and the
“And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same manner as you saw him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:9–11, ESV.
Ever since the angels spoke those words, individuals have looked forward with eager anticipation to His promised Return. All too often, though, their zeal has led to attempts to calculate and proclaim a date for that return, leading, in turn, to shattered hopes and bitter disappointment.
One such attempt—whose influence continues to this day—emerged within the nineteenth-century Adventist movement and would eventually help shape the theology of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In January of 1874, an Adventist writer from New York, named Nelson H. Barbour, began publication of a periodical named Herald of the Morning, to promote his views that the second coming of Christ would occur that year. But, to the dismay of Barbour and his followers, Christ failed to appear in the flesh in 1874.
Shortly afterward, an associate of Barbour, who had a copy of Benjamin Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott, a Greek-English interlinear translation of the New Testament, noticed something in it which he thought noteworthy: that in Matthew 24:27, 37, & 39, the word παρουσία (parousia) which in the King James version is rendered “coming”, is translated “presence” in the Diaglott. This observation was later described as the clue that led Barbour’s group to advocate that Christ’s return had occurred invisibly.
Through the pages of the Herald of the Morning, Barbour then advanced his belief that the prophecies indicated that the Lord had, indeed, returned in 1874, and was already present in the world, although unseen and invisible. He further wrote that Christ’s kingdom would be fully established in 1914, and his millennial reign would commence at that time.
Charles Taze Russell, the founder and first president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, had moved through several Protestant traditions in his early religious life. In 1869, or thereabouts, he attended a service conducted by Second Adventist preacher Jonas Wendell. The subject of Wendell’s message on the night Russell attended is unknown at this time. Since a core Adventist belief is the imminent return of Jesus Christ, it is possible, if not likely, that his discourse centered on Jesus’ second coming. But, whatever the topic, Russell reported that the preaching motivated him to more zealous and careful Bible study than previously in his life.
In January of 1876, Russell received a copy of Barbour’s Herald of the Morning. Although he had previously shied away from Biblical time prophecies, Russell wanted to learn more about Barbour’s teachings and views. He arranged for the two of them to meet in Philadelphia. Russell came away from the meeting convinced that Christ’s invisible presence had begun in the autumn of 1874.
In 1877, Russell and Barbour jointly published a 196-page book, authored by Barbour, entitled Three Worlds, and the Harvest of this World. It presented their shared view that Jesus Christ’s invisible presence dated from the autumn of 1874.
But, the collaboration between Russell and Barbour was short-lived. In May of 1879, Russell disassociated himself from Barbour over doctrinal differences.
Two months later Russell began publishing his own monthly periodical, Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. He also wrote numerous pamphlets and tracts, as well as a series of six books, originally titled Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures.
In 1881 Russell formed Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society—renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1886. In 1910, he introduced the name International Bible Students Association, to identify the then-worldwide community of Bible study groups who followed his teachings.
Much of Russell’s teaching on Christ’s return closely followed Barbour’s, although there were some minor differences. Through his preaching and written works, Russell advanced his understanding Jesus began his invisible presence in October 1874, with the “formal inauguration of his kingly office”, as Russell described it, dating from April 1878.
Up to the time of his death, on October 31, 1916, C. T. Russell continued to maintain that Christ had returned to the earth invisibly in 1874 and that the full establishment of the kingdom on earth remained close at hand.
Following Russell’s death, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, formerly the Watch Tower Society’s legal counsel, ascended to the presidency of the Society. Rutherford had been briefly appointed a substitute judge in Missouri in 1913. Although his judicial service was limited in scope and duration, the title “Judge” continued to be used in Watchtower publications and public settings for the remainder of his life.
Among the many changes under his leadership was a systematic revision of what had been Russell’s teaching on the return or presence of Jesus. This, however, came about incrementally, over several years.
In 1921 Rutherford penned his first hard-cover book, The Harp of God. In it, he reiterated Russell’s earlier teaching that the time of Lord’s second presence dated from 1874. In fact, he wrote that Russell “was the greatest preacher of modern times”, and that his extensive preaching and writing, which resulted in the gathering together of believers out of all denominations in all parts of the earth, served as “corroborative” and “conclusive” proof of the Lord’s second presence from 1874 forward.
Rutherford also asserted that the “increase of light” in the form of inventions and discoveries since 1874 provided further evidence of the Lord’s presence since 1874.
In an address entitled “The Kingdom”, delivered by Rutherford on September 8, 1922, at the International Bible Students Convention held in Cedar Point, Ohio, attendees were informed that although Jesus’ second coming occurred in 1874, that date simply marked the beginning of a “day of preparation”. That “day” extended from 1874 to 1914. Rutherford proclaimed that it was in 1914, rather than 1878 as Russell had taught, that Jesus took his kingly power, and it was at that time that his reign commenced. On Sunday, September 10, 1922, a resolution was adopted by those in attendance, proclaiming that 1914 marked the end of “the old world”, at which time Christ had become king, and was then invisibly present, working to establish his kingdom; and that such was the “message of good tidings contained in the Bible” to be published henceforth by the International Bible Students.
Russell had clearly taught his belief that Christ’s invisible presence was here on earth, and Watch Tower literature, for the first several years of Rutherford’s leadership, consistently employed language that naturally conveyed an earthly presence. But, the June 1, 1927 issue of The Watch Tower magazine provided “new light” relative to Christ’s presence. The lead article, entitled “The First Resurrection”, rather than stating that Christ’s presence occurred in 1874, as previously asserted, announced that his presence merely “began to be made manifest about 1874”, that he took his great power and began to reign in 1914, and that he came to his temple in 1918. The article went on to state that a belief in Jesus’ presence being here in the vicinity of the earth was an “unreasonable” conclusion. It went on to explain that when Jesus had finished his sacrifice and ascended to sit down on the right hand of God, it was necessary for him to wait there until God’s “due time” to take possession of his kingdom, which time had come in 1914. Prior to that time, Jesus had been doing “a work of preparation”, including “gathering together the saints on earth” and “restoring to them the fundamental truths which had long been hid from them.”
Our Lord’s presence began to be made manifest about 1874, according to the article, but only in the sense that it was then that “he began to give his attention to preparing the saints and restoring to them the truth” as well as “preparing to oust the Devil”. Although he did this while still at the right hand of God, The Watch Tower asserted that he was “present” in the sense that he was “directing the things of his church on earth”.
The Watch Tower taught that spiritually-minded ones could discern this “presence of the Lord” from 1874 forward. Readers were then told that the Greek word parousia means “presence”, which, in turn, means “giving his attention to things pertaining to his church and kingdom, as these things have to do with the saints on the earth”.
Allusions to the beginning of the Lord’s “presence” in 1874 continued to appear in print until the fall of 1930 (although they weren’t to be understood as literally “being present”; only as “giving his attention to his church and kingdom”).
In 1931, a new booklet written by Rutherford, titled The Kingdom, The Hope of the World was released. Like his 1922 speech at the Cedar Point Convention, it referred to 1874 as the date the Lord “began preparing the way before Jehovah” and “began to bring to the attention of his people the great fundamental truths that had been obscured by the many errors taught by men”. No reference was made to a “presence” or “second coming” occurring in that year. Rather, it was stated that Jesus came the second time in 1914, and was set upon his throne at that time (although this latter element had already been introduced at the Cedar Point Convention in 1922).
The booklet proclaimed that Charles Taze Russell had been a leader “in the teaching and preaching of the divine Word and particularly with reference to the second coming of Christ and the setting up of his kingdom”. However, despite this commendation, by moving the date of the Lord’s presence or return from 1874 to 1914, the last traces of Russell’s teachings on the second coming had been replaced over time.
As the Society’s teaching about Christ’s presence continued to change in the years after 1914, explanations were also offered as to how those teachings were being communicated. Publications from this period frequently spoke of direction and increased light. To follow this line of explanation as presented by the Society to the faithful, it is helpful to look at how those instructions and guidance were received.
Nearly all the changes in the Society’s presence/kingdom teachings came into being after 1922, following the occurrence of a significant event. Although not disclosed until the 1930s, it was, according to Rutherford, in 1919 that “invisible angels” began to “pass … instruction on to the remnant”. Then, in 1922, the faithful remnant began to “hear and respond” to those messages. Rutherford specifically stated that the resolution adopted at the 1922 Cedar Point convention, announcing that Christ had taken on his Kingdom power in 1914, was a message sent through those invisible angels. Not only the resolutions adopted at the Society’s conventions, but also the booklets, magazines, and books it published thereafter—the use of which God commanded—were all said to be given by God through Jesus and the angels.
Rutherford taught, through the pages of The Watch Tower, that it was not necessary for his readers to understand just how God communicates His instructions through His delegated angels, but that “if one in the organization receives directions, and those directions come through the place designated to give instructions, then the instructions should be obeyed as unto the Lord.” It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the “one in the organization” who received instructions from these angels was Rutherford, himself.
While some might have been inclined to view this as spiritism, Rutherford argued that it should not be regarded as such, but was, instead, a means God uses “to direct his people without any audible communication with them”. It was not necessary, he contended, that they hear audible sounds, as God had “his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones on earth”. Rutherford wrote that the angels, as invisible messengers, first hear the instructions issued by God, and then pass them on to the remnant.
The September 1, 1930 issue of The Watch Tower explained that while the holy spirit had been the advocate, comforter, and helper for the church prior to Jesus’ coming to his temple in 1918, there was no further need for the spirit to continue to serve in that role after that time, as Jesus was then with the temple class of anointed believers. An even more definitive statement appeared in Rutherford’s 1932 book Preservation, where he wrote that the holy spirit only guided and led Jehovah’s people up to a certain point in time, which occurred in 1918 when Jesus came to the temple, and the holy spirit was taken away. Rutherford also taught that when the holy spirit ceased to function as advocate or paraclete on behalf of believers, angels assumed those responsibilities. These angelic beings had begun “rendering service” to the remnant in 1919, but it was not until 1922 that the “faithful remnant . . . began to hear and respond to their messages”.
However, nowhere in God’s Word is it taught that there will come a time when the Holy Spirit will be taken away from – or cease to operate toward – the Church as the helper, comforter, teacher, and means of communication between God and men. To the contrary, Jesus promised us, in John 14:16, that the Holy Spirit, as our Comforter, would be with us forever. The consistent message of Scripture is that the Holy Spirit, not angels, is to be the believers’ teacher after Jesus’ departure. Luke 12:12, John 14:26, 1 John 2:20 & 27.
Just prior to the start of the remnant’s beginning to hear and respond to messages from the spirit realm, The Watch Tower had taught that “the good spirits, the holy angels, make no communications with man now: that these communications belonged to a previous time, when they were appropriate and necessary as the channels of divine communication.” Rutherford had acknowledged earlier, in his 1920 booklet Talking with the Dead, that fallen angels, or demons, often communicate through human channels, sometimes claiming to speak with the voice of the Almighty, and having the power to inject thoughts into mortal minds. This sounds remarkably similar to the way the “one in the organization” received angelic messages or directions.
At 1 Timothy 4:1, the Apostle Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit clearly warned that in later times men would be led away from the faith by following deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons. He told believers, at 2 Corinthians 11:14, that since Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, it should come as no surprise that his servants pose as servants of righteousness. Although Paul was speaking expressly of mortal men whose conduct marked them as false apostles of Christ, those servants of Satan who advance themselves as servants of righteousness could certainly include his demonic angels who claim to speak with the voice of the Lord while communicating through susceptible human channels.
At this point, it is no longer sufficient to simply describe the Society’s claims historically; claims of spiritual communication must be evaluated by the standard of Scripture itself.
The mere fact that an invisible spirit being conveys or injects inaudible thoughts into the mind of an individual in the Watchtower organization, and claims to be speaking for Jesus Christ, in no way qualifies that claim as truth.
The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. At 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Paul instructs Christians to “test everything; hold fast what is good.” Acts 17:11 tells us (speaking of the Bereans’ response to the preaching of Paul): “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Clearly, the best way to test the spirits which convey messages of instruction and prophetic interpretation to the anointed remnant is to examine the Scriptures and measure those teachings by the yardstick of God’s Word, rejecting those things which do not measure up, and holding fast to those that do. Such testing would have been extremely difficult for the Watch Tower’s remnant class, from at least 1919 until 1930, since they plainly admitted that the holy spirit ceased, in 1919, to operate toward them as helper, comforter, advocate, and the means of revelation and instruction from the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man, unaided by the Holy Spirit, cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. Scripture says nothing about angels stepping in when the Holy Spirit has been deemed unnecessary.
However, although The Watchtower taught that from 1919 until at least September 1, 1930 there had been no necessity for the holy spirit as the advocate for the servant class, and that the holy spirit had been taken away, this understanding was subsequently abandoned. Following the close of the 1930s and the subsequent organizational transition of the early 1940s, references to the holy spirit began to reappear in The Watchtower. By November 1, 1944, the journal was teaching that the holy spirit should determine and guide in organizational matters, such as filling the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the January 1, 1945 issue of The Watchtower, the holy spirit was explicitly restored to a central role of necessity in the lives of Jehovah’s anointed ones, with the statement that, “Jehovah causes his active force to rest upon his anointed ones. He has a most important work for them to do, and without the active force or spirit of the Lord Jehovah the anointed ones could never accomplish it.”
Many of the teachings and doctrines presently held by Jehovah’s Witnesses developed between 1922 and 1944, during that time when, according to the Society’s own teaching, the holy spirit was absent from their lives, and invisible spirit creatures furnished the content of the Society’s booklets, magazines, and books. And, although all references to one in the organization receiving angelic messages ceased upon the death of Rutherford, Jehovah’s Witnesses today continue to teach that they receive angelic guidance or direction in carrying out their work. A search of the Watchtower Online Library for the term “Angelic Guidance” yields over 100 references to such, published in recent years.
The invisible messengers, who imparted to Jehovah’s Witnesses their present understanding of Christ’s return, conveyed the thought that, following Jesus’ ascension to Heaven as described in Acts chapter 1, he has continued to be positioned there. Although they teach that His presence or parousia commenced in 1914, this was really nothing more than a continued presence in Heaven. The only thing that changed, in Watchtower belief, was that Jesus was placed on his kingly throne, in Heaven, in 1914. Thus, they teach that he came to be “present” in Kingdom power, although the location of that “presence” remained unchanged.
It is interesting, though, that in the Watchtower’s discussion of Christ’s presence they state, “Jesus’ parables and other texts show that his presence is like that of a master returning to his household and that of a man receiving kingship who returns to take control of his domain,” citing Matthew 24:43–51; 25:14–45; and Luke 19:11–27. Note, however, that, in these examples, they do not say that the master went away (as Jesus went to Heaven) and he didn’t come back. They do not say that he stayed away, and simply “gave his attention” back to where he had been. The Scriptural illustrations say that both the master and the man went away and returned to the place of origin. It is that return, back to their starting points, which is emphasized, not what transpired while the master and the man were in the place to which each went away. It is likewise so with the Biblical references to Christ’s parousia or presence. What is described is Christ’s presence with His followers upon His return from Heaven to Earth.
In the New Testament, or Christian Greek Scriptures, as the Watchtower Society prefers, there are principally four verbs, and their varying tenses, used with reference to the second coming, or return, of Jesus Christ, each with different meanings, and referring to separate and distinct aspects or phases of his second coming or return.
The first of these is ἔρχομαι — erchomai, the basic meaning of which is to come, or to arrive. The emphasis of erchomai is the act of coming itself (the arrival). This is the most common and ordinary verb for “coming,” and when applied to Christ, it emphasizes the moment of arrival, not what follows afterward. Some examples of the usage of erchomai are:
Erchomai answers the question “Does He actually arrive?” The Scriptures answer: Yes—visibly, decisively, historically.
The second of these words is ἐπιφάνεια — epiphaneia, which conveys a meaning of appearance, manifestation, or a visible shining forth. The emphasis here is the sudden visibility and glory of His Coming.
It is impossible to find any theory of an invisible return in epiphaneia. A few examples from Scripture include:
Epiphaneia answers “How does He come?” The answer from God’s Word is: in manifest, visible, glory.
Thirdly, we come to ἀποκάλυψις — apokalypsis, the basic meaning of which is: unveiling, revelation, disclosure, the emphasis here being Christ revealed as who He truly is.
This word assumes Christ is presently hidden from sight and will be uncovered, at His return. Examples of apokalypsis include:
Apokalypsis answers “What happens at His return?”, to which the answer is: He is unveiled—no longer hidden, disputed, or denied.
And finally, we arrive at παρουσία — parousia, of which presence is an accurate translation.
At its core, παρουσία denotes the state of being present, often in contrast to ἀπουσία, (“absence”; cf. Phil 2:12). The emphasis lies not on the act of coming, but on being there once arrival has occurred. Parousia is the condition or state that results from arrival — presence with someone. Where erchomai focuses on coming, parousia, focuses on having come and now being present.
Representative New Testament examples:
Here parousia refers not to the instant of arrival itself, but to an ongoing condition in which events unfold.
What is described here is the resurrection of believers with Christ being present, not with the verb of coming itself.
This striking combination shows that parousia is not itself the appearing but something that has an appearing. The grammar naturally suggests:
Parousia answers the question “What is the result of His return?” Answer: He is present.
Taken together, the New Testament presents a coherent pattern involving erchomai, epiphaneia, apokalypsis, and parousia. This is not a set of words all having the same meaning. Parousia describes the state of being present that follows the act of coming.
Returning, once again, to the Scripture passage with which we opened:
“And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same manner as you saw him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:9–11, ESV.
In Acts 1:11, the Greek word translated “come” is:
ἐλεύσεται (eleusetai)
• It’s the future middle (deponent) indicative, 3rd person singular
• From the verb ἔρχομαι (erchomai), meaning to come / to go / to arrive
So, the angels say that Jesus will “come” (ἐλεύσεται) “in the same way” (ὃν τρόπον) as the disciples saw Him go (πορευόμενον) into heaven.
• Acts 1:11 uses ἔρχομαι, (erchomai), not παρουσία (parousia)
• The emphasis is on a future, observable coming, paralleling the visible ascension
Christ’s Return — Does It Really Matter?
Yes — it matters profoundly.
The return of Jesus Christ is not a peripheral teaching of Scripture. It stands at the very heart of the Christian hope. From the moment our Lord ascended into heaven, His followers were taught to live in expectation of His return — not an abstract presence, not an invisible administrative oversight from heaven, but the personal, visible return of the risen Christ Himself.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that Christ returned invisibly in 1914, that He has remained invisible ever since, and that His presence (parousia) can be discerned only by interpretations supplied by the Watchtower Society. Yet the angels who witnessed Jesus’ ascension plainly told the disciples:
“This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same manner as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
Nothing in this statement suggests an invisible return, a delayed recognition, or a presence discernible only through organizational authority. The manner of His departure was visible, bodily, and unmistakable. Scripture offers no reason to believe that the manner of His return would be fundamentally different. The same Jesus who departed visibly will return visibly.
Throughout the New Testament, the writers consistently speak of Christ’s Second Coming as a future event — something believers are to await, anticipate, and love.
When Jesus’ disciples asked about the sign of His coming (parousia) and the conclusion of the age, He did not direct them to await explanations from an organization. Instead, He cautioned them:
“Look out that nobody misleads you.” (Matthew 24:4)
He went on to warn against claims that He had already come secretly or invisibly:
“If people say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:26)
Jesus did not say that His presence would be recognized only by those with “eyes of understanding” receiving spiritual food from a central channel. On the contrary, He compared His coming to lightning flashing across the sky — sudden, visible, and impossible to miss (Matthew 24:27).
The apostle John likewise wrote:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.” (Revelation 1:7)
These statements cannot reasonably be reconciled with the idea of an invisible presence beginning in 1874 or 1914, detectable only through organizational interpretation and constantly revised chronology.
The tragedy of the Watchtower Society’s teaching on Christ’s return is not merely that dates were set and later abandoned. Many sincere Christians have made similar errors throughout history. Rather, the deeper problem is that the clear, biblical hope of Christ’s return has been replaced by reliance upon an organization that claims exclusive insight into events no human eye has ever witnessed.
In doing so, confidence has been shifted:
• away from Scripture;
• and toward the authority of fallible men claiming invisible confirmation.
Yet the New Testament never directs believers to place their trust in an organization to mediate Christ’s presence. Instead, we are told to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), to “stand firm” in the apostolic teaching (2 Thessalonians 2:15), and to test every claim by the Word of God (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).
The Bible consistently directs Christians to place their confidence, not in fallible men or institutions, but in God’s Word and in Christ Himself. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would remain with His followers forever as their teacher and guide (John 14:26), not that angels would replace the Spirit or communicate new doctrine through inaudible messages.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are rightly encouraged to value accuracy in doctrine and truthfulness in teaching. It is therefore reasonable — and scriptural — to ask: If Christ truly returned in 1914, why has that teaching required so many corrections, reversals, and reinterpretations? Why did earlier proclamations, once declared to be Jehovah’s truth, later become “misunderstandings”? And why does Scripture itself never once say that Christ’s return would be invisible, prolonged, or dependent upon a human organization for verification?
The hope set before believers is not that Christ has already come and that we simply failed to recognize it. The hope is that He will come again, just as He promised — personally, visibly, and gloriously — to judge the world in righteousness and to gather His people to Himself.
Until that day, believers are not called to decipher secret chronologies or submit to ever-changing interpretations delivered by unseen messengers. They are called to faithfulness, watchfulness, and confidence in the plain promises of God’s Word.
Christ has not returned yet.
But He will.
And when He does, no organization will be needed to announce it.
Jehovah’s Word will have spoken for itself.
“Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?”
If you have read this study carefully and honestly, you may now find yourself facing a deeply unsettling question:
If the Watchtower Society is not Jehovah’s organization, where do I go from here?
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have asked that very question — sometimes aloud, sometimes only in their own hearts. It is not a small question. For years, perhaps decades, the organization has presented itself not merely as a teacher, but as the place where God is found, the channel through which truth flows, and the means by which one remains acceptable to Jehovah. To question the organization, therefore, can feel like questioning God Himself. You are not the first person to face such a moment.
In John 6, after Jesus spoke hard truths that many found difficult to accept, large numbers of His followers turned back and no longer walked with Him. Jesus then asked the Twelve a simple but piercing question:
“Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67)
Peter answered — not with certainty about the future, not with a new plan, and not with an organization to replace the one he might lose — but with a confession of faith:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68–69)
Notice what Peter did not say. He did not say, “Where shall we go?” He said, “To whom shall we go?”
That distinction changes everything.
Salvation Was Never Found in an Organization
One of the most difficult things for a Jehovah’s Witness to unlearn is the idea that safety, truth, and salvation are found inside an institution. Scripture does not teach this.
The Bible does not say:
• Join the right organization and you will have life. • Remain loyal to the correct channel and you will be saved.
Instead, it says something far more personal — and far more demanding:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus did not point people to a system.
He pointed them to Himself.
The apostles preached Christ, not an arrangement. The early Christians belonged to Christ before they belonged to anything else. And salvation was never mediated by any religious system, but by faith in a living Savior.
What Does It Mean to “Come to Jesus”?
To come to Jesus is not to switch denominations. It is not to join a new group. It is not to adopt a different vocabulary.
To come to Jesus is to do what Scripture consistently calls people to do:
• To acknowledge your need — that you cannot make yourself right with God by effort, knowledge, or loyalty. • To trust in what Christ has already done — His death for sins, His resurrection, and His sufficiency as Savior. • To place your confidence in Him personally, not in a governing body, a teaching authority, or your own works.
The apostle Paul put it plainly:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
And again:
“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
Salvation is not something you earn by staying “inside.” It is something you receive by trusting Christ Himself.
You Are Not Being Asked to Leap Into the Unknown
Leaving the Watchtower can feel like stepping into emptiness. In reality, it is a step out of mediation and into direct relationship.
Jesus does not say, “Come to an organization and I will represent you.” He says:
“Come to Me.” (Matthew 11:28)
He does not require you to know everything before you come. He does not demand that you have all questions resolved. He asks for trust — the same trust Peter expressed when he said, “You have the words of eternal life.”
Where Do You Go From Here?
You go to Christ.
You go to Him: • with your questions, • with your fears, • with your uncertainty, • and with your need for forgiveness and life.
You read the Scriptures — not through an organizational lens, but with the simple prayer, “Lord, teach me.”
You discover that the One who promised to return has already given what no organization ever could: peace with God, assurance of salvation, and eternal life.
A Word About Asking God for the Holy Spirit
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught—explicitly or implicitly—that spiritual understanding flows through an organization, and that prayer must remain carefully aligned with that channel. Yet Jesus Himself made a promise that bypasses all mediation:
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)
This promise was not made to an organization. It was made to individuals.
There comes a moment for many who begin questioning the Watchtower’s claims when doubt gives way to a deeper hunger: If the organization is not my mediator, who will guide me? Jesus’ answer is simple—and profoundly personal.
He promised not an impersonal force, but a Helper.
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever… the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16–17)
That promise still stands.
For some, the first truly decisive step away from organizational dependence is the simplest—and the most courageous: to pray directly to Jesus, taking Him at His word, and to ask for the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and lead into truth. Not as an “active force,” but as the personal presence of God Himself, given to those who seek Him.
Jesus did not say the Spirit would be given only after perfect understanding, nor only after every question was answered. He said the Spirit would be given to those who ask.
And when that prayer is offered sincerely, it does not leave a person stranded or confused. It begins a journey—sometimes difficult, often stretching, but never solitary—in which Christ Himself remains present through His Spirit, leading step by step into truth.
If you are reading this and find yourself uncertain of what comes next, you are not being asked to walk forward alone. You are invited to ask God for what He has already promised to give.
A Final Word
If this study has unsettled you, that may be because something false has been shaken loose. But God does not leave honest seekers in darkness.
Jesus is not waiting at the end of an organizational path. He is waiting where He has always been — calling people to Himself.
“Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)
That promise was not made by an organization. It was made by the Holy One of God.
Readers who have questions, comments, or who would like copies of source documentation not included in the appendix are invited to write to:
promiseofhiscoming@outlook.com
This report may be freely duplicated and shared in whole or in part, provided that the text is not altered and original citations are retained.
It is offered without charge in the hope that thoughtful readers will examine the Scriptures and the historical record carefully for themselves.
Documentation and Sources
The fully documented edition of this study, including the appendix reproducing original Watchtower source materials, is available in the downloadable PDF version.
Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.