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Pro Zionist text, seeking Jewish immigration and assistance to "Erez Israel" while simultaneously promoting Christianity. International Bible Students Association is a corporation used by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1914 by Pastor Russell in London, England, and was the first legal corporation representing Pastor Russell's ministry in Europe (Two previous such organizations, the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, and the People's Pulpit Association, had already existed in the USA). Followers of the Watchtower movement worldwide had been known as International Bible Students until 1931, after which they became known as J. Witnesses. Most publications were authored by the then president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Judge Joseph Franklin Rutherford.
Rutherford was born to a Baptist farm family in Morgan County, Missouri on November 8, 1869. Harboring an interest in law for many years, his father initially opposed his interests in law studies, but eventually relented and allowed him to go to college. After completing his education, he worked as a court reporter and was admitted to the bar at Boonville, Missouri. Later he became a special, or substitute judge in the same Fourteenth Judicial District of Missouri. Because of this background in law he was often referred to as "Judge Rutherford", a name he carried with him for the rest of his life. |
