In 1879 Russell founded a periodical, Zion’s Watchtower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, followed in 1881 with the establishment of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. He broke away from the Adventists, "convinced that so far no one had understood the Bible properly and that he had been called by God to interpret it correctly." 2 Gradually, however, he fell into disagreement with the Adventists over the doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming, which he believed would be purely spiritual. His faith in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures was rekindled and he was soon conducting Bible classes himself. But that did not satisfy him for long, as he became an avowed skeptic, until one day he chanced upon a Bible study conducted by a Seventh-Day Adventists. As a teen-ager, he left the Presbyterian Church of his parents and joined the Congregationalists. We provide these articles to help you understand the distinctions between denominations including origin, leadership, doctrine, and beliefs.Charles Taze RussellCharles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, was born in Pennsylvania in 1852.
Basics of jehovah witness beliefs series#
This article is part of our Denomination Series listing historical facts and theological information about different factions within and from the Christian religion. Jehovah's Witnesses rely on their door-to-door preaching to grow converts. Other countries with a significant number of Jehovah's Witnesses include Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines. The majority of Jehovah's Witnesses live in the Americas, with the United States having the largest number of members. This number includes both baptized members and those who are not yet baptized but are actively participating in the organization's activities. He also oversaw the expansion of the Watch Tower Society's global operations.Īccording to the Jehovah's Witness official website, there are 8,699,048 Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide as of March 31, 2023.
He established the Watch Tower Bible School of Gilead (South Lansing, New York) to train missionaries and leaders, decreed that all the society's books and articles were to be published in the King James Version of the Bible, and increased the emphasis on door-to-door preaching. He was promoted to factory manager in 1932, and to director of the Peoples Pulpit Association (now the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.) in 1934.Īs president of the Watch Tower Society, Knorr continued and expanded Rutherford's policies. In 1923, he became a volunteer at the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. He was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness in 1921. Knorr was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and was raised in a family of Jehovah's Witnesses. Rutherford died in 1942, and he was succeeded as president by Nathan Homer Knorr. Under his leadership, the Jehovah's Witnesses grew from a small group of Bible Students to a global denomination with millions of members. Rutherford further developed Russell's teachings and made the Jehovah's Witnesses a more organized and centralized movement. He also introduced many new doctrines, including the belief that the end of the world would occur in 1925. As president, Rutherford made many changes to the Watch Tower Society, including centralizing its organization and making it more aggressive in its evangelism. He was quickly promoted within the movement, and he became the president of the Watch Tower Society in 1917.
In 1894, Rutherford became a member of the Bible Student movement.
Basics of jehovah witness beliefs trial#
After graduating from law school, he worked as a court stenographer, trial lawyer, and prosecutor. He was interested in law from an early age, and he studied law at the University of Missouri. Rutherford was born in Versailles, Missouri, and grew up in a poor farming family.
Barbour later that year, they together produced the book Three Worlds, which combined restitution views with end-time prophecy.Īfter Russell's death in 1916, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) became the leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
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