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Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge, examines the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their doctrines. Read selections from: Google Book Search Publisher: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998)
Those remaining supportive of Rutherford adopted the new name "Jehovah's witnesses" in 1931. They renamed their magazine as The Watchtower . Many of the most prominent Bible Students who had left the society held their own meeting in October 1929 to gather other dissenters; the First Annual Bible Students Reunion Convention was held in the old ...
A central teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the world faces imminent destruction through intervention by God and Jesus Christ. [184] This belief has been present since the group's founding. [185] They believe that Jesus' inauguration as king in 1914 is a sign that the great tribulation is about to take place. [186]
Charles Taze Russell, a prolific writer and founder of the Bible Student movement, viewed himself as a "mouthpiece" of God and later as the embodiment of the "faithful and wise servant" of the parable of Matthew 24:45-47. [3] The Watch Tower Society is now the legal and administrative arm of Jehovah's Witnesses.
The villa was sold in 1948, with The Watchtower declaring, "It had fully served its purpose and was now only serving as a monument quite expensive to keep." [210] The standard of Rutherford's accommodation and his personal conduct attracted criticism from some Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1930s.
The eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses is central to their religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914, a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture, and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God's selection of the Bible Students associated with Charles Taze Russell to be his people in 1919.
The Watchtower is overseen by the Writing Committee of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. [9] [10] The Watchtower is the official means of sharing Jehovah's Witness beliefs, [11] and includes articles relating to biblical prophecies, Christian conduct and morals, and the history of religion and the Bible.
In 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses had the lowest average household income among surveyed religious groups, with approximately half of Witness households in the United States earning less than $30,000 a year. [5] As of 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses are the most racially diverse Christian denomination in the United States. [6]