It's founder Charles Taze Russell, was born February l6th, 1852 to parents who were Presbyterian. As a youth Russell moved to the Congregational Church and he later came upon a group called the Second Adventists. He was strongly influenced by the Adventism movement and derived much of his beliefs from them.

In 1870 he organized a Bible class of six members who met for the next four years. He formed the Zion's Watchtower Tract Society in 1884 and in 1896 it was renamed the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In his early writings Russell predicted that Jesus would return in I914 would bring the end of the world. His most important writings were the seven volume series called Studies In The Scriptures.

These writings were promoted to be equal to, and in many cases greater than, the Holy Scriptures in the Bible. Russell taught that his view on the scriptures was the only correct view. He personally owned 990 shares out of 1,000 shares of stock. Thereafter he exercised absolute authority in the early days of the Watchtower society.

Russell was a man of questionable character. An extremely egotistical man who allowed his followers to equate him with men like the apostle Paul, Wycliffe, and Martin Luther. He said that if people had a choice between reading his books and reading the scriptures they would do better to choose his books. His wife successfully sued him for divorce in 1913 on the grounds of adultery, conceit, egotism, and domination.

It is not surprising then that the J.W. (Jehovah Witnesses) disclaim any connection with Charles Taze Russell. They dislike being branded "Russellites," yet their doctrines are still the same as Russell’s'. Their history clearly points to Russell as their founder. Russell based many of his predictions on the measurements he took from the Greet Egyptian Pyramid. He was so infatuated with these studies that before his death, he requested that his tombstone be made in the shape like the pyramid and placed on his grave. To this day, much to the embarrassment of the J.W., his grave is marked by a miniature pyramid.

JUDGE RUTHERFORD
Upon the death of Russell, his will set up a board that would be entrusted with the authority to run the Watchtower Society. It is not quite clear how Judge Rutherford wrestled control of the Watchtower Society. The strange twist to his ascension to the head of the organization is not clearly known to this day, Ironically Judge Rutherford's name was not even on the original primary list of directors, but on a secondary list. Nevertheless, Joseph Franklin Rutherford succeeded Russell as the second leader of the Watchtower Society.

Rutherford was born in I869 to parents who were Baptists. He studied law and became a lawyer and later an associate judge and became known as Judge Rutherford. Rutherford gave them their popular name Jehovah Witnesses in 1931 at a convention in Columbus Ohio using Isaiah 43:10 as a basis. Judge Rutherford over a period of time led the Society in being organizational centered instead of Russell centered.

Rutherford had a severe case of pneumonia in 1919. Under a doctor's treatment, he went to San Diego, California, and the doctor urged him to spend as much time as possible there. From 1929 on, Rutherford spent the winters working at a San Diego residence he had named Beth-Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim mean 'House of the Princes'. Rutherford wrote that the purpose of acquiring that property and building the house was that there are those on earth today who fully believe in God and Christ Jesus and in His Kingdom, and who believe that the faithful men of old will soon be resurrected by the Lord, be back on earth, and take charge of the visible affairs of earth. The title to Beth Sarim is vested in the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in trust, to be used by the president of the Society and his assistants for the present, and thereafter to be forever at the disposal of the aforementioned princes on the earth ... It stands there as a testimony to Jehovah's name; and when the princes do return, and some of them occupy the property, such will be a confirmation of the faith and hope that induced the building of Beth Sarim. Thus Beth-Sarim was built with funds that were a direct contribution for that purpose: a house for Rutherford and other governing members and for Abraham and other prophets when they return. The deed, which was published in full in "The Golden Age" of March 19, 1930, conveyed this property to J. F. Rutherford and thereafter to the Watch Tower Society.

Rutherford made the J.W. more authoritarian and instituted many changes contrary to Russell's teachings. He justified these changes by claiming a progressive revelation "that shed new light on Russell's teachings. Thousands of faithful J.W. when they realized Rutherford was abandoning Russell's teachings left the Watchtower Society. They felt that Russell's teachings were direct from God and to change his teachings was to deny God. Many stayed and Rutherford continued the changes under his leadership. He died in 1942.

NATHAN H. KNORR
Nathan H. Knorr was the third president of the organization. He would streamline the organization and begin a worldwide outreach strategy that has survived to this day. In 1943, he began the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. This was to be the forerunner of the Jehovah's Witnesses teaching methods of today. It was also under Knorr's leadership that the New World Translation was published. This translation, published in six volumes between 1950-1960, supports many Jehovah's Witnesses doctrines while ignoring accepted rules of language translation.

Knorr lead the Jehovah Witnesses on a growth campaign. He transformed the J.W., from a membership of 105,000 when he began, to about 2.2 million at his death in 1977.

FRED W. FRANZ
Frederick W. Franz was the fourth president of the Watchtower organization. He assumed this role in 1977 following the death of Nathan Since his inauguration in 1977, thousands of J.W. have left the organization. Franz saw the Watchtower Society come under intense examination for their doctrinal teachings.  Although not formally trained in biblical studies or theology (He claims otherwise), Franz was considered by many the primary theologian for the organization. He was, in all likelihood, the chief translator of the organization's New World Translation of the Bible. However, he had no degree in either Hebrew or Greek and was not a Rhodes Scholar .

In 1945 Franz became the vice president and chief theologian of the Organization which then entered its greatest period of growth. New training programs intended to turn JWs into "ministers" helped boost expansion to 20% in some years.

This prepared for the doctrine (in the Sabbath chapter of Franz’s 1946 book Let God be True) that Armageddon followed by a "World Society" composed entirely of JWs would come about within the 20th century. Around 1950 Franz also linked the final generation of this world to 1914. The previous interpretations made the last generation start in 1799 and then 1878.

Growth rates slowed in the 1960s leading Franz to spur things on by implying Armageddon and "Peace on Earth" could occur in the mid 1970s. When he became president of the Organization in 1977 widespread disappointment with this "false prophecy" led to mass defections in many countries, the opening of hundreds of anti JW ministries, and to numerous protest demonstrations at JW conventions and even at their headquarters! Some groups distributed libellous pamphlets comparing Franz to a murderer (because of his anti blood transfusion doctrine), or a "wizard" or even to Adolf Hitler!

A policy of shunning all critics, comparing them to "Satan" and their writings to vomit, plus constant emphasis on Armageddon being "immediately ahead" led to stabilization in the early 1980s and then renewed steady recruitment.

In his final year of life Mr Franz was blind and deaf and stayed in the infirmary at the New York world headquarters.
 

Milton Henschel would be the fifth and last president of the Watchtower Society.  He has been a vice president for the organization since 1977. Henschel is a 3d generation Jehovah's Witness whose grandfather knew and worked with Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the sect. Henschel was ordained as a minister with the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1934 and is a member of the Governing Body.

Henschel resigned as WTBTS president post on October 7, 2000 as part of the reorganization, as did six other directors. They remain members of the Governing Body, an oversight panel that will now be dedicated to religious matters in conjunction with the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Don Adams, is the new president.
 

WHAT THE JEHOVAH WITNESSES TEACH AND BELIEVE
Today’s Watchtower Society never mentions it's founder and goes through great pains to distant its self from him. The Jehovah Witnesses denounce all organized religions and institutions, as well as governments as being Satanic or Babylonian. Theirs (Jehovah Witnesses) is the only true organization that is in the truth of God. No other organization has the truth: "We belong to no earthly organization....We adhere only to the heavenly organizational. All the saints now living or that ever lived during this age, belong to our church organization: such are all one Church, and there is no other recognized by the Lord." (The Watchtower, March 1, 1979, page 16). Judge Rutherford's teachings and leadership has had a lasting effect on the Watchtower Society. He succeeded in making it an organizational institution, thereby taking away the local assemblies right of self government. All Kingdom Halls (local assemblies) answer to the headquarters of the Watchtower Society.

The doctrines of J.W. place reason above the teaching of the Bible and reject anything that is beyond man's understanding. They systematically deny most doctrines of historic Christianity: The God-Man, the deity of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the bodily resurrection of Jesus and his second coming, and the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. Though they claim that the Bible is their final authority for truth, their real authority is their official interpretation of the scriptures. The literature of the Watchtower Society is the infallible interpreter of scripture and no other deviations are tolerated (most of their teaching comes from Russell's seven volume set, Studies In The Scriptures). Whenever a current teaching contradicts past established teachings, the J.W. are expected to follow the new teaching faithfully without question.

Generally if any explanation is offered it is along the lines of a deeper revelation or light on the teaching has been received than what had previously been held or taught. No J.W. has a right to his/her own inductive judgment. The Watchtower Society is the final say on all matters.

THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
The J.W. have their own translation of the Bible called The New World Translation. This translation they claim, is the only true rendering from the original Greek language. The translation's authors are anonymous because "We have not used any scholar's name for reference or recommendations because the translation must be appraised on it's own merits" (Reasoning FromThe Scriptures page 277). Therefore there is no way to check the credentials of the translators or to know what manuscripts were used. It distorts many passages in order to make them conform with the erroneous doctrines of the J.W.. Here are some examples:

	(1) John 1:1 is rendered "In beginning was the Word and the Word was with the God and a god was the Word." This passage was translated this way in order to deny the deity of Christ, This is contrary to Greek grammar which requires the passage to be translated "the Word was God".
	(2)The New World Translation of the New Testament uses the name Jehovah for God when not one of thousands of Greek New Testament manuscripts uses the Hebrew personal name for God YHVH (Yahweh). The Greek word normally used is Theos or Theon. The two examples are just two different Greek grammatical forms of the word God. Yet the J.W. try to show that two different Gods are spoken of here.
	(3) This translation adds words that are not in the Greek, Colossions 1:16, "By means of him all OTHER things were created." This was translated this way in order to support their dogmas. In other examples they delete or distort many other words from the original manuscripts.

Some of the world's most reputable Greek scholars and authorities both Christian and non-Christian reject the New World translation and label it a distortion of the scriptures. Dr. Julius Mantey wrote the J.W. and demanded that they stop misquoting his work co-authored with H.E. Dana, A Manual Grammar Of The Greek New Testament. British scholar H.H. Rowlay calls it an insult to the Word of God.

JESUS CHRIST AND HIS DEITY
The J.W. hold that Jesus before his incarnation was Michael the archangel, the captain of the Lord's host. Concerning Jesus’ virgin birth they claim that Christ simply changed his nature from a spirit creature to a human creature. Therefore they deny the central theme of the New Testament that God became flesh (a man) and offered himself for our sins. J.W.'s desperately cling to their distorted grammatical arguments and proof texts in order to deny Christ's deity because they know that if Christ really was Jehovah, then they are doomed. They will admit that Christ's life was sinless, they will minimize his redemptive word on the cross. They teach that his death removed the effects of Adam's sin and put man in a position to work out his own salvation. Jesus did not provide a true ransom for sin but gave us an opportunity to merit this salvation either now or in the millennial.

They also claim that Jesus was raised as a spirit and the body of Christ "dissolved in gases" and the man Jesus is forever dead. Therefore they reason that Christ's return to earth will be a spiritual and invisible return. J.W. teach that Christ's return to earth has already taken place, it was in three stages.

	(1) In 1874 Christ came to the upper air and later caught up the apostles and dead members of the 144,000 who will be immortal,
	(2) In 1914 Christ ended the times of the Gentiles and began to reign.
	(3) In 1918 he came to the spiritual temple and began the judgments of the nations.

The J.W. are not looking for the second coming of the Lord. They are waiting for the battle of Armageddon. Only the most faithful J.W. will escape death in this battle, all others will be destroyed. After the battle everyone will be resurrected (except the 144,000 who have been spiritually resurrected before now and will live with Christ in heaven forever) and given another chance to believe Jehovah and obey him during the millennial.

Those who fail during this time will be permanently destroyed (the J.W. do not believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment for the wicked. Death to them is annihilation ). All who remain on earth after this will enjoy peace forever.

The Jehovah Witnesses and their End Time Prophecies
The J.W. have systematically claimed the end of the world would come on the following dates. 1877, 1886, 1889,1894, 1904, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1977, 1978. 1980.

Judge Rutherford wrote a book in 1920 entitled Millions Now Living Will Never Die. He prophesied that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others would return to live and rule on the earth in 1925. Rutherford had a palace built in San Diego California for the returning Elders. When they did not return, he (Rutherford) moved into it. Rutherford also predicted the re-establishment of Israel in Palestine in the same year-- 1925 (Israel became the Jew's homeland in 1948). Whenever the dates of the world's end would come and go, reexamination would take place and the Watchtower Society would set a new date. As you can see by the above dates it is rather amusing to see the vast amount of their recalculations. Russell calculated the 6,000 years of man's day would end in 1872. He determined this by measuring the great pyramid of Egypt. When the end did not occur, he revised it to 1914. Later it was updated to 1972, Again was updated to 1975. Russell thought the Jews would return to Israel by 1914, and after Russell's death, Rutherford calculated it would occur by 1925. Rutherford later changed the return of the Jews to a "Spiritual" return. Rutherford meant the J.W. were the spiritual Jews, not the literal Jews.

The Future of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
More than one million J.W. have left the Watchtower Society since their last end of the world prophecy failed in 1975. Under newer leadership the Watchtower Society has quit setting dates. Their opposition to blood transfusions began to be taught in 1915. Their opposition to civil governments, flag saluting, military service, etc. are all later developments after the death of Russell and Rutherford.

HOW TO WITNESS TD A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS
Some suggestions on how to witness to a Jehovah's Witness.

	(1) Do not permit the J W. to give his message. YOU take the initiative (oftentimes they have a prepared speech and this throws them off guard). Thank him/her for calling: Commend his/her interest in the Bible: You might say: "I'm glad the Lord sent you here to see me!"
	(2) Identify yourself as a Christian, rather than a denomination. Many J.W. have never seen the inside of a church!
	(3) Give your full testimony as to how you became a Christian: Describe the new birth, giving scriptures as opportunity affords: Be certain to make plain what Christ has done for others, and will do for the J.W. also, if he/she will accept Christ as his/her savior.
	(4) Following your testimony hand the J.W. gospel tracts or other literature: Ask him/her to read it with his Bible upon returning home: If he/she offers you some literature, do not pay for it; however, you might exchange your literature for his: Be careful the literature you receive does not come into the hands of anyone unsaved.
	(5) Dismiss the J.W. politely, here is what you might do: Say, "In our church, we believe in praying for others, and we would like to be praying for you. My name is....what is yours?
	(6) Pray for that J.W.
	(7) If two of them approach you, one of them might not be a J W. but is a trainee: Cut them off by saying, "I have to ask you a question." When they become quiet, ask "which one of you is training the other?": One of them should identify himself, "I'm being trained.": Ignore the other one and proceed to witness to him/her (the trainee). If you can obtain the name of the trainee, it might be well for someone in the church qualified for this work to follow up and call on that family. Snatching them like a brand from the burning away of the Kingdom Hall.

The J.W. believe they are the only ones in the truth. J.W. are very hard to witness to and convert because they are trained to keep away from you. One advantage you have over most J.W. is they cannot think independently; They are taught not to trust their own interpretations of the Bible. The Watchtower Society is the official voice. When you ask a J.W. a question he cannot answer (because of his/her own lack of knowledge) he/she will answer he/she will have to talk to one of the Elders and will get back to you. Nine times out of ten they will be back with the official answer. Use your own Bible to witness to them or to examine any scripture passage they offer. Do not allow them to use their Bible only. This will unnerve them because their translation does not coincide with the KJV Bible. Remember all J.W. literature is written anonymously. No names of writers or translators are ever published. What are they hiding?

Remember, to them you are the one in false doctrine and traditions of men not them. They are trying to deliver you out of your seemingly erroneous organizations.

Remember, the organization of the Jehovah Witnesses is the truth, or has the truth. Truth can only be found in the organization.

Jehovah Witnesses And Prophetic Speculation
Edmond Gruss

Jehovah Witnesses: Watch Out For The Watchtower
Gordon E. Duggar

Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave
William J. Schnell

Crisis Of Conscious
Raymond Franz

Kingdom Of The Cults
Walter Martin

Danger At Your Door
Duane Magneni

The Jehovah Witnesses' New Testament: A Critical Analysis of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures
Robert H. Countess

Cults, World Religions, and You
Kenneth Boa

The Facts On Jehovah’s Witnesses
John Ankerberg

Distortions Of The New Testament Tape T-Z
Dr. Julius Mantey, available from Witness Inc., Clayton, California

Apostles of Denial, An Examination and Expose of the History, Doctrines and Claims of the Jehovah's Witnesses
Edmund Gruss

Copyright © 1999-2004  

For More Information visit

Shaun's Research on the Jehovah's Witnesses
A comprehensive site for learning about The Watchtower and Bible Tract Society--Jehovah Witnesses. Scores of eyewitness accounts of the abuses of the WBTS, its teachings, and more.

Watchtower Observer
Official Web Site of Ex-Jehovah Witnesses. This is a web site full of information and very well documented. You will find out that that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania engages in censorship and attempts to intimidate and harass anyone who criticizes them, including people who publish negative information about them on the internet. It is reported that they have ordered all of their members to shut down their unofficial J.W. web sites. So much for free speech and the Internet. All religions must be subject to close scrutiny and investigation. It would appear that the leaders of the J.W. don't want anyone to examine them too closely.

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Pastor Curtis Bond is Senior Pastor of
First United Methodist Church
Cambridge City, Indiana.