INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY THIRTY YEARS A WATCH

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It was in the year 1954 that William J. Sch nell wrest led with God
in prayer for an entire night. As morning light broke he arose with
peace in his soul, and a song in his heart.
For the first time in thirty years Schnel l was a free man. For three
decades he had been enslaved in one of the most total itarian sys-
tems of the twentieth century. That morning he stood up with the
firm determination that with the he lp of God he woul d revea l to
the world the inner workings of the Watch Tower Society.
INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY
The Basic Do.ctrines of ·the Jehovah's
, Witnesses in the Light of Scripture
This is a sequel to the author's book, Thirty Years a Watch Tower
Slave. This book constitutes a step by step refutation of the basic
doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses in the light of the Scriptures.
Paperback - $2.50
The Basic Doctrines of
THIRTY YEARS A WATCH TOWER SLAVE
the Jehovah's Witnesses
The Confessions of a
Converted Jehovah's Witness in the Light of
The simple, impelling and powerful s tory of a Christian caught in
the meshes of t his movement, his rise to positions of authority, the Scripture
hopelessness of his situation, and remarkable conversion after an
entire night of prayer.
Cloth - $3.50
Paperback - $2.50
CHRISTIANS AWAKE!
Restoring the Art of Witnessing,
Evangelizing, and Soul Winning
"'Christians, Awake!' is a last call! The cults, as well as atheism
and agnosticism are closing in. WiU the s leeping giant, Chris tia nity,
awaken in time? I believe he will. May this book help in this direction!"
So writes the author in the Preface of this book.
This is a guide and ha ndbook for those who wish to r ecapture the
art of witnessing which was practiced by the early Chris tians, with
emphasis on witnessing t o the J ehovah's Witnesses.
Paperback - $1 .50
BAKER BOOK HOUSE, Grand Rapids, Michigan
In Australia and New Zealand:
S. John Bacon Publishing Co., Melbourne
In Canada: G. R. Welch Co., Ltd., Toronto
In South Afiica: Word of Life Publishers, Johannesburg
INTO THE LIGHT
OF CHRISTIANITY
INTO THE LIGHT
OF CHRISTIANITY
The Basic Doctrines o[
the Jehovah 's Witnesses
in the Light ol' Scripture
by
W. J. Schnell
BAKER BOOK HOUSE
Grand Rapids, ~lichigan
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-15534
COPYRIGHT, © 1959, by
William J. Schnell
All Internalional Rights Reserved
ISBN: 0-8010-7917-9
Dedicated to Ethel, who , to-
First P rinting, October 1959 gether wjth me, hand in hand, in
Second Printing, November 1959
Third P r inting, October 1962 love for and faith in Jesus Christ,
Fourth Printing, November 1967
Fifth Printing, December 1970 our Saviour, walked out of error
Sixth P rinting, Mar ch 1972
and darkness into the light of
Christianity.
PHOTOLITHOPRlNTltD IJY CUSHING • MALLOY, lNC.
ANN ARBOR. MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1972
FOREWORD
From T hirty Years a Watchtower Slave to In to the Light of
Christianity is a far cry. ln the former book 1 could but only
wrile of my sad lot in the meshes of a cull. I could but re-
pon dolorously of a condilion of heart and mind, which made
for frustration and defeat. Out of all of that error and dark-
ness, however, there already shone one solid ray of light: I
had found in J esus Christ my Savior.
Into the L ight of Christianity is as different from T hirty
Years a W atchtower Slave as is day from night. The years the
canker worm has eaten out of my life, totaling well over thirty
years, have been restored in a short seven yearsl Come with me,
as I retrace the wondrous journey on which the Lord has taken
me. Do not just see, but observe; do not just hear, but listen;
do not just touch, but feel. For what I am writing about goes
beyond the sense-perception. It deals with the quickening of
the spirit. All around me, as well as within my heart, was only
death, error and darkness to report of my former life. But
behold, this is a report of life, of truth and light, of a new
birth, and a "siuing in heavenly places" within the precincts
of historic Christianity.
But you will find more here. As you follow the Lord's
leading graciously accorded me in the past seven years, observe
how H e took me by the hand and led me into situations
wherein J had to confess what H e had done for me. This con-
fess ion solidified the new li!e begun by the Lord. It did more.
It brought me into situations, where I had to prove and
account for the faith which was within me. This made me
dig into the word of God and into the writings and confessions
of other Christians. This made me begin rightfully to divide
the word of truth. In two short years the word of truth washed
away all the errors of former years.
T echniques came to view, as one false doctrine after another
fell before the excellency of the doctrines of historic Christi-
anity. In astonishment I realized that at best I could only travel
one mile with the seeming Scripture support of a Jehovah's
Witness doctrine, but that I could walk more than two miles
with full Scripture on the Christian doctrine. A great truth
dawned upon me. It is this: "If a man asks you to walk a mile
with him, walk two." IC the cultist comes to you with his so-
called proof, do not argue, but listen to his proof; and when
he has exhausted it, as he will shortly, then you take up where
he left off, and walk the second mile, 111tv the l . iµ. /11 of
Christianity.
On this journey in to the light, J confess gn1td11l ly. I have
used the wr itings and though ts oI m an y ChrisLi :i n writ «rs. l
have also used thoughts of Russcll ites, J eh ovah 's \ .Yitncsscs. ' l'hc
W atchtower Society, T he Bible Layman's Movement, Bat k to
the Bible W ay pap ers. All or these arc rar LOO numerous lo CO N TE NT S
l ist singly. l acknowledge the great debt l owe to a ll o ( ll1 c~c
sources.
Chapter I . I n to the Light of Christia nity . ..... · . . ·. · · · · 11
I com e LO the inevitable conclusion th aL a born-again Chris-
tian can only grow and mature if h e or sh e constantly con- Cha pter 2. My L ot H as Fa llen in Pleasan t Places . ... .. . · 25
fesses h is or h er salvation to o ther men. This is die · ew T esta-
m ent vVay oC preaching, which is in fact: witnessing for Christ Chapter 3. "Reb ellion Is as the Sin of Witchcraft" · . . · · · 37
(Aces I :8). T he one who does th is fa ithfull y will be forced con-
Chapter 1. "H earsay" R esults in Cul ts · . . . · · · · · · · · · · · · · 45
stantly to swdy God 's word, whid1 in turn w ill becom e the
living word of Gotl in him (1 Peter 1:23). l n that way alone,
Chapter 5. H ow Russellism Started .. .. ... .. ·. ·. · · · · · · · 53
will the "image .i nd likeness o [ God," our grea t Sa viour J esus
Christ, come to fu ll growt11 and developmen t within our N ew
Ch apter 6. The Historic Christ ian Doctrine: H ell I s a
Creation . Place of Eternal Punishmen t . .. .. . · . · . · · · · · 67
With g reat joy I realizetl that this is Christian ity( Blessed is
Chapter 7. "Hell Is tlie C rave," say tJ1c J chovah 's
her lot, thrice blessed because she bel ieves in her triune Goll.
W itnesses ... . ... .. . ..... . . ...... . .. . . .... . 87
If you are till Jost, iI you at e befuddled in er ro r a nd darkness
in a cult, if you are a "culture Christian" born into an associa- Chapter s. Which Is T rue : H ell Is a Place of Eternal
tion of your church, come, come with me Into the Light of Pun ishment, o r H ell Is the Grave? . ..... .... 99
Christian ity! and repen t the ways of flesh, by acknowledging
your sinfulness as one born in fl esh and blood in sin and death, Chapter 9. M an Is Crea tee.I in the Image and Likeness
and accept J esus Christ as your personal ';n ·iour. lf you do, of Goel ......... ..... ....... . .. . .......... 115
you have the assura nce that )OU are born again. T ha t is the
Chapter 10. "Man I s a Soul," Say the J ehovah's Witnesses . 129
only binh that matters, for then you will grow and mature
in "heavenly pl aces" (John 1:12, 13). Chap ter J 1. Immortal ity of the Sou l Brought to Light
143
by J esus Chr ist .... .. .... · . . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
794 T errace Rd. W . J. Schnell
Dunedin, Florido 33528 Chapler 12. J esus Chr isl l s the Son of God . · · · · · · · · · · · · · 155
United States of America
Chapter 13. Denial of the Deity of Ch rist ~r~nds the
J ehovah's Wi m esses as U n-Chrtstians .. . · · · · · 173
econd Ma n Is the L ord from H eaven ... 191
Chapter I 4 . T he S
Chapter 15. Christianity or Cults: Which? · · · · · · · · · · · · · .205
Chapter 1
INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY
From Frustration to Assurance
The "light of the world," our Lord Jesus Christ, entered
my heart, flooding it with grace as forgiven ess came. With this
grace came peace with God and men - a peace which goes
beyond human understanding. Open Father arms received me
back into His house, historic Christianity, that early morning
of the night of April 18, 1952. What rich meaning Peter's
words took on for me - "Grace unto you, and peace, be multi-
plied" ( I Peter 1: 2).
How <lid this come about? In desperation, torn asunder
by a troubled conscience, mindful of my sinfulness, and aware
of my complete fiasco as a full-time servant of the Watchtower
Society with its pensum of hours: works-religion and as a prac-
ticing .Jehovah's Witness, I finally came to my senses.
All night long I had sought release and relief from the
turmoil and frustration. What had made this quest so urgent?
Intensely active as a Jehovah's Witness from 1921 on, I
had never come to a halt, or to a rest. Then a heart attack
compelled me to halt, to rest. When my father became seri-
ously ill and cancer was subseqw~ntly discovered, there came
even a greater shock. An operation failing, father lingered on
a forty-day death bed before he passed away. 1 visited him on
numerous occasions during his ordeal. It was during these
visits that father confessed to me that he had no assurance
of salvation. He threw himself upon the mercy of the Lord
and found forgiveness and grace and peace.
During my last visit with him, about a week before he
died, he asked me to give h is testimony for him over his grave.
I can now gladly say, with his confession still .ringing in my
ears, that Father died a saved man. He had come free from
Watchtower slavery.
1 am ashamed to confess though, that I did not give his
testimony for him at that time. My brother-in-law, to whom
11
12 INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRlSTJANITY
INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN lTY 13
I did not relaLe my father's wonderful conversion, as I still was
menLs which would assure all of us a place of safety in Arma-
much too shocked as a faithful Watchtower slave to accredit
geddon. Salvation would come by works.
it, much less confess it, convinced me that it would be best
4. Our Lord Jesus Christ said if we come to Him we
to have a Bethelite come and give the funeral witness. J ac-
shall find peace and rest, no matter how heavy our burden.
qui esced. My father's confession would have to wait and would
not be known to men until the Lord would free me. For thirty years I bad worked hard, been successful, and
had led many into Watchtower service. 1 had come the Watch·
No one will ever appreciate what a Lremendous shock I
tower way unto the Lord - but I had found no peace and rest.
sustained as a result of father"s confession. It shook me to the
core. It added fuel to the already large areas of doubt deeply
5. Ephesians 4, and other Scriptures, including 2 T im. 1:13,
working on me and expanding from within .
show that a "form of sound words" has come down to us from
our Lord .Jesus, the apostles and prophets.
Seven Areas of Doubt
As a progressive light worshipper and a J ehovah 's Wit°:ess
As I look back I can discover seven areas of doubt gnaw- in good standing, I had observed the Watchtower magazm e
ing away at the Watchtower religion within me. What were change our doctrines between 1917 to 1928, no less than 148
they? times, and had witnessed this chimera take place many times
later, and thereafter .
1. I knew enough of the Bible to realize chat ic teaches
that our salvat ion was fought for and won by our Lord J esus
6. Having read of the events between the resurrecLion ai:d
Christ a lmost 2,000 years ago, and that Lhis was accomplished
ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, I also read Acts I :8, m
on the Cross at Calvary. Yet, as one of J ehovah's Witnesses
which the Lord tells us to become "my witnesses," or Christ's
I was constantly training people to look for salvation at some
witnesses.
future date in Armageddon, convincing them to work hard
Yet, here I was a "Jehovah's Witness"! Why? Because the
for it as a Kingdom Publisher.
Watchtower Society had given us that new name. Why did we
2. From man y Scriptures I was aware that we are all lost in get that new name? Because as partisans of Rutherford between
sin and death, and that we can be saved only by coming as 1925 to 1931, we had expelled and disfellowshipped some 40,000
sinners to our Lord J esus, believing on Him, thus being born- Bible students from our midst. As partisans of Rutherford we
again to a new life in the spirit. needed a new name. We received it at the Columbus, Ohio,
As one of J ehovah 's Witnesses I was looking for my sal- convention in 193 1. Yet, Jesus said when the Holy Spirit would
vation to be effected in Armageddon and that only, if I were come, then we would become His Witnesses.
"wilhin the anti-typical city of refuge," which we believed to
7. Assurance of salvation is p rized amidst J ehovah's Wit-
be the New World Society of Jehovah's Witnesses. Only by
nesses. You work hard for it. But as you perform one task,
being in that Society could I be saved.
other tasks loom ahead and you are n ever sure. For thir ty years
3. Havinq- read Ps. 49:7, that no man, not even a perfect I sought assurance in this manner. I h ad not found it !
one, can redeem his brother, and in the 15th verse, that "God
When I dropped my futile efforts to win such assurance
will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall
as a Kingdom Publisher of J ehovah's Witnesses, and threw
receive me," I realized that I fell far short and was a sinner.
myself upon Lhe mercy of the Lord, the Lord gave me grace
Every effort on my part to become better before the Lord by
and assurance in one night.
works, crea ted a horrible nightmare of self-atonement.
These areas of doubt had been enlarging and now with
Yet, as one of J ehovah's Witnesses I taught others that the
the added shock of my father's confession, I slowed down
counting and reporting of hours of service to the Watchtower
groggily; aimlessly I tried to "reason o~ t," as my J ehovah's
Society, the placing of their books, booklets and magazines
Witness training prompted me to do. Fmally, hopelessly lost,
with the people, meant their fulfilling of theocratic require-
I came to my senses. I went to the Lord in prayer.
14 INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY 15
Remembering the Days of My Youth I kept praying, "Forgive, Forgive, Forgive," my' thoughts
I remembered "the days of my youth," in which, during jelled. I realized, suddenly, that I had smitten those who bore
four blissful years, I had belonged to my Father's house - when the name of Jesus by declaring them to be Satan's servants.
I had been born again, a Christian, and had revelled in a I remembered I had helped gather evidence against Lutheran
personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I remem- pastors, pastors of the very church of my ancestors and against
bered those wonderful days, when every desire had become a which I had rebelled, long ago in the blasphemy trial at
prayer, every imagination had become a possibility of reality, Magdeburg, Germany. I had attacked and had helped vilify
as Christ dwelled within. the churches of Christianity. As I prayed, this array of misdeeds,
I had found Christ in those years - I recalled. I remembered once hidden behind the "mark in m y forehead," were now
that when I had found Him, I had found grace and peace. Peace brought to consciousness by the Holy Spirit. He pierced my
had constantly been multiplied to me. God used the combina- conscience that night. This caused me to sink in abject fear
tion of my sore plight, and my remembrance of how it used to and dejection into the deepest pit I had ever known. It was
be with me in my Father's house, to bring me to my knees very close to Hell!
that April 18th night in 1952.
Hell was nigh to me that night. Not only was I a back-
How meaningful became to me what once I had read in Eccl.
slider; but in this night of prayer the Holy Spirit revealed to
12:1, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
my heart and mind and soul the depravity into which I had
What a blessing this was to become for me!
sunk. I was eating for spiritual existence, the husks of the
Watchtower field and feeding others therewith. It is then that
Coming Home Like a Prodigal
I realized the nature of my plight.
Like a Prodigal was I . At first, supplication came hard.
Struck now with conviction as the worst of sinners, shock
There was pride left. Had I not been associated successfully
gave way to deep repentance. I laid all that I had been carry-
with the Watchtower organization? Had I not done much work:
ing around behind "the mark in my forehead," before the
four years in Bethel, twenty-one years in the full-time service;
Cross. I laid it before the Lord with but one clear plea, a cry
placed close to a quarter million books in my time; helped
for forgiveness! As in the case of the Prodigal, it was essentially
many into the organization? Had I not done this unto the Lord?
a cry for the kind of food I once had had in my Father's house
As long as I felt like that, prayer came hard. But as I
- the pure word without Watchtower helps, or husks. I re-
continued, I was smitten by the Holy Spirit. I was smitten to
membered that the right food, "eating our Lord Jesus, the
the core. It dawned upon me, as the thought flitted for the
bread from heaven," brought a new birth. The words of Peter
first time across my brain, that I had not worked for the Lord.
came to m y mind: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
I had worked for rebels, heretics and apostates. I had worked
but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and
for the "image" of Charles T. Russell, which is the Watch-
abideth forever" (1 Peter 1:23). The Holy Spirit then prompted
tower Society. I bore ·the "mark" of achievement on "my hand"
me to pray for the right things, for release from the hypnotic
and in "my forehead."
trance of the Watchtower-Society-designed indoctrination. Its
As my hands were stayed in prayer, my forehead became
satanic implications became crystal clear to me.
pierced by the Holy Spirit. I realized that I had sinned griev-
ously against the Lord Jesus Christ, for salvation cannot come
Struggle for Freedom
by achievement. Then, it struck me with awful force that what
Repentance and submission now entered my heart and
I had done was even worse! I had helped water down God's
prayer was the weapon on this battleground.
Word, the 'Bible. This I had done to the minds of many! Faces
... places .. . circumstances, flooded back into my conscience. Event after event, I recited to the Lord i'n confession. Morn-
Horrible, horrible, torment and torture! ing dawned. Forgiveness had not come. Never had I persisted
My thoughts, racing with frightful speed backwards into in pleading like that in all my life! I realized, this was it, or
my life, unreeled a nightmare of sin, remorse, fear. Then, as never. Desperation overcame me. In that deep desperation I
16 lNTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY 17
cried out, "Father, if it is thy will, I will write, publish and As a former Prodigal I have now a "feast in my Father 's
print what I have here confessed." house," which I humbly confess, surpa ses in blessings the lot
No sooner had that confession been put into words, then of many "elder brothers." The thirty years of my life which
l fell some restraint vanish within my soul - a whole wall of the canker worm devoured have seemingly been restored by
self-will. and pride tumbled. Why? I had just promised the God and have become fruitful. I thought I had been useful
Lord to put my whole life - my time of ill-practices - into print in so-called service privileges in high places in the Wa tchtower
by confessing it publicly. Later I realized a person can make organization, during which time I had been a servant. I now
all the private confessions he wants to; they will be of no avail returned to my Father. I returned as a Son, and actually
unless they ar e publicly repeated (Rom. 10:8-10). feasted on "so great a salvation" that had come to me. I shared
I had committed great sins of error .... Merely leaving the it with my former brethren, Jehovah's Witnesses; and, wonder
Watchtower movement silently behind and entering into a new of wonders, many, many actually came free from the Watch-
life which now beckoned, would never truly free me from tower field of service in "a far coun try."
vVatchtower error and thinking. Looking about me at this stage, With joy, therefore, I can say with the Psalmist, "The Lord
I recognize tens of thousands of former J ehovah's Witnesses is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; thou main-
who have left the Watchtower movement, or who have been taincsL my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places:
disfellowshipped from it in purges, but who still are enslaved yea, i have a goodly heritage" (Ps. 16:5,6).
to it in a t least eleven sects they have formed around it.
Have You Ever Been in a Vacuum~
The words 0£ the apostle John, found in I j ohn 1:8- 10,
Things, however, were not very easy at first. 1 found my-
come to my mind: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
self in a complete vacuum.
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he
I was not as yet totally free from the Watchtower movement.
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
The Jehovah 's Witnesses sensed it and kept working on that
from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we
weakness on the local level. Pressures, ignited and intensified
make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Let's face it, all
by fear of Armageddon, were brought on me in many insidious
you who formerly were J ehovah's Witnesses and who still per-
ways. This warped my thinking. Slowly bitterness took hold
sist now in your doctrinal heresies, come all the way to the
of my heart. This was a deep-rooted bitterness pertaining to
cross, and confess the sins of heresy and rebellion, which were
everything about Jehovah's Witnesses, even including their
our basic wrongs to start with.
persons.
Public Confession Brings True Freedom O n the other hand, I realized an even greater dilemma. I
Peace became multiplied to me in a strange and wonderful could not make any sense of many Bible doctrines. In fact, I
way. J could never have thought it up in a mil1ion years! It confess to have been at that stage in a quasi-hypnotic condition,
was the eventual appearance of my book Thirty ,Years a Watch- if there is such a thing. I now know I had reached the point
tower Slav~, in Oct. 1956, which started a chain o( events, that many former J ehovah's Witnesses r eached on their way out of
brought me total deliverance from the Watchtower Society, Watchtower slavery. Upon coming free from Watchtower direc-
and slavery. tion from Brooklyn, N. Y. USA, such usually gravitated into
one of the eleven sects which in time had formed on the other
This book actually became the public confession which
periphery of the Watchtower movement. Such really are still
not only led me to total freedom in Christ, but eventually
in the Watchtower orbit, or course of action, even though now
became instrumental in helping more than two thousand
they are only satellites.
J ehovah's Witnesses come free into the light of Christianity.
These resul ts in turn reveal clearly that I have not only found In my case that became even more aggravated. I had be-
forgiveness, but that blessings have been added to me. My come fairly well known in Watchtower circles through my book
experience and con fession has attracted many others to the business. A number of persons, themselves already on the fence
Lord, and in that way peace has been multiplied unto me. in Watchtower thinking, were approaching me with the request