So How Did Jehovah's Witnesses Get Started Anyway?

Here is a sight which is becoming more familiar in cities of any real size across the world as Jehovah's Witnesses seek to expand their recruitment efforts into areas where they are more likely to make contact with people.  They still knock on doors and one is still likely to open their door to a knock on a weekend day to find a pair at their door, however, they are exploring new way to find peope and disseminate their literature.  They claim that they are Bible Students and I know fellow Bible Student's who've had Witnesses get in their faces at fair booths and claim that we are frauds and, that they are the real Bible Students.  So what's the truth of the matter and where did Jehovah's Witnesses come from?  We intend to answer that question here and leave the matter of doctrinal differences to our companion website, Coastal Bible Students.

By way of disclosure we once walked with the Jehovah's Witnesses and did so for decades until my eyes were opened and we left them.  Even then we were interested in their history and collected old Watchtower publications and books on them. So we do have an extensive collection of works on them and the Bible Students both in physical form and digital.  Books have been written on on Jehovah's Witnesses came to be and you can get one published in 1929, just two years before the final act giving birth to them occurred here.  However, we will try to give a concise account of what happened in this article.

So where did they come from?  There is a kernel of truth in their claim that they started out within the Bible Student Movement.  However, they did not remain within the movement and formally separated from it, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Their real origins go back to the Bible Students and the man in the picture above, Joseph Rutherford, also known as "the Judge" because he spent a little time serving as an alternate judge where he originally lived and practiced law.  Rutherford came into contact with the Bible Students in the 1890s and entered the movement.  In time he was invited to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York where he did legal work for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.  However, not long before Russell's death Rutherford was asked to leave and sent all the way to the West Coast, where he remained until Russell died in 1916.

Russell died on a speaking tour on Halloween, 1916.  Russell left the the Watch Tower in the hands of A. H. Macmillan, unbeknownst to him a mole for Rutherford because he was in full sympathy with Rutherford's opinions on matters of policy, as he himself admits in his autobiography Faith On the March.  So Macmillan was in to act on Rutherford's behalf.  We know that upon receipt of the message of Russell's death Macmillan sent out a message to Rutherford informing him of the death and telling him to drop whatever he was doing and get back to Brooklyn as fast as he could.  He also sat on the notice and delayed informing the corporation's board of directors to give Rutherford time to get back.

Russell's body was delayed by being embalmed on the way back to Brooklyn which gave Rutherford time to get back before the body did.  According to Sister Cora Sumdbom, in a recorded interview which can be downloaded and listened to in its entirety by clicking on the appropriate link on that page, when the board of directors gathered to meet on the matter of what to do with the death of the President of the Watch Tower Society the Vice President, who should've taken the President's seat, was prevented from doing so by another member who held it until, to their surprise Rutherford entered the room late and took the seat.  He then proceeded to take control of the meeting and bully his way into being elected to the board and being given the Presidency of the corporation.

What followed would be a struggle for control in which Rutherford declared Russell's Will "null and void," refused to let the majority holders of stock in the Watch Tower to vote their shares in the Shareholder's Meeting, kick other members of the board who opposed his efforts to impose his will on the Watch Tower both off of the board and out of the headquarters altogether, and otherwise muscle his way into control.  By the time he was released from the Atlanta Penitentiary after being imprisoned for spreading Communist Propaganda in the Watch Tower (He permitted the inclusion of anti-WWI tracts written by Jack London of the book Call Of the Wild fame in the Watch Tower) Rutherford was in full control of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.

Now that he controlled the Watchtower Rutherford began instituting massive changes in the company and the "Ecclesias" which looked to it for their literature needs.  Starting with the book The Finished Mystery which claimed to be the posthumous work of Charles Taze Russell the message went from being one of God's love to a message of a vengeful God eager to take his revenge on mankind  and would do so in 1925.  the Watchtower now took steps to get around the authority of the local bodies of elders through the appointment of a "company servant" who would represent the Watchtower and serve as its authority locally.  Selling books and magazines from Door to door were mandated for all with quotas in both time and sales set for individuals.  Although many of the Bible Students and their Ecclesias, or congregations, ceased any association with the Watchtower when they realized what was going on, the aggressive recruiting campaign more than made up for the losses as they wound their way to 1925.

At the headquarters Rutherford started requiring loyalty oaths of the volunteers and kicked out and excommunicated those who refused to comply.  Sr. Coras' entire family found themselves among those.  Those who were left were browbeaten, intimidated, and otherwise abused to cow them into complete submission to Rutherford.  In a letter of resignation dated July 21, 1939, a lawyer named Olin Moyles, would document some of the abuse and other things he witnessed during his brief time there in the late 1930s.  In that way did Rutherford establish and firm up his control and extend it as time went on.

1925 came and went without Armageddon.  Within the year 75% of the Bible Students associated with the Watchtower, both older members who had not left up to that time and new members gained through recruiting left the Watchtower.  This is the source for the figure of 75% of Bible Students leaving the Watchtower.  Given the increase from the recruiting campaign most of those were likely newer members.  We also know from several sources, one of those being Mr. Schnell, who later wrote the Book Thirty Years A Watchtower Slave, that during the 1920s Rutherford sought to drive out all of the Bible Students from Russell's time that he could.

By the time the 1930s rolled around Rutherford had done pretty much everything he set out to do.  He's taken control of the Watchtower and used its page to lead those who read it out of the light and into darkness.  He further altered the relationship of the Watchtower to the Bible Students from one of a servant producing literature for their use to that of a master with the congregations and their members were now a sales force for the Society.  As time went on the culture of corruption and power he set in place would really do nothing but increase.  However, he still had a problem on his hands.  Those who ceased using the Watchtower as their provider of truth and the later ones who left formed various groups calling themselves "Bible Students."  He couldn't stop them from doing that, but there was something else he could do.

In 1931 at the General Convention the Watchtower held the watchtower Bible Students were n for a big surprise.  Everywhere they saw the two letters, "JW" prominently displayed.  But it wasn't until they were read a resolution that they found out what it was all about.  The story and resolution is found in the 1932 Yearbook for the International Bible Students Association, Which is pictured above and can be downloaded for free from Watchtower Documents, a site maintained by an old acquaintance named Barbara Anderson.  Part of the way through the Resolution they heard Rutherford's problem defined:

"WHEREAS from and after that date, for a period of more than forty years, Charles T. Russell, a faithful follower of Christ Jesus and a servant of Jehovah God, led a company of his brethren in Christ in the preaching and teaching of the divine Word, and particularly with reference to the second coming of Christ, the setting up of his kingdom, and the restoration of man to perfection on the earth; and to carry on said work orderly said company of Christians organized the corporations known as the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, the International Bible Students Association, and the Peoples Pulpit Association, and they used and now use these corporations for the publication of books, magazines and other Bible literature; and in the course of time said company of Christians became known by such names as, to wit, 'Russellites,' 'Millennial Dawn People,' 'International Bible Students Association,' and other like names; and "WHEREAS shortly following the death of Charles T. Russell a division arose between those associated with him in such work, resulting in a number of such withdrawing from the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, and who have since refused to cooperate with said Society and its work and who decline to concur in the truth as published by the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, in The Watchtower and the other recent publications of the above-named corporations, and have opposed and do now oppose the work of said Society in declaring the present message of God's  

kingdom and the day of the vengeance of our God against all parts of Satan's organization; and said opposing ones have formed themselves into divers and numerous companies and have taken and now bear such names as, to wit, 'Bible Students,' 'Associated Bible Students,' 'Russellites teaching the truth as expounded by Pastor Russell,' 'Stand-Fasters,' and like names, all of which tends to cause confusion and misunderstanding:

So the Bible Students under their various monikers were a big thorn in his side and "cause confusion."  So something had to be done about that, so:

"Now, THEREFORE, in order that our true position may be made known, and believing that this is in harmony with the will of God, as expressed in his Word, BE IT RESOLVED, as follows, to wit: "THAT we have great love for Brother Charles T. Russell, for his work's sake, and that we gladly acknowledge that the Lord used him and greatly blessed his work; yet we cannot consistently with the Word of God consent to be called by the name 'Russellites'; that the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society and the International Bible Students Association and the Peoples PUlpit Association are merely names of corporations, which corporations we as a company of Christian people hold, control and use to carry on our work in obedience to God's commandments, yet none of these names properly attach to or apply to us as a body of Christians who follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Master, Christ Jesus; that we are students of the Bible, but, as a body of Christians forming an Association, we decline to assume or to be called by the name 'Bible Students' or similar names as a means of identification of OUr proper position before the Lord; we refuse to bear or to be called by the name of any man; "THAT, having been bought with the precious blood 

of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer, justified and begotten by Jehovah God and called to his kingdom, we unhesitatingly declare our entire allegiance and devotion to Jehovah God and his kingdom; that we are servants of Jehovah God commissioned to do a work in his name, and, in obedience to his commandment, to deliver the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to make known to the people that Jehovah is the true and almighty God; therefore we joyfully embrace and take the name which the mouth of the Lord God has named, and we desire to be known as and called by the name, to wit, 'Jehovah's witnesses.'-Isa. 43:10-12; 62:2; Rev. 12:17. 

Get the point?  The solution was to sever the connection with the Bible Student Movement altogether and take up a new name as an "organization."  Thus was the organization Jehovah's Witnesses born.  Although its flock still accepts some of Russell's basic teachings on fundamental doctrine, the Witnesses abandoned most of the Eschatology and other things of the \Bible Students in favor of what amounts to apostasy.  Whereas the Bible Students not only did, but still do enjoy freedom of thought beyond the fundamental doctrine, the Witnesses embraced a Christian form of Phariseism which governs literally every belief and part of one's life.  But the point is they left the Bible Students and renounced all claims to the name, among other things.

So that, dear reader and truth seeker, is how the Witnesses were created by Joseph F. Rutherford for all they themselves and their critics prefer to place that responsibility on Charles Taze Russell, who was already in his grave for fifteen years when the sect Jehovah's Witnesses was. born in 1931.

For more rhere is a booklet which can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.friendsofjehovahswitnesses.com/wp-content/uploads/Bible-Students-not-Jehovah-Witnesses2.pdf-final2.pdf

Pastor Russell And The Occult

The "Winged Orb" from the Studies In the Scriptures volumes after 1911.

In stead of starting at the beginning, which might make for a nice book but would probably bore our audience to death, we decided to look into a few controversies first.  The reason is simple, most of the time when one googles Charles Taze Russell or Jehovah's Witnesses who claim to be the real Bible Students among the first sites one will encounter are sites which spread a lot of misinformation about Russell in an attempt to paint the Witnesses as somehow corrupt from the very beginning...starting with their "founder."  So it becomes necessary for any serious student of history to start off with such matters before other parts of the story can be addressed.

Where The Stories Come From

The stories painting Russell as evil and self-serving really started with a publication which is still around today, The Brooklyn Eagle.  We don't really know what it is today, but back in Russell's time it was basically a publication which thrived on sensationalism and scandal with little worry about truthful reporting.  Since Russel was both rich and the most widely read preacher of his day he was, as with any celebrity today, the fodder for scandal because his name sold copes.  So when something which happened to Russell could be twisted into a sinister scandal, the Eagle was all too happy to do it.

The second primary source for the stories comes from a pamphlet put out in two editions by one Reverend J. J. Ross which drew from some of the stories in the Eagle, but added a few f his own, especially after his slander trial which he fled to avoid being put on the stand and after which he add a claim that Russell perjured himself on the stand, a patently false claim according to those who were there.  Sadly, the official records of the trial disappeared shortly after, so .all we do have are the recollections of those who attended and later commented on the charge.  A genuine copy of those records are one of the holy grails for researchers into the history of both the Bible Students and the later Jehovah's Witnesses.

33rd Degree Scottish Masonry Symbol

Russell Was A Mason

Back in the day and it seems today as well one of the easiest ways to ruin somebody's reputation was to claim they were a Mason if they were a Christian celebrity.  So the claim was made that Russell was a 33rd Degree Mason of the Scottish Rite.  Proof of said affiliation and further involvement with the occult was largely based on the presence of certain symbols prominently displayed in the literature he published, such as the so called "winged orb" which started appearing on the Studies In The Scriptures volumes in 1911 and pictured at the head of this post.  since this and the other "evidence" of Russell being involed with the Masons, Illuminati, and the occult are so inextricably linked we'll take them more or less all together and look at the evidence piece by piece.

First of all, let us make one thing crystal clear.  If Charles Taze Russell had been a Mason but left them after he discovered the true doctrine of Christianity there would be no problem from our point of view.  Many Christians through the years have left off memberships, businesses, and other activities they concluded were not compatible with their new found Christian beliefs after their discovery of truth, this writer included.  Such a reversal of course is proper and it would be improper to conclude that such a prior association continued to taint the believer later in life.

Out Of His Own Mouth Condemned

Russel, himself, denied any association with the Masons.  There is a sermon of his often quoted as an "admission" of membership in the Masons entitled The Temple Of God which is often used as an example of an admission on Russell's part that he was a Mason.  It was delivered in 1913 and we've linked it for you.  Russell was giving a sermon in a Masonic hall rented by the Bible Students for the occasion and apparently some of the members of the lodge were in attendance out of curiosity.  So, like any good speaker, Russell chose to use some common ground to catch and hold their attention.  The part often quoted is this:

I am very glad to have this particular opportunity of saying a word about some of the things in which we agree with our Masonic friends, because we are speaking in a building dedicated to Masonry, and we also are Masons. I am a Free Mason. I am a free and accepted Mason, if I may carry the matter to its full length, because that is what our Masonic brethren like to tell us, that they are free and accepted Masons. That is their style of putting it. Now I am a free and accepted Mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our Masonic brethren. We have no quarrel with them. I am not going to say a word against Free Masons. In fact, some of my very dear friends are Masons, and I can appreciate that there are certain very precious truths that are held in part by our Masonic friends. I have talked to them at times, and they have said, How do you know about all of these things? We thought nobody knew anything about these things except those who had access to our very highest logic.

Taken out of context it certainly does appear that Russell admitted to being a Freemason, as the underlined portion appears to support as a conclusion. But like anything else, context matters. As one reads through the text of the discourse one discovers that the Pastor, as Russell is still often called, wasn't admitting to Masonry, he was simply using an appeal to logic and the common search for truth to point his listeners to the truth regarding the Church, which is the real temple of God. He also called on his listeners to embrace Christianity and become stones in the real Temple of God.




About one-half of the way through Russell makes this plain admission "Although I have never been a Mason..." and then continues his thought and the sermon. So Russell denied ever having been a Mason, period. Of course, though folks will condemn him with the words out of his mouth, words out of his mouth to the contrary just don't seem to suffice. So people point to various symbols he used in his literature as "proof" that he really was a Mason.

The Cross And Crown

The above picture is from one of the early Zion's Watch Tower magazines.  For many years this symbol graced the cover of said magazine and other publications of the Bible Students and they continue to use it to this day.  However, those looking for reason to paint the Pastor with a soiled brush see something much more sinister in this, the symbol of the Knights Templar, an order of Catholic Knights which was forced underground in 1312 ad when their order was disbanded and their leaders arrested and tortured then executed.  Those who weren't initially arrested fled and took the treasures of the order with them and some landed in Scotland where they found refuge and are thought by many to be the precursors to the Masons.  Because of the propaganda of both the French King and the Vatican based on supposed admissions under torture, the Knights Templar are painted to this day as some sort of a dark cult with sinister intentions which simply went underground and continue their pursuit of world conquest to this day in various occult guises. Typical of the charges is what follows from a site, watch.pair.com:

Two other groups (both with Masonic connections) use the cross and crown. Charles Taze Russell was a Mason who started the Jehovah Witnesses.'4'  He used the red cross and other distinctive features of the Knights Templar logo.'"

We won't address what isn't in the purview of this article and more in the realm of conspiracy theories, however, it is a fact that the Knights Templar did use their own cross symbol, and some used the cross and crown emblem, to wit:

Above is a picture courtesy of  The Irish Origins of Civilization of the cross and crown symbol of the Knights Templar Crest.  Note that the cross is of the kind peculiar of the Knights Templar and is below the crown and on the shield.  So, okay, the Knights Templar did use a form of the symbol.

And so do the Masons as the ring to the left demonstrates.  By the way, the Latin inscription on the ring means in this sign conquer and is the motto Emperor Constantine of the fourth century ad used.

But then:

Look to the right.

And the left.  In fact many churches and others use the cross and crown symbol as a symbol for victory in Christ.  This goes back here in America to a sermon given by William Penn, the founder of both the colonies of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania as refuges from religious persecution.  The sermon in its entirety can be found here No Cross, No Crown by William Penn.  The idea is actually biblical.  It is a play on the requirement that Christians share in the suffering of Christ in order to gain the crown promised in the Kingdom to come.  So it isn't so sinister at all.  Sadly, the picture at left was used by the same site to slander Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series of novels fame because that ad is used to sell his books.  Apparently the "Masonry" charge still has power to this day as a means of slander. There is more, though.

Russell Buried Under A Pyramid

Here is another gem from the same source quoted earlier, "...and he is 'buried in a pyramid with masonic symbols on its capstone."' We'll get to the first half of the statement next, but here is Russell's Grave:

It is tempting to say "enough said" but there is a pyramid in the burial plot of the Bethel home there in Rosemont Cemetery which was placed there by Joseph Rutherford, who claimed Russell commissioned it.  It can be seen in the next shot of Russell's grave from another angle:

That is the pyramid in the background along with a Masonic Temple built decades after the Pastor was buried. It is a fact that Russell was interested in what is sometimes called Pyramidism, that is a belief several of his contemporaries held that God had the great Pyramid built an that many of its features incorporated the divine plan.  Russell came to agree with them and saw it as an extra-biblical corroboration of what he'd figured out using the Bible alone, but that was as far as he took it and he always pointed out that that was all it really was.  The blank spaces on the pyramid were meant to list the names of those buried in the Bethel plot, however, Rutherford only ever put just one name in any of those spaces, Russell's.

The "Winged Orb"

Here is the part of the last declaration from the site we've quoted from as promised, "He also used the Masonic symbol of the winged sun-disk with snakes..."  Let's take another look at the "sun disk" in question:

We went with the largest view here to see the details more clearly. Those aren't snakes, or the Pharoanic cobras, to name them correctly on that disk.

The above is an example of the Pharoanic winged disk, or more precisely, scarab with the cobras incorporated into the design.  Sometimes the cobras appear below the disk but they also appear as in this photo.  The "snakes" are clearly visible here unlike in the design Russell used.  but that is because Russell didn't use a symbol with snakes at all.  So it's not the one with the snakes in it, what is it?

It is actually a stylized representation of the scarab beetle which the Egyptians revered because of the way life seemed to appear out of nowhere from the dung balls the beetle laid its eggs in.  Thus the beetle came to be a symbol for life and several gods associated with life and the resurrection.  The things which look like snakes in the design from the Studies are the front legs of the scarab.  Look at these:

 The above is the Egyptian Scarab Beetle.  See the front legs?

To the right is the Egyptian design of the scarab with it's wings outstretched. A comparison of these images, we trust, is enough to put the charge made those who would use this symbol to slander a man long dead and in his grave.  But we are not going to stop here with this symbol.








Unfortunately Russell left no statement to help us understand why he chose this symbol.  Some take a statement he wrote in one of the Studies In The Scriptures on Malachi 4:1-2 as such a statement under the assumption he was using the later Assyrian and Babylonian winged sun disks.  However, look at the next image"

This image is now quite famous because it is a recently found example of one of the two seals the righteous Judean King Hezekiah was known to have used, but for the first time in situ.  Look at that winged scarab which appears on this bullae.  It's been known since Russell's day that the royal families of Israel used the winged scarab as an emblem of their rule.  In modern times it appears on the other seal used by Hezekiah along with one used by a priest named Gaalyahu and the actual personal seal used by Queen Jezebel of the northern kingdom below:

Imagine that, the seal of Jezebel herself instead of an impression bullae!  While as far as we know at this time Russell didn't have access to an example of one of these, however he would've had access to this:

 The image to the left is from an academic journal published in Russell's time and from an edition printed in 1909.  The footnote visible in the image informs us that the image was taken from another Journal, the Palestine Explorer, 1905 edition.  That journal would've likely been one Russell subscribed to through the Watchtower.








To our right is a closeup of the seal itself.  How ironic is it that the person the seal was for was Natanyau, an alternate version of the same name used by Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Natanyahu.  We can clearly see the scarab used in the seal.

While it is admittedly supposition, we believe the known facts place us on solid ground laying it out.  it then becomes easy to see why the Pastor might not have seen anything wrong with using a symbols the Jews themselves used in ancient times.  Some have called it a lack of judgement on his part, however, this may well put that one to rest.

In Conclusion

Those are just a few examples of how the claims that Charles Taze Russell was into the occult fall apart on closer examination.  There are other things people point to, such as the fact the Rockefellers were among those who contributed to the Watchtower Bible and Tract society in it's early years in an attempt to taint by association.  However, that is just wishful thinking on the part of those making such accusations and we really don't see any need to waste further time on those.  It was Russell himself whose reply to a question about why he didn't spend the time on such matters later in life was that if he "stopped and kicked at every dog that barks at me I wouldn't have the time to get anything useful done."  Thus he added a proverb to the English language.

We will catch you later!

Introduction

Hello!

My name is Stanley and I am an amateur historian of Christian history with a focus on the Adventist and Bible Student history.  The idea behind this blog will be to provide an accurate resource for those looking for information on the Bible Students historically speaking.  Given all the inaccurate knowledge one finds out there it will be necessary to debunk some of that information and clear away the fog so one can see clearly.  However, that is not the only purpose of this blog.  It is meant as a journey through history with a simple examination of what happened, and ultimately some of the trends which led to this particular branch of Christianity.  Since this will be formal writing I will stick with the formal third person when speaking of our self.  It is out hope you will come along with us on the journey, and then some of the other interesting topics we will eventually cover as time goes by

When one thinks of the Bible Students what usually comes to mind are the Jehovah's Witnesses, and we used to be one and that is where we first got interested in the history of the Bible Student Movement which the Witnesses formally separated themselves from in 1931 in favor of creating a new religion called Jehovah's Witnesses.  We collected the histories they published and new ones as they came out, and still do.  However, as time went by we didn't limit ourselves to their historical works.  So we are familiar with the vast collection of inaccurate books and websites out there on both the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Bible Students.  We also know where much f the inaccuracies such as the "Russell was a 33rd degree Mason" accusation all over the place and see a necessity for a site which brings the history all together in an easy yet truthful format.

Charles Taze Russell is an interesting man to look at.  At the time of his death he was the most widely read bible expounder of the time.  Contemporaries now revered had nowhere near the audience he did. During his life he wrote some eight books and coauthored one.  He also wrote most of the articles which appeared in the magazine Zion's Watch Tower over a period of some forty years.  He gave an untold number of discourses, some transcribed by followers and published, most not because he was the sort of person who spoke wherever he could find a place, be it an exalted stage such as the Royal Hall in London, or the humble street corner wherever could be had.  Although the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society accepted donations, Russell was as successful in investments as he was preaching and not only paid his own way, but often financed the launch of his own books and finally the Photo Drama Of Creation out of his own pockets.

We don't intend to dodge the difficult parts of his life.  During his lifetime he would be dogged by a scandal rag called the Brooklyn Eagle, the National Enquirer of his day.  And like that latter publication it didn't mind playing fast and loose with the truth or even making things up as it went.  They were the bane of the rich and famous, and Russell was both.  That made him and his personal life fodder for their publication and most of the inaccuracies of the historical record and which get promoted today originated right in their pages.  So those things must be tackled head on, and the truth, both good and bad, must be laid out.  That is what we intend to do.

We hope you will be fascinated by the man who went from being a humble haberdasher, go ahead, look that one up, to becoming one of the most widely known and recognizable personalities of his time as well as the movement his message inspired both then, and to this day.