![]() ![]() In the mid-1870s, he published 50,000 copies of a pamphlet, The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return explaining his views and his belief that Christ would return invisibly before the battle of Armageddon. Like Wendell, he rejected the concept of "hellfire" and the immortal soul. ![]() He rejected Adventist teachings that the purpose of Christ's return was to destroy the earth and instead formed the view that Christ had died to pay a "ransom price" to atone for sinful humans, intending to restore humans to Edenic perfection with the prospect of living forever. ![]() Russell became convinced that God would reveal his purpose in the last days of the "Gospel age" and formed an independent Bible study group in Pittsburgh. Wendell, influenced by the teachings of William Miller, rejected traditional Christian beliefs of the "immortal soul" and a literal hell and interpreted scriptures in the books of Daniel and Revelation to predict that Christ would return in 1873. 1869–1916 Adventist influences Ībout 1869 17-year-old Russell attended a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of a group he called "Second Adventists" and heard Advent Christian preacher Jonas Wendell expound his views on Bible prophecy. Since 2004 the group has suffered a series of official bans in Russia. Members of the denomination suffered persecution in some African countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The group initiated dozens of high-profile legal actions in the United States and Canada between 19 to establish the right of members to sell literature from door to door, abstain from flag salute ceremonies and gain legal recognition as wartime conscientious objectors. Members suffered widespread persecution and mob violence in some of those countries and in the United States. The denomination was banned in Canada in World War I, and in Germany, the Soviet Union, Canada and Australia during World War II. In 1945, the Watch Tower Society, which Russell had founded as a publishing house, amended its charter to state that its purposes included preaching about God's Kingdom, acting as a servant and governing agency of Jehovah's Witnesses and sending out missionaries and teachers for the public worship of God and Jesus. Further changes of its doctrines led to the prohibition of blood transfusions by members, abandonment of the cross in worship, rejection of Christmas and birthday celebrations and the view of the biblical Armageddon as a global war by God that will destroy the wicked and restore peace on earth. Substantial organizational changes continued as congregations and teaching programs worldwide came under centralized control. In 1931, the name Jehovah's witnesses was adopted, further cutting ties with Russell's earlier followers. The group regrew rapidly, particularly in the mid-1930s with the introduction of new preaching methods. Under Rutherford's direction, the International Bible Students Association introduced significant doctrinal changes that resulted in many long-term members leaving the organization. The movement split into several rival organizations after Russell's death in 1916, with one-led by Joseph "Judge" Rutherford-retaining control of The Watch Tower and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The group took on the name International Bible Students Association and by 1914 it was also active in Canada, Germany, Australia and other countries. Bible Student missionaries were sent to England in 1881 and the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1900. Jehovah's Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. ![]()
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