CULT 010
    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  chruch 
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 
immediatly  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 !!!

 
         ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

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

    5.   PRAY !!!

