BIBLE STUDENTS
Soldiers of the Cross
A History of the Bible Student Movement
Foreword
In the Beginning...
Russell: The Early Years
Stumbling onto Adventism
Unlearning Error
The Herald of the Morning
Disappointment, Disagreement and Separation
Zion's Watch Tower: A New Beginning
Expansion
Relocating to Brooklyn, New York
The Photo-Drama of Creation
A Servant is Taken
Siftings, Schisms and Separation
Daughters of the Tower
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
Epiphany Bible Students Association
Laodicean Home Missionary Movement
Pastoral Bible Institute, Inc.
Watchers of the Morning
Dawn Bible Students Association
Christian Millennial Fellowship, Inc.
Stand Fast Bible Students Association
Elijah Voice Society
Servants of Yah
Bible Fellowship Union
New Jerusalem Fellowship
Old Paths Publications
Forest Gate Church
Bible Students Publishing Company
Goshen Fellowship
Institute of Pyramidology
Angel of Jehovah Bible and Tract Society
Berean Bible Institute
New Covenant Fellowship
Christian Truth Institute
New Covenant Believers
Associated Bible Students
France
Germany
Greece
India
Poland
Conclusion
Foreword
It has been said that even a lie has a little truth to it, and that seems to be the case with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and its adherents the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Go to any bookstore or library and look up "Jehovah's Witnesses" and you will find nine times out of ten the statement; "Jehovah's Witnesses, a sect founded by Charles Taze Russell". But nothing could be further from the truth.
Indeed, the late Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) was the founder and organizer of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and served as the editor of Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence from its inception in July 1879. But to claim him as their founder is a gross misinterpretation. And yet to deny that their is a link between the two is also a gross misinterpretation. The Jehovah's Witnesses are a product of one man, and Charles Taze Russell it was not. Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a lawyer and pilgrim in the service of the Watch Tower Society, gained control of the Society shortly after the death of Russell in October 1916. It was Rutherford who reorganized the Society to its current organizational structure, to the dismay of many. The reorganization went contrary to Russell's last will and testament and caused a schism in the group. Thousands upon thousands left the Society feeling they had been betrayed. The goal was set to continue the work of Pastor Russell, independent of the Society he founded.
By 1930 three quarters of the original Bible Students associated with the Society defected to function independently. Those who gave up their Christian freedom stayed and in 1931, Rutherford, in deciding to differentiate between the two groups renamed his; and thus the Jehovah's Witnesses were born. By then, the mold had been set and the dye cast. The Jehovah's Witnesses would flourish under the leadership of Rutherford, and succeeding leaders. Jehovah's Theocratic Organization was now in existence.
The Independent Bible Students, although a fraction in comparison to the Jehovah's Witnesses, were rejoicing in their Christian freedom, and were functioning as they had since the days of Russell. Studying, holding Conventions and building each other up in faith and love. In the 30s, 40s and 50s as the Society tightened its grip, many former Bible Students along with Jehovah's Witnesses were returning to their roots and seeking out their former brethren, who were welcomed with open arms.
Much has been written in regards to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Very little has been written about the Bible Student Movement, who have divorced themselves from the Society and have function independently since 1917. Perhaps because many view them as Jehovah's Witnesses. After all, both groups claim Russell as their founder.
Yet Bible Students are looked upon by their "cousins" the Jehovah's Witnesses as "evil" and "apostates". The Society has even gone as far as stating that the Bible Students no longer exist. Why the charade? Why has the Society chosen to deceive their followers in regards the truth? Why are they forbidden to read Russell's writings?
The following will hopefully answer these questions and many more. Although not claiming to be an exhaustive account of the life and work of Charles Taze Russell. It will fill in the gaps of history that the Society in their own version, Jehovah's Witnesses: Proclaimers of God's Kingdom left out.
And so this work goes out in hopes of shedding some light on a dark subject.
Note: This work will from time to time be updated as new data is collected.
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Rolando Rodriguez
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In the beginning ...
The Bible Student Movement had its humble beginnings in the 1860s, however what led up to that humble beginning, began much earlier. Early Christianity began to be eclipsed after the year 100 by a creeping spiritual darkness of Babylonish religious teachings, Grecian and Roman pagan philosophies and rank apostasy. The adversary ever so active to crush Christianity, had produced apostates, false shepherds, "wolves in sheep's clothing," eventually to bring about extinction to the once spiritually flourishing Christian congregation. In spite of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, the shadow of darkness continued over the minds of misled Christians until the time came for the almighty to send forth his Liberator, Jesus Christ, to deliver the true Christians from their Babylonish bondage.
The period from 1870 to 1900 proved to be destiny-shaping years for this twentieth century. Forces political, religious and commercial began to maneuver for position to control the incoming new scientific era. Men and organizations were filled with fear of the unknown as to the fast-moving days of the future, which some even visioned correctly as being cataclysmic. At the Vatican Council of 1869-70 the Roman Catholic church began to strengthen its organization for the immediate future by declaring its autocratic head, the pope, infallible. The leading Protestant religious organizations became spiritually unprogressive in their ways. Their clergy sought to consolidate their power over the laity. This clerical assumption of greater authority over their flocks meant a backward step from freedom of Christian thought and worship on the part of the masses of professed Christians. Infidelity, higher criticism, evolution, spiritism, atheism and communism began to invade and decimate the great world religious organizations Many of the evangelical churches began to "modernize" their false religious doctrines, not according to restored Bible truths, but according to theories of higher criticism and evolution. The paganized modernist form of theology inundated the churches.
Politically great forces were stirring. The United States of America was just recovering from its Civil War (1861-1865) to regain its strength rapidly for phenomenal expansion into a great world power. Germany had won the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, to be further built up into a powerful European colossus. Britain was passing through golden years of her Victorian era, sparring for future bids of world control. Industrially, the United States, Britain, France and large portions of Europe were undergoing a revolution in consequence of the invention of the steam engine. The industrial revolution was augmented, as the years progressed, by the discovery of electricity, invention of the telephone, the motorcar and the dozens of other "miracles" of this age. Commercialism likewise rose to new heights as a consequence of the industrialization of leading nations and the creation of new "gold mine" business enterprises. Labor unionism also came to the fore to become an antagonist of advancing capitalism. All this meant a wave of materialism, moneymaking and pleasure-seeking. The invisible demonic powers of this old world produced glittering snares of new enticements to blind the peoples to the incoming higher and finer values of restored Christian truth.
Amid these rumblings of industrial, commercial, social and religious changes early voices of small religious groups were heard in their efforts to read the signs of the times and predict the imminent second coming of Jesus. Various Adventist groups were busy in the United States and Europe, proclaiming a visible return of Christ for 1873 or 1874, even though the American founder of their movement, William Miller, had acknowledged his error and disappointment as to the former set dates of 1843 and 1844. Earlier, the German Lutheran theologian Bengel (1687-1751) had fixed upon 1836 as the marked date for the beginning of the millennium of Revelation 20:6. In Scotland and England others, commonly known as "Irvingites," raised their voices to announce 1835, 1838, 1864 and finally 1866 for Christ's return. Christian writers such as Elliott and Cumming looked for the end in 1866, Brewer and Decker predicted 1867 and Seiss favored 1870. In Russia, Claas Epp, a leader of the Mennonite Brethren (Bruedergemeinde), and his associate fixed upon the date of 1889 for a great cosmic happening. But all these widely proclaimed predictions came to complete disappointment. Christ's return was destined to be, not a physical manifestation as they had assumed, but rather, as the Scriptures now clearly indicate, an invisible presence of glory and power to provoke the greatest crisis ever experienced by man on earth.
Still other voices were heard, but these began to proclaim an impending invisible return of the Messiah. One of these groups was led by George Storrs of Brooklyn, New York. He and his associates after 1870 published a magazine entitled The Bible Examiner, setting forth their views that Christ's return would be an invisible one. Another group headed by H. B. Rice of Oakland, California, published a magazine called The Last Trump, heralding an invisible return as occurring in the 1870's. A third group comes to our attention, this time of disappointed Second Adventists who forsook that movement because of the failure of the Lord to return in 1873 as the Adventists had further predicted. This group was led by N. H. Barbour. They radiated their activities from Rochester, New York, performing a preaching service by sending out speakers to whatever churches would open their doors to them. They also published a monthly, The Herald of the Morning. One of this group came into possession of B. Wilson's The Emphatic Diaglott translation of the "New Testament," noticing in it that, at Matthew 24:27, 37, 39, the word the King James Version rendered coming is translated presence. This was the clue that led this group to advocate an invisible presence of Christ, claiming it began in the fall of 1874.
Yet a fourth voice of proclaimers of an invisible presence of Christ comes to view, a group of sincere students of the Bible at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, with its Elder, C. T. Russell.
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Russell: The Early Years
Like our Lord Jesus, whom he emulated, very little is known about the childhood of Charles Taze Russell. We know from secular sources that Russell had at least five other siblings. The second of two sons, Charles was born of Scottish-Irish descent to Joseph and Elisa Birney in Old Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on February 16, 1852. It seemed Charles was destined for greatness from the time of his birth.
Charles Taze Russell was born with a most exceptionally fine religious endowment. It was stated that before he was born his mother consecrated him to the Lord, and afterwards gave him the most careful religious training within her ability. [ZWT 08/01/05; R:3608] Although his mother died when he was but a young child of nine, she no doubt instilled in him the fear of the Lord. As he spent a lot of his free time pouring over the Scriptures with concordance in hand. He often stated that he could not remember a time from childhood's first memories onward when he was not consecrated [ZWT 11/01/04; ZWT 06/01/14; R:3456; R: 5477].
Inculcated in the doctrines and creeds of Calvinism, His Godly zeal led him as a youth to "Go out at night to chalk up words of warning in conspicuous places, where working men passing to-and-fro might see them, that peradventure I might save some from this awful doom..." [Pastor Russell's Sermons p. 517] He later joined the Congregational Church because it was more liberal.
Joseph Russell operated a clothing store; "Russell's Haberdashery." Young Russell dedicated his time to his father's business, he learned the business well, so well, that his father would send him on business trips. At fifteen years of age Charles was in partnership with his father in a growing chain of men's clothing stores throughout the Allegheny-Pittsburgh area. But while things went well for young Russell in business, he was troubled in mind. When he was but a lad of 16 years old, his zeal led him to convert an infidel acquaintance. The question was posed to young Russell if he believed God to be perfect in wisdom, justice, love and power. To this Charles answered "yes," his acquaintance asked him how such a God could have absolutely predestined the vast majority of the race to eternal torment. The boy answered that he could not understand it. Up to this time young Russell had not given this doctrine much thought.
Troubled by the question young Russell raised it in the circles of his church. Unable to get any satisfying answer, he expressed his doubts on the matter. The report spread in the church that he was on the way to becoming an infidel. The pastors and elders of the church appointed a special meeting to solve his questions. But instead, they only increased his doubts. They told him that the Bible taught the absolute predestination of the bulk of the race to eternal torment, quoting such passages as they thought so taught. They convinced him that the God of the Bible did in fact teach such a doctrine. Russell stood up and motioning to his pastor and elders stated; "I believe God is perfect in wisdom, power, justice and love, and I will not believe anything contrary to His character to be a revelation from Him. Therefore I do not believe He gave the Bible as His revelation; for if He had given it as such, it would agree with His wisdom, power, justice and love." With those word he left their presence never to return. [The Parousia Messenger, p. 433].
Yet these doctrines of predestination and eternal punishment still gave him particular difficulty, as time passed, he just couldn't fathom how a god of love could predestinate persons to a fiery hell of torment. We now find Russell as a child of 16 a unbeliever, not totally, though ostensibly, in the Bibl
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