Jehovah's Witnesses did not exist before 1931 when Judge Rutherford, an attorney, using his legalistic mind came up with the idea
of the world as a mammoth court room in which every true christian testifies, or, "give witness" or testimony.
Until the moment of the name change a loose knit group of many separate congregations under many varying names more or less
thought of themselves as Bible Students (as in International Bible Students.)
It was Rutherford's plan to unite the scattered and autonomous groups, but, his rough methods and combative nature had only succeeded
in chasing them away! 2/3 of Russell's followers are estimated to have withdrawn by the time the name "Jehovah's Witnesses" was adopted.
Under Pastor Russell, the purpose of being a "Bible student" was to marvel at the sure "proofs" of Armageddon catastrophe on such-and-such a date
which the Bible student hoped to escape. Russell, after all, was a huge proponent of chronology charts and pyramid measurements like the 2nd
Adventists by whom he had allowed himself to be tutored until striking out on his own in the publishing business throught the Watchtower magazine.
1914 had been seen as the end. The certain end seemed to drag on past the appointed shelf expiry date! Russell was occupied with temporizing until his
death 2 years later in 1916.
Rutherford and his 2nd Adventist cohorts simply snatched the script away from the Adventists once again. Using Ellen White's THE GREAT CONTROVERSY as a template, the Judge created a scenario in which witnesses of Jehovah tried to clear His good name which Satan had slandered.
The angels, demons and humans needed to see that special and Divine Name VINDICATED.
Toward that end, Rutherford's books, sermons and radio broadcasts created their own Great Controversy!
The Watchtower made quite clear that ENEMIES were everywhere who must be reviled, battled and scorned to clear Jehovah's good name.
The Jehovah's Witnesses were thrown into the heat of needless controversies in community after community until the average citizen hated the very sight of them preaching on street corners and mocking their Pope, pastor, government and other dearly venerated institutions!
This strident and ad hominem preaching effort landed them in jail, prison and in the hospital time after time.
With the assistance of Olin Moyle, Hayden Covington and J.F.Rutherford many legal battles ensued all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Literal courtroom controversy mirrored the make-believe controversy of Ellen White's visions and Watchtower mythos.
By the time of Rutherford's death in 1942 a great many scarred and battle weary J.W.'s had scuffled and tussled their way into self-legend
as mighty warriors for Jah!
The Watchtower Society had ever refused to declare themselves a "religion" inasmuch as religion, it was claimed, was "a snare and a racket."
All this changed with the passing of time.
The fiersome and litigious body of door-to-door gadflies and martyrs became gradually transformed, refurbished and reshaped into "model citizens" and
dedicated evangelists ever vigilant of the "any-second-now" arrival of Armageddon.
The last hurrah of Adventist nonsense went out in a blaze of glory when Fred Franz concocted an End Times tableau for the all too specific date of 1975!
Worldwide activity under millions of JW's fizzled out into public embarassment and cognitive dissonance when the date passed without a sqeak from Jehovah or Satan!
Since that time, this Watchtower Society has imploded, lawyered up and morphed itself into a porcupine Governing Body bristling with self-conscious
demands for Loyalty and blind obedience.
It is all about Real Estate sales and Child Molestation court battles kept as quiet as possible through coercion at the local Kingdom Hall and threats
of shunning and disfellowship tribunals.
Does that answer your question?
