What the Watchtower Society Doesn't Want You to Know

By Wilbur Lingle

Here is a true picture of what goes on behind the walls of the Kingdom Halls, a clear image of truth that the Watchtower Society doesn’t want you to know. The Watchtower Society, known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, comes to your door with promises of “great love,” inner peace and a utopian future. But what are they not telling you? Wilbur Lingle puts into layman’s language his many years of documented research about the inner workings of the society, including: The true character of its leaders The false prophecies they have made Their strange doctrines and ideas The bizarre inconsistencies of their Bible translation What it is like to grow up as a Jehovah’s Witness About the Author Wilbur Lingle received a B.A. and M.A. from Bob Jones University and was a missionary in Japan for 35 years. In 1989 he started Love to Share Ministries; one of its purposes was to inform people about the Watchtower organization. From his in-depth study of the Watchtower Society, he has a desire to make information about the Jehovah’s Witnesses available so that those both inside and outside the organization will have a clear understanding of the history and true nature of the group.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CLC Publications
• Release date: Nov 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781619581241

Book preview

Introduction

Often when Jehovah’s Witnesses, or those studying with them, are presented with proof of the changes in the Watchtower Society’s teachings and practices down through the years, they respond by saying, You only want to find errors in its teachings; thus, you are not sincere, and I do not want to listen to you.

The Watchtower Society should permit the Jehovah’s Witnesses to take the advice that it gives to others. There is a very interesting article in the June 22, 2000, Awake entitled Do Not Be a Victim of Propaganda! The article starts out by saying,

There is a difference—a big difference—between education and propaganda. Education shows you how to think. Propaganda tells you what to think. Good educators present all sides of an issue and encourage discussion. Propagandists relentlessly force you to hear their view and discourage discussion. Often their real motives are not apparent. They sift the facts, exploiting the useful ones and concealing others. They also distort and twist facts, specializing in lies and half-truth. Your emotions, not your logical thinking abilities, are their target.

The article goes on to list ways to evaluate any message. It urges people to scrutinize whatever is presented, to use the Bible as a guide so that trustworthiness depends on the validity of the facts, and to ask questions. But I think this is the most challenging statement: If possible, try to check the track record of those speaking. Are they known to speak the truth?. . . Why should you regard the person—or organization or publications. . .on the subject in question?

But just let someone try to investigate the track record of the Watchtower Society and see what happens! Most of the Kingdom Halls have a rather extensive library of Watchtower publications, but they are only for show, not for reading. Permission from the elders must be obtained to read any of this material, and an elder must be present as the books are read. Those who ask about the older material will be questioned as to where they got the information about it and from then on will be looked upon with suspicion.

One example of this occurred in Spain. A very zealous and faithful Jehovah’s Witness, who liked to be well-informed on the history of the society, heard that the Watchtower headquarters in Spain had a collection of old books that were not available in other Kingdom Halls. This man made arrangements to stay with a friend at the headquarters with the hope of being able to do some research in the library. But when he arrived, he found that these books were under lock and key, unavailable to the average Witness.

This was a big shock and disappointment to him, but it started him thinking: What did the Watchtower Society have to hide in those books? He then found out he could get the historical information he was looking for over the Internet. When he became aware of the many changes in Watchtower teachings over the years, as well as their unbiblical interpretations and false prophecies, he eventually decided to leave the society.

I have spent hundreds of hours investigating the Watchtower Society, and all that is presented here has been thoroughly researched and documented. The purpose of this book is to help you find out their track record without having to do all the research that I did.

Based on the Bible?

There is an important and challenging warning given in the 1982 Watchtower publication You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. We read:

Since many religions today are not doing God’s will, we cannot simply assume that the teachings of the religious organization we are associated with are in agreement with God’s Word. The mere fact that the Bible is used by a religion does not of itself prove that all the things it teaches and practices are in the Bible. It is important we ourselves examine whether they are or not. . . . The religion that is approved by God must agree in every way with the Bible; it will not accept certain parts of the Bible and reject other parts.

One of the first things that a Jehovah’s Witness will tell you when you study with them is that everything the society teaches is based on the Bible. If this is really true, why don’t they use just the Bible in their so-called Bible studies instead of Watchtower publications? Actually, the Watchtower Society uses only about six percent of the Bible in their publications and ignores the rest. I urge you to check what I have written with the Bible so that you can come into the truth.

A very sincere former Jehovah’s Witness elder told me the following story. The elders in his area in England went away for a weekend of training. This elder was excited, because he was hoping to learn something to help him be a better elder. To his surprise the only training he received was on how to control the congregations, because they could not be trusted.

But one thing they said stuck with him: Never say, ‘the Watchtower Society teaches thus and thus,’ but always say, ‘this is what the Bible teaches.’

After this incident he was reading the Bible and noticed some things that did not agree with Watchtower teachings. This made him curious, so he started reading more of the Bible and comparing it with Watchtower literature. The more he read of the Bible, the more he realized that the Watchtower Society was not founded on the Bible, but on the words of men. He then stopped reading Watchtower literature and read only the Bible, and came to this realization: Salvation is not found in the Watchtower organization, but only in the precious blood of Christ that was shed on the cross.

The Bible gives us a clear warning that we should all take to heart. First Timothy 4:1 states that in the later periods (and the Watchtower Society teaches that we are living in this period of time) there will be many false prophets and teachers, and Second Peter 2:1 reveals that many will follow these false teachers. Since the Watchtower Society continually keeps boasting of its growth and its many followers, should we not be wary of such an organization and be willing to investigate it?

As you read this book consider the challenge given in the 1968 Watchtower publication The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life:

We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with God’s Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination.

I would wholeheartedly agree. If you are a lover of the truth, you should have no fear of reading this book.

Chapter One

A Brief History of the Society

How did a religion as strict and as strange as the Watchtower Society originate? This is a question many people ask, and it deserves an answer. Does this religion go back to New Testament times? Can it be traced back to the 1500s, the time of the Protestant Reformation? Actually, no; it had its start in the late 1800s, and its adherents were initially known as Bible Students rather than Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Many facets of the organization’s history call for detailed scrutiny—and later we shall consider some of the juicy details. But first, here is a quick overview that should prove helpful.

The founder of the Watchtower Society was Charles Taze Russell, born in 1852 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though raised a Presbyterian, he eventually joined the Congregational Church, because he preferred its views. However, he was repulsed by some of the basic tenets of orthodox Christianity—particularly the doctrine that man’s soul is immortal and eternal judgment awaits those who refuse to accept the salvation that Jesus Christ provides. For a period of time he strayed away from Christianity and even examined several Oriental religions. (Their influence is evident in some of his later writings.)

One evening in 1869 he attended a meeting at an Advent Christian church. The preacher, Jonas Wendell, expounded his church’s belief that hell is not a place of punishment, but only man’s common grave. Finding this view in harmony with his own ideas, Russell started a small study group and began reinterpreting the Bible to fit this concept. This group eventually grew into the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.

The society uses the date 1874 as the actual beginning of the organization. In 1879 Russell published his first magazine, Zion’s Watch Tower. The organization’s first headquarters was in Pittsburgh, but in 1908 property was purchased in Brooklyn, New York, which is where the current headquarters is to this day and is often referred to as Bethel. The people who work there are known as Bethelites. Russell is mainly remembered for his prediction that the world would end in October 1914. He died in 1916.

The second president of the society was Joseph Rutherford. Born in Missouri in 1869, he went to college, studied law and became an attorney. In 1906 he was baptized as a Bible Student and a year later became the society’s legal counsel. Rutherford was not in line to be the next president, but through a power struggle he was able to manipulate the election and became the second president in 1917. Rutherford was a domineering personality who tended to rule with an iron fist. While Russell was responsible for a lot of the basic teachings of the society, Rutherford was mainly responsible for the distinctive practices of the Witnesses: not observing holidays or birthdays, not going into the military, going from door to door, etc. He died in 1942.

Nathan Knorr became the third president of the society. Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1905, he was baptized at the age of eighteen in 1923. He went to the Brooklyn headquarters the following year. In 1940 he became the vice president and in 1942, at the age of 36, became president. Knorr was neither a theologian nor a writer, so from that time on the writers of the Watchtower books and magazines were no longer listed. Knorr was an organizer, and under his leadership the membership grew. He continued the practice of one man rule, like Russell and Rutherford, until 1971. In that year a governing body was forced upon Knorr to avoid a rebellion. As a result, much of the power of the presidency was lost. Knorr died in 1977.

When the governing body was formed, it was clearly stated that its membership had to be from the anointed, the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7:4. Only those of the anointed, so the society claims, have the ability to interpret the Bible.

Frederick Franz became the fourth president. He was born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1893 and was baptized in 1913. He was then in his second year of college, but he never graduated. Instead, he left after his third year to become a full-time colporteur, a traveling Bible and religious book salesman. (This was in 1914, the year that Russell predicted Armageddon was to occur on October 1.) In 1920 he became part of the Bethel family in Brooklyn, New York. Franz became vice-president in 1945, and upon the death of Knorr took over the presidency in June 1977. Franz was more of a theologian than Knorr and predicted that the world would end around October 1975. He died in 1992, at the age of 99.

Upon the death of Franz, the governing body of the Watchtower Society chose Milton Henschel, 72, as the fifth president. He was a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness in Pomona, New Jersey, and was baptized in 1934. He passed away in 2003.

In the year 2003 Don Adams became the president of Watchtower Society. He is not one of the anointed.¹

Chapter Two

Character of the Watchtower Leaders

Let us now take a closer look at the leaders of the Watchtower Society and see how the organization has been influenced by the character of these men.

Charles T. Russell

Charles Taze Russell borrowed most of his doctrinal ideas from other religious groups and taught many things that even the Watchtower Society now considers pagan and unbiblical.

In the 1993 publication Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, we read the following explanation of the society’s inception:

That meeting renewed young Russell’s determination to search for Scriptural truth. It sent him back to his Bible with more eagerness than ever before. Russell soon came to believe that the time was near for those who served the Lord to come to a clear knowledge of His purpose. So, in 1870, fired by enthusiasm, he and a few acquaintances in Pittsburgh and nearby Allegheny got together and formed a class for Bible study. According to a later associate of Russell, the small Bible class was conducted in this manner: Someone would raise a question. They would discuss it. They would look up all related scriptures on the point and then, when they were satisfied on the harmony of these texts, they would finally state their conclusion and make a record of it. As Russell later acknowledged, the period from 1870 to 1875 was a time of constant growth in grace and knowledge and love of God and his Word.

As they researched the Scriptures a number of things became clearer to these sincere truth seekers.

But if what the society teaches today is true, then Russell had no real authority to start a religious organization, or any way of properly understanding the Bible. The Watchtower Society now dogmatically teaches that the Bible cannot be understood on its own—that people need a Jehovah’s Witness to teach them what the Bible really says. So how did Charles Russell become qualified to expound the Bible?

The Watchtower Society now teaches that the Bible is an organizational book—no individual can understand it on his own, but must be taught by the governing body of the Watchtower Society. What organization and governing body taught Russell? None.

The society further teaches that it is necessary to be baptized by immersion and be one of the anointed, which enables them to receive God’s Spirit, in order to interpret the Bible correctly. But we never read of Charles Russell being baptized. When was he anointed?

The society now translates the Greek word presbuteron—elders—as older men. Did Charles Russell qualify as one of the older men when he founded the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society at the age of twenty-two?

Russell had been greatly influenced by followers of William Miller (1782–1849), at that time called Second Adventists, a movement which was a predecessor to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In their speculations concerning the return of Christ, the Millerites were prone to setting dates. They also denied a literal hell. Russell sided with the Millerites in his denial of any conscious punishment after death. But he didn’t stop there. He also rejected the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit and the immortality of the soul.

Russell is best known, however, for his incorrect prophecy that the world would end on October 1, 1914. Earlier it had been taught by some Second Adventists that Christ would return to set up His kingdom in 1874. When this did not occur, the teaching was revised to mean that Christ began reigning invisibly in heaven in 1874 but would bring a complete end to this old world’s system forty years later—in 1914. (Russell borrowed the date 1914 from N. H. Barbour, an Adventist leader, but few people realize this because Russell never mentioned the source of his date.) He claimed that in 1914 Armageddon would occur, which would be the end of this present world system. When the world didn’t end in 1914, Russell revised the date to 1918, but his death in 1916 prevented him from doing any further revisions.

Interestingly enough, a number of Russell’s teachings are now considered pagan by his spiritual progeny. For example, Russell encouraged the celebration of Christmas and other holidays, along with birthdays. He taught that the Bible said nothing against a person serving in the military. He saw nothing wrong with blood transfusions. He taught that not only the 144,000, who are supposed to be the bride of Christ, went to heaven, but all the members of the great crowd as well, even though the great crowd could not achieve the same position as those who were considered the bride of Christ.

He believed that the Jewish nation would one day be revived, and the Jewish people would be the primary people to populate the new earth during the Millennium. He taught that the Great Pyramid stood as a testimony to God and believed the measurements of its Grand Gallery indicated the return of Christ in 1914. He taught that Christ died on a cross and not on a torture stake. He completely rejected any kind of organization which is today considered absolutely necessary.

But let us consider a few of the boasts made about Charles Russell in the 1917 publication The Finished Mystery.

He [Pastor Russell] was eager to learn all he could about the Heavenly Father’s will. It was not of himself that he learned and taught the Divine Plan: but God Himself caused him to learn, believe and teach. [p. 382]

The mind of