Charles Taze Russell - how did the movement arise from which Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged?

Anyone who wants to understand the history of Jehovah's Getuigen has to go back to the United States in the nineteenth century. Long before Kingdom Halls, the governing body, JW.org, and even before the name Jehovah's Getuigen existed, a small group of people met in Pennsylvania to study the Bible. One of them would go on to play a decisive role: Charles Taze Russell. Jehovah's Getuigen do not today call Russell the founder of their religion. According to their own explanation, Jesus is the founder. At the same time, JW.org acknowledges that Russell took the lead among the early Bible Students in the work of Bible teaching and was the first editor of The Watchtower . Who was this man? Where did his ideas come from? And how much of what Russell believed back then would a Jehovah's Getuigen recognize today? A young man who began to doubt Charles Taze Russell was born in 1852 in Pennsylvania . As a young man, he was religious, but he struggled with several traditional Christian doctrines. In particular, the teaching of eternal torment in a burning hell was hard for him to reconcile with the idea of a loving God. The official history of Jehovah's Getuigen also describes how Russell began to question his earlier religious beliefs and started examining the Bible again. His search brought him into contact with other Christians who were also engaged in Bible study, prophecies, and the second coming of Christ. That is important for this history. Russell did not develop his ideas in a vacuum He lived in a period when various Protestant and Adventist movements were intensely focused on the question of when Jesus would return and how Bible prophecies should be interpreted. Russell came into contact, for example, with Adventist Nelson H. Barbour . According to the official history of Jehovah's Getuigen, Russell read Barbour's magazine Herald of the Morning around 1876. Among other things, Barbour dealt with Bible time prophecies and the idea that Christ was invisibly present. Russell's Bible study group cooperated for a time with Barbour's group. Later, a fundamental difference of opinion arose between Russell and Barbour over Jesus' ransom sacrifice. Russell ended the collaboration. A small group of Bible Students Around 1870 , a Bible study group emerged in the Pittsburgh area in which Russell took on an important role. The participants wanted to compare church teachings with what they themselves read in the Bible. The current organization of Jehovah's Getuigen also describes its modern origin as a small group of Bible students in the Pittsburgh area that began to study the Bible systematically. Another official publication even calls Russell “the driving force” behind that group. The name Jehovah's Getuigen did not yet exist then. The movement would become known as the Bible Students , in English Bible Students . It is therefore not historically entirely correct to simply call Russell the first Jehovah's Getuigen . The movement from which Jehovah's Getuigen later emerged looked in important respects different under Russell than the organization of today. 1879 - Zion's Watch Tower In July 1879, Russell took an important step. He began his own religious magazine: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence About 6,000 copies of the first issue were distributed. Russell was editor and publisher. This is confirmed in the official historical publications of Jehovah's Getuigen. The magazine would ultimately grow into what we now know as De Wachttoren . Russell traveled around, gave lectures, and wrote extensively about his Bible-based insights. The movement grew. An organization for publishing and distributing religious literature also emerged. In 1881 the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed and in 1884 it received legal incorporation, with Russell as president. The name was later changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Gradually, this created the organizational basis of a religious movement that would later grow worldwide. The organization looked different then It is important not to automatically project the current organization of Jehovah's Getuigen back onto the time of Russell. The current governing body, for example, did not exist in the same form. Nor did the way congregations were organized and led remain the same; that changed significantly later. That raises an interesting historical question: How did a movement of Bible study groups eventually become a highly organized international community of faith? We'll return to that in a later history article. The end times played an important role from the beginning Russell was intensively engaged in Bible chronology. Even before 1914, great significance was attached to that year within the movement. So 1914 was not only later regarded as a special year. But it is important to be precise about what was actually expected. As 1914 drew nearer, there were expectations within the movement about major changes in God’s timetable and the end of the so-called Gentile Times. Russell himself wrote in early 1914 that he did not know for certain what exactly would happen. Among other things, he expected manifestations of God’s judgment and the disappearance of many, possibly all, existing institutions. Not all expectations surrounding 1914 were realized as imagined. Jehovah's Witnesses’ later official history also acknowledges that expectations had to be adjusted. Even so, 1914 remained a central year. Within the current doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1914 is regarded as the year in which Christ began ruling in heaven as King. We discuss that subject in more depth in our article on end-time expectations. But Russell used something else in his search for God’s timetable as well. Something that will probably surprise many current Jehovah's Witnesses. The Great Pyramid of Giza For many years, Russell believed that the Great Pyramid of Giza had significance for understanding God’s purpose. This does not come only from publications by critics or former Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses’ own official history says that Russell believed for about 35 years that the Great Pyramid was God’s “stone witness” and that the pyramid confirmed Bible time periods. That makes this a remarkable part of history. Because in his search for prophetic chronology, Russell was therefore not looking only at written Bible texts. The dimensions and passages of an Egyptian pyramid were also given religious meaning. A 'stone witness' Russell elaborated these ideas extensively. The passages and dimensions of the Great Pyramid were linked to events and periods within Bible chronology. For Russell, the structure was thus more than an impressive relic from ancient Egypt. In his view, it could serve as additional confirmation of God’s timetable. Today, Jehovah's Witnesses no longer teach this. Their own official history explicitly states that this idea was abandoned. And that is precisely what makes this historically interesting. If a Jehovah's Witness today were to use the dimensions of the Great Pyramid to confirm Bible prophecies, would that still be seen as a reliable method? Probably not. Yet for about 35 years, such a thought played a role in the religious thinking of the man who led the early Bible Students. Later, pyramid doctrine was abandoned After Russell’s death, the movement changed further. Under his successor Joseph Rutherford, the religious significance attributed to the Great Pyramid was eventually set aside. Jehovah's Witnesses’ own official history refers to The Watch Tower of 15 November and 1 December 1928 for the abandonment of this view. That makes the pyramid more than just a striking detail from the past. It shows something we can also encounter with other changes in religious beliefs: A belief can be regarded as valuable spiritual insight for a long time and later be completely abandoned. That raises an interesting question: How can you distinguish, in the moment, what is divine guidance and what later turns out to be a human interpretation? A pyramid monument at his grave There is another striking historical detail. After Russell’s death, a large stone pyramid monument was placed in the cemetery where he was buried, in the section connected with the Watch Tower Society. The pyramid monument was not Russell’s gravestone. His grave was nearby and had a separate gravestone. The monument was removed in 2021. For the history of Russell’s own views on the pyramid, the monument is not evidence in itself. Those views do not need to be proven through the monument: Jehovah's Witnesses’ own historical publications directly confirm Russell’s long-standing belief in the Great Pyramid. Was Russell the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses? The answer depends on what exactly is meant by founder . Historically, Russell played a central role in the emergence and development of the movement from which Jehovah's Witnesses later came forth. The current organization frames this differently from its own belief perspective. JW.org says that Russell took the lead in the early Bible teaching work and was the first editor of The Watchtower , but that Jehovah's Witnesses consider Jesus the founder of their organization . Both facts can stand side by side. Historically: Russell played a central role in the emergence and development of the Bible Students movement. From the current viewpoint of Jehovah's Witnesses: Jesus Christ is considered the founder. That distinction makes the history more accurate. Russell was not a Jehovah's Witness as we know them today We cannot project all current doctrines, customs, and organizational structures back onto Russell. The movement changed significantly after his death. The organizational structure changed. Doctrines changed. Customs changed. Some of Russell’s ideas disappeared. Other ideas remained, but received a different interpretation. And even the name Jehovah's Witnesses did not exist during Russell’s lifetime. Therefore, it is historically more accurate to say: Charles Taze Russell was at the beginning of the Bible Student movement from which Jehovah's Witnesses later emerged. 1916 - Russell dies Charles Taze Russell died on 31 October 1916 . He was 64 years old. That marked a major crossroads for the movement. Because what happens to a religious movement when the man who played a central role for years suddenly disappears? In January 1917, Joseph Franklin Rutherford was elected president of the Watch Tower Society. Under Rutherford, the movement would change dramatically. Not only organizationally. The identity, certain doctrines, the way of preaching, and eventually even the name changed. 1931 - the name Jehovah's Witnesses Russell therefore never called himself a Jehovah's Witness in the sense of the later official group name. He had been dead for almost fifteen years when that name was adopted. On 26 July 1931 , during a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford presented the resolution A New Name . In it, it was decided to be known from then on as Jehovah's Witnesses . JW.org itself describes this extensively in its history. That is an important distinction when we look at history: Russell led the early Bible Students. The name Jehovah's Witnesses was only adopted in 1931, under Rutherford. From Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses therefore did not come into existence in a single day. There was no moment when Russell said: ‘Today I am founding Jehovah's Witnesses.’ There was a development. A young man began to question existing church doctrines. He began studying the Bible with others. Bible study groups emerged. A magazine was launched. A publishing organization was formed. An international movement emerged. Biblical chronology and expectations about the end times played an important role. The Great Pyramid found a place in Russell’s religious thinking. Russell died. Rutherford became president. Certain ideas were abandoned. Other doctrines developed further. The organization changed. And in 1931, the name Jehovah's Witnesses was adopted. A history of development Perhaps that is the most interesting thing about Russell’s story. He did not start with the organization as Jehovah's Witnesses know it today. The movement and its interpretations developed. And after his death, the movement continued to develop. Some ideas remained. Others disappeared. One of the most striking examples of that is the Great Pyramid. For about 35 years, Russell saw it as confirmation of biblical time periods. Later, that interpretation was abandoned by the organization. That is why two questions remain interesting: How did the beliefs of a small group of Bible Students grow into a faith community of millions of people? And: How much of what Russell then saw as biblical truth would a Jehovah's Witness today still recognize as truth? Sources and doing your own research For EXJW.World, we consider it important that historical claims are verifiable. That is why, on this topic, we deliberately also use the Jehovah's Witnesses' own publications and history . Russell and the origin of the movement Jehovah's Witnesses explain on their own website what role Russell played according to them. They do not call him their founder, but they acknowledge his leading role within the early Bible Students and his role as the first editor of The Watchtower . JW.org - Who was the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses? The origin of the Bible Students Another Jehovah's Witnesses publication calls Russell “the driving force” behind the early Bible study group and describes the founding of the Watch Tower organization. Watchtower Online Library - Development and Growth in This Time Zion's Watch Tower Its own historical account states that in July 1879 the first issue of Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence appeared and that approximately 6,000 copies were distributed. Watchtower Online Library - Small Beginnings 1879–1889 1914 The historical account of Jehovah's Getuigen also discusses what Russell expected before and during 1914 and shows that he himself expressed some uncertainty about what exactly would happen. JW.org - Testing and sifting from within Russell and the Great Pyramid The historical account explicitly states that Russell believed for about 35 years that the Great Pyramid was God's ‘stone witness’ and confirmed Bible time periods. It also notes that Jehovah's Getuigen later abandoned this idea. JW.org - Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom The name Jehovah's Getuigen JW.org describes how under Rutherford during the convention in Columbus on July 26, 1931, the name Jehovah's Getuigen was adopted. JW.org - We have proudly borne the name Jehovah's Getuigen for 90 years Why we show sources The history of a faith community can be sensitive. That is why we want to make the distinction as clearly as possible between what can be historically demonstrated, what Jehovah's Getuigen themselves write about their history, and what conclusion a reader then draws from that. We do not want you to believe something because we say it. Check the sources. Read what was actually written. Compare different periods. And then draw your own conclusion.