Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination whose members believe that their faith is the restoration of first-century Christianity. Believing that all other religions are false, Jehovah's Witnesses reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell and the immortality of the soul. The central theme of their preaching is God’s Kingdom (that is, God's rule over the Earth) with Jesus Christ as its king. The Witnesses believe this rule began with the Second Coming or presence of Christ. Originally, this was believed to have occurred invisibly in 1874, but this date was later revised to 1914.

In areas where they are active, they are commonly known for their door-to-door preaching and their objection to blood transfusions, and for not celebrating birthdays and most holidays. Their most widely-known publications are the religious magazines, The Watchtower and Awake!. Official membership of the organization, counted as those who preach each month, is estimated to be about 6.5 million.

Other Witness teachings include the recognition and use of a personal name for God, translated as Jehovah in English, as vital for acceptable worship. They believe that Jesus' death was necessary to atone for the sin brought into the world by the first man, Adam, thus opening the way for the hope of everlasting life for mankind. It is also taught that 144,000 people will receive immortal life in heaven with Jesus Christ as co-rulers over the rest of perfected humankind on a paradise earth. More specifically, Witnesses believe that in the war of Armageddon, which they believe to be imminent, the wicked will be destroyed. The survivors of this event, along with individuals deemed worthy of resurrection, will form a new society and have the possibility of living forever in an earthly paradise.


 History

Jehovah's Witnesses originated with the religious movement known as Bible Students, which was founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell. A schism erupted in 1917 at the beginning of the presidency of Russell's successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford. Those who remained supportive of the Watchtower Society adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931 under Rutherford's leadership. Those who did not support Rutherford formed various Bible Student groups which have retained Russell's teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses no longer use "Bible Students" as a name for their religion.


Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916)In the early 1870s, Russell organized a Bible study group of Second Adventists in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An interest in Bible prophecy was sparked, in part, by Jonas Wendell. In 1876, Russell met Nelson H. Barbour and subsequently adopted Barbour's eschatology. Barbour had predicted a visible return of Christ for 1873, and when that failed to occur, he revised the prediction to 1874. Soon after the second disappointment, Barbour's group decided Christ had returned invisibly to Earth in 1874. They differed from most Second Adventists by teaching that all humankind descending from Adam would be given a chance to live in a paradise on Earth. The year 1914 was seen as the final end, marking a forty-year period from 1874.

In July 1879, Russell broke with Barbour over the concept of substitutionary atonement and he soon began publishing his own magazine, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence (now known as The Watchtower). After the break, Russell retained the bulk of Barbour's eschatological views. He also maintained the Adventist rejection of the traditional view of Hell and by 1882 had rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. He became known as "Pastor Russell", and in 1881 formed the legal entity which developed into the non-profit organization: The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (currently headquartered in New York City). In 1884, it was incorporated, with Russell as president. He authored the six-volume series, Studies in the Scriptures. Early editions predicted that Armageddon would culminate in the year 1914. In 1914, Russell founded the International Bible Students Association in the United Kingdom.

Following Russell's death on October 31, 1916, an editorial committee of five was set up to supervise the writing of the Watch Tower magazine, as set forth in Russell's Last Will and Testament.[14] On January 6, 1917, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (also known as "Judge Rutherford") was elected second President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. A power struggle soon developed between Rutherford and four of the seven-member Board of Directors of the Society. Matters reached a climax on July 17, 1917 as the book The Finished Mystery was released to the Bethel headquarters staff. Rutherford announced to the staff that he was also dismissing the four directors and replacing them with new members, claiming they had not been legally elected.[17] The four dismissed directors set up the Pastoral Bible Institute and began publishing their own religious journal. Dissension and schisms ensued in congregations worldwide as a result of these events, and of the consequences of new predictions made for the years 1918, and 1925.


Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942)History of Eschatological Doctrine
Last Days Begin Christ's Return Christ as King Resurrection of 144,000 Judgment of Religion Great Tribulation
1879–1920 1799 1874 1878 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920
1920–1925 1925
1925–1927 1914 1878 1878 within generation of 1914
1927–1930 1918
1930–1933 1919
1933–1966 1914
1966–1975 1975?
1975–1995 within generation of 1914
1995-2007 imminent
The Watchtower Society's opposition to the draft during World War I resulted in legal action by the United States federal government. Rutherford and the new board of directors were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for violating the Espionage Act. They were released on bail, and in March 1919, the judgment against them was reversed, and the charges dropped.

An emphasis on house-to-house preaching began in 1922. The period from 1925-1933 saw many significant changes in doctrine. Attendance at their yearly Memorial dropped from a high of 90,434 in 1925 down to 17,380 in 1928, due to the previous power struggle, the failed prophesies for the year 1925, and the evolving doctrinal changes which alienated those who sided with Russell's views. By 1933, 1914 was seen as the beginning of Christ's presence, his enthronement as king, and the start of the "last days" instead of being considered the terminal date in their chronology.The editorial committee was disbanded with Rutherford having the final say regarding what went into Watchtower publications.The offices and election of elders and deacons were also discontinued during this era with all "servants" in local congregations being appointed by headquarters.

Hitler's Nazi Germany persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses and many were imprisoned in concentration camps. Their identifying badge was a purple triangle. They "had the option to avoid persecution and personal harm by submitting to state authority and serving in the armed forces. Since such submission would violate their religious beliefs, the vast majority of Jehovah's Witnesses refused to abandon their faith even in the face of persecution, torture in concentration camps, or death."During this time period, Witnesses also experienced mob violence in America and were temporarily banned in Canada and Australia because they were perceived as being against the war effort.

Under Rutherford, membership grew from about 21,000 in 1917 to about 115,000 at the time of his death in 1942.

Nathan Homer Knorr succeeded Rutherford as president of the Watch Tower Society. Known as an efficient administrator, Knorr founded the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead to train missionaries, as well as the Theocratic Ministry School to train preaching and teaching at the congregational level. Significant Supreme Court victories involving the rights of free speech and religion for Jehovah's Witnesses have had a great impact on legal interpretation of these rights for others. In 1943, the United States Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette that school children of Jehovah's Witnesses could not be compelled to salute the flag.

Knorr's vice-president Frederick William Franz became the leading theologian, and is believed to have been the principal translator of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Also produced were a Greek-English New Testament interlinear (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures) and a Bible dictionary (Aid to Bible Understanding). The offices of elder and ministerial servant (deacon) were restored to Witness congregations in 1972, with appointments being made from headquarters. Membership rose from 115,000 to over 2 million under Knorr's leadership.


Watchtower Building facing East River in New YorkDuring the 1960s[38] and early 1970s, various references were made in Witnesses' literature and at assemblies, implying that Christ's thousand-year millennial reign might begin by 1975. The chronology pointing to 1975 was noted in the secular media at the time. From 1975 to 1980, there was a drop in membership following the failure of this prediction. In 1980, the Watchtower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding the year 1975.

In 1976, the leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses was reorganized, and the power of the presidency passed on to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Subsequent presidents of the Watch Tower Society after Knorr's death in 1977 have been Frederick William Franz, Milton George Henschel and Don A. Adams. However, since 1976, doctrinal and organizational decisions have been made by the Governing Body and they supervise the writing of Watchtower publications. Witnesses no longer teach that the generation of people alive in 1914 will survive until Armageddon, but are encouraged not to lose confidence in "the nearness of Jehovah's day of judgment."
 

Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses   Jehovah's Witnesses and blood     Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

 Books
Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge, examines the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their doctrines. Read selections from: Apocalypse Delayed: the story of Jehovah's Witnesses University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998) (Google book search)
Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz, a former Jehovah's Witness who was a member of the Governing Body of the Watch Tower Society for nine years. This book gives a detailed account of the authority structure, practices, doctrines and decision-making practices Franz experienced while serving on the Governing Body. Sample chapters online (require Adobe Acrobat Reader): 1, 9, 10, 11, 12. Publisher: Commentary Press. 420 pages. Hardback ISBN 0-914675-24-9. Paperback ISBN 0-914675-23-0. 4th edition (June 2002)
The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return by Carl O. Jonsson. Jonsson considers the origin of the belief that the Gentile Times began in 607 B.C. and examines several lines of evidence and the methodology for deriving it. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press (July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)
Jehovah's Witnesses Defended by Greg Stafford. Stafford reviews and thoroughly explores the most common, and/or prevalent, criticisms made about Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. http://elihubooks.com/books/
A People for His Name: A History of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation by Timothy White (pseudonym for Anthony Wills). White explores the Witnesses' doctrinal growth and shifts and notes schisms from the main body. 418 pages. Publisher: The Vantage Press, 1967.
Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses by Ron Rhodes. 444 pages. Harvest House Publishers, 1993. Written from an Evangelical Christian perspective, this book is designed to aid them in dialogues with Witnesses. ISBN 1-56507-106-9