Not a new thing to JW's, from the start they "wore a cross and crown as a badge of identification,"
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Vinci Code - Watchtower, Adventists & Freemasonry
If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and are interested in the development of modern religion you will be intrigued by this section. A number of the symbols and teachings discussed by Brown as having origins with the Knights Templar, Freemasons and Illuminati, and tracing back to the Egyptians, have been used by Mormons, Christian Science and Russell's Watch Tower Bible Students.
The terms Watch Tower, Golden Age, Jehovah, New World Order, all-seeing-eye, winged sun disk, two columns, pyramids and Russell's strong Zionist stance are part of Freemasonry. A great deal of discussion has centred on whether Russell, the founder of the Watch Tower Society, had connections with Freemasons, due to the many Masonic symbols introduced under his leadership. The evidence is not conclusive that Russell adopted these beliefs from Freemasons and it is probable that he took these beliefs and symbols from Second Adventists.
The purpose for what follows is to show that many of the beliefs and symbols Russell included in the Watchtower publications are what the religion now claim to be of pagan and even occult background. Russell's Adventist and Masonic related beliefs help explain the source of some of his teachings and the development of his religion. It raises the question that if this is truly the only religion directed by Jehovah, why God allowed, or even directed, for symbols of this kind to identify his people, even well after the claimed cleansing of his spiritual temple in 1919.
Watch Tower
The term Watchtower and Watch Tower Society, which identify the organisation behind Jehovah's Witnesses and their magazine, are a namesake from the Adventist Movement.
"The expression ‘Watch Tower’ is not unique to Russell’s writings or to Jehovah’s Witnesses. George Storrs published a book in the 1850’s called The Watch Tower: Or, Man in Death; and the Hope for a Future Life. The name was also incorporated in the title of various religious periodicals." Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom p.48
Knights Templar
"For years, Bible Students wore a cross and crown as a badge of identification, and this symbol was on the front cover of the "Watch Tower" from 1891 to 1931. But in 1928 it was emphasized that not a decorative symbol but one's activity as a witness showed he was a Christian. In 1936 it was pointed out that the evidence indicates that Christ died on a stake, not a two-beamed cross." Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom p.200
