The Watchtower story and beliefs

What you'll learn

Trace the history of the Watchtower movement from Charles Taze Russell to the modern Governing Body.
Explain core Jehovah's Witness beliefs (the 144,000, the great crowd, no hellfire, soul sleep, blood, disfellowshipping, now called removal from the congregation) in their own terms.
State the movement's prophetic dates (1914, 1925, 1975) accurately and use them gently to raise questions about the organisation's authority.

Why start with history?

Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) are among the most committed door-to-door evangelists in the world. Most are sincere, moral and kind. Many have read more Bible verses than the average churchgoer. If you meet them only with proof texts, you will often find they have a prepared answer for each one.

What they usually have not examined is the organisation itself. A Witness reads the Bible through the lens of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and believes that lens is God's appointed channel. So understanding where the organisation came from, and what it has claimed, is as important as knowing John 1:1. History is not a weapon here; it is a way of helping a friend see that the lens can be questioned.

Why does this lesson begin with the history of the organisation rather than with proof texts? Explain in your own words.Show answer

Witnesses often have a prepared answer for each proof text, but most have not examined the organisation itself. They read the Bible through the Watchtower's lens and believe that lens is God's appointed channel. Understanding the organisation's origins and claims helps a friend see that the lens itself can be questioned, which is not a weapon but a help.

prepared answers to proof texts
Bible read through the organisation's lens
lens believed to be God's channel
history helps question the lens, not a weapon

From Russell to Rutherford to the Governing Body

You met Russell's Adventist background briefly in The Story of the Church, Lesson 7. Here we look more closely at how the organisation's authority grew.

Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) was a Pennsylvania businessman who, in the 1870s, gathered a Bible study group influenced by Adventist end-times teaching. He rejected the Trinity and eternal punishment, and in July 1879 began publishing Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. His followers were called Bible Students. His six-volume Studies in the Scriptures set out his system, including detailed date-setting.

After Russell's death, Joseph F. Rutherford (president 1917-1942) centralised control, sharpened opposition to churches, and in 1931 gave the movement the name Jehovah's witnesses, drawn from Isaiah 43:10. Several Bible Student groups split away over his leadership, which is why some small Russell-era groups still exist.

Under Nathan Knorr (1942-1977) the organisation built its training schools and produced its own Bible, the New World Translation (NT 1950, complete 1961, major revision 2013). Today authority rests with the Governing Body, a small group of men at headquarters in Warwick, New York. Since 2013 the Watchtower has identified the Governing Body as the “faithful and discreet slave” of Matthew 24:45-47: the one channel through which Jesus feeds his people spiritual food. Everything else depends on this claim.

Trace in a few sentences how leadership of the movement passed from Russell to today's Governing Body.Show answer

Charles Taze Russell gathered a Bible study group in the 1870s and began publishing Zion's Watch Tower in 1879; his followers were called Bible Students. Joseph Rutherford then centralised control and in 1931 gave the name Jehovah's witnesses, with some groups splitting away. Under Nathan Knorr the organisation built training schools and produced the New World Translation, and today authority rests with the Governing Body at Warwick, New York.

Russell: Bible Students, Watch Tower 1879
Rutherford: centralised, named 1931
Knorr: schools and NWT
Governing Body now holds authority

Why does the lesson say that "everything else depends on" the claim about the faithful and discreet slave?Show answer

Since 2013 the Watchtower has identified the Governing Body as the faithful and discreet slave of Matthew 24:45-47, the one channel through which Jesus feeds his people. If that is true, a Witness must receive every teaching through that channel. So the whole system of belief rests on that single claim, which is why it is worth questioning gently.

Governing Body = faithful slave (since 2013)
the one channel of spiritual food
all teaching flows from that claim

The core beliefs

JWs believe in one God whose personal name is Jehovah. Jesus is God's first creation, the one through whom everything else was made. Before coming to earth he was Michael the archangel; he died on a stake (not a cross) and was raised as a spirit creature. The holy spirit is not a person but God's active force.

They teach two hopes. A limited number, 144,000 (Rev 7:4, 14:1), called the anointed (those Witnesses believe God has chosen by holy spirit for heavenly life), go to heaven to rule with Christ. The rest, the great crowd (Rev 7:9), hope to survive Armageddon (God's coming war that will end the present wicked system, Rev 16:14-16) and live forever on a paradise earth. Only the anointed partake of the bread and wine at the yearly Memorial; most Witnesses attend but do not partake.

There is no hellfire. Hell (Sheol, Hades) is the common grave. The soul is the whole living person, not an immortal part, so at death a person simply ceases to exist (they cite Ezek 18:4 and Eccl 9:5). This is often called soul sleep. The wicked are annihilated rather than punished forever. (Know Your Faith, Lesson 9, set out the biblical case for conscious existence after death and eternal punishment.)

They refuse blood transfusions, based on Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17 and Acts 15:20, 29. For decades accepting a transfusion was treated as a serious offence (from 2000, as disassociating oneself), with only minor blood fractions left to conscience. In 2026 this changed significantly: in March the Governing Body left the storing and use of one's own blood to conscience, and on 18 September 2026 it announced that accepting the four main components (red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma), or donating blood for them, is now a personal decision in which congregations do not involve themselves. Transfusion of whole blood is still refused. Serious unrepentant sin leads to being removed from the congregation (called disfellowshipping until 2024), after which faithful members, including family outside the home, largely cut off contact. The organisation adjusted some practices in 2023-2024 (for example, allowing a simple greeting to a removed person who attends a meeting, and having elders seek out those removed years ago), but shunning remains a powerful force in Witness life.

God: Jehovah alone is Almighty God; no Trinity.
Jesus: a created being, Michael the archangel, “a god”.
Spirit: an impersonal active force.
Salvation: faith in Jesus' ransom plus loyal obedience within Jehovah's organisation.
Afterlife: no immortal soul, no hellfire; heaven for 144,000, paradise earth for the great crowd.

Summarise what Jehovah's Witnesses believe about God, Jesus and the holy spirit, and explain how this differs from the Trinity.Show answer

Witnesses believe Jehovah alone is Almighty God and reject the Trinity. Jesus is God's first creation, formerly Michael the archangel, "a god" through whom everything else was made, and the holy spirit is an impersonal active force. So for them only the Father is truly God, the Son is a created being, and the Spirit is not a person at all.

Jehovah alone is God, no Trinity
Jesus created, Michael, "a god"
spirit an impersonal active force

Explain the Witness teaching on the two hopes and on the soul and hell, as if to a friend who has never heard it.Show answer

Witnesses teach that 144,000 anointed go to heaven to rule with Christ, while the great crowd hope to live forever on a paradise earth; only the anointed partake at the Memorial. They deny hellfire and teach that hell is the common grave. The soul is the whole living person, so at death a person ceases to exist, and the wicked are annihilated rather than punished forever.

144,000 to heaven, great crowd on earth
only anointed partake at Memorial
hell = the grave, no hellfire
soul ceases at death; annihilation

The prophetic dates, stated carefully

Date-setting is where many Witnesses have never looked closely, so accuracy matters. Do not exaggerate; quote or cite their own literature. (Know Your Faith, Lesson 9, showed that Scripture never gives a date for Christ's return.)

1914. In The Time Is at Hand (1889) Russell taught that the “Gentile Times” (from Luke 21:24, “the times of the Gentiles”) would end in 1914, bringing the full establishment of God's Kingdom and the end of the present order. Russell also taught that Christ's invisible presence had begun in 1874. Later Watchtower teaching moved Christ's invisible return and enthronement to 1914. For decades it taught that the generation alive in 1914 would not pass away before Armageddon (Matt 24:34); that teaching was revised in 1995 and again around 2010 into the idea of “overlapping” generations.

1925. Rutherford's talks (from 1918) and booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1920) taught that 1925 would see the return of the ancient worthies such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to earth. In 1929 a house in San Diego, Beth Sarim, was acquired for Rutherford's use, and Watchtower literature presented it as held in readiness for them. 1925 passed without the expected events.

1975. The book Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (1966) calculated that 6,000 years of human history would end in the autumn of 1975, and Watchtower articles encouraged excitement about what this might mean. Some Witnesses sold homes or postponed careers. Afterwards The Watchtower (July 15, 1976) told the disappointed that their own understanding had been based on wrong premises; only in 1980 (The Watchtower, March 15, 1980) did it acknowledge that statements in its own publications had contributed to the build-up of expectation.

Witnesses will usually say: “We never claimed to be inspired prophets, only that our understanding has been refined, like light getting brighter” (Prov 4:18). Your question is not “Why did you get it wrong?” but “If the faithful slave is God's only channel, how should we evaluate its predictions by Deuteronomy 18:21-22?”

What is the difference between saying "Why did you get it wrong?" and asking how the faithful slave's predictions should be evaluated by Deuteronomy 18:21-22? Why does the lesson prefer the second?Show answer

The first question sounds like an accusation and invites the reply that the organisation never claimed inspiration, only refined understanding (Prov 4:18). The second goes to the real issue: if the faithful slave is God's only channel, its predictions should be tested the way Scripture tests a prophet's word. It takes their own claim seriously and lets the Witness think rather than defend.

first sounds like accusation
"light getting brighter" reply
test the channel's claim by Deut 18:21-22

Choose one of the dates 1914, 1925 or 1975 and explain accurately what was expected and what happened afterwards.Show answer

For 1975, the 1966 book Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God calculated that 6,000 years of human history would end in autumn 1975, and Watchtower articles encouraged excitement. Some Witnesses sold homes or postponed careers. Afterwards The Watchtower (July 15, 1976) told the disappointed their understanding had been based on wrong premises, and only in 1980 did it acknowledge its own publications had contributed to the expectation.

source in their own literature
what was expected
real consequences for members
how the organisation responded later

How a Witness experiences all this

From the inside, the organisation feels like a loving worldwide family with clear answers, clean living and purpose. Meetings, the weekly Watchtower study, the Bible study programme and the ministry fill the week. Leaving can cost a person every relationship they have.

Keep that in view. When you raise history, you are not scoring a point; you are touching someone's whole world. Ask, do not accuse. The goal is to awaken trust in Christ and his word above the organisation, not to humiliate.

Why does the lesson urge you to ask rather than accuse when you raise the organisation's history?Show answer

From the inside, the organisation feels like a loving family with clear answers, clean living and purpose, and it fills the whole week. Leaving can cost a person every relationship they have. So raising history touches someone's whole world, and the aim is to awaken trust in Christ and his word above the organisation, not to humiliate or score points.

organisation feels like loving family
leaving can cost every relationship
goal: trust in Christ, not humiliation

In their own words

“Jehovah has one organisation on earth, and Jesus appointed the faithful and discreet slave (the Governing Body) to give his people spiritual food at the proper time.” (Matt 24:45-47; The Watchtower, July 15, 2013)

“Only 144,000 anointed Christians go to heaven to rule as kings and priests; a great crowd will live forever on a paradise earth.” (Rev 7:4, 9; 14:1-3; Reasoning From the Scriptures (1985))

“The soul is the person and it dies; the dead are conscious of nothing, so there is no hellfire.” (Ezek 18:4; Eccl 9:5, 10; What Does the Bible Really Teach? (2005))

“Christians must abstain from blood, so a Christian refuses a transfusion of whole blood; since 2026, accepting the main blood components is left to each one's conscience.” (Gen 9:4; Lev 17:10-14; Acts 15:28-29; jw.org news release, 18 September 2026)

“Jesus began ruling invisibly as King in heaven in 1914, and we are living in the last days of this system.” (Dan 4; Luke 21:24; Enjoy Life Forever! (2021))

Key texts

Deuteronomy 18:21-22: God's own test for a prophet who speaks in his name: if the word does not come to pass, the Lord has not spoken it. Use it as a question about authority, not as a club.
Matthew 24:45-47: The parable the Governing Body rests its authority on. Read it in context (24:42-51): it is a call for every servant to be faithful, not the founding charter of an 1870s or 2010s committee.
Isaiah 43:10: The source of the name “Jehovah's witnesses”. Read on: “before me no god was formed”. That verse makes trouble for calling Jesus “a god”.
Revelation 7:4, 9: The 144,000 and the great crowd. Note that in 7:9-15 the great crowd stands “before the throne” and serves God “in his temple”, which is in heaven (cf. 19:1).
Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 14:10-11: Texts that show conscious existence and conscious judgement after death, against soul sleep and annihilation.
Galatians 1:8-9: Even an angel bringing another gospel is accursed. A useful frame for asking whether any organisation can add conditions to the gospel.

Objections and answers

Try answering each one yourself before you open the response.

“We never claimed to be inspired prophets. The light gets brighter as Proverbs 4:18 says. Correcting our understanding shows humility, not false prophecy.”Show a response

I appreciate humility, and every Christian has had to revise their understanding. But Proverbs 4:18 is about the life of the righteous person, not about an organisation adjusting date predictions. The deeper issue is the claim you make for the organisation: that it is God's sole channel, the faithful and discreet slave, whose direction you must follow to survive Armageddon. If a group claims that kind of authority, and taught its members to expect 1914, 1925 or 1975 with real consequences for their lives, it is fair to apply Deuteronomy 18:21-22. A light that keeps switching direction is not getting brighter; it is shining somewhere else. Can I ask: if you discovered the organisation was wrong on something central, where would you go to check it?

“Churches teach hellfire, which makes God a monster. A loving God would never torture people forever.”Show a response

I agree that God is not a sadist, and I want to take that concern seriously. But the question is what Jesus actually taught. He spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture: “eternal punishment” set side by side with “eternal life” in Matthew 25:46, the rich man conscious in torment in Luke 16, the smoke of torment rising forever in Revelation 14:11. Hell is not God losing control or enjoying pain; it is the just response of an infinitely holy God to rebellion against him. The real wonder is the cross: Jesus bore that judgement for sinners who trust him. If hell were just non-existence, the cross would be smaller. Would you read Matthew 25:31-46 with me and tell me what you think “eternal punishment” means?

“Blood is sacred to Jehovah. Acts 15 says abstain from blood. A real Christian would rather die than disobey.”Show a response

I share your desire to obey God even at great cost. But look at what Acts 15 and Genesis 9 are about: not eating blood, which symbolises a life taken. A transfusion takes no life; it is a gift of life from a living donor. Jesus taught that mercy and saving life take priority over ceremonial rules: he healed on the Sabbath and said the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27; 3:4). The organisation itself has moved the line repeatedly: fractions were left to conscience, and in 2026 even red cells, plasma and platelets, while whole blood is still forbidden. A line that keeps moving is drawn by policy, not by a clear verse. I would never want you to lose a child over a rule God did not give. Can we look at Leviticus 17 together and ask what the command protected?

“The 144,000 is a literal number. That is why only some of us partake at the Memorial.”Show a response

Christians actually differ on Revelation 7. Many Reformed interpreters read the 144,000 symbolically, as the whole people of God: John hears a number (7:4), then sees a great multitude (7:9), just as he hears of a Lion and sees a Lamb in chapter 5. Dispensational teachers such as John MacArthur take the number literally, as Jewish believers from the twelve tribes during the coming tribulation. Neither reading supports yours. If the number is literal, so are the tribes: 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. And on either reading, nothing in the chapter limits heaven or the Lord's Supper to a small class; the great multitude itself stands “before the throne” (7:9, 15). Jesus told all his disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), and Paul says every believer shares the one loaf (1 Cor 10:17). Would you not want to obey that invitation?

“Jesus himself promised a faithful and discreet slave in Matthew 24:45-47 to feed his household. The Governing Body is that slave. If you reject them, you're rejecting the food Jesus provides.”Show a response

I agree Jesus cares about feeding his people, and that passage matters. But read it in its setting. Matthew 24:45-51 is a parable about readiness, followed by the parables of the virgins and the talents. Each one asks every disciple, "Will you be found faithful when the master comes?" It does not name a body of men in a particular headquarters. Your own literature only identified the Governing Body as that slave in 2013; until then it taught something different about who the slave was. If the identity of God's only channel could change like that, how do we test it? The Bereans checked even the apostle Paul against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). And Jesus says, "Come to me" (Matt 11:28), and there is "one mediator between God and men" (1 Tim 2:5). Could we read the passage together?

“Ezekiel 18:4 says the soul that sins will die, and Ecclesiastes 9:5 says the dead know nothing. The soul isn't immortal. When you die you just stop existing until the resurrection.”Show a response

You are right that the Hebrew word for soul often means the whole living person, and I don't want to build doctrine on one word. Ezekiel 18 is about personal responsibility for sin, and Ecclesiastes describes life "under the sun" as an observer sees it. But other texts speak plainly about conscious existence after death. Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matt 10:28). He told the dying thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Paul said that to depart was to "be with Christ," which is "far better" (Phil 1:23), and to be "away from the body" was to be "at home with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8). The souls under the altar in Revelation 6:9-10 cry out. Ceasing to exist would hardly be "far better". What do you make of Paul's hope there?

Written task

A Witness at your door says, “We have never been false prophets. We simply refined our understanding, as Proverbs 4:18 says.” Write a 250-350 word response that (a) accurately summarises what the organisation taught about 1914, 1925 and 1975, citing at least two Watchtower publications by title and year, (b) explains why Deuteronomy 18:21-22 is relevant to an organisation claiming to be God's channel, and (c) ends with a kind, open question that invites further conversation.

Hand this in to Mr Scott. He will look for:

States the 1914, 1925 and 1975 teachings accurately without exaggeration, citing real publications.
Addresses Proverbs 4:18 in its context fairly.
Connects the issue to the Governing Body's claimed authority rather than mocking individual Witnesses.
Uses Deuteronomy 18:21-22 correctly.
Maintains a gentle, respectful tone and ends with a genuine question.