holy faith, February 1984 and cited by Franz & 2007, chapter 4.
36.Jump up ^ Jones, Leslie W (1917), What Pastor Russell Said, p. 346, as cited by Penton 1997, p. 31, "The Lord's word does not authorize any court of Elders, or anyone else, to become busybodies. This would be going back to the practices of the Dark Ages during the Inquisition and we would be showing the same spirit as did the inquisitors."
37.Jump up ^ Russell, Charles T (1904), The New Creation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, pp. 289–90.
38.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 31.
39.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 32.
40.Jump up ^ "The First One a Hundred Years Ago", Awake, December 22, 2000.
41.Jump up ^ "Organized Testimony to the New World", Watchtower, July 15, 1950, page 215.
42.Jump up ^ Slides and film from the Photo-Drama can be viewed online at AGS Consulting; the book is available online at Herald.
43.Jump up ^ "Trivia", Photo-Drama of Creation (1914) (article), IMDb, retrieved 2009-04-15
44.Jump up ^ American Movie Classics, "Timeline of Influential Milestones... 1910s", Retrieved 2009-04-15.
45.Jump up ^ Watchtower, April 1910.
46.Jump up ^ "The Three Great Covenants", Zion's Watch Tower, March 1880.
47.Jump up ^ "The New Covenant vs the Law Covenant", Zion's Watch Tower, September 1887.
48.^ Jump up to: a b Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. pp. 63–68. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
49.Jump up ^ "The Mediator of the New Covernant", Zion's Watch Tower, January 1, 1907, pages 9, 10.
50.Jump up ^ "The Word Mediator Used Differently,", Watch Tower, January 1909.
51.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 42
52.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery. p. reface, p. 5. "This book may properly be said to be a posthumous publication of Pastor Russell."
53.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
54.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
55.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
56.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
57.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
58.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
59.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
60.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
61.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
62.Jump up ^ Rogerson, Alan, Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable, London, 1969. pp 55-56: "In 1931 came an important milestone in the history of the organisation. For many years Rutherford's followers had been called a variety of names: 'International Bible Students', 'Russellites', or 'Millennial Dawners'. In order to distinguish clearly his followers from the other groups who had separated in 1918 Rutherford proposed that they adopt an entirely new name - Jehovah's witnesses."
63.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, "A New Name", October 1, 1931 pp 291: "Since the death of Charles T. Russell there have arisen numerous companies formed out of those who once walked with him, each of these companies claiming to teach the truth, and each calling themselves by some name, such as "Followers of Pastor Russell", "those who stand by the truth as expounded by Pastor Russell", "Associated Bible Students", and some by the names of their local leaders. All of this tends to confusion and hinders those of good will who are not better informed from obtaining a knowledge of the truth."
64.^ Jump up to: a b c Daughters of the Tower
65.Jump up ^ Herald (magazine).
66.Jump up ^ "Could Not Talk of Loan", The New York Times, April 29, 1918, As Retrieved 2010-03-02, "Rutherford, the President, sa[id] that the buying of bonds was not a religious question, and that the [IBSA] association did not oppose the purchase of Liberty bonds by the members"
67.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1919:"'The International Bible Students’ Association is not against the Liberty Loan.; in Watch Tower, June 1, 1919 Rutherford indicated regret about making any comment on the matter.
68.^ Jump up to: a b Frank and Ernest
69.^ Jump up to: a b Who are the Free Bible Students and what is their history?
70.Jump up ^ Welcome to Berean Bible Students Church
71.Jump up ^ Whalen, William J. (1962). Armageddon Around the Corner: A Report on Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: John Day Company. pp. 207–209.
72.Jump up ^ "Right Choices Led to Lifelong Blessings". The Watchtower: 12. 1 January 2007. "One of the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known"
73.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 1, 1955, "Part 7—New Administration Amid World War I"
74.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 24. July 15, 2013 http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130715/who-is-faithful-discreet-slave/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
75.Jump up ^ 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. p. 176.
76.Jump up ^ Rodriguez, Rolando. "Recent Bible Student History". The Herald of Christ's Kingdom. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
Bibliography[edit]
##Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press.
##Johnson, Paul SL (November 1, 1917), Harvest Siftings Reviewed (PDF), Pastor Russell, retrieved July 21, 2009
##Macmillan, AH (1957), Faith on the March, Prentice-Hall
##Penton, James M (1997), Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
##Pierson, AN et al. (September 1, 1917), Light After Darkness (PDF), Pastor Russell, retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die, London: Constable, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0.
##Rutherford, JF (August 1, 1917), "Part I", Harvest Siftings (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Rutherford, JF (October 1, 1917), "Part II", Harvest Siftings (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Wills, Tony (2006), A People For His Name, Lulu Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
##Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959
##Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1975
##Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993
External links[edit]
## Media related to Bible Students at Wikimedia Commons
  


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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Student_movement













Bible Student movement

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 A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Bible Students
Part of a series on
Bible Students
Communities
Free Bible Students
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
Publishing houses
Dawn Bible Students Association
Pastoral Bible Institute
Publications
The Dawn·The New Creation
Frank and Ernest (broadcast)
Studies in the Scriptures
The Photo-Drama of Creation

Biographies
Charles Taze Russell
Jonas Wendell · William Henry Conley
Nelson H. Barbour · Paul S. L. Johnson
A. H. Macmillan · J. F. Rutherford
Conrad C. Binkele
Beliefs
Jehovah · Nontrinitarianism · Atonement
Dispensationalism · Sheol and Hades
Resurrection · Annihilationism
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The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist[1] Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell. Members of the movement have variously referred to themselves as Bible Students, International Bible Students, Associated Bible Students, or Independent Bible Students. The origins of the movement are associated with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881.
A number of schisms developed within the congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society between 1909 and 1932.[2][3] The most significant split began in 1917 following the election of Joseph Franklin Rutherford as president of the Watch Tower Society two months after Russell's death. The schism began with Rutherford's controversial replacement of four of the Society's board of directors and publication of The Finished Mystery.
Thousands of members left congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society throughout the 1920s prompted in part by Rutherford's failed predictions for the year 1925, increasing disillusionment with his on-going doctrinal and organizational changes, and his campaign for centralized control of the movement.[2] William Schnell, author and former Jehovah's Witness, claims that three-quarters of the original Bible Students who had been associating with the Watch Tower Society in 1921 had left by 1931.[4][a][b][6] In 1930 Rutherford stated that "the total number of those who have withdrawn from the Society... is comparatively large."[7]
Between 1918 and 1929, several factions formed their own independent fellowships, including the Standfast Movement, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement founded by PSL Johnson, and the Dawn Bible Students Association. These groups range from conservative, claiming to be Russell's true followers, to more liberal, claiming that Russell's role is not as important as once believed.[8] Rutherford's faction of the movement retained control of the Watch Tower Society[8] and adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses in July 1931.[c] The cumulative worldwide membership of the various Bible Students groups independent of the Watch Tower Society is estimated at less than 75,000.[9][10]


Contents  [hide]
1 Foundation 1.1 Watch Tower Society
1.2 International Bible Students Association
2 Formative influences
3 First schism
4 Leadership dispute
5 Associated Bible Students 5.1 Pastoral Bible Institute
5.2 Berean Bible Institute
5.3 StandFast Bible Students Association
5.4 Dawn Bible Students Association
5.5 Independent Bible Students
6 Free Bible Students 6.1 New Covenant Believers
6.2 Christian Discipling Ministries International
6.3 Free Bible Students Association
7 Jehovah's Witnesses
8 Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
9 Other groups 9.1 Friends of Man
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 Bibliography
14 External links

Foundation[edit]



 Charles Russell in 1911
In 1869 Charles Russell viewed a presentation by Advent Christian preacher Jonas Wendell[11][12] (influenced by the Millerites)[13] and soon after began attending an Adventist Bible study group in Allegheny, Pennsylvania led by George Stetson. Russell acknowledged the influence of Adventist ministers including George Storrs, an old acquaintance of William Miller and semi-regular attendee at the Bible study group in Allegheny.[14]
In early January 1876 Russell met independent Adventist preachers Nelson H. Barbour and John H. Paton, publishers of the Herald of the Morning, who convinced him that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874.[13][d][16][e] Russell provided financial backing for Barbour and became co-editor of Barbour's magazine, Herald of the Morning; the pair jointly issued Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World (1877), written mostly by Barbour.[f][19] Various concepts in the book are still taught by the Bible Student movement and Jehovah's Witnesses, including a 2520-year period termed "the Gentile Times" predicted to end in 1914. Deviating from most Second Adventists the book taught that the earth would not be burned up when Christ returned, but that humankind since Adam would eventually be resurrected to the earth and given the opportunity to attain eternal perfect human life if obedient. It also revealed an expectation that all of the "saints" would be taken to heaven in April, 1878.[20][21]
Russell continued to develop his interpretations of biblical chronology. In 1877, he published 50,000 copies of the pamphlet The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return, teaching that Christ would return invisibly before the battle of Armageddon. By 1878 he was teaching the Adventist view that the "time of the end" had begun in 1799,[22] and that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874[23] and had been crowned in heaven as king in 1878. Russell believed that 1878 also marked the resurrection of the "sleeping saints" (all faithful Christians who had died up to that time) and the "fall of Babylon" which he taught to be God's final judgment of unfaithful Christendom.[24][25] October 1914 was held as the end of a harvest period that would culminate in the beginning of Armageddon, manifested by the emergence of worldwide anarchy and the decline and destruction of civilized society.[26][27]
Russell broke with Barbour in July 1879 over the doctrine of substitutionary atonement and began publishing his own monthly magazine, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence (now known as The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom), and the pair competed through their rival publications for the minds of their readers.[20][28] (Semi-monthly publication of the magazine began in 1892.)[g][29]
In early 1881, Russell predicted that the churches ('Babylon') would begin to fall apart and that the rapture of the saints would take place that year, although they would remain on earth as materialized spirit beings.[20] In 1882 he outlined his nontrinitarian views concluding that the doctrine is not taught in the Bible.[20]
Readers of Zion's Watch Tower formed thirty Bible study groups in seven states in the United States in 1879–80, with each congregation electing its own elders. In 1880 Russell visited the congregations to conduct six-hour study sessions, teaching each congregation how to carry out topical Bible study.[20][30]
Watch Tower Society[edit]
In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed as an unincorporated administrative agency for the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles, with Russell as secretary and William Henry Conley as president.[29] Three years later, on December 15, 1884, Russell became president of the society when it was legally incorporated in Pennsylvania.[31] (The society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in September 1896).[32] Russell wrote many articles, books, pamphlets and sermons, which by his death totaled 50,000 printed pages, with almost 20 million copies of his books printed and distributed around the world.[20] In 1886, he wrote the first of what would become a six-volume Bible textbook series called Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures,[33][h] which presented his fundamental doctrines. As a consequence, the Bible Students were sometimes called Millennial Dawnists.
Russell advertised for 1000 preachers in 1881, and encouraged all who were members of "the body of Christ" to preach to their neighbors, to gather the "little flock" of saints while the vast majority of mankind would be given the opportunity to gain salvation during Christ's 1000-year reign.[13] Russell's supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible and his writings. Russell rejected the concept of a formal organization as "wholly unnecessary" for his followers and declared that his group had no record of its members' names, no creeds, and no sectarian name.[34] He wrote in February 1884: "By whatsoever names men may call us, it matters not to us... we call ourselves simply Christians."[35] Elders and deacons were elected by congregations and Russell tolerated a great latitude of belief among members. He opposed formal disciplinary procedures by congregation elders, claiming this was beyond their authority,[36] instead recommending that an individual who continued in a wrong course be judged by the entire congregation, which could ultimately "withdraw from him its fellowship" if the undesirable behavior continued.[i] Disfellowshipping did not mean the wrongdoer was to be shunned in all social circumstances or by all Bible Students, though fellowship would be limited.[38] From 1895, Russell encouraged congregations to study his Bible textbook series, Studies in the Scriptures, paragraph by paragraph to properly discern God's plan for humanity. In 1905 he recommended replacing verse-by-verse Bible studies with what he called "Berean Studies" of topics he chose.[13]
The Watch Tower Society opened overseas branches in London (1900),[39] Germany (1903), and Australia and Switzerland (1904).[40] The Society's headquarters were transferred to Brooklyn, New York in 1909.[41]
In January 1914 the Bible Students began public showings of The Photo-Drama of Creation.[42] It presented Russell's views of God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the establishment and administration of God's kingdom on earth. The Photo-Drama represented a significant advancement in film production, as the first major presentation to synchronize motion pictures with audio by use of phonograph records.[43][44] Worldwide attendance in 1914 exceeded nine million.[citation needed]
International Bible Students Association[edit]
In 1910 Russell introduced the name International Bible Students Association as a means of identifying his worldwide community of Bible study groups. He wrote:

Now in the Lord's providence we have thought of a title suitable, we believe, to the Lord's people everywhere, and free from objection, we believe, on every score—the title at the head of this article (IBSA). It fairly represents our sentiments and endeavors. We are Bible students. We welcome all of God's people to join with us in the study. We believe that the result of such studies is blessed and unifying. We recommend therefore that the little classes everywhere and the larger ones adopt this unobjectionable style and that they use it in the advertising columns of their newspapers. Thus friends everywhere will know how to recognize them when visiting strange cities.[45]
Russell explained that the Association would be directed and managed by the Peoples [sic] Pulpit Association which, in turn, represented the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. All Bible Student classes using Watch Tower Society publications could consider themselves identified with the Association and were authorized to use the name International Bible Students Association in connection with their meetings. The name was also used when advertising and conducting Bible Students conventions.[citation needed]
Formative influences[edit]
In addition to Russell other early influences include:
##Nelson H. Barbour (1824–1905)
##John Nelson Darby (1800–1882)
##Henry Dunn (1801–1878)
##Henry Grew (1781–1862)
##Dunbar Isidore Heath (1816–1888)
##William Miller (1782–1849)
##George Stetson (1814–1879)
##George Storrs (1796–1879)
##R. E. Streeter (1847–1924)
##Jonas Wendell (1815–1873)
##Joseph Seiss (1823–1904)
First schism[edit]
See also: Free Bible Students
In 1905 Paul S. L. Johnson, one of the traveling "Pilgrim" speakers and a former Lutheran minister, pointed out to Russell that his doctrines on the New Covenant had undergone a complete reversal: until 1880 he had taught that the New Covenant would be inaugurated only after the last of the 144,000 anointed Christians had been taken to heaven,[46] but since 1881 he had written that it was already in force.[47][48] Russell reconsidered the question and in January 1907 wrote several Watch Tower articles reaffirming his 1880 position—that "the new covenant belongs exclusively to the coming age"[49]—adding that the church had no mediator, but that Christ was the "advocate". He also taught that Christians making up the 144,000 would join Christ as a "joint heir" and assistant mediator during the millennium.[50]
On October 24, 1909 former Watch Tower Society secretary-treasurer E.C. Henninges, who was by then the Australian branch manager based in Melbourne, wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching, and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship. Hundreds of the estimated 10,000 U.S. Bible Students also left, including pilgrim M. L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students, and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn, forming the New Covenant Believers.[48][51] The group, which informally referred to members as Free Bible Students, published The Kingdom Scribe magazine until 1975. The group is currently known as the Berean Bible Students Church, with fewer than 200 members.
Leadership dispute[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)



 Joseph Rutherford
Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, board member and society legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at the Pittsburgh convention. Rutherford then announced publication of The Finished Mystery, which he claimed was a posthumous volume of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures.[52] By-laws passed by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors stated that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[53]
By June, four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright— had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's expanded powers of management,[54] claiming Rutherford had become autocratic.[54] In June Hirsch attempted to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[55] but Rutherford later claimed he had by then detected a conspiracy among the directors to seize control of the society.[56] In July, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that the four were not legally directors of the society. On July 12, Rutherford filled what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[57] Between August and November the society and the four ousted directors published a series of pamphlets, with each side accusing the other of ambitious, disruptive and dishonest conduct. The former directors also claimed Rutherford had required all headquarters workers to sign a petition supporting him and threatened dismissal for any who refused to sign.[58] The former directors were forcibly escorted by police from the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[59] On January 5, 1918 Rutherford was returned to office.
By mid-1919, about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept Rutherford's leadership,[60] forming groups such as The Standfast Movement, Paul Johnson Movement, and the Pastoral Bible Institute of Brooklyn.[61] It is estimated that as many as three quarters of the Bible Students associating in 1921 left the movement by 1931 in protest to Rutherford's rejection of Pastor Russell's teachings. To reduce public confusion regarding the existence of several groups of Bible Students no longer associated with the Watch Tower Society, Rutherford's faction of Bible Students adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses on July 26, 1931 at a convention in Columbus, Ohio.[62][63]
Associated Bible Students[edit]
The Associated Bible Students groups, which adhere to Charles Taze Russell's teachings, include the Independent Bible Students, StandFast Bible Students and Dawn Bible Students. Congregations are autonomous, and may not necessarily have contact with other congregations, though many do. The Dawn Bible Students collectively form the largest segment of the Bible Student movement separate from the Watch Tower Society.[64]
Pastoral Bible Institute[edit]
In 1918, the former directors held the first Bible Student Convention independent of the Watch Tower Society. At the second convention a few months later, the informal Pastoral Bible Institute was founded. They began publishing The Herald of Christ's Kingdom, edited by RE Streeter. An editorial committee continues publication of the magazine[65] in a reduced capacity, and reproduces other Bible Student movement literature, including Russell's six-volume Studies in the Scriptures.[64]
Berean Bible Institute[edit]
The Australian Berean Bible Institute (BBI) formally separated from the Watch Tower Society in 1918. It published The Voice, and continues to publish the People's Paper magazine. There are several 'classes' of Bible students in Australia that hold similar beliefs to those promulgated by the BBI, but there is no official affiliation. Two conventions are held annually in Anglesea, Victoria and Alexandra Headlands, Queensland. There is no official creed; members are allowed to come to their own conclusions regarding interpretations of the Bible; the role of fellowship is to provide mutual help and stimulation. The number of Bible Students in Australia is estimated at approximately 100.[64]
StandFast Bible Students Association[edit]
In December 1918, Charles E. Heard and others considered[citation needed] Rutherford's indifference[66] regarding the purchase of war bonds to be a perversion of Russell's pacifist teachings, and contrary to scripture.[67] As a result, they founded the StandFast Bible Students Association in Portland, Oregon, USA. The name originated from their decision to "stand fast" on principles involving war that Russell had espoused. Membership dwindled and the group was eventually disbanded. A splinter group known as the Elijah Voice Society, was founded by John A. Herdersen and C. D. McCray in 1923. They were especially noted for their preaching and pacifist activity.[citation needed]
Dawn Bible Students Association[edit]
Main article: Dawn Bible Students Association
See also: Frank and Ernest (broadcast)
In 1928, Norman Woodworth, cousin of Clayton J. Woodworth, left the Watch Tower Society after having been in charge of their radio ministry. Woodworth created an independent Bible Students radio program called Frank and Ernest.[68] Funding was provided by the Brooklyn congregation of Bible Students and broadcasting continued into the 1980s. In 1929 the station sponsored the First Annual Reunion Convention of Bible Students at the old Bible House used by Russell in Pittsburgh.
In 1931 Woodworth and others founded the Dawn Bible Students Association to resume publication of Studies in the Scriptures, which the Watch Tower Society had officially ceased printing in 1927. The Dawn Bible Students published a leaflet, The Bible Students Radio Echo, to follow up interest in the radio program. The leaflet was soon developed into a 16-page magazine and renamed The Dawn—A Herald of Christ's Presence, which they continue to publish, along with radio, television, and Internet radio programs.[68]
Independent Bible Students[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)
Over the past thirty-five years, controversy surrounded the Dawn Bible Students Association as their publishing and editorial committee began to promote more-liberal points of view, distancing themselves from some of Russell's viewpoints, alienating many Bible Students as a result.[citation needed] In 1974, a group of Bible Students meeting at a convention in Fort Collins, Colorado formally ceased their spiritual fellowship with, and financial support of, the Dawn Bible Students Association. They refer to themselves as Independent Bible Students. The split was not intended to eliminate or restrict personal fellowship, but was viewed as a "stand for the truth"[citation needed] by ceasing sponsorship of elders associated with the Dawn Bible Students, and avoiding attendance at their conventions. In recent years, attempts have been made to reintegrate the groups. The Independent Bible Students publishes a non-doctrinal magazine, The Bible Students Newsletter.[citation needed]
Free Bible Students[edit]
Main article: Free Bible Students
The Free Bible Students separated very early from the Watchtower Society, as Russell began to change some teachings.
New Covenant Believers[edit]
In 1909, M. L. McPhail, a traveling elder ("Pilgrim") and member of the Chicago Bible Students, disassociated from Russell's movement when controversy arose over Russell's expanded view of the application and timing of the "New Covenant" mentioned by Jeremiah, and led the New Covenant Bible Students in the United States, founding the New Covenant Believers in that year. The community, which members informally refer to as Free Bible Students, published The Kingdom Scribe magazine until 1975.[69] The founding group is now known as the Berean Bible Students Church in Lombard.[70]
Christian Discipling Ministries International[edit]
In 1928 the Italian Bible Students Association[clarification needed] in Hartford, Connecticut withdrew its support from the Watch Tower Society and changed its name to the Millennial Bible Students Church or Christian Millennial Fellowship and later to Christian Discipling Ministries International. They came to reject many of Russell's writings as erroneous. Now located in New Jersey, the group is known as the Free Bible Students; it has published The New Creation magazine since 1940.[69]
Free Bible Students Association[edit]
Conrad C. Binkele the former Branch Manager of Watchtower Society founded in 1928 the community of "Free Bible Students Association" in the German region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) with other brethren and began publishing "Der Pilgrim" a religious magazine from 1931 to 1934. Free Bible Students in Germany were persecuted during World War II. Only after the war, were rehabilitated in the Bible Students and approved the publication again.
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses
Bible Students who submitted to Rutherford's leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society became known as Jehovah's witnesses in 1931. The Watch Tower Society remains the religion's primary administrative body, and their beliefs and organizational structure have diverged considerably from Russell's.[71] Their literature states that Bible Students is the former name for their group,[72] and does not acknowledge the continued existence of other Bible Student groups. In 1955, the Watch Tower Society claimed that those who separated from the movement during Rutherford's presidency constituted the "evil slave" of Matthew 24:48-51.[73] (The Society altered its view in 2013, calling the "evil slave" a hypothetical warning to the 'faithful slave'.[74]) Jehovah's Witnesses report worldwide membership of approximately 8 million.[75]
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement[edit]
Main article: Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
Paul S. L. Johnson founded the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement in 1919. Johnson's death in 1950 led to an internal disagreement over his role as a teacher chosen by God, and resulted in the formation of new splinter groups, such as the Epiphany Bible Students Association, and the Laodicean Home Missionary Movement. Johnson believed he had been appointed by God as Russell's official spiritual successor, that he was the last member of the 144,000 of Revelation 7, and that hope of a heavenly reward of immortality for the Christian faithful would cease after his death. His associate and successor, Raymond Jolly, taught that he himself was the last member of the "great multitude", also of Revelation 7. After Jolly's death, remaining members of the fellowship believed they would live on a perfected earth in God's kingdom as a group referred to as the "modern worthies", as associates of the "ancient worthies"—the ancient Jewish prophets God would resurrect to guide and instruct the world in his kingdom.[citation needed]
Other groups[edit]
Friends of Man[edit]
Main article: Friends of Man
Alexander FL Freytag, manager of the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Switzerland since 1898, had disagreed with Russell's teachings before Russell's death in 1916. He began publishing his own views using the Watch Tower Society's printing equipment in 1917, and was ousted from the Watch Tower Society by Rutherford in 1919. In 1920, Freytag founded the Angel of Jehovah Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Philanthropic Assembly of the Friends of Man and The Church of the Kingdom of God. He published two journals, the monthly The Monitor of the Reign of Justice and the weekly Paper for All.[76]
See also[edit]
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##International Bible Students Association
Notes[edit]
a.Jump up ^ Rogerson notes that it is not clear exactly how many Bible Students left, but quotes Rutherford (Jehovah, 1934, page 277) as saying "only a few" who left other religions were then "in God's organisation".
b.Jump up ^ Annual Memorial attendance figures in 1925 (90, 434) with 1928 (17, 380).[5]
c.Jump up ^ 'witnesses' was not capitalised until the 1970s
d.Jump up ^ Barbour had originally predicted a visible return of Christ for 1873, but when that failed to eventuate, he concluded that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874 based on a reference in Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott.[15]
e.Jump up ^ Russell explains how he accepted the idea of an invisible return of Christ in 1874 from N.H. Barbour[17]
f.Jump up ^ Though the book bore the names of both men as authors, James Penton (Apocalypse Delayed) points out that in early issues of the Watch Tower, Russell repeatedly referred to Barbour as its author. In the July 15, 1906 Watch Tower Russell said it was "mostly written by Mr Barbour"[18]
g.Jump up ^ Online copies of the Watch Tower from 1879–1916 can be viewed by issue at Most holy faith or by article at AGS Consulting . These are taken from the 7 volume Watch Tower Reprints published by the Watch Tower Society in 1920 which reprinted all the issues from 1879–1919.
h.Jump up ^ The titles of the six volumes are: 1) The Divine Plan of the Ages, 2)The Time is At Hand, 3)Thy Kingdom Come, 4)The Battle of Armageddon, 5)The At-one-ment Between God and Man, 6) The New Creation (PDF) (study) 6, Bible Students.
i.Jump up ^ Russell directed that an unrepentant person be judged by the entire ecclesia, rather than the elders. He directed that the ecclesia not make the wrongdoer's faults public.[37]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Crompton, Robert (1996). Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. p. 12. ISBN 0-227-67939-3.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Penton 1997, pp. 43–62.
3.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 52.
4.Jump up ^ Schnell, William J (1956), Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave, Grand Rapids: Baker[page needed], as cited by Rogerson 1969, pp. 52.
5.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1959, pp. 110, 312–13.
6.Jump up ^ Wills 2006, p. 167 cites The Watch Tower December 1, 1927 (p 355) in which Rutherford states, "the larger percentage" of original Bible Students had by then departed.
7.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower November 15, 1930 p. 342 col 1.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Rogerson 1969, pp. 39.
9.Jump up ^ Present Truth February, 2006 pp 9–13.
10.Jump up ^ Blankman, Drew; Augustine, Todd, eds. (2004), Pocket Dictionary of North American Denominations, p. 79, "A smaller group rejected Rutherford's leadership and became the Dawn Bible Student's Association and in the late 1980s had a membership of about 60000."
11.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1993, pp. 43.
12.Jump up ^ Wendell, Jonas, The Present Truth or Meat in Due Season (PDF) (treatise), Pastor Russell, pp. 35–36 pointed to 1873 for the time of Christ's visible return.
13.^ Jump up to: a b c d Penton 1997, pp. 13–46.
14.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, 1906, as cited by Penton 1997, p. 17.
15.Jump up ^ Barbour, Nelson H (1871), Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873: or the Midnight Cry, retrieved February 20, 2006.
16.Jump up ^ "The Midnight Cry and Herald of the Morning", Herald, March 1874 |chapter= ignored (help).
17.Jump up ^ "Harvest Gatherings and Siftings", Watch Tower (AGS Consulting), July 15, 1906: 3822 |chapter= ignored (help).
18.Jump up ^ "Emphatic Diaglott", Watch Tower (reprint) (Jehovah’s Witness truth).
19.Jump up ^ Barbour, NH; Russell, Charles T (1877), "Three Worlds and The Harvest of This World" (PDF), Herald (magazine), retrieved March 15, 2006.
20.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Penton 1997, pp. 13–46
21.Jump up ^ Three Worlds, pp. 184–85.
22.Jump up ^ "The 'Time of the End,' a period of one hundred and fifteen (115) years, from A.D. 1799 to A.D. 1914, is particularly marked in the Scriptures." Thy Kingdom Come, 1890, p. 23.
23.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 631–32.
24.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come (1890), Volume 3 of Studies in the Scriptures, pp. 305–8.
25.Jump up ^ "This spuing out, or casting off, of the nominal church as an organization in 1878, we then understood, and still proclaim, to be the date of the commencement of Babylon's fall..."—"The Consummation of Our Hope" in Zion's Watch Tower, April 1883. Reprints pp. 474–5.
26.Jump up ^ [1] The Watch Tower, July 1881, "Future Work and Glory"
27.Jump up ^ "Things to Come—And The Present European Situation", The Watch Tower, January 15, 1892, Reprints, p. 1355
28.Jump up ^ Russell explained his side of the break with Barbour in the first issue of the Watch Tower.
29.^ Jump up to: a b "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Watchtower, January 15, 1955, page 14.
30.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, p. 12.
31.Jump up ^ Holden, A. (2002) Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. (p. 18)
32.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 22.
33.Jump up ^ Yearbook 1975, Watch Tower Society, 1975.
34.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, chapter 4.
35.Jump up ^ Watch Tower (reprint), Most holy faith, February 1984 and cited by Franz & 2007, chapter 4.
36.Jump up ^ Jones, Leslie W (1917), What Pastor Russell Said, p. 346, as cited by Penton 1997, p. 31, "The Lord's word does not authorize any court of Elders, or anyone else, to become busybodies. This would be going back to the practices of the Dark Ages during the Inquisition and we would be showing the same spirit as did the inquisitors."
37.Jump up ^ Russell, Charles T (1904), The New Creation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, pp. 289–90.
38.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 31.
39.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959, page 32.
40.Jump up ^ "The First One a Hundred Years Ago", Awake, December 22, 2000.
41.Jump up ^ "Organized Testimony to the New World", Watchtower, July 15, 1950, page 215.
42.Jump up ^ Slides and film from the Photo-Drama can be viewed online at AGS Consulting; the book is available online at Herald.
43.Jump up ^ "Trivia", Photo-Drama of Creation (1914) (article), IMDb, retrieved 2009-04-15
44.Jump up ^ American Movie Classics, "Timeline of Influential Milestones... 1910s", Retrieved 2009-04-15.
45.Jump up ^ Watchtower, April 1910.
46.Jump up ^ "The Three Great Covenants", Zion's Watch Tower, March 1880.
47.Jump up ^ "The New Covenant vs the Law Covenant", Zion's Watch Tower, September 1887.
48.^ Jump up to: a b Wills, Tony (2006). A People For His Name. Lulu Enterprises. pp. 63–68. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
49.Jump up ^ "The Mediator of the New Covernant", Zion's Watch Tower, January 1, 1907, pages 9, 10.
50.Jump up ^ "The Word Mediator Used Differently,", Watch Tower, January 1909.
51.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 42
52.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery. p. reface, p. 5. "This book may properly be said to be a posthumous publication of Pastor Russell."
53.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6
54.^ Jump up to: a b Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4
55.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12
56.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23
57.Jump up ^ Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15
58.Jump up ^ Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9
59.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68
60.Jump up ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94
61.Jump up ^ Rogerson 1969, pp. 39
62.Jump up ^ Rogerson, Alan, Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Constable, London, 1969. pp 55-56: "In 1931 came an important milestone in the history of the organisation. For many years Rutherford's followers had been called a variety of names: 'International Bible Students', 'Russellites', or 'Millennial Dawners'. In order to distinguish clearly his followers from the other groups who had separated in 1918 Rutherford proposed that they adopt an entirely new name - Jehovah's witnesses."
63.Jump up ^ The Watch Tower, "A New Name", October 1, 1931 pp 291: "Since the death of Charles T. Russell there have arisen numerous companies formed out of those who once walked with him, each of these companies claiming to teach the truth, and each calling themselves by some name, such as "Followers of Pastor Russell", "those who stand by the truth as expounded by Pastor Russell", "Associated Bible Students", and some by the names of their local leaders. All of this tends to confusion and hinders those of good will who are not better informed from obtaining a knowledge of the truth."
64.^ Jump up to: a b c Daughters of the Tower
65.Jump up ^ Herald (magazine).
66.Jump up ^ "Could Not Talk of Loan", The New York Times, April 29, 1918, As Retrieved 2010-03-02, "Rutherford, the President, sa[id] that the buying of bonds was not a religious question, and that the [IBSA] association did not oppose the purchase of Liberty bonds by the members"
67.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1919:"'The International Bible Students’ Association is not against the Liberty Loan.; in Watch Tower, June 1, 1919 Rutherford indicated regret about making any comment on the matter.
68.^ Jump up to: a b Frank and Ernest
69.^ Jump up to: a b Who are the Free Bible Students and what is their history?
70.Jump up ^ Welcome to Berean Bible Students Church
71.Jump up ^ Whalen, William J. (1962). Armageddon Around the Corner: A Report on Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: John Day Company. pp. 207–209.
72.Jump up ^ "Right Choices Led to Lifelong Blessings". The Watchtower: 12. 1 January 2007. "One of the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known"
73.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 1, 1955, "Part 7—New Administration Amid World War I"
74.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 24. July 15, 2013 http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130715/who-is-faithful-discreet-slave/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
75.Jump up ^ 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. p. 176.
76.Jump up ^ Rodriguez, Rolando. "Recent Bible Student History". The Herald of Christ's Kingdom. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
Bibliography[edit]
##Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press.
##Johnson, Paul SL (November 1, 1917), Harvest Siftings Reviewed (PDF), Pastor Russell, retrieved July 21, 2009
##Macmillan, AH (1957), Faith on the March, Prentice-Hall
##Penton, James M (1997), Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
##Pierson, AN et al. (September 1, 1917), Light After Darkness (PDF), Pastor Russell, retrieved July 21, 2009.
##Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die, London: Constable, ISBN 978-0-09-455940-0.
##Rutherford, JF (August 1, 1917), "Part I", Harvest Siftings (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Rutherford, JF (October 1, 1917), "Part II", Harvest Siftings (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009.
##Wills, Tony (2006), A People For His Name, Lulu Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
##Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (PDF), Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1959
##Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1975
##Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993
External links[edit]
## Media related to Bible Students at Wikimedia Commons
  


Categories: Bible Student movement
Christian groups with annihilationist beliefs
Nontrinitarianism
Premillennialism
















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