HOW DID THE BIBLE STUDENT MOVEMENT BECOME JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES?

Charles Taze Russell, the Watch Tower, prophetic dates, and the question of religious authority

In our previous studies, we examined three movements that arose in nineteenth-century America.

Joseph Smith claimed that Christ's church and its priesthood authority had been lost and needed to be restored through new revelation.

William Miller believed biblical prophecy pointed to Christ's return in the 1840s.

After the Great Disappointment of 1844, one group of former Millerites developed the teachings that would become Seventh-day Adventism.

Another movement appeared several decades later.

It began with people gathering to study the Bible. They questioned familiar Christian doctrines and believed that established churches had departed from the teaching of Scripture.

Over time, this movement developed its own publications, leadership structure, prophetic interpretations, and distinctive teachings about God, Christ, salvation, and the end of the present world.

In 1931, one part of the movement adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses.

How did that happen?

And how did a movement that began by encouraging independent Bible study develop into an organization that places considerable importance on accepting its official interpretation of Scripture?

Those are the questions we will examine.

1. WHO WAS CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL?

Charles Taze Russell was born in Pennsylvania in 1852.

He grew up in a Presbyterian family and later associated with Congregationalism. As a young man, he began questioning several traditional Christian teachings, particularly the doctrine of eternal torment.

Russell became interested in biblical prophecy and the teachings of Adventist preachers.

During the late 1860s and early 1870s, he participated in Bible discussions with others who were dissatisfied with established religious explanations.

He eventually became a leading figure in what came to be called the Bible Student movement.

Russell did not begin by organizing a denomination called Jehovah's Witnesses.

That name would not be adopted until fifteen years after his death.

Our first task is to understand the movement as it existed during Russell's lifetime.

2. DID THE BIBLE STUDENT MOVEMENT COME DIRECTLY FROM SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM?

No.

Russell was influenced by the broader Adventist environment that developed after William Miller's failed prediction, but his movement was not a branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Several Adventist groups emerged after 1844. They did not all accept the seventh-day Sabbath, Ellen White's prophetic ministry, or the sanctuary doctrine that became distinctive Seventh-day Adventist teachings.

Russell encountered Adventist interpretations through individuals such as Jonas Wendell, George Storrs, and Nelson H. Barbour.

Those influences helped shape his thinking about Christ's return, the condition of the dead, and biblical chronology.

But Russell and his associates developed their own teachings.

The Bible Student movement and Seventh-day Adventism therefore share some historical influences without being the same movement.

That distinction matters.

3. WHY DID RUSSELL BELIEVE CHRISTIANITY NEEDED CORRECTION?

Russell believed that established churches had departed from important biblical teachings.

He questioned doctrines that many Christians regarded as central, including the Trinity, the inherent immortality of the soul, and eternal conscious torment.

He also believed that biblical prophecy revealed God's plan for human history more clearly than traditional church teaching allowed.

Russell's answer was to return to Scripture and examine inherited doctrines.

That sounds familiar.

Our earlier studies showed that many reformers and restorationists made a similar appeal.

But the words return to Scripture do not settle a disagreement.

Two people can read the same passage and reach different conclusions.

The important question is not simply whether someone claims to follow the Bible.

It is whether the interpretation follows the text in its context.

4. HOW DID THE BIBLE STUDENTS BEGIN TO ORGANIZE?

During the 1870s, Russell and his associates met for Bible study in the Pittsburgh area.

Their discussions gradually developed into a wider movement.

In 1879, Russell began publishing Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence.

The magazine became an important means of communicating his interpretations and connecting Bible Students in different places.

In 1881, an organization was formed to support the publication and distribution of religious literature. It was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1884 as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, with Russell as president.

The organization later became known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Notice the progression.

A group of people met to study Scripture.

Their conclusions were published.

The publications attracted additional readers.

An organization developed to support the expanding work.

That progression is not unusual in religious history.

But it raises a question we have encountered before:

When does an organization that helps Christians study and teach begin to exercise authority over what Christians are permitted to believe?

We will return to that question.

5. WHAT DID RUSSELL TEACH ABOUT CHRIST'S RETURN?

Russell was strongly influenced by interpretations of biblical prophecy that distinguished Christ's invisible presence from His future visible manifestation.

He came to believe that Christ's presence had begun invisibly in 1874.

Russell and his associates also attached importance to 1914, which they understood as the end of the Gentile Times.

These teachings were part of a larger prophetic system involving biblical chronology, Daniel, Revelation, and Jesus' teaching about His return.

The dates were not stated directly in the biblical passages.

They were conclusions reached by combining passages and applying particular chronological assumptions.

That brings us back to William Miller.

A calculation may appear precise.

But before accepting its conclusion, we must examine every interpretive step that produced it.

6. WHY DID 1914 BECOME SO IMPORTANT?

Russell and his associates believed that the period Jesus called the “times of the Gentiles” could be calculated.

Read Luke 21:24.

Jesus said that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled.

The Bible Students connected this statement with Daniel 4, where Nebuchadnezzar experiences a period described as seven times.

They interpreted the seven times as a much longer prophetic period.

Using a day-year calculation and a proposed starting date for Jerusalem's fall, they concluded that the Gentile Times would end in 1914.

But Luke 21 does not explicitly tell us to calculate the Gentile Times from Daniel 4.

Daniel 4 describes God's judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar and his eventual restoration.

It does not explicitly say that its seven times represent a period ending in 1914.

The connection between those passages must therefore be demonstrated.

It cannot simply be assumed.

7. WHAT HAPPENED IN 1914?

The First World War began in 1914.

Russell and his associates regarded the events of that year as significant in relation to their prophetic expectations.

But the full range of events they had expected did not occur as anticipated.

Christ did not visibly establish His kingdom over the earth, and the existing world order did not come to its final end.

Russell died in 1916.

The movement continued, but its interpretations and expectations underwent further development.

Today, Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Christ began ruling as King in heaven in 1914 and that His invisible presence began at that time.

That differs from Russell's earlier teaching that Christ's invisible presence had begun in 1874.

The distinction is important.

We should not describe Russell's original prophetic system as though it were identical to the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses today.

8. DOES LUKE 21:24 ESTABLISH THE YEAR 1914?

Read Luke 21:20–24.

Jesus speaks about Jerusalem surrounded by armies, its desolation, suffering among its people, and Jerusalem being trodden down by the Gentiles.

Before connecting the passage with a modern date, we should ask what Jesus was telling His first hearers.

What did He mean by Jerusalem?

What historical events did He describe?

What did He mean by the times of the Gentiles?

Does the passage instruct readers to begin counting a prophetic period from a date in the sixth or seventh century B.C.?

Does it identify the length of that period?

Does it direct us to Daniel 4 for the calculation?

Those questions must be answered from the text.

Luke 21:24 does not itself provide the year 1914.

That date comes from a larger interpretive system.

9. WHAT DOES DANIEL 4 ACTUALLY DESCRIBE?

Read Daniel 4 from beginning to end.

Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree that is cut down.

Daniel explains that the tree represents the king.

Because of his pride, Nebuchadnezzar will be humbled until he acknowledges God's authority.

The prophecy is fulfilled in the king's humiliation and eventual restoration.

The chapter concludes with Nebuchadnezzar praising the God of heaven.

That is the explanation Daniel gives.

The chapter certainly teaches that God rules over human kingdoms.

But does it also predict a period of 2,520 years ending in 1914?

The text does not explicitly say so.

If we propose an additional prophetic fulfillment, we must provide evidence for it rather than assume that the historical account contains a second timetable.

10. WHO LED THE MOVEMENT AFTER RUSSELL DIED?

After Russell's death in 1916, Joseph Franklin Rutherford became president of the Watch Tower Society in 1917.

His leadership brought substantial changes.

Disagreements arose over authority, organizational control, and the direction of the movement.

Some Bible Students rejected Rutherford's leadership and continued in separate groups.

Others remained associated with the Watch Tower Society.

Over time, Rutherford introduced or promoted teachings and organizational arrangements that increasingly distinguished his followers from the Bible Student movement as it had existed under Russell.

That means the transition from Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses was not simply a change of name.

It involved changes in leadership, identity, doctrine, and organization.

11. WHY DID SOME BIBLE STUDENTS SEPARATE FROM RUTHERFORD?

The disagreements were not all about one doctrine.

Some concerned how the Watch Tower Society should be governed.

Others concerned Rutherford's authority and changes in teaching.

Some Bible Students believed that Russell's writings should continue to guide the movement.

Others accepted Rutherford's leadership and the developing direction of the organization.

Several independent Bible Student groups continued after the separation.

Some still exist today.

Therefore, it would be historically inaccurate to say that every follower of Russell became a Jehovah's Witness.

The organization that adopted the name in 1931 represented one stream of the earlier movement.

12. WHY WAS THE NAME “JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES” ADOPTED?

In 1931, Rutherford announced that the movement would use the name Jehovah's Witnesses.

The name was drawn from Isaiah 43:10.

The KJV reads:

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen...”

In its original context, God is addressing Israel.

The movement adopted the name to emphasize its identity as witnesses for Jehovah and to distinguish itself from other groups that continued to use the name Bible Students.

This was an important moment in the movement's history.

But adopting a biblical name does not, by itself, establish that a religious organization possesses the authority or identity it claims.

We should ask what Isaiah 43 means in context and how the New Testament identifies those who belong to Christ.

13. WHO ARE THE WITNESSES IN ISAIAH 43?

Read Isaiah 43:1–13.

God addresses Jacob and Israel.

He reminds His people that He created and redeemed them.

He declares that He alone is God and that Israel is His witness before the nations.

The passage is part of Isaiah's larger message about Israel, idolatry, redemption, and the uniqueness of the Lord.

It does not explicitly predict the formation of a religious organization in 1931.

Nor does it say that adopting the name “Jehovah's Witnesses” identifies the one organization through which God will direct all Christians.

That conclusion requires more than the name itself.

Now read Acts 1:8.

Jesus told His apostles:

“Ye shall be witnesses unto me...”

The New Testament centers Christian witness upon Jesus Christ—His life, death, resurrection, exaltation, and promised return.

The question is not whether Christians should bear witness to God.

Of course they should.

The question is whether Scripture requires them to belong to a particular modern organization bearing a particular name.

14. WHAT DO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH ABOUT THE BIBLE?

Jehovah's Witnesses regard the Bible as inspired Scripture.

Unlike Latter-day Saints, they do not accept the Book of Mormon or another collection of modern revelations as additional inspired scripture.

They have published their own Bible translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

They also produce extensive explanatory literature intended to help readers understand biblical teaching.

That distinction is important.

Their authority claim is not the same as Joseph Smith's claim to have received additional scripture through a new prophetic calling.

Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that their teachings are based on the Bible.

Our task is to examine how they interpret it.

15. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNING BODY?

Jehovah's Witnesses are directed by a Governing Body that provides doctrinal instruction and organizational direction.

They regard this body as the “faithful and discreet slave” described in Matthew 24:45–47.

Their teaching identifies the Governing Body as the channel through which Christ provides spiritual instruction to His followers today.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not teach that the members of the Governing Body are inspired or infallible. They acknowledge that their understanding of Scripture can be corrected.

Nevertheless, accepting the organization's biblical instruction is an important part of religious life among Jehovah's Witnesses.

This raises a question we have already encountered in our studies of bishops, councils, and denominational organizations:

Does the New Testament establish a continuing central body with authority to provide binding interpretations for all congregations?

16. WHAT DOES MATTHEW 24:45–47 SAY?

Read Matthew 24:42–51.

Jesus urges His disciples to remain watchful and faithful because they do not know when their Lord will come.

He describes a faithful and wise servant who responsibly provides food for the household while his master is away.

He then describes the danger of an evil servant who abuses others because he believes his master is delayed.

The passage is a warning about faithful service and accountability.

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the faithful servant as representing a particular group entrusted with providing spiritual instruction.

Other Christians understand the passage as an illustration applying more broadly to those entrusted with responsibilities in Christ's household.

What does the passage explicitly say?

Does Jesus identify a governing body that would arise in the twentieth century?

Does He describe how its members would be selected?

Does He give it authority to establish binding interpretations for Christians throughout the world?

Those details are not stated in Matthew 24:45–47.

If they are part of our conclusion, we must explain how we derived them from the text.

17. WHAT DO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH ABOUT JESUS CHRIST?

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the Savior through whom God provides redemption.

They do not accept the historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

They teach that Jehovah alone is Almighty God and that Jesus is His first creation, through whom God created all other things.

They also identify the prehuman Jesus with Michael the archangel.

These teachings differ from the understanding of Christ held by Trinitarian Christians.

But simply saying that a teaching differs from historic Christian doctrine does not settle the biblical question.

We must examine the passages used by both sides.

Who does the New Testament say Jesus is?

What does it say about His relationship with the Father?

What does it say about His existence before His earthly birth?

And does it identify Him as Michael the archangel?

18. WHAT DOES JOHN 1 SAY ABOUT JESUS?

Read John 1:1–18.

John begins by speaking of the Word, who was with God in the beginning.

He says that all things were made through the Word.

Then he says:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” — John 1:14, KJV

Jehovah's Witnesses translate the final clause of John 1:1 as “the Word was a god.”

Most other English translations render it “the Word was God.”

The disagreement involves Greek grammar, the context of John's Gospel, and the relationship between the Word and God.

We should not pretend that the entire question can be settled merely by pointing to one English translation.

Nor should we treat a translation choice as proof without examining the underlying language and the argument of the passage.

John's opening words deserve careful study in their own right.

19. DOES COLOSSIANS 1 TEACH THAT JESUS WAS CREATED?

Read Colossians 1:15–20.

Paul calls Christ:

“the firstborn of every creature.” — Colossians 1:15, KJV

Jehovah's Witnesses understand “firstborn” as indicating that Christ was God's first creation.

Other Christians understand the expression in terms of Christ's supremacy and position over creation.

The surrounding verses are important.

Paul says that all things were created through Christ and for Him.

He also says that Christ is before all things and that all things consist in Him.

We need to examine how “firstborn” functions in Scripture and how Paul's explanation develops in the following verses.

We should not isolate one expression from the paragraph and assume that its meaning has already been established.

20. DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT IDENTIFY JESUS AS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL?

Read Daniel 10:13, Daniel 12:1, Jude 9, and Revelation 12:7–9.

These passages speak of Michael.

Now read 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

Paul says the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

Jehovah's Witnesses connect these passages with their identification of Jesus as Michael.

But 1 Thessalonians 4:16 does not explicitly say:

“Jesus is Michael the archangel.”

It describes the Lord's descent and the accompanying voice of an archangel.

Whether that language establishes identity is a question of interpretation.

Read Hebrews 1 as well.

The writer distinguishes the Son from the angels and explains His exalted position.

Any proposed identification of Jesus with Michael must account for Hebrews' argument rather than relying on a single phrase.

21. WHAT DO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH ABOUT CHRIST'S RESURRECTION?

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, but they teach that He was resurrected as a spirit creature rather than returning to life in the same physical body that had been crucified.

They understand His post-resurrection appearances as occasions when He took on visible bodily forms.

Other Christians understand the New Testament to teach the bodily resurrection of Jesus, with His risen body transformed and glorified.

We should examine the Gospel accounts carefully.

Read Luke 24:36–43.

Jesus invited His disciples to examine His hands and feet.

He said:

“For a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” — Luke 24:39, KJV

Read John 20:24–29.

Thomas was invited to examine the wounds associated with Jesus' crucifixion.

Read 1 Corinthians 15.

Paul describes Christ's resurrection as the foundation of the Christian hope.

The question is not whether Christ was raised.

Both sides affirm His resurrection.

The question is what the apostles meant when they said that the crucified Jesus had risen from the dead.

22. WHAT DO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH ABOUT THE 144,000?

Read Revelation 7:1–8 and Revelation 14:1–5.

John describes 144,000 who are sealed and who stand with the Lamb.

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the 144,000 as a definite number of people chosen to reign with Christ in heaven.

They distinguish this group from the great crowd, whom they associate with the hope of everlasting life on a restored paradise earth.

That interpretation shapes their understanding of the Christian hope, the kingdom, and participation in the Lord's Supper.

But Revelation uses symbolic imagery throughout the book.

Before deciding whether 144,000 is a literal numerical limit, we should examine the passage in its literary setting.

Who are the twelve tribes listed in Revelation 7?

What does sealing signify?

How does the 144,000 relate to the great multitude that John sees immediately afterward?

And what does Revelation 14 say about those who follow the Lamb?

We should allow the imagery to speak in context before constructing separate classes of Christians from it.

23. DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT GIVE CHRISTIANS TWO DIFFERENT ETERNAL HOPES?

Read John 10:14–16.

Jesus speaks of other sheep and says:

“And there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” — John 10:16, KJV

Jehovah's Witnesses understand the other sheep in connection with the group that has an earthly hope.

Other Christians understand Jesus to be speaking of bringing Gentile believers together with Jewish believers under one Shepherd.

Read Ephesians 2:11–22.

Paul describes Jews and Gentiles being reconciled through Christ and brought together into one new humanity.

Read Ephesians 4:4–6.

Paul speaks of one body and one hope.

These passages should be considered alongside Revelation's imagery.

The question is whether the New Testament teaches two enduring classes of Christians with different eternal destinies or one redeemed people sharing in the fulfillment of God's promises.

24. WHY DO MOST JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES NOT PARTAKE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER?

Jehovah's Witnesses hold an annual observance of the Memorial of Christ's death.

They teach that only those who belong to the 144,000 with a heavenly hope should partake of the bread and wine.

Others attend the observance but ordinarily do not partake.

This practice follows from their interpretation of the 144,000 and the distinction between heavenly and earthly hopes.

Now read Matthew 26:26–29.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 and 11:23–29.

Paul addresses the congregation at Corinth about sharing in the bread and cup and about the need to partake worthily.

Does Paul distinguish between two classes of Christians, one permitted to partake and the other instructed to observe without partaking?

The passages do not explicitly make that distinction.

If such a distinction is necessary, we need to establish it from the text.

25. WHAT DO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH ABOUT THE END OF THE PRESENT WORLD?

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Christ began ruling in heaven in 1914 and that the world has been living in the last days since then.

They expect a future divine judgment associated with Armageddon and the establishment of God's righteous rule over the earth.

Their interpretations of prophetic dates have changed during the movement's history.

The year 1925 became associated with expectations about the return of ancient faithful men.

The year 1975 also became a focus of heightened expectations among many Witnesses because of chronological calculations concerning human history.

The organization later acknowledged that expectations surrounding 1975 had been mistaken.

We should distinguish official statements, individual expectations, and later explanations rather than attributing every claim made by a member to the organization as a whole.

But the underlying question remains the same as it was in our study of William Miller:

Does Scripture authorize Christians to calculate the time of Christ's return or the end of the present age?

26. WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT KNOWING THE TIME?

Read Matthew 24:36–44.

Jesus said:

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” — Matthew 24:36, KJV

Read Acts 1:6–8.

When the apostles asked about the time of the kingdom's restoration, Jesus answered:

“It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” — Acts 1:7, KJV

Then He directed them toward their mission as His witnesses.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6.

Paul compares the coming day of the Lord to a thief in the night.

The repeated instruction is to remain spiritually awake and ready.

It is not to construct a calendar from symbolic numbers and historical starting dates.

The New Testament's emphasis is on faithfulness while we wait for Christ.

27. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION CHANGES ITS INTERPRETATION?

Christians sometimes discover that they have misunderstood Scripture.

Changing a mistaken conclusion is not necessarily evidence of dishonesty.

It may be the responsible thing to do.

But a difficulty arises when an organization presents an interpretation as something Christians must accept because it comes through God's appointed channel.

What happens when that interpretation later changes?

Was the earlier teaching binding?

Were Christians free to question it?

What evidence established its authority?

And how should a believer distinguish the words of Scripture from the organization's current explanation of those words?

These questions are not unique to Jehovah's Witnesses.

We have asked similar questions about popes, councils, bishops, reformers, prophets, and restoration movements.

The same standard must apply to everyone.

28. WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT SAY ABOUT RELIGIOUS TEACHERS AND AUTHORITY?

Read Acts 17:10–12.

The Bereans examined the Scriptures to test what they heard.

Read Galatians 1:8–9.

Paul warned Christians not to accept a different gospel, even if it were presented by an angel.

Read 1 Peter 5:1–4.

Peter instructed elders to shepherd God's people without acting as lords over those entrusted to them.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:24.

Paul wrote:

“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.”

Paul certainly taught with apostolic authority.

Yet he distinguished serving believers from exercising dominion over their faith.

That distinction deserves attention whenever a religious organization claims authority to determine what every Christian must believe.

The New Testament calls Christians to receive apostolic teaching.

It also calls them to test claims and hold fast to what is true.

29. DOES ORGANIZATIONAL UNITY PROVE THAT A GROUP IS CHRIST'S CHURCH?

Unity matters.

Jesus prayed for His followers to be one.

Read John 17:20–23.

Paul urged Christians to preserve the unity of the Spirit.

Read Ephesians 4:1–6.

But organizational agreement and biblical unity are not automatically the same thing.

A group may be highly organized and still misunderstand Scripture.

Another group may reject centralized authority and still develop binding human traditions of its own.

Neither structure guarantees faithfulness.

The question is whether believers are united in Christ and His teaching.

That requires more than a shared name, common publications, or agreement with a governing body.

It requires listening to Christ.

30. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THE BIBLE STUDENT MOVEMENT?

The movement began with people who wanted to examine Scripture and challenge teachings they believed had been inherited from church tradition.

Charles Taze Russell became its leading teacher.

His publications spread his interpretations of biblical prophecy and other doctrines.

The Watch Tower Society developed to support the expanding work.

After Russell's death, Joseph Rutherford's leadership brought substantial changes and divisions.

In 1931, the stream associated with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses.

The organization continued to develop its doctrines and structure.

That history explains how the movement arose.

But historical development does not settle the biblical questions.

We still need to examine its teachings about Christ, the resurrection, the kingdom, the 144,000, the Christian hope, and religious authority.

Each teaching deserves to be tested in its own context.

31. WHERE SHOULD THIS STUDY LEAVE US?

Our studies of nineteenth-century religious movements have revealed several different claims about restoring or recovering Christianity.

Joseph Smith claimed that divine authority had been lost and needed to be restored through new revelation.

William Miller believed that biblical prophecy disclosed the approximate time of Christ's return.

The Seventh-day Adventist movement developed from a group that retained the significance of 1844 but reinterpreted the expected event.

Charles Taze Russell and the Bible Students questioned established doctrines and developed a prophetic system that attached great importance to 1914.

The movement that became Jehovah's Witnesses later developed a centralized teaching and organizational structure.

These movements are not identical.

They differ in their histories, doctrines, and claims of authority.

But each brings us back to a question that has appeared throughout our entire series:

HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN A RELIGIOUS TEACHER OR ORGANIZATION IS SPEAKING WITH THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST?

The answer cannot rest merely upon sincerity.

It cannot rest upon a religious name.

It cannot rest upon the size of an organization or the confidence of its leaders.

And it cannot rest upon an elaborate prophetic calculation unless Scripture actually establishes the interpretation on which that calculation depends.

We must return to the apostolic message.

Read what the passage says.

Consider its context.

Identify the conclusions we have drawn from it.

Then ask whether the text supports those conclusions.

That standard applies to Jehovah's Witnesses.

It applies to every other religious movement we have studied.

And it applies to us.

TEXT B4 TRADITION

Read First. Conclude Later.

RETURN TO MAIN SERIES: ONE CHURCH, SO MANY DIVISIONS—WHAT HAPPENED?

NEXT STUDY: HOW DO THE CLAIMS OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY RESTORATION MOVEMENTS COMPARE WITH THE NEW TESTAMENT?