Joseph Franklin Rutherford

Joseph Franklin Rutherford, born on November 8, 1869, was a prominent American lawyer and jurist who became a significant religious leader. Known as Judge Rutherford, he served as the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, playing a crucial role in the development of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement, which evolved from the Bible Student movement initiated by Charles Taze Russell.

Rutherford's legal career began with roles as a court stenographer, trial lawyer, and prosecutor, eventually becoming a special judge in Missouri's 8th/14th Judicial District after 1895. His journey into the religious sphere began with his baptism in 1906, after which he became the legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society in 1907 and a traveling representative before his election as president in 1917.

His presidency was marked by significant challenges, including a leadership crisis that led to a division within the Bible Student community. Despite these struggles, Rutherford introduced transformative organizational and doctrinal changes that shaped the beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses. He centralized the movement's administration, mandated door-to-door preaching, and established training programs for public speaking.

Rutherford's theological contributions included the assertion of 1914 as the date of Christ's invisible return and the formulation of the concept of Armageddon as God's war on the wicked. He also introduced the name 'Jehovah's Witnesses' in 1931 and the term 'Kingdom Hall' for places of worship in 1935. His prolific writing resulted in twenty-one books published by the Watch Tower Society, contributing to the distribution of nearly four hundred million publications.

Despite facing significant challenges, including imprisonment in 1918 for publishing a book deemed seditious, Rutherford's leadership saw the membership of Jehovah's Witnesses increase more than sixfold by the end of his twenty-five years as president.