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Beyond the Watchtower

Looking to our Past for lessons to help inform our Future

Our new logo of the original Watchtower cross and crown supports our subtitle “Looking to our Past – For lessons about our Future.  Find more out the Watchtower history of the cross and crown by clicking here:

WHY THE NAME CHANGE FROM “FRIENDS OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES” TO “BEYOND THE WATCHTOWER?” New redirected website address is  —  BeyondWatchtower.com.

First an introduction: We are Bible Students who since the early Watchtower days have continued to meet together in congregations around the world.  We retain, continue to study, and offer to others, the original Watchtower writings and literature, which we enjoy as wonderful resources to help understand and harmonize the Bible’s teachings.  Some of us created the “Friends of Jehovah’s Witnesses” website in an attempt to reach out in the spirit of Christian love and friendship, both to struggling Jehovah’s Witnesses and to Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Why are we reaching out?

A. We hope to provide a safe haven website of help, support, encouragement, open conversation and as well an information center.

B.  We hope to provide for your consideration, the enduring, valued, spiritual light of truth that shone forth so brightly in the early days of the Watchtower ministry.  In the spirit of Christian love and liberty, we extend to you this invitation to study, not with an autocratic ORGANIZATION controlled by a “Governing Body,” but rather with fellow Christian students of the Bible in the spirit of the Berean’s (Acts 17:11).

C. We hope to share with you areas of our common roots and the true history and the original mission of the early Watchtower Society. In its early days, it operated as a publishing house.  It had absolutely NO authority over any of the hundreds of independent congregations which were controlled solely by the congregation members themselves; not by domineering elders, overbearing overseers or a dictatorial Governing Body.  In those days each elder could only remain in office if at the annual elections they received 75% of the vote from the Holy Spirit anointed congregation members voting based on the Biblical qualifications for elder (1 Tim 3 and Titus 1).

So why the name change to “Beyond the Watchtower.”

Some visitors to our site have had the mistaken impression that by calling ourselves “Friends of Jehovah’s Witnesses” that this meant we were in agreement with the new doctrines and the oppressive and controlling spirit of the organization itself and its governing structure as well as its historical practice of shunning questioning members, and the resultant dividing of families. Dear brothers and sisters, nothing could be further from our true heart’s desire. These types of practices were never to be found among the original Watchtower friends prior to 1917.

Our new name “Beyond the Watchtower” contains a dual meaning which helps clarify our mission:

1: To help, support and encourage present JWs looking BEYOND todays Watchtower or else former JWs AFTER leaving the JW Organization. We would like to provide the type of support as shared in A & B above, to help those presently questioning or struggling with their relationship in the J.W. Organization and who may even have endured and suffered from spiritual and emotional wounds.

2: As described in C above, to provide an accurate historical account of events that took place BEYOND or AFTER the early Watchtower” days when a new organization emerged under new leadership, dramatically changing its beliefs and practices.

In these early Watchtower days, many of the original Bible Students refused to accept the new and changed teachings.  Nor would they be controlled by and surrender their Christian liberty to this new and very tough leader, Joseph Rutherford.  These Bible Students broke away from the new and emerging JW organization and either maintained or reestablished Bible Student congregation’s worldwide.  By 1931, 75% of the Original Bible Students had left this new organization which in that year adopted the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” in order to draw a clear line of distinction from those who had left the Society and those who remained.

The Bible Students as a Christian fellowship still meet together to the present day as free and independent congregations retaining their original beliefs and practicing the same spirit of Christian liberty as was adhered to during the early Watchtower days up through October of 1916 when Brother Russell died.

With these true, loving and encouraging wishes for you, we hope that this website aids you, our visiting brothers and sisters, to find satisfying answers to questions you may have. We hope this site can be an educational, healing center, a safe harbor for achieving a healthy emotional state, a place for spiritual growth in a manner that faithfully follows the scriptures and a place where all of our combined efforts will be found pleasing and honoring to the name of Jehovah, our loving and merciful Heavenly Father.

We hope that a journey with you to the not so distant past will bring you fresh hopes of Jehovah’s kindness and mercy to us today as well as for the bright and wonderful tomorrow that He has promised for all mankind through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

We continue now with our original WELCOME message below.

1Jo 4:18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint.  Indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love. – NWT

WELCOME TO THIS CITY OF REFUGE
AND SANCTUARY FOR STUDIOUS AND INQUIRING MINDS.

Acts 17:10, 11: Immediately by night the brothers sent both Paul and Silas out to Be-roe’a, and these, upon arriving, went into the synagogue of the Jews.  Now the latter  were more noble-minded than those in Thes-sa-lo-ni’ca, for they received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so. – NWT

You are anonymous here.  You can speak to other Jehovah’s Witnesses, former Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bible Students and other Christians. When posting your comments, you will be able to use a Pen Name.  Your e-mail address and website info are completely optional. No one can identify you.  No one can report you.  You have a home and quiet place to pray and honestly investigate scriptures.  It is not our purpose to indoctrinate you, but merely to provide you with resources for further study of Jehovah’s word.  You are not alone.  You have friends.

Romans 14:4  Who are you to judge the house servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can make him stand. – NWT

2 Tim 1:7  (Amplified Bible) –  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm {and} well–balanced mind {and} discipline {and} self–control.

Gal 5:1 – Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.   NKJV

Gal 5:13 – For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  NKJV

2Co 3:17 –  …where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.   NWT

John 8:31, 32 – And so Jesus went on to say to the Jews that had believed him: “If YOU remain in my word, YOU are really my disciples, and YOU will know the truth, and the truth will set YOU free.  NWT

If 1 John 4:8 says “God is love,” then shouldn’t love, not fear, be our motivation to serve Jehovah?  Are you serving Jehovah in a certain way because you are afraid/fearful of being destroyed in Armageddon?

Hebrews 13:6 (Amplified Bible) – So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?

519 comments to Welcome

  • prayer helps ask God anything. pray even for better weather on earth and pray for a peaceful earth. pray for anything. and have your heart be for God before you pray. I am going to heal now the last seeds in the anointed is happen to going on now before the new world starts. peace and safety talks in this world begins soon to come. many people left the watchtower who love Jehovah. remember our past but move to the future with Christ. healing is needed for us. now.

  • I left the watchtower study for a better life with Christ. hope I can heal my mind.

  • John

    I find everytime new efforts of Jehovah’s Witnesses to gather together independently and study the Bible like the Bible Students of the old days. I found an interesting site which supports the effort and both of these groups which is quite new https://jwbiblestudents.org/
    I was excited to see they use the names of both groups and provide sources from both Watchtower and the Bible Student movement.

    • Peter K. (admin)

      Thanks John for sharing the link. Feel free to share your thoughts or questions here.

      I noticed that the website under “Rutherford” indicated the following: “After the death of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Students, Rutherford emerged as a key figure within the organization. In 1917, he was elected as the second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the legal entity that governs the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

      I just wanted to point out that Bible Students at the time of Brother Russell were an ASSOCIATION of independent Bible Study congregations that annually elected who would be elders for each coming year. Rutherford created a centrally controlled ORGANIZATION that was not optional but rather required. I have a different view of the so called election of Rutherford, but we will leave that to each persons individual research.

  • KD

    you can have independent study of the Jehovah’s witnesses Christ in his teaching when more than one are gathered to worship in God’s name he will be in the mist Jesus Christ will be with you the kingdom of God is given two people who love God’s character is 💯 love. his commandments were given because he loved people when God destroys this world able to do it because he loves people. you can be independent of the watchtower and still be saved. but keep in mind a lot of Jehovah’s witnesses will be in the kingdom of God. the kingdom of God is the kingdom of Jehovah.

  • KD

    we are deep in the last days be ready everyone.

    • Peter K. (admin)

      KD – Certainly we are in the last days. If we had been having this discussion in the middle of world war 2, I doubt we would have believed all this time would have passed, without the kingdom on earth starting to be set up.

      2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

  • KD

    I attend Altavista Virginia congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. please everyone forgive me I almost gave up because I’m frustrated with Jehovah’s witnesses organization the ark of being counted as one of the anointed. Jesus Christ and Jehovah God the active Force the spirit of God put in my mind and flesh and blood that I will work for Jesus Christ and follow his footsteps for the rest of my life the great tribulation is almost here people please start preparing for it read Bible study and meditate on the word please forgive me for almost giving up what is a wicked slave someone who gives up and does not good in the field. and beats his fellow slavesfor working hard I am going to ask the Alta Vista congregation elders to allow me in the field I will be baptized one of Jehovah’s witnesses and the 144000 will be completed at Richmond Assembly Hall on 2024 the seed will be completed my mind is strong I love Jehovah God with all my body and mind And heart 💓 in mind I will accept the blood card an endure to the end Jesus Christ Gives life forever Paradise Earth is soon to begin please have food for me governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses and AltaVista Virginia congregation thank you please.

    • Peter K. (admin)

      Hi KD. Thanks for visiting our site and commenting. I don’t understand your statement “…I’m frustrated with Jehovah’s witnesses organization the ark of being counted as one of the anointed.” Do you mean that the JW organization is the anointed ark?

  • KD

    some it will be time to prep for the great soon end time tribulation. i am going to buy soon a 20 pound bag of rice a lot of soup can bean candy bars buy extra clothes. and study the bible and not wait for the watchtower to tell me to do it am going to be ready.

  • KD

    sitting at the kingdom Hall at Alta Vista Virginia they do a wonderful job and I helped some of keeping the kingdom Hall clean a hummingbird came to me while I was sitting on the bench comes to remind me religion witnessing work on a worldwide scale is to be organized the kingdom of God will be organized Jehovah God and Jesus Christ loves God’s people please study Bible regular I love Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ the elders at the kingdom all starting to accept me I think I’m going to be baptized as a Jehovah’s witness at the Richmond assembly convention. in Virginia.

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