THE HISTORY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESS
A
      Charles  Taze Russell,  born  Feb. 16,  1852,  was the founder  of  "Zion's Watch  Tower Tract Society",  who  later became  known  as  Jehovah's  Witnesses.  Russell  lived in Pittsburg and  He  was not  educated beyond the seventh  grade, he had no theological training, and knew neither  Greek nor Hebrew.   His  church background  was Scotch-Irish Presbyterian,  although  he  became  an agnostic   early  in  life.   Later  he returned to the study of the  scriptures and became convinced that the Bible  did not  really teach such doctrines as  the Trinity, the Diety of Christ, the Bodily resurrection of Christ and the existance of hell.  In 1884 he and a group of like minded  people formed the "Zion's  Watch
Tower Tract Society".  Russell  perjured himself in court, and his wife was given a decree of divorce because the Judge of the High Court of Ontario opined that no woman of ordinary sensibility could live
with  a  man  of  so  much  egotism  and arrogance.    Russell   wrote   numerous articles  and published  a   six-volume series  of books entitled,  "Studies  in the  Scriptures".   Russell   proclaimed himself "the faithful and wise  servant" of Luke 12:42.  Russell died in 1916.

B
       Joseph  Franklin  Rutherford  succeeded Russell.   Joseph Rutherford  or  "Judge Rutherford"  as he was called, was  sent to the Atlanta penitentiary for sedition in  1918,  and was  released  in  March,
1919.  He became a martyred hero to  the Witnesses. Rutherford was a lawyer and a special  judge  in the  absence  of  the regular  judge  of the  Eighth  Judicial Circuit  Court  of  Boonville,  Missouri prior   to  1909.   In  1917,   he   was unanimously  chosen to succeed  Russell.  He held the position of President of the Society  until his death in 1942.  Some of his accomplishments were as follows;
 
  1. He  wrote  a  book  a  year,   plus numerous    articles    for     the  "Watchtower"  and "The          Golden  Age" and  successive  editions of  the "Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses".
 
  2. He  revealed the new name  for  the  Society as "Jehovah's Witnesses" in 1931.   The  name  was   supposedly  revealed by God from Isaiah 43:10.
     
  3. He did help the cause of  religious freedom  by winning many  cases  in the U S Supreme Court as well as in State Supreme Courts.
 
C
 Nathan H. Knorr succeeded Rutherford as President  of  the  Jehovah's  Witnesses immediately  after  Rutherfords'  death.  Knorr   had   been  a  bodyguard  for Rutherford,  so he  was   familiar with the duties of the President.  Knorr founded a committee that set the groups' doctrine  and published  its'  articles, instead of having one man doing all  the writing.   Two of the most  popular  and dangerous  books  to come  out  of  this committee  were  "Let God be  True"  and "The  New World Translation of the  Holy Scriptures".
 
                                                   JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
                                           THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

I. THE J.W. POSITION ON THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

A
     "THE KING, CHRIST JESUS, WAS PUT TO  DEATH   IN   THE   FLESH   AND    WAS
RESURRECTED   AN   INVISIBLE   SPIRIT CREATURE." WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, PG. 22, EDITION 1946.

B
     "IN HIS RESURRECTION HE WAS NO MORE HUMAN.   HE  WAS RAISED AS  A  SPIRIT CREATURE."--   "THE  KINGDOM  IS   AT HAND",  WATCHTOWER  BIBLE  AND  TRACT SOCIETY, PG. 258.

C
     THE  WATCHTOWER  BIBLE  AND   TRACT SOCIETY,    IN   "STUDIES   IN    THE
SCRIPTURE",  PG. 129, VOLUME  2,  HAS EVEN  SUGGESTED THAT  "CHRIST'S  BODY
WAS   DISSOLVED   INTO   GASSES"   OR  "PRESERVED  SOMEWHERE  AS  THE  GRAND MEMORIAL OF GOD'S LOVE".

D
     THE  J.W. BELIEF CENTERS  AROUND  1 PETER  3:18.   THIS VERSE  SAYS  THAT
CHRIST   WAS  "MADE  ALIVE   IN   THE SPIRIT".

E
     "DEMATERIALIZING HIS ASSUMED  HUMAN BODY  AND RETURNING TO HIS  INVISIBLE SPIRIT STATE, JESUS IN HIS  ASCENSION RAN NO RISK TO HIS LIFE SUCH AS  FROM RADIATION  BELTS AROUND THE EARTH  OR COSMIC RAYS IN OUTER SPACE.  WHILE HE DID NOT ASCEND TO HEAVEN IN THE HUMAN BODY THAT HE HAD SACRIFICED AND  THAT HE LEFT FOREVER UPON GOD'S ALTAR,  HE DID  RETURN TO HEAVEN WITH THE  MERIT OR  VALUE OF HIS HUMAN LIFE  THAT  HE HAD  LAID DOWN FOR DYING  MANKIND."-- "LET  YOUR NAME BE  SANCTIFIED",  PG. 272.

II.  WHAT  THE BIBLE TEACHES  CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST:

A
     1  COR.  15:14 "IF CHRIST  HAS  NOT BEEN  RAISED, THEN OUR  PREACHING  IS
VAIN, YOUR FAITH ALSO IS VAIN"

B
     "THE  WORD  "RESURRECTION"  IN  THE BIBLE  IS  NEVER APPLIED TO  SOUL  OR
SPIRIT  OF  MAN."-- "J.W.'S  AND  THE RESURRECTION" PORTLAND TRACT SOCIETY.

C
     JOHN 2:19 "DESTORY THIS TEMPLE, AND IN  THREE DAYS I WILL RAISE  IT  UP." 
THEN VERSE 21 "BUT HE WAS SPEAKING OF THE  TEMPLE OF HIS BODY."  THE  GREEK WORD  "SOMA"  IS  TRANSLATED   "BODY" THROUGHOUT  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT,  AND THAT IS THE WORD JOHN USES.

D
     LUKE  24:39  "SEE MY HANDS  AND  MY FEET,  THAT IT IS I MYSELF; TOUCH  ME
AND  SEE, FOR A SPIRIT DOES NOT  HAVE FLESH  AND  BONES AS YOU SEE  THAT  I HAVE."   THIS SHOWS THAT IS  WAS  NOT ONLY  A BODY OF FLESH AND  BONE,  BUT ALSO   THE   SAME   BODY   THAT   WAS CRUCIFIED.

     LATER IN LUKE 24, VS. 42 43 HE EATS FOOD.  SOMETIMES  J.W.'S  ATTEMPT  TO
EXPLAIN  THIS  BY 1 COR  15:44  AS  A  "SPIRITUAL  BODY".  PAUL  STILL  USES
THE  WORD  "SOMA" FOR  BODY  IN  THIS VERSE  SO A SPIRITUAL BODY IS NOT  "A
SPIRIT".

E
     CONCERNING 1 PETER 3:18, THIS VERSE ONLY PROVES THAT IT WAS BY THE SPIRIT OF  GOD  THAT CHRIST  WAS  RAISED  AS MENTIONED IN ROMANS 8:11.

F
     THE  TRUE TEACHING  CONCERNING  THE RESURRECTION  OF CHRIST  DOES  INDEED DETERMINE A PERSONS ETERNAL  DESTINY, 1 COR 15: 14,17 AND ROMANS 10:9.

APPLICATION

1.   WRITE  THESE  VERSES  IN   YOUR BIBLE  FOR QUICK REFERENCE  AND BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THEM.

 2.   WHEN DISCUSSING THIS TOPIC WITH A  J.W., DON'T LET  THEM  STRAY FROM  THE  TOPIC.  BE  SURE  TO DISCUSS  ONLY  ONE TOPIC  AT  A TIME  AND  REACH  A  CONCLUSION BEFORE  MOVING  ON  TO  ANOTHER TOPIC.

3.   ALWAYS  REMEMBER 1  PETER  3:15 WHEN  WITNESSING TO A J.W., OR               ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

4.   MEMORIZE OUT THEME VERSE:   COL 2:8,9.

5.   PRAY !!!

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