Jeho vah's Witnesses: The name reverts to Isaiah 43:10, 12.

During the 1870's Charles Taze Russell

(1852-1916) began to teach a Bible class in Allegheny, Pa. He was particularly interested in the topics of the
Second Com ing and the millennial reign. In 1874 a pam phlet The Object and Manne r of the Lord's Return
was distributed by this group, attempting to disprove that the earth would be destroyed by fire at the Second
Com ing; and proclaiming an invisible rather than a physical return o f Ch rist, and the end of Statan's rule over
the present evil world.
In 1879 an organization was effected. The W atchtower mag azine appeared the s am e year,
continuing to the present. 1914 (W orld W ar) was the date set (in 1880) as the end of "Gentile Times" (by the
W atchtower) and physical signs foretold by Jesus began to appear in that year. (Matt. 24:3-51; Mark 13:3-37;
etc.). The good news of Christ's established kingdom has con tined to be declared. A tract Society was set
up with headquarters in Allegheny, Pa.
C. T. Russell became the first elected president of the Society known as "Zion's W atch Tower Tract
So ciety" (now known as the "W atch Tower Bible and Tract Society") – a corporation which serves as the legal
instrument of the unincorporated society of Jehovah's W itnesses. Expansion developed the creation of the
International Bible Students As sociation (British Isles, 1914).
J. F. Rutherford (186 9-1942) of M issouri succeeded Russell in 1917. "Advertise, advertise, advertise
the king and the kingdom" becam e a slogan in 1922. The magazine Awake! appeared in 1946 at the
international convention in Cleveland, attended by 80,000.
No m an is regarded as the leader. Headquarters: Brooklyn, N. Y. Witnesses are grouped in local
"companies" and meet in "Kingdom Halls." Each ac tive witne ss-m em ber is a m inister ordained to preach and
conduct visitations (although continuing secular employment). N. H. Knorr succeeded Rutherford on the
latter's death. Special Bible training center is now established in South Lansing, N. Y.
Salvation is held to be "unto all them that obey Him." The doctrine of the Trinity is discarded as
unscriptural. The church consists of "body-me m bers of C hrist" consecrated . The Sc riptures m ention a lim it
of the num ber of this spiritual heavenly church body to be 144,00 0 (R ev. 14:1, 3 ; 20:4, 6 ) – the invisible
nonearthly kingdom under Christ. Armageddon is the battle fought by the invisible hosts of heaven. Satan
will be destroyed. A rm ageddon survivo rs will m ultiply and populate the earth. During Christ's 1,000 years of
reign multitudes will be raised to life by a resurrection from the dead. The dead do not exist; they await
resurrection. Punishm ent of the wilfully wick ed is eternal death or non-existence. Hell (in the Bible) is the
grav e. See Millennial Dawn.

Millennial Dawn: A book by C. T. Russell first published in 1881 under the title Food for Thinking Christians
and reissued in 188 6 with the above title . Now included in a six volume series Studies in the Scriptures. It
enjoyed wide circulation by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

F erm , Vergilius Ture Anselm (b.1896-d.1974), Com pton Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy
in the C ollege of W oos ter. Concise Dictionary of Religion, A Lexicon of Protestant Interpretation. (New York:
The Philosophical Library, 1951), pp. 129, 130, 165 (respectively). BR95 .F37 1964 / 64-004055.