Jehovah's Witnesses

Brief History:

The organizer of this movement was Charles Taze Russell (1854-1916). He embraced Adventism early in life, but at the age of 20 abandoned it primarily due to his opinion that the date fixed by William Miller for the second coming of Christ was erroneous. He insisted that the date of the second advent was 1874, the same year he began to preach (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. II, p. 240). In our opinion, it seemed not to matter to him that Jesus had said that neither the Son nor the angels knew, but "the Father only" (Mark 13:32).

"Pastor" Russell formally organized his followers in Pittsburg in 1872, with himself as President. Headquarters were moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1909. It is reported that about 13,000,000 of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures (Volumes 1-6) have been circulated. These laid the foundation for the new sect known before 1931 as Millennial Dawnists, International Bible Students, and Russellites.

In his six volumes (he prophesied he would write seven, but death overtook him before the task was finished). he maintained that the plan of God was unfolded and made known through him "as never before," and added that "the opening of the books of divine revelation will soon be completed" (Vol. 2, p. 189). In addition to this claim of "divine revelation, " Russell maintained that probably never before had anyone (this would include the apostles!) "understood any part" of the book of Revelation (I, p. 27).

It is the old story of an ambitious man claiming that the Bible truths are hidden "from all except the consecrated " (Finished Mystery, p. 64), and saying, "Lo! Here is my writing, the long-awaited true explanation."

Charles Taze Russell's first book was published in 1886 which he entitled Millennial Dawn. The name was changed to Studies in the Scriptures in 1916, but the disciples of Russell came to be known in the early stages of the movement as "Millennial Dawnists," "Russellites," or "International Bible Students."

After 'Pastor' Russell's death in 1916, his adherents were slowly culled out and pushed out of the newer organization now headed by Judge Rutherford. Russell's old Watchtower Society passed into oblivion by federal court order in 1918. Finally, with all of Russell partisans out of the way, it was evident to all of Rutherford's adherents that a new name would have to be selected. The new name was given at a convention held at Columbus, Ohio, October, 1931 (Theocracy, p. 34). The new name, Jehovah's Witnesses, identified the new sect headed by Rutherford.

In an effort to cover up the newness of the name, it was contended that Jehovah had witnesses from the time of Abel, and that Isaiah 62:2 prophesied the giving of the new name in 1931. Each issue of the Watchtower magazine carries these words on the cover: "You are my witnesses, says Jehovah - Isaiah 43:12."

Without the Watchtower hierarchy, the slaves would pass into oblivion as sheep without a shepherd....and this is precisely what the Watchtower said would happen to a man who lays Russell's books down and reads the Bible only! "within two years he goes into darkness!" (September 10, 1910, p. 298).

Today, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society with main headquarters in Brooklyn, NY., prints over 100 million copies of their material in some 80 languages each year. Their "new" name is not the only thing that they have tried to cover up over the years, today the Watchtower Society (like the Catholic Church and others) have been hit with multiple lawsuits for reports of child sexual abuse. The Pennsylvania attorney general's office reportedly is investigating whether the Jehovah's Witnesses repeatedly failed to report child sexual abuse allegations to authorities in what is believed to be the first wide-scale examination by a U.S. law enforcement agency. (USA TODAY by Marisa Kwiatkowski February 8, 2020).

This is why God's wisdom is greater than (the Governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses) man's wisdom because in the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16) each congregation was and still is autonomous (self governed, self contained without outside control- with elders, deacons, ministers) so that when one member or even a whole congregation strayed from God's Word (became corrupt) it could not contaminated the whole worldwide body of Christ. The church established by Christ submits to a perfect head, Jesus Christ! Since the beginning the WATCHTOWER SOCIETY (headquarters of this group) has been dictating, controlling and covering up legal issues and teaching things that are not according to the doctrine of Christ, and binding this on every single "Jehovah's Witness".

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS TRADITION vs WORD OF GOD

1. 'Jehovah's Witnesses' used as a name since 1931.

Theocracy, page 34 (one of their books).

2.Have earthly headquarters in New York with president , etc., (Not disputed. See Ch. 4, 30 Yrs. Watchtower Slave.

3. Charles T. Russell, founder, received revelation of truths heretofore unknown. Scripture Studies, Vol. I, pp. 20 & 28. Studies in the Scriptures, I, 20, 28.

4. 'Cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible itself'; without books Russell wrote a person goes into darkness within two years. Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1910, p. 298.

"But we see, also that if anyone lays the Scripture Studies aside (Russell's books), even after he has read them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood the Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness." Watchtower Sept. 15th, 1910. p. 298.

5. No man has or possesses a soul.

Reconciliation, p. 293.

6. Wicked will not be raised with the righteous.

Children, p. 361.

7. Christ's 2nd coming 'invisible' and only to a few persons. SS, II, p. 153.

Studies in the Scriptures . II, p. 153

8. Jesus was the first creature.

Make Sure of all Things, p. 207.

9. Jesus not divine while in the flesh but only human. SS, I, p. 179. also Reconciliation, p. 111

10. Jesus' body not raised but preserved somewhere or dissolved into gases. Deliverance, p. 170: The Time Is At Hand, p. 129.

"Somewhere Jehovah miraculously preserved that body." Deliverance, page 170. This is another of Rutherford's books).

11. Jesus no longer a man after the resurrection, but a spirit creature. Reconciliation, p. 298; St. in Script. V, p. 362.

12. Holy Spirit is not a person, but the active force of God. Make Sure of All Things, p. 364; Reconciliation , p. 115, 116.

13. There is no godhead consisting or composed of three persons. Reconciliation, p. 100, 101.

14. Christ's Kingdom not fully established in AD33. The church is not the kingdom.

Make Sure of All Things, p. 234; The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 240; St. in the Script., p. 73.

15. the earth will never be destroyed.

Make Sure of All Things, p. 108.

16. Instruments of music used in worship

Not disputed.

17. Lord's Supper only once a year.

Announcements in various issues of the Watchtower;

not disputed.

18. Baptism called a 'dedication' 66 times in Watchtower, July 1, '55; baptism has nothing to do with the remission of sins. Make Sure , p. 30.

19. Baptism does not put one into Christ, His body, the church. Watchtower July 1, 1955, p. 402, 1st column.

20. The wicked will not suffer eternal punishment in hell.

Make Sure , p. 162; Enemies, p. 127-128

21. There is no consciousness after physical death.

Creation, p. 204.

22. A second chance to hear the gospel after this life is over. Divine Plan of the Ages, p. 305; Make Sure of All Things, p. 322, 323.

23. Hell is only the grave.

Reconciliation, p. 28; Let God Be True, p. 91.

24. The church is to have exactly 144,000, no more; already filled.

25. Hope to live on earth.

Make Sure, p. 108f.

26. No collections on first day of the week.

Not disputed.

27. Gospel has never been preached to the whole world. The Kingdom Is At Hand, p. 316, 344; This Means Everlasting Life, p. 214; Let God Be True, p. 141. Inferred in all these.

28. Russell prophesied that after 1914 there would be no Old Fellowship. Free Masonry, trade unions, guilds, trusts 'and societies secular and ecclesiastical,' nor navies and armies. SS, II, 139; VI, 633.

St. in Scrip, II, p. 139; VI, p. 633.

29. Russell once taught that Christ returned to earth in 1874, but now the date has been changed to 1914!

Russell's book, St. in the Script ., I, p. iii, says certain thought "formerly immaturely seen" was "changed" in later edition of his book. Article in Firm Foundation tells of the court trial where Mr. Franz admitted the change in dates. St. in Script., II, p. 240. See also The Harp of God, p.237, 244

WRONG TIME: 1872

WRONG PLACE: Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

WRONG FOUNDER: Charles T. Russell

1. Never used as a name. I Peter 4:16. Their "new" name "Jehovah's Witnesses" like other names they came up with over the years are only names they made up.

2. God praised through the church only. Ephesians 3: 10, 21. Not through a "kingdom Hall" by the way where is the scripture for Kingdom Hall in the Bible? They like to talk about what is not in the Bible (Catholic, Pope, Trinity, Baptist, Methodist, Birthday, Halloween, Christmas, etc)...in all fairness this is true but what about...the words "Jehovah's Witnesses' , "Kingdom Hall", "Governing Body", "Publisher", "Field Service", "Pioneer", "Judicial Committee", and tons of other terms that are NOT found in the Bible.

3. One sure sign of denominations is that they have an earthly headquarters. The disciples of Jesus Christ Christ or church of Christ did NOT nor do NOT have such a man centered or human governed organization. The head of the church of Christ is Jesus Christ and HE in heaven NOT in Brooklyn New York nor their new location at 1 King Dr. Tuxedo Park, NY 10987 ! . (Mark 16:19, Acts 7:55, 1 Peter 3:22)

3. Apostles guided into ALL truth. John 16:13; 2 John 9-11.

4. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3. Many false religions down play the Bible by elevating their founder(s) "Revelations" and /or books. In the case of the "JW's" Charles T. Russell their founder indoctrinated his followers to believe that what he wrote was elevated over what the Bible teaches. The Bible claims to be solely sufficient for our spiritual needs yet Russell denied that. This explains WHY they revised their version of the Bible in 1950 (New World's Translation) where they changed John 1 in their effort to cover up Jesus being God. They forgot to change "Word" upper case to "w" lower case. Upper case signifies deity. They also insert brackets [other] in other places to change passages to fit their beliefs. Truth has NOTHING to hide...yet JW's are not allowed to read information outside of this WATCH TOWER Society. hum?

Beware -When they approach you they are only making an effort to indoctrinate you in Russell's teachings (That are now being propagated by the governing body of the Watch Tower Society). They are NOT interested in teaching you what Jesus Christ, His chosen apostles or what the Bible (written by true biblical scholars) teaches. These people do not believe in the Bible! ...alone...YOU MUST HAVE RUSSELL'S TEACHING

5. Luke 21: 19; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; James 1:21. What does the BIBLE say?

6. In the same hour all will come forth from the tombs. John 5:28-29.

7. All, every eye shall see Him. Revelation 1:7.

8. Never called creature, but He is Creator of all things. John 1:1 Colossians 1:16; Romans 1:25.

9. Jesus repeatedly accepted worship as God during earthly ministry, but good men did not. Matthew 8:2; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Acts 14.

10. Matthew 28: 5-6; Luke 24:39; Acts 2:31-32. God raised up the same Jesus.

11. The man Christ Jesus is today our Mediator.

1 Timothy 2:5

12. He is a person: speaks, hears, resists, comforts, wills, guides. John 16:13; Romans 8:26; Is God, Acts 5:3-4. Cf. Romans 15:19, power and Spirit are distinct.

13. Colossians 2:9; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14.

The Bible teaches otherwise

14. Mark 9:1 Colossians 1:13. The church is the kingdom.

Hebrews 12:23-28; Matthew 16:18-19.

15. Matthew 24:35; 2 Peter 3:10 - Earth AND works therein to burn up, dissolve, pass away.

16. Not authorized. Matthew 15: 7-9. Singing only, Ephesians 5:19, etc.

17. Weekly, first day of the week

Acts 20:7: first day of the week.

18. Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21. It is never called a dedication; is 'for remission of sin.'

19. Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3-4. The Bible teaches that baptism does put one into Christ.

20. Matthew 25:46; 10:28. The Bible does teach that the wicked will suffer eternal punishment in hell.

21. 1 Samuel 28:7-19; Luke 16:19ff; Matthew 17:3 - not a fable, 2 Peter 1:16-18. These people were still conscious AFTER physical death.

22. Luke 16:19ff; Acts 1:25; John 8:21-24; Revelation 22:1; Acts 17:30. The Bible does not teach that a person has a second chance to get things right (hear the gospel) AFTER death. The Catholic Church has their purgatory and "JW's" have their Watchtower doctrine of a second chance to obey God AFTER death. Neither one of these doctrines are supported by the Bible.

23. Mark 9:43-48:

Psalms 9:17. Then only the wicked are to be buried!

24. All the saved are added to the church of Christ, Acts 2:47; Ephesians 5:23. God still saves all who believe and obey Christ, Mark 16:15-16; Hebrews 5:8-9, until the end.

25. Heavenly hope, I Peter 1:3-4; Colossians 3:1-2; 1 John 2:15. Only ONE hope according to Ephesians 4:4.

26. I Corinthians 16:1-2. This is what God's people did according to the Bible.

27. Colossians 1:6, 23, every creature heard.

28. All false prophets condemned, Deuteronomy 18:21-22. Revelation 20:10, tormented day and night for ever and ever. Russell made many false claims!

29. The Watchtower contradicts itself as well as the Bible. Mr. F. W. Franz, their Vice President., admitted this anachronism in 1954 in the courts of Scotland.

30. Dear "Jehovah's Witness" when you choose to follow Charles T. Russell over Jesus Christ and "The Watchtower" over the church of Christ this is the man you follow.

BROOKLYN — The original Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1955) never passed by an opportunity for a good story and an exposé appeared in the November 1, 1916 issue. This one concerned one of Brooklyn’s most renowned citizens in the late 1800s — “Pastor” Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) — founder of the religious sect now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, the international headquarters of which is located in Brooklyn Heights. Followers of Russell so believed in his teachings they originally called themselves “Russellites.” These days the Witnesses are seen handing out their publications on the streets or in door-to-door visitations. Many residences and business buildings in Brooklyn Heights are utilized by the sect, the older ones beautifully restored.

Miracle Wheat
$1 Per Pound
The Eagle’s story, based on an ad Russell placed in his Watch Tower publication for wheat seed the growth of which would supposedly be miraculous, was a sensation but resulted in a lawsuit — one that the Eagle won! This is a reprint of the article in part:

“After the ‘work’ had been well started here, ‘Pastor’ Russell’s Watch Tower publication advertised wheat seed for sale at $1.00 a pound [quite expensive in those days].

“It was styled ‘Miracle Wheat,’ and it was asserted that it would grow five times as much as any other brand of wheat.

“There were other claims made for the wheat seed, and the followers were advised to purchase it, the proceeds to go to the Watch Tower and be used in publishing the ‘pastor’s’ sermons.

“The Eagle first made public the facts about these new ventures of the Russellites and it published a cartoon picturing the ‘Pastor’ and his ‘Miracle Wheat’ in such a way that ‘Pastor’ Russell brought suit for libel, asking $100,000 damages.

“Government departments investigated the wheat for which $1.00 a pound was asked, and agents of the Government were important witnesses at the trial of the libel suit in January, 1913.

“The ‘Miracle Wheat’ was low in the Government tests, they said. The Eagle won the suit.” Relevant articles appeared in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle in the month of January 1913. The titles and their dates were:

1/1: Miracle Wheat Scandal
1/22: Testimony of Russelite Beliefs
1/23-24: Testimony on ‘Miracle Wheat’
1/25: Financial statements proving Russell’s absolute control were made by [Watch Tower] Secretary-Treasurer Van Amberg who was quoted as saying, “… We are not responsible to anyone for our expenditures. We are responsible only to God.”

Russell’s 99%
Some Jehovah’s Witnesses these days may wish to minimize the significance of the “Miracle Wheat” claiming that the profits from its sales went to the Watchtower Society and not to Russell himself. However the records show that Russell owned 990 of the 1,000 shares of Watchtower Society stock. By this figure, 99% of every “contribution” for Miracle Wheat” was in effect a contribution to Russell himself.

The Eagle never passed by a chance to publicize other items of interest regarding C.T. Russell. These opportunities included the revelation from Brooklyn court records that Russell’s wife divorced him in 1896 on charges of incest and adultery. She won the sensational lawsuit. In 1912 Russell went on a world tour and had sermons published in many places as paid advertisements. The 2/19/1912 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated that the newspaper had proof that Russell never preached the sermons as he claimed. He stated he had preached before thousands of them but witnesses who were on the same cruise refuted it. They were said to be imaginary sermons and Russell was again proven to be a liar!

I am interested in learning more or being contacted

I am interested in becoming a Christian

according to the Word of God.

The Disciples

of Jesus Christ

"Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." I Peter 1:8