“When persons are in great danger from a source that they do not suspect or are being misled by those they consider their friends, is it an unkindness to warn them? They may prefer not to believe the warning. They may even resent it.
But does that free one from
the moral responsibility to give that warning?”
—The Watchtower
Biography —
Robert King is a prolific author, biblical researcher, and former leader within the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, best known for his controversial yet influential book Jehovah Himself Has Become King: A Primer for the Apocalypse. Baptized into the faith in 1977, King immersed himself deeply in its teachings and service, serving as an elder and regular pioneer across multiple congregations in Texas and California. His early years in the organization were marked by a commitment to evangelism and spiritual guidance, reflecting a profound dedication to what he viewed as Jehovah’s divine purpose on earth.
King’s intellectual curiosity extended beyond routine ministry, leading him to a decade-long intensive study of Hebrew prophecies, the Book of Revelation, Watchtower publications, and even alternative historical perspectives that challenge mainstream narratives.
In 2002, this culminated in the launch of a personal blog, where he began publishing essays that dissected biblical prophecies in light of contemporary events and organizational dynamics within Jehovah’s Witnesses. As reader interest grew and the essays proliferated, King was encouraged to compile them into a cohesive volume, resulting in the first edition of Jehovah Himself Has Become King in 2005. The book quickly established King as a provocative voice, offering a bold reinterpretation of God’s judgments in scripture. Drawing stark parallels between the ancient people of Jerusalem—who faced divine scrutiny for their unfaithfulness—and modern Jehovah’s Witnesses, King critiques internal challenges such as leadership accountability, child abuse scandals, and prophetic missteps by the Watchtower Society.
He posits that these issues signal a broader apocalyptic primer, where Jehovah’s direct kingship will soon eclipse human institutions, purifying the faithful and exposing falsehoods. Described by admirers as a “modern-day watchman,” King’s work combines scriptural exegesis with unflinching analysis, aiming to strengthen the faith of devout believers while offering solace and scriptural grounding for those who are disillusioned or disfellowshipped. The publication’s timing proved fateful: Its release in 2005 directly precipitated King’s own disfellowshipping from the organization he had long served, a consequence of disseminating what authorities deemed apostate material.
Far from silencing him, this exile fueled further revisions, with subsequent editions in 2010 and 2016 incorporating updated commentaries on global crises, enhanced indexes, and expanded explorations of end-times themes. The 2016 third edition, in particular, serves as a comprehensive reference, addressing ongoing controversies and reinforcing the book’s role as an essential guide for navigating spiritual turbulence. Today, King continues his mission through jehovah-is-king.com, where free online excerpts from earlier editions draw a global readership, supplemented by translations into French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Slovak, and Polish.
His writings have garnered praise for restoring faith among the spiritually wounded and igniting deeper scriptural inquiry, even as they remain a lightning rod for debate within and beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses circles. Through Jehovah Himself Has Become King, Robert King not only chronicles his personal odyssey but invites readers to envision a divine reckoning that redefines loyalty, judgment, and ultimate redemption.
—Generated by Grok
Jehovah has become King. Let the peoples tremble.
He sits enthroned above the cherubs. Let the earth shake. — Psalms 99:1
Preface to the Final Edition
Looking back it seems that the seed of this book was planted in my mind about 45 years ago. I distinctly recall the first time I opened the Bible with the intent of trying to understand the sacred secrets it contained. It was a perfect, sunny summer’s day and I sat in my backyard in the grass leaning back against my favorite maple tree. Wanting to cut to the chase I began reading the last book in the Bible — Revelation.
Nothing really grabbed me until I got to the 12th chapter. Then it was like being struck by a bolt of lightning! Satan the Devil is deceiving the whole world and he is going to be thrown out of heaven and come down to earth in a rage. Suddenly the world made sense to me. There is a great evil influence that people are under.
It explained everything.
I began preaching immediately. Unfortunately for her, a young woman was passing by on the street. I accosted her with my King James Bible in hand and tried to explain to her that the Devil was behind the whole facade that we call civilization. I don’t recall her uttering a word, but I do remember the look of panic and fear as she made her escape as fast as she could.
Still, I was left with the perplexing question: Had Satan already been hurled down or was that something that was going to happen in the future?
Shortly after my shade tree epiphany I came into possession of a crate of Watchtower publications, which I hungrily devoured. As a result of reading virtually every book the Watchtower Society had published from 1950 to 1970 over the course of that summer, I became convinced that the demons were cast out of Heaven in 1914 as a result of Christ being given the Kingdom. It all seemed to fit together. The First World War began precisely as the seven times chronology indicated.
I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1977 and began a more rational ministry.
But in 1996, I started reading the Bible anew.
It is not that I had stopped studying the Scriptures. As an elder and frequent pioneer I dutifully kept up with all the study material and weekly Bible readings.
However, in October, 1996, for no particular reason I opened the Bible to the middle of Ezekiel and started reading, and I couldn’t stop. I read for hours and hours every day. Being unemployed at the time, sometimes I read all day long. I read all of the prophets over and over and over again. As my reading marathon extended over months, it gradually became apparent to me that my inexplicable obsession with the prophets was a result of my having been anointed.
About that same time I began to plunk around on my wife’s laptop. Having been somewhat of a Luddite before, it was quite an adjustment to embrace the computer.
At any rate, over the course of 2001-02 the Watchtower Society’s secret affiliation with the United Nations came to light, along with major media exposure of their shameful war against victims of child sexual abuse.
At that point it all clicked into place in my mind: There is to be a future judgment of the house of God, coincident with the authentic future coming of Christ and the future expulsion of the Devil from heaven. I was compelled to take up an online presence, albeit anonymously at first. As the number of articles began to grow it was suggested to me to write a book. Thus, the first edition of Jehovah Himself Has Become King was published in 2005.
Prior to its publication, though, I had undertaken a massive mailing campaign to every kingdom hall in the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand and Australia, informing the elders of the Society’s political partnership with the UN and the ramifications of Bethel’s treachery. I also handed a copy to my own elders and informed them that I had publicly accused the Watchtower of apostasy.
My anonymity ended then.
As a result, a committee of elders eventually began proceedings to disfellowship me from the organization. After some months I made it known to the appeal committee that I had just sent the manuscript to a publisher, which evidently left them no alternative but to expel me as an apostate.
The last thing I said to the elders as I was leaving that kingdom hall was that there was going to be another world war. They were probably already convinced at that point that I was crazy, but I said that because it is now my conviction that the Devil was not hurled down from heaven in 1914, that his eviction is immediately ahead and will be evidenced by peace being taken from the earth— contrary to all the things Jehovah’s Witnesses suppose have already taken place.
How could I not try to get that message across to Jehovah’s Witnesses?
That was 11 years ago. Now another world war does not seem so far-fetched.
Yet how could a person viewed as a dangerous apostate possibly have any genuine insights or anything of spiritual value? Keep in mind Jesus was also viewed similarly. He was accused of being in league with Beelzebub, of being a drunkard and glutton and associating with despised tax collectors and sinners. In response Jesus stated: “All the same, wisdom is proved righteous by its works.”
In other words, what were the results? What influence did Jesus have? The facts speak for themselves.
Applying the same principle, over the course of more than a decade tens of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses and interested persons have had some exposure to either the online version or the hard copy of this book. How has the information been received? What effect has it had upon readers? Has it wrecked their faith or strengthened them?
Some of their own expressions are at the end of this work.
