What Is The History Of The Jehovah's Witnesses?

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If you ask one of the Jehovah's Witnesses the origin of the religion, many will tell you the official line, "According to the Bible, the line of witnesses of Jehovah reaches back to faithful Abel." (Hebrews 11:4-12:1). However, the origin of this particular religion can be traced to the nineteenth century Adventist movement in America, particularly the Millerlites. Jehovah's Witnesses, do not often admit this to outsiders and many do not know the details. This cover is to hide behind the fact that they are a relatively new religious cult, one designed to make money selling magazines while keeping the members in unquestioning submission to do this work free.

William Miller, a Baptist preacher began proclaiming in 1816 that Christ would return in 1843. The hope of a Second Coming attracted thousands in Baptists and other Christian church members. Over 50,000 followers put their trust in Miller's complex chronological calculations which "proved" the end was near and prepared to welcome the Lord.

The date of the Second Coming moved from March of 1843 to March of 1844. It later became October of 1844. After the 1844 came and went with no big event, Miller's group fell apart and most went back to their original churches, some which have adopted an "end is coming soon" mentality.

Other followers kept the movement alive and splintered into many Millerlite sects which include the Jehovah's Witnesses, Advent Christian Church, the Life and Advent Union, the Seventh-Day Adventists, The Branch Davidians (that group from Waco led by David Koresh), and various Second Adventist groups.

The few outsiders ("worldly people") know only about the Witnesses beginning starting from Charles Taze Russell, who was born on February 16, 1852, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was originally a Presbyterian and at age 16 years became a member of the Congregational church in the year 1868 until he started to lose faith. He had begun to doubt not only church creeds and doctrines, but also God and the Bible itself. This is when he met a Second Adventist preacher named Jonas Wendell. Russell studied under Wendell and became a lay preacher himself (Pastor Russell). He met locally on a regular basis with a small circle of friends to discuss the Bible, and this informal study group came to regard him as their leader or pastor.

In January of 1876, "The Herald of the Morning", backed up Russell's belief that Christ returned invisibly in 1874. To him it meant this small group managed to affirm that the Lord had indeed returned at the appointed time, in 1874, only invisibly. [How convenient!!]

This Adventist magazine, "The Herald of the Morning", was in financial ruins due to lack of belief of the public who would not buy into that idea. In 1876, Russell met with Barbour who owned the magazine to discuss their mutual beliefs and how to fix the financial situation of the magazine. Russell became the financial backer and Assistant Editor. Russell's group then became affiliated with Barbour's Adventist group.

Russell and Barbour both believed and taught that Christ would return invisibly in 1874 and by the spring of 1878 a Rapture of believers to heaven. When this failed to happen in 1878, Barbour, came up with "new light" on this and other doctrines. Russell rejected some of the ideas and encouraged his followers to oppose them. This led to the break up when Russell started a new magazine called, "Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence" in July of 1879. This is the same magazine now called "The Watchtower."

Charles Russell no longer wanted to be considered as an Adventist or a Millerite. He did not see these groups in a bad light, but as tools used by God that needed to be discarded to move ahead. Those who subscribed to his magazine were already members of other churches, many of them in the mainstream who viewed "The Watchtower" as a ministry and not a religion or an alternative to their church. Russell did have about thirty or more study groups from Ohio to New England who followed him and his teachings and referred to him as "Pastor" Russell.

Russell's teachings were so extreme that it forced his followers to separate from other churches and eventually became a new denomination. He started setting specific dates for the return of Christ and the Rapture and outright rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity.

Followers had been taught that Russell himself was the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45. Russell died on October 31, 1916, exactly two years after he claimed the world was supposed to end. [Russell was buried beneath a headstone with the words "The Laodicean Messenger." Next to his grave is a massive stone pyramid emblazoned with the cross and crown symbol he was fond of and the name "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society." This pyramid still stands in Cemetery Lane in Ross, Pittsburgh.]

However, in the minds of his followers, with World War I in full battle, they had reason to believe "the end" was still at hand. They would then be following a new man by the name of "Judge" Joseph Franklin Rutherford who was a former Vice President of the Watch Tower Corporation. Rutherford was a lawyer and Russell's chief legal advisor. Knowing all the loopholes in Russell's will, he took full reign of the organization to run it in the way he saw fit. Those who would not follow suit were let go from their corporate positions. He eventually replaced locally elected elders with those he appointed taking away a more democratically run organization to make it become a tight knit machine run by his rules and ideas.

When Rutherford took over, some members broke into splinter groups such as the Chicago Bible Students, the Dawn Bible Students, and the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement. Under Russell, the group was known as Bible Students, but Rutherford renamed the group Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931.

Rutherford's biggest contribution to the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses is his insistence on proclaiming the message door to door by handing out the literature printed by the Watch Tower Society as well as carrying phonographs which would carry the message loudly and in an obnoxious fashion. Most of the literature of the 1920s was devoted to antigovernment and anti-Catholic sentiments as well as predictions about a soon to come end time. Much of this hate literature is what brought persecution to the members of this religion which fed into their belief that the world was against them. In 1925, Rutherford's prediction of the end did not pan out and he stopped predicting exact dates to the end, but still claimed the end would come soon. Rutherford died in 1942 to be followed by the next President, Nathan Homer Knorr.

Knorr was kind of a reserved man and not quite comfortable with as much power as he had, therefore the development of spreading more of the duties to his committee soon to be thought of as the "Governing Body," with Frederick W Franz as a key member. By 1971, there were 11 members in the Governing Body which included all of the 7 members of the board of directors. This "Governing Body" was supposed to be proof that this organization was not under the rule of one man, but a "spirit directed" appointees of Jehovah to direct His organization. Nothing could be further from the truth!! [Pun intended for those who know what I mean.] Although the so-called "Governing Body," were portrayed as fulfilling this role, the actuality is that Nathan Knorr continued to rule much like Russell and Rutherford.

Knorr's most noted contribution in the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses was in the door to door service - to tune the zeal down a few notches [and if you think it is annoying having a JW at your door on a Saturday morning, just imagine how much worse it was when they carried the phonographs with a foot literally in your door!!]. Rutherford's method of going door to door was rather rude and abrasive, not much to the liking of Knorr who changed policies and taught members more effective ways to recruit people door to door. Members of this religion, known as "Publishers" were taught how to present little sermons and to conduct "Bible studies."

Frederick W Franz was largely responsible for handling the doctrines of the religion and to repair the damage of many false predictions in their history. Franz revised the chronology for Christ's invisible return as having taken place in 1914 rather than 1874. This revision established that 1975 was the year for Armageddon and the end of the world.

Knorr died in 1977 and the role of President was taken over by Franz. Since 1975 proved not to be the end of the world, membership was starting to dwindle. Some within the headquarters and down within the local congregations started to question many of the key doctrines. By 1980, Franz held firm and started to crack down on those who would dare question the beliefs and mostly the direction of the organization. This led to a tragic enforcement of one of their beliefs of "shunning" those who were "apostates" which led to break ups of many families, emotional distress, and suicides.

An "apostate" was anyone who would not agree with the teachings without question who could be called by a judicial committee to judge them [this amounts to a kangaroo court were many were treated unfairly and booted out.] When labeled an "apostate" they were considered dead by the rest of the congregation and were not allowed to have anything to do with the loyal JW members, even if they were your own mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter. To associate with anyone who was an "apostate" would make you one with the same treatment.

Milton G. Henschel became President in December 1992 when Franz died. Those members of the Governing Body are all over 75. Membership in the organization has dropped in great numbers. Controversial beliefs, false prophecies, and destruction of family units are factors this religion must consider in planning a future for this organization. They will have to either change to fit a more mainstream mentality or will be doomed to extinction.

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