This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

Joseph Franklin Rutherford 8 November 1869—8 January 1942, best known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the Watchtower Society, the legal entity used by Bible Students and subsequently Jehovah's Witnesses. During his tenure as president (1916—1942), the Bible Students experienced a widespread schism between 1918 and 1928. Those remaining supportive of Rutherford's views adopted the name "Jehovah's Witnesses" in 1931. Jehovahs Witnesses have beliefs and practices that are commonly regarded as controversial; by mainstream Christians for their doctrines that differ from mainstream Christianity; by governments for their refusal to participate in patriotic activities; and by the general public for their beliefs about blood transfusions and their treatment of members... Jehovahs Witnesses have produced a large amount of literature. ... For other uses, see Watchtower (disambiguation). ... Cover of Awake! magazine Awake! is a general-interest magazine published by Jehovahs Witnesses. ... The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Jehovahs Witnesses, specifically Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ... Aid to Bible Understanding (1969) was the first doctrinal and biblical encyclopedia of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Throughout the history of Jehovahs Witnesses, their history, their beliefs, doctrines and practices have met controversy and opposition from the local governments, communities, or religious groups. ... Main article: Persecution of Jehovahs Witnesses Nazi renunciation document Jehovahs Witnesses endured intense persecution under the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. ... Charles Russell in 1911 Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), known as Pastor Russell, was an American evangelist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who founded what is known as the Bible Student movement. ... William Miller William Miller (1782 - 1849) was an American Baptist preacher, whose followers have been termed Millerites. ... Nelson H. Barbour, (1824-1905) a Millerite Adventist (see Millerites) born in Throopsville (misspelled Toupsville in a newspaper profile), a village near Auburn, New York. ... Elder Jonas Wendell (December 25, 1815 - August 14, 1873) of Edenboro, Pennsylvania, was a zealous Adventist preacher following in the spirit of William Miller. ... Nathan Homer Knorr (April 23, 1905 - June 8, 1977) was the third president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society doing so on January 13, 1942, replacing Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had served in the position since 1916. ... Frederick William Franz - (12 September 1893–22 December 1992) served as President of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the legal organization used to direct the work of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Milton George Henschel (August 9, 1920 - March 22, 2003) was the person who succeded Frederick W. Franz as the president of Watchtower Society. ... Don A. Adams is the current president of the Watch Tower Society, the most important of the Legal instruments of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Hayden C. Covington (January 19, 1911 - November 19, 1978) was legal counsel for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society during one of its most difficult periods in the mid-20th century. ... Alexander Hugh Macmillan (June 2 1877-August 26, 1966), also referred to as A. H. Macmillan, was an important member of the Bible Students, later known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. ... Raymond Franz, circa 1980 Raymond Franz (born 1922) was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses from 1971 until May 22, 1980[1], and served at the organizations world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. ... James Penton, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta; Canada. ... Letter from Olin R. Moyle sent to J.F. Rutherford OLIN R. MOYLE Counselor 117 Adams Street. ... is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A number of corporations are in use by Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Charles Russell in 1911 The Bible Student movement is a religious movement with premillennialist expectations, that sprang from the teachings and ministry of Pastor Charles Taze Russell in the 1870s, whose followers generally call themselves Bible Students. Following a schism after Russell’s death in 1916, several offshoot groups formed...

Biography

Early life

Joseph F. Rutherford

Rutherford was born to a Baptist farm family in Morgan County, Missouri on November 8, 1869. Harboring an interest in law for many years, his father initially opposed his interests in law studies, but eventually relented and allowed him to go to college. After completing his education, he worked as a court reporter and was admitted to the bar at Boonville, Missouri. Later he became a special, or substitute judge in the same Fourteenth Judicial District of Missouri. Because of this background in law he was often referred to as "Judge Rutherford", a name he carried with him for the rest of his life. Image File history File links Rutherford. ... Image File history File links Rutherford. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is... Morgan County is a county located in the state of Missouri. ... Boonville is a city located in Cooper County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,202. ...

Bible Students

He became interested in the teachings of The Bible Students in 1894, after he and his wife had seen three of the volumes of Charles Taze Russell's textbook series entitled Millennial Dawn (later renamed Studies in the Scriptures). Charles Russell in 1911 The Bible Student movement is a religious movement with premillennialist expectations, that sprang from the teachings and ministry of Pastor Charles Taze Russell in the 1870s, whose followers generally call themselves Bible Students. Following a schism after Russell’s death in 1916, several offshoot groups formed... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Russell in 1911 Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), known as Pastor Russell, was an American evangelist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who founded what is known as the Bible Student movement. ...

Rutherford explained that at the time he planned to marry, his religious views were those of the Baptist denomination, but those of his wife-to-be were Presbyterian. When Rutherford’s pastor said that “she was going to hell fire because she had not been immersed and that he was going straight to heaven because he had been, his logical mind revolted and he became an atheist.”

It took Rutherford several years of careful research to rebuild his faith in a personal God. He worked, he said, from the premise that “that which cannot satisfy the mind has no right to satisfy the heart.”

He was baptized as a Bible Student in 1906, and in 1907 was selected by Pastor Russell to be the official legal adviser to the Watch Tower Society. He served as an elder and traveling speaker in the following years. He was elected President of the Watch Tower Society in January 1917, two months after Russell's death. The election process was questioned by some Bible Students, including four members of the Board of Directors. These differences between Rutherford and the Board were the first in a long line of controversial actions which lead to a widespread schism that peaked by 1928. In Pastor Russell's 1910 version of his Last Will and Testament he named Rutherford as one that he considered suitable to be chosen as an initial member of a rotating editorial committee of five elders who were to oversee what material was to appear in the Watch Tower magazine following Russell's death. The committee was to see to it that the Watch Tower magazine contain only material written by Russell during his lifetime. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Organizational Structure of Jehovahs Witnesses is a religious hierarchy. ... A number of corporations are in use by Jehovahs Witnesses. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...

Imprisonment

Although Pastor Russell's expected seventh volume to his Studies in the Scriptures textbook series was not written during his lifetime, a seventh volume was published in 1917, and was advertised by the Watch Tower Society as his posthumous work. It was received with great skepticism by many Bible Students who felt that the tone and spirit of the book was overly harsh, as well as contrary to the spirit in which Russell had wrote during his ministry. Questions were also raised regarding predictions made in the book for the years 1918, 1919, and 1925. This seventh volume (entitled The Finished Mystery) included strong criticism of the Papacy and the existing Christian religious system and hierarchy. This prompted clergy pressure for government censure and in 1918 he served an imprisonment together with seven other associates in Atlanta, Georgia, for allegedly opposing Selective Service Act and the Espionage Act of 1917. However, on May 14, 1919, the U.S. circuit court of appeals in New York ruled: “The defendants in this case did not have the temperate and impartial trial to which they were entitled, and for that reason the judgment is reversed.” The prosecution did not pursue a retrial of the case, and the charges were dismissed by action of nolle prosequi. Jehovah's Witnesses consider the literal number of years he and his associates spent in prison, as well as their release, to be a literal fulfillment of Biblical time prophecy found in the book of Daniel chapter 12. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Posthumous means after death. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Atlanta redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... The Espionage Act of 1917 was a United States federal law passed shortly after entering World War I, on June 15, 1917, which made it a crime for a person to convey information with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States... Court of Appeals or (outside the U.S. and in some American states) Court of Appeal is the title of a court which has the power to consider or hear an appeal. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

While in prison, poor air circulation in his cell is claimed to have contributed to his developing a lung condition from which he never fully recovered. Following his release, his weakened condition contributed to his contracting pneumonia. Thereafter, under doctor's advice, he spent much of his time in San Diego, California, especially during the winter months. This article is about human pneumonia. ... San Diego redirects here. ...

Rutherford's exoneration allowed him to remain a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court which he joined in 1909. From 1939-1942, he served as an attorney in 14 cases before that court, presenting oral arguments in two of those cases, Schneider v. State of New Jersey (1939), and Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940). The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Holding The Court held that the purpose of the ordinances (to keep the streets clean and of good appearance) was insufficient to justify prohibiting defendants from handing out literature to other persons willing to receive it. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Holding The First Amendment does not require States to excuse public school students from saluting the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on religious grounds. ...

Presidency

Rutherford served as President of the Watch Tower Society until his death in 1942 was known as a forceful preacher, and often spoke in his public discourses with a loud, booming voice. Starting in 1919 he began a lecture series entitled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" which became the focus of the movement for the next 6 years. His personal interpretations and calculations of the ancient "Jubilee cycles" from the Old Testament led him to predict that the earth would become a paradise in 1925. This view was controversial, and not supported by most Bible Students. The lecture was also distributed in book form by the same title. Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The period that followed 1918 brought significant changes in the thinking and activity of the Watch Tower Society. Rutherford's significant changes in the doctrinal platform, along with disbanding of congregational autonomy and other controversial moves led to the great majority of Bible Students ceasing fellowship with the Society. By 1928 numbers had fallen by nearly 75%. Rutherford's fierce advertising efforts eventually lead to great growth in the Society's membership by individuals who had no knowledge of the previous schism or its causes. In 1931 a new name, Jehovah's Witnesses, was selected in order to distance themselves from those who had broke away.

Death

About age 70, he went through several medical treatments for intestinal cancer. He went through more than one operation in 1941, but never fully recovered. He died in San Diego, California on January 8th, 1942 at the age of 72. His funeral was attended by four people, none of whom were related to him. The official coroner's records on file with the State of California state that he had been dead for several days before being discovered at the bottom of a stairwell, and that when found rat bites were observed on his face and hands.

Contributions to Jehovah's Witnesses

Rutherford's presidency is noteworthy for increasing the drive to "advertise the King and His Kingdom". The advertising work has become the prime hallmark for which Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized today. In 1931 at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford delivered a public discourse adopting the new name of "Jehovah's Witnesses".^[1]. Image File history File links Joseph_Franklin_Rutherford. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Government  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area  - City  212. ...

Rutherford predicted that the current world political order would end in 1925. In his view Jesus had been enthroned as King and Satan's rule ended in 1914.

In San Diego, California in the 1920s, the Watch Tower Society built a house in California called Beth Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim mean 'House of the Princes'. It was funded by specific donations for the stated purpose of "housing the prophets and godly men of old", who were expected to be physically resurrected in 1925^[2] before Armageddon to help with Christ's Millennial reign over the earth. Rutherford resided at the villa in his last years of ill health until his death in 1942. In 1948 the villa was sold. Soon after, the The Watchtower, November 1, 1950, pages 414-17 published a changed understanding of the aforementioned teaching to one where the "earthly forefathers of Jesus Christ would be resurrected after Armageddon." ^[3] San Diego redirects here. ... The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... The evangelist John of Patmos writes the Book of Revelation. ... For other uses, see Watchtower (disambiguation). ...

After his death Rutherford's burial was delayed for three and a half months due to legal proceedings arising from his desire to be buried at Beth Sarim. Consolation 1942 May 27 explained that "Judge Rutherford looked for the early triumph of "the King of the East", Christ Jesus, now leading the host of heaven, and he desired to be buried at dawn facing the rising sun, in an isolated part of the ground which would be administered by the princes, who should return from their graves." Despite official denials by the Watchtower Society there is evidence that Rutherford was buried on a plot of land at Beth Sarim.

Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr as President of the Watchtower Society. Nathan Homer Knorr (April 23, 1905 - June 8, 1977) was the third president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society doing so on January 13, 1942, replacing Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had served in the position since 1916. ...

References

External links

• Rutherford and associates 1919 Application for Executive Clemency
• Original schism documents 1917 to 1929
• Online collection of Rutherford's writings
• Works by Joseph Franklin Rutherford at Project Gutenberg
• News clippings relating to Judge Rutherford
• News clippings from Rutherford's "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" campaign
• Critical Biography of J.F. Rutherford