🕰️ What Happened After Rutherford?
After Judge Joseph Rutherford died in 1942, leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society passed to Nathan H. Knorr. Knorr’s era was marked by massive global expansion, a more corporate structure, and the release of the New World Translation in the 1950s and 60s. Frederick Franz, a longtime doctrinal contributor, was believed to be the theological mind behind many of the organization’s major teachings and took over officially in 1977.
📅 The 1975 Prophecy & Mass Exodus
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Watchtower publications strongly suggested that Armageddon would occur in 1975, marking 6,000 years of human history. While they avoided an outright prophecy, the implication was clear—many Witnesses sold homes, left jobs, and postponed education to focus on the ministry.
When 1975 came and went without the end, thousands left the organization, deeply disappointed. The Watchtower later admitted that some had “read more into it than was stated,” but the emotional damage had already been done.
🔍 Watchtower, March 15, 1980, p. 17: “It is to be regretted… that some have speculated about the date… and that other brothers have accepted their speculative ideas as facts and have spoken of them as such both publicly and privately.”
🔁 Another Subtle Prediction? (1984–1994)
In 1984, the Watchtower released a revised statement about the generation that witnessed 1914 “not passing away.” The 1984 edition of the New World Translation included this teaching in footnotes, reinforcing belief that the end was very near.
But as the original 1914 generation began dying off, the organization gradually redefined “generation”—first in 1995, again in 2008, and again in 2010—to refer to overlapping lifespans. These constant adjustments led many to quietly question whether any of it had really been directed by Jehovah at all.
⚠️ Modern-Day Issues That Raise Serious Questions
As of the 2000s and 2010s, Jehovah’s Witnesses began facing a growing number of controversies that seemed to challenge their claim of being “the one true organization.”
🧒 Child Abuse Allegations
- Major court cases across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and the Netherlands have uncovered internal records of child abuse kept secret by elders—due to the “two-witness rule” and failure to report to authorities.
- The Australian Royal Commission (2015) found over 1,000 cases of abuse that were never reported.
🏠 Selling Kingdom Halls
- Thousands of Kingdom Halls are being sold globally, often without clear explanation to local congregations.
- Some have speculated this is to pay legal costs or realign real estate holdings, raising concerns about financial transparency.
🌐 Secret UN Membership
- In 1991, the Watch Tower Society was a registered NGO associate of the United Nations Department of Public Information, despite years of condemning the UN as the “scarlet-colored wild beast” of Revelation.
- This membership lasted until 2001, when it was exposed and quietly withdrawn.
🔒 Shunning and Control
- Shunning (disfellowshipping) practices have intensified, with even questioning the organization considered apostasy.
- Members are discouraged from researching outside material, including historical records or doctrinal critiques—raising questions about freedom of thought.
❓Is This Truly Jehovah’s Organization?
As Witnesses, we were taught to believe that Jehovah’s organization would be clean, truthful, and loving—different from all others. But when we honestly look at the failed prophecies, legal scandals, and shifting doctrines, it’s fair to ask:
Would Jehovah direct such confusion, secrecy, and harm?
Jehovah is not a God of disorder (1 Cor. 14:33), nor does He need to hide truth or change it constantly.