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Jehovah's Witnesses had its origins in the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian Restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. Bible Student missionaries were sent to England in 1881 and the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1900. The group took on the name International Bible Students Association and by 1914 it was also active in Canada, Germany, Australia and other countries.^[1] The movement split into several rival organizations after Russell's death in 1916. The group that retained control of both his magazine, The Watch Tower, and his legal and publishing corporation, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, retained the highest membership.

Under the direction of Russell's successor, Joseph "Judge" Rutherford, the International Bible Students Association introduced significant doctrinal changes. The group lost most of its original members between 1916 and 1928 but regrew rapidly from the mid-1930s^[2] with the introduction of new preaching methods.^[3] In 1931, the name Jehovah's witnesses was adopted,^[4] further cutting ties with Russell's earlier followers.^[5] Substantial organizational changes continued as congregations and teaching programs worldwide came under centralized control. Further refinements of its doctrines led to the prohibition of blood transfusions by members, abandonment of the cross in worship, rejection of Christmas and birthday celebrations and the view of the biblical Armageddon as a global war by God that will destroy the wicked and restore peace on earth.^[6] In 1945 the Watch Tower Society, which Russell had founded as a publishing house and "business convenience", amended its charter to state that its purposes included preaching about God's Kingdom, acting as a servant and governing agency of Jehovah's Witnesses and sending out missionaries and teachers for the public worship of God and Jesus Christ.

The religion was banned in Canada in World War I and Germany, the Soviet Union, Canada and Australia during World War II and members suffered widespread persecution and mob violence in some of those countries as well as the United States. The religion initiated dozens of high-profile legal actions in the United States and Canada between 1938 and 1955 to establish the right of members to sell literature from door to door, abstain from flag salute ceremonies and gain legal recognition as wartime conscientious objectors. Members of the religion suffered persecution in some African countries in the 1960s and 1970s; since 2004 the religion has suffered a series of official bans in Russia.^[7]

1869-1916

Adventist influences

About 1869^[8] Russell attended a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of a group he called "Second Adventists" and heard Advent Christian^[9] preacher Jonas Wendell expound his views on Bible prophecy.^[10][11][12] Wendell, influenced by the teachings of William Miller, rejected traditional Christian beliefs of the immortal soul and a literal hell^[13] and interpreted scriptures in the books of Daniel and Revelation to predict that Christ would return in 1873.^[14] Russell became convinced that God would reveal his purpose in the last days of the "Gospel age" and formed an independent Bible study group in Pittsburgh. He rejected Adventist teachings that the purpose of Christ's return was to destroy the earth^[12] and instead formed the view that Christ had died to pay a "ransom price" to atone for sinful humans, intending to restore humans to Edenic perfection with the prospect of living forever.^[12] Like Wendell, he rejected the concept of hellfire and the immortal soul.^[15] In the mid-1870s, he published 50,000 copies of a pamphlet, The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return^[16] explaining his views and his belief that Christ would return invisibly before the battle of Armageddon. He later acknowledged the influence of Adventist ministers George Storrs (who had earlier predicted Christ's return in 1844)^[11] and George Stetson in the formation of his doctrines;^[12] author James Penton claims he also strongly reflected the teachings of Philadelphia Lutheran pastor Joseph Seiss.^[11]

In January 1876 Russell read an issue of Herald of the Morning, a periodical edited by Adventist preacher Nelson H. Barbour of Rochester, New York,^[17] but which had almost ceased publication because of dwindling subscriptions.^[12] Barbour, like other Adventists, had earlier applied the biblical time prophecies of Miller and Wendell to calculate that Christ would return in 1874 to bring a "bonfire";^[18] when this failed to eventuate he and co-writer J.H. Paton had concluded that though their calculations of the timing of Christ's return were correct, they had erred about its manner. They subsequently decided that Christ's return, or parousia, was invisible, and that Christ had therefore been present since 1874.^[12][19][20] Russell "rejoiced" to find that others had reached the same conclusion on the parousia and decided their application of Adventist time prophecies — which he said he had "so long despised" — merited further examination. He met Barbour, accepted his detailed and complex arguments on prophetic chronology^[21] and provided him with funds to write a book that combined their views.^[12]

The book, The Three Worlds,^[22] was published in early 1877.^[23] It articulated ideas that remained the teachings of Russell's associates for the next 40 years, many of which are still embraced by Jehovah's Witnesses: it identified a 2520-year-long era called "the Gentile Times", which would end in 1914, and broke from Adventist teachings by advancing Russell's concept of "restitution" — that all humankind since Adam would be resurrected to the earth and given the opportunity for eternal perfect human life. Russell claimed it was the first book to combine biblical end-time prophecies with the concept of restitution. It discussed the concept of parallel dispensations, which held that there were prophetic parallels between the Jewish and Gospel ages, and suggested the "new creation" would begin 6000 years after Adam's creation, a point in time he believed had been reached in 1872.^[24] It also revealed the authors' belief that Christ had left heaven in 1874 to return to earth^[25] and their expectation that God's "harvest" of the "saints" would end in early 1878, when they would all be taken to heaven.^[11][26][18] Russell, Barbour and Paton began traveling to hold public meetings to discuss their beliefs. For Russell, it was not enough: "Noticing how quickly people seemed to forget what they had heard, it soon became evident that while the meetings were useful in awakening interest, a monthly journal was needed to hold that interest and develop it."^[12] He provided Barbour with additional funds to resurrect The Herald of the Morning. Russell severed his relationship with the magazine in July, 1879 after Barbour publicly disputed the concept of the ransom.^[12][27] He began publishing his own monthly magazine, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence (now known as The Watchtower), which he sent to all the subscribers of the Herald, disputing Barbour's teaching.^{[11][18][28][29]}

Watch Tower Society

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 "Pastor" Russell, as he was by then called, as secretary and W.H. Conley as president.^[29] Three years later, on December 15, 1884, Russell became the president of the society when it was legally incorporated in Pennsylvania.^[30] He said the corporation was "not a 'religious society' in the ordinary meaning of this term,"^[31] explaining: "This is a business association merely ... a business convenience in disseminating the truth."^[32] Russell began to write a stream of 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.^[11] In 1886, he wrote The Divine Plan of the Ages, a 424-page book that was the first of what became a six-volume series called "Millennial Dawn," later renamed "Studies in the Scriptures,"^[33] which established his fundamental doctrines. (As a consequence, the Bible Students were sometimes called "Millennial Dawnists".)

Congregations

Russell's tombstone in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The first study groups or congregations were established in 1879, and within a year more than 30 of them were meeting for six-hour study sessions under Russell's direction, to examine the Bible and his writings.^[11] The groups were autonomous ecclesia, an organizational structure Russell regarded as a return to "primitive simplicity".^[34] In an 1882 Watch Tower article he said his nationwide community of study groups was "strictly unsectarian and consequently recognize no sectarian name ... we have no creed (fence) to bind us together or to keep others out of our company. The Bible is our only standard, and its teachings our only creed." He added: "We are in fellowship with all Christians in whom we can recognize the Spirit of Christ."^[35] Two years later he said the only appropriate names for his group would be "Church of Christ", "Church of God" or "Christians". He concluded: "By whatsoever names men may call us, it matters not to us; we acknowledge none other name than 'the only name given under heaven and among men' — Jesus Christ. We call ourselves simply christians."^[36] In 1895, discussing the best form of meeting to study his writings, Russell warned: "Beware of organization. It is wholly unnecessary. The Bible rules will be the only rules you will need. Do not seek to bind others' consciences, and do not permit others to bind yours."^[37]

Elders and deacons were elected by congregations and Russell tolerated a great latitude of belief among members. He discouraged formal disciplinary procedures by congregation elders, claiming this was beyond their authority,^[38] instead recommending that an individual who continued in a wrong course be judged by the entire ecclesia, or congregation, which could ultimately "withdraw from him its fellowship".^[39] Disfellowshipping did not mean the wrongdoer was shunned in all social circumstances or by all Bible Students.^[40]

In 1894 Russell introduced the role of "pilgrim" workers, men chosen for their maturity, meekness and Bible knowledge, who would visit congregations for up to three days when requested, giving talks. The pilgrims, who initially served part-time but later became full-time workers, also delivered talks at conventions.^[41]

From 1895, he encouraged congregations to study his "Studies in the Scriptures" paragraph-by-paragraph to learn the "truth" he had discovered, and in 1905 he recommended replacing verse-by-verse Bible studies with what he called "Berean Studies" of topics he chose. Congregations were left to choose which form of study they adopted – Bible or Berean.^[11]

Preaching

Russell advertised for 1000 preachers in 1881,^[42] and encouraged all who were members of "the body of Christ" to go forth as "colporteurs" or evangelizers and preach to their neighbours in order to gather the remainder of the "little flock" of saints before they were called to heaven.^[11] Colporteurs (renamed "pioneers" in the 1930s) left householders with a copy of Russell's 130-page booklet Food For Thinking Chistians and a sample copy of Zion's Watch Tower and returned days later to retrieve the book or accept a payment for it. The workers received a commission on the sale, but Russell warned them to concentrate less on the money than on the task of spreading the truth.^[43]

When a Pittsburgh newspaper's publication of the full text of Russell's 1903 debates with Methodist minister Dr E. L. Eaton resulted in a huge demand for copies, several newspapers began printing weekly sermons by Russell. By 1907 21 million copies of his sermons were being printed a year in 11 U.S. newspapers. Russell entered a contract with a newspaper syndicate to give his sermons wider coverage and by December 1909 they were appearing in 400 papers to a weekly readership of 2.5 million. By 1910 his sermons were supplied to more than 1000 newspapers, some of which billed him as "the people's favourite preacher", and a peak of 2024 papers in the U.S., Canada, Britain, South Africa an Australia was reached in 1913.^[44] The publicity, including press coverage of annual overseas tours between 1908 and 1913, gave Russell a measure of international celebrity, prompting letters of concern by Bible Students over his supposed ostentatiousness, which in turn led Russell to defend his mode of transport and accommodation.^[45][46]

In 1914 Russell released an eight-hour long film, The Photo-Drama of Creation, that attempted to portray chronologically the history of the world from creation to the millennial reign of Christ.^[47] The film, accompanied by a gramophone soundtrack, was screened for free in two four-hour sittings around the world, attracting more than 1.2 million patrons in Britain in 1914 alone. The cost of the production and screenings was so high it created financial difficulties for the society, but by Russell's death it was reported that the film had been seen by more than nine million people.^[48]

Organizational expansion

Two missionaries were sent to England in 1881^[11] and overseas branches were opened in London (1900),^[49]Germany (1903) and Australia and Switzerland (1904).^[50] The Watch Tower Society's headquarters were transferred to Brooklyn, New York in 1908.^[51] In 1910 Russell introduced the name International Bible Students Association as a means of identifying his worldwide community of Bible study groups. The name was also used when advertising and conducting conventions of Russell's followers.^[52]

The first foreign-language edition of Zion's Watch Tower was published in 1883 when Russell produced a sample copy in Swedish and in 1885 the magazine was also translated into German for German-speaking Pennsylvanians.^[53]

Doctrinal development

By 1904, Russell's doctrinal development was almost complete. His sixth and final part of "Studies in the Scriptures", The New Creation, established that Revelation 7 spoke of two heavenly classes of Christians — 144,000 who would serve as a royal priesthood with Christ and a Great Company who would be brought to perfection on a lesser plane, similar to that of angels, serving the 144,000.^[54] He believed that 1878 marked the "fall of Babylon", when God officially judged that Christendom had proven unfaithful.^[55][56] He believed the "time of the end" in Daniel 12 ran from 1799 to 1914, that Christ had returned to earth in 1874, established God's kingdom in 1878 and that from that date the anointed had been resurrected to heaven at their death. He taught that Armageddon had begun in 1874, which would culminate in worldwide anarchy and the overthrow of all political rulership in 1914 at the conclusion of the "times of the Gentiles".^[57][58] The earthly part of God's kingdom would begin in Jerusalem under Jewish leadership, accompanied by the return of Jews to Palestine. Billions of humans would be resurrected to earth and be given the opportunity to prove themselves obedient to God and be granted everlasting life. Early in the resurrection, "ancient worthies" including Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wouild be raised to occupy positions of overseers and representatives of the invisible heavenly government.^[59] The Millennial Age, which he believed had begun in 1874, would run to 2874 or 2914 AD, when a test of earth's inhabitants would decide their ultimate destinies, to life or everlasting death.^[60][61][62]

Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. For the next 10 years, the Watch Tower Society continued to teach the view that he had fulfilled the roles of the "Laodicean Messenger" of Revelation 3:14-22.^[63] and the "Faithful and Wise Servant" of Matthew 24:45^[64].

1917-1942

Organizational changes

In accordance with the directions of Russell's will,^[65] an editorial committee of five was appointed to supervise the writing of the Watch Tower.^[66][67] At the corporation's annual general meeting on January 6, 1917, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, the Society's legal counsel, was elected as Russell's successor, with new by-laws passed to strengthen the president's authority.^[68] Within months, four of the Society's seven directors began objecting to Rutherford's form of leadership, described as "dogmatic, authoritarian and secretive", as he continued to act without consulting the board of directors.^{[69][70][71][72]} A meeting of the full board of directors in June proposed returning control of the Society to the board,^[73] but their attempt to hold an impromptu board meeting while Rutherford was away from headquarters failed when police were called to intervene.^[74]

Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869–1942)

Matters came to a head on July 17, 1917, when, at a stormy five-hour meeting, Rutherford announced he had appointed four new directors to replace the four who had opposed him, claiming they had no legal status as directors because of conflict with Pennsylvania law.^[75][76] At the same meeting Rutherford surprised the headquarters staff and the board of directors by announcing the release of the book The Finished Mystery,^[77] described as the "posthumous work of Russell" and the seventh volume of Studies in the Scriptures, but actually written by Bible Students Clayton J. Woodworth and George H. Fisher.^[78][79]

Rutherford and the ousted directors published a number of newsletters through 1917 and 1918 attacking each other and some congregations split into opposing groups of those loyal either to Rutherford or those he had expelled.^[80][81] Rutherford was re-elected as president in 1918 with a sizeable majority, but by mid-1919 about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept his leadership,^[82] forming such groups as The Standfast Movement, Paul Johnson Movement, Dawn Bible Students Association, Pastoral Bible Institute of Brooklyn, Elijah Voice Movement and Eagle Society.^[83]

The Watch Tower Society set up its own printing establishment^[84] and in 1919 Rutherford founded the magazine The Golden Age (now Awake!), which the Bible Students began distributing publicly^[85] in response to an increasing emphasis by the Brooklyn headquarters on door-to-door preaching.^[86] Rutherford continued to tighten and centralize organizational control of the Bible Students, with Brooklyn appointing a "director" in each congregation in 1919, and a year later requiring all congregation members who participated in the preaching work to report weekly on their witnessing activity.^[87] As the Bible Students' preaching work expanded, Rutherford moved to take greater control over their message. The Society's historian, A.H. Macmillan, wrote: "Rutherford wanted to unify the preaching work and, instead of having each individual give his own opinion ... gradually Rutherford himself began to be the main spokesman for the organization."^[88]

Rutherford organized a series of major annual conventions from 1922 and 1928, which were as much publicity events as spiritual gatherings.^[89] A convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1922, was followed by the distribution of 45 million copies of a resolution condemning the clergy for their support of the League of Nations^[90], and in 1927 a talk was broadcast by a network of 53 radio stations.^[91] The Watch Tower Society began broadcasting over its own radio station, WBBR, from Staten Island, New York city, on February 24, 1924; additional stations were later created or acquired throughout the US, and arrangements were made for the network of stations to broadcast talks.^[92]

The Finished Mystery

Watch Tower Board of Directors jailed in 1918 for violation of the Espionage Act

The Finished Mystery (1917) contained new predictions, declaring emphatically that God would destroy churches "wholesale" and church members by the millions in 1918^[93], and that all earthly governments would be destroyed in 1920, resulting in anarchy.^[94]

The Finished Mystery's strong criticism of clergy support for World War I attracted government attention. It was banned in Canada, and on May 7, 1918, the United States federal government indicted Rutherford and the new board of directors for violation of the Espionage Act, accusing them of conspiring to cause disloyalty, and refusal of military duty. They were found guilty and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. However, in March 1919, the judgment against them was reversed, and they were released from prison.^[95] The charges were later dropped.^[96] Patriotic fervor during World War I fueled persecution of the Bible Students in America and Europe,^[97] including mob violence and tarring and feathering.^[69]

Predictions for 1925

In 1918, Rutherford announced that Christ's thousand-year reign would begin in 1925, bringing the restoration of an earthly paradise and the resurrection to earth of Jewish "ancient worthies"^[98] (such as Abraham and Isaac).^[99][100] Jerusalem would become the world capital, and the "princes" would communicate with all humankind by radio.^[101] Preaching campaigns included distribution of Rutherford's book Millions Now Living Will Never Die^[102], which predicted "end times" events for 1925.^[103] Based on these predictions, many Bible Students gave up their businesses and jobs and sold their homes, while Bible Student farmers in Canada and the US refused to seed their spring crops in 1925 and mocked members of their religion who did.^[104] Rutherford had a luxury villa, Beth Sarim, built in San Diego, California, in 1930 to house the biblical "princes" who were expected to be resurrected before Armageddon. The house was sold after his death in 1942 and the teaching was officially abandoned in 1950.^[105][106] Watch Tower publications made no admission of error over the predictions for 1925, but Rutherford gave apologies at IBSA conventions.^[104]

After the 1925 disappointment

The failed expectations for 1925, coupled with other doctrinal changes, led to a dramatic reduction in attendance at the Bible Students' yearly Memorial, from 90,434 in 1925^[107] to 17,380 in 1928.^{[108][109][110][111]} Rutherford dismissed their defection as the Lord "shaking out" the unfaithful.^[112] Author Tony Wills, who analyzed attendance and "field worker" statistics, suggests it was the "more dedicated" Bible Students who quit through the 1920s, to be replaced by newcomers in larger numbers,^[113] creating what author Robert Crompton described as one of the most significant of the movement's breaks with its early history.^[5] After the disappointment regarding 1925, no further statements were made that explicitly indicated exact dates,^[114] but Armageddon was still held to be imminent.^[115]

In 1925, Rutherford dismissed the Watch Tower's Editorial Committee following a dispute over a proposed article, giving him full control of the organization and material published in the magazine^[70][116] and in 1927 the Society disposed of remaining copies of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures and The Finished Mystery and ceased printing the books.^[5]

At a convention at Columbus, Ohio on July 26, 1931, Rutherford made a psychological break with the large number of disaffected Bible Students^[117] by adopting the name Jehovah's witnesses, based on the scripture at Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses, is the utterance of Jehovah...". In 1932, he eliminated the system of congregations electing bodies of elders, claiming the office of elder was unscriptural,^[118] and in 1938 introduced a "theocratic" or "God-ruled" organizational system in which the Brooklyn headquarters would make all appointments in congregations worldwide.^[87] Rutherford, who had shown an earlier interest in politics, applied terms to the organization that were more common in politics and business: "organization" replaced "congregation" when referring to the worldwide community of believers, while "companies" denoted individual congregations. He pushed for more "field service" and "campaigns" of kingdom "advertising" in "territories", with "publishers" working under the direction of a field service "captain".^[84]

By 1933, the timing of the beginning of Christ's presence (Greek: pa'rou'si'a), his enthronement as king, and the start of the "last days", had been moved from 1874 to 1914.^[99][119] From 1935, converts to the movement were generally identified as those who, if worthy, would survive Armageddon and live on a paradise earth. Membership before this time was generally composed of those who believed they would be resurrected to live in heaven to rule over the earth with Christ.^[120]

J.F. Rutherford at Beth Sarim

In 1935, Witnesses were told they should refuse to salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, or accept alternative service provided for those who had conscientous objection to military service. Witnesses experienced mob violence and expulsion from public schools in the US and were banned in Germany, Canada and Australia because of their pacifist stance.^[121] Under Rutherford's leadership, a legal staff was developed to establish their right to preach and their right to refrain from nationalistic ceremonies. In the period from 1938 to 1955, the Watch Tower Society won 36 out of 45 religion-related court cases.^[122] These legal battles resulted in significant expansions in freedom of speech and religion in both countries.^[123]

Under Rutherford, Jehovah's Witnesses grew from about 44,000 in 1928 to about 115,000 at the time of his death on January 8, 1942.

Nazi Germany

From 1933 to 1945, Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany came under persecution, with as many as 5,000 imprisoned in concentration camps.^[124][125] Unlike Jews, Sinti and Roma, persecuted and killed by virtue of their culture, Jehovah's Witnesses had the opportunity to escape persecution and personal harm by renouncing their religious beliefs. Few recanted their beliefs, in the face of torture, maltreatment in concentration camps, and sometimes execution.

1942-1975

New York headquarters of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr. Knorr's tenure as president was notable for the transfer from individual to corporate leadership. None of the Society's publications after 1942 acknowledged authorship, and were instead attributed to an anonymous Writing Committee.^[126] From about 1944, the term "governing body" began to be used with a measure of frequency, with the term initially applied to the Watch Tower Society's seven-man Board of Directors.^[127] Knorr began a campaign of real estate acquisition in Brooklyn to expand the organisation's world headquarters, expanded printing production throughout the world, and organized a series of international assemblies that dwarfed those of Rutherford in the 1920s. In 1958, more than 253,000 Witnesses gathered at two New York venues, Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, for an eight-day convention where more than 7000 were baptised^[128]. Other large conventions were held in the US, Canada and Germany.

He instituted major training programs, including the Watch Tower Bible School of Gilead to train missionaries, and the Theocratic Ministry School to give instruction in preaching and public speaking at the congregational level. He commissioned a new translation of the Bible, which was released progressively from 1950, before being published as the complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in 1961. 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.^[129]

Knorr's vice-president, Frederick William Franz, became the leading theologian for the religion^[130], and helped shape the further growth of explicit rules regarding acceptable conduct among members, with a greater emphasis placed on disfellowshipping as a disciplinary measure.^[131] He was reportedly the principal translator of the New World Translation.^[132]

Adult male Witnesses in the US, Britain, and some European countries were jailed for refusal of military service in the post-war years, with particularly harsh treatment meted out in Spain, Greece, East Germany and Romania. Wide-scale persecution of Witnesses in several African nations was launched between 1967 and 1975, with as many as 21,000 fleeing Malawi to refugee camps in Zambia after a series of murders and beatings in 1972, and 7000 Mozambiquean members of the religion were arrested in 1975 to be sent to communist re-education camps.^[133]

During Knorr's presidency, membership of Jehovah's Witnesses grew from 108,000 to more than two million.^[130]

Predictions for 1975

From 1966, Witness publications heightened anticipation of Christ's thousand-year millennial reign beginning in late 1975.^{[134][135][136][137]} In what became a replay of the 1925 cycle of excitement, anticipation and then disappointment, Witness publications and convention talks intensified focus on 1975 as the "appropriate" time for God to act,^[138] with statements that "the immediate future is certain to be filled with climactic events ... within a few years at most the final parts of the Bible prophecy relative to these 'last days' will undergo fulfillment".^[139] The May 1974 issue of the Watch Tower Society's newsletter, Kingdom Ministry, commended Witnesses who had sold homes and property to devote themselves to preaching in the "short time" remaining.^[140] The number of baptisms soared from about 59,000 in 1966, to more than 297,000 in 1974, but membership declined after expectations for the year failed.^[141] In 1976 The Watchtower advised those who had been "disappointed" by the failure of the predictions for 1975 to adjust their viewpoint because their understanding had been "based on wrong premises",^[142], but four years later, after several proposals by Governing Body members to apologise to Witnesses were voted down,^[143] the Watch Tower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding 1975.^[144]

1976-Present

The leadership structure of Jehovah's Witnesses was reorganized from January 1, 1976, with the power of the presidency passed to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and the establishment of six committes to oversee tasks such as writing, teaching, publishing and evangelizing work.^[145] At this time, Watch Tower Society publications began using the capitalized name, 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.

A purge of senior Brooklyn headquarters staff was carried out in April and May 1980 after it was discovered some at the highest ranks of the hierarchy dissented with core Watch Tower Society doctrines, particularly surrounding the significance of 1914, and wished to propose adjustments as "new understandings" to continue the century-long tradition of changes in doctrines.^[146][147] Unease at the chronology doctrines had in fact surfaced within the Governing Body earlier that year. In February, three Governing Body members – aware that those who had been alive in 1914 were rapidly dwindling in number despite the teaching that their generation would be alive to see Armageddon – had proposed a radical change in Watch Tower doctrines to require that the "generation" that would see the arrival of Armageddon had been alive only since 1957, the year of the launch of the Russian space satellite Sputnik. The proposal, which would have extended the deadline for Armageddon by 43 years, failed to gain a majority vote.^[148][149] Internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, however, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. Among those expelled from the Witnesses was former Governing Body member Raymond Franz. Many of those expelled were labelled by Governing Body members as "spiritual fornicators", "mentally diseased" and "insane".^[146] The purge resulted in a number of schisms in the religion in Canada, Britain, and northern Europe, and prompted the formation of loose groups of disaffected former Witnesses. The Watch Tower Society responded to the crisis with a new, hardened attitude towards the treatment of expelled Witnesses.^{[146][147][150]}

In 1995, changes regarding their understanding of Jesus' comments regarding "this generation" (from Matthew 24:34) were published.^[151] Throughout the previous four decades, Jehovah's Witnesses had taught that the generation that saw the events of 1914 would not die out before Armageddon came.^[152] The understanding of the 'generation' was again adjusted in 2008, to refer to the remnant of the anointed.^[153] Jehovah's Witnesses continue to teach that Armageddon is imminent.^[154]

See also

• Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine
• Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses

References

Further reading

Three official histories of Jehovah's Witnesses have been published by the Watch Tower Society. The first two are out of print. The most recent one is available in many public libraries and on the Watchtower Library CD-ROM.

• Qualified To Be Ministers, pages 297-345 (1955)
• Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (1959)
• Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993)

Books by members

• Jehovah's Witnesses: The New World Society by Marley Cole. This book received a positive review in the August 15, 1955 Watchtower: "Much of the material was gathered by personal interviews with witnesses, some of them being officials of the Society. Frequently in the news is something about the religion of President Eisenhower's parents. This book gives the facts often overlooked or concealed, with documentary proof that they were Jehovah's witnesses for many years." Cole was an active Witness and wrote the book in collaboration with Witness leaders. It was also distributed by the Watch Tower Society. 229 pages. Publisher: The Vantage Press, 1955.
• Faith on the March by A. H. Macmillan. Macmillan provides a first-person account of the early history of Jehovah's Witnesses from his meeting of Charles Taze Russell in 1900 to the time of the writing of the book (1957). He served with three of the Presidents of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: Russell, Rutherford, and Knorr (who wrote the book's introduction). - Publisher: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 57-8528 (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1957)
• A People for His Name: A History of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation by Tony Wills, (2006) 2nd edition. (The first edition was published under the pseudonym Timothy White.) The author, a life-long Witness, presents an in-depth look at the Bible Student/Jehovah's Witness movement. He explores its doctrinal growth and shifts and notes schisms from the main body. 300 pages. ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4.
• Armed with the Constitution: Jehovah's Witnesses in Alabama and the U.S Supreme Court, 1939-1946 by Merlin Newton. Newton researches the contributions of two Jehovah's Witnesses—a black man and a white woman—in expanding the meaning of the First Amendment in 1940s Alabama. She examines two key U.S. Supreme Court decisions, as well as court records, memoirs, letters, and interviews of Jehovah's Witnesses. - Publisher: University Alabama Press; Religion and American Culture Series, Reprint edition (June 28, 2002). Paperback: 240 pages. ISBN 0-8173-1228-5
• O'er the Ramparts They Watched by Victor Blackwell.
• Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada: Champions of freedom of speech and worship by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge (and who was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses), examines the history of legal activities that led to expansion of religious freedoms in Canada. Referenced in the January 1, 1977 Watchtower, page 11 and the 1979 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 94. - Publisher: Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7705-1340-9 (Canada, 1976)

Books by non-members

• Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses by Alan Rogerson. Constable. 1969
• 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: Google Book Search - Publisher: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998)

External links

• Official website of Jehovah's Witnesses
• Pastor-Russell.com