Charles Taze Russell was born into a time and place in history when America was rife with failed ideas, movements and philosophies about mankind's destiny. America had been founded by mostly Puritan perfectionists and other zealots chased out of Europe for troublemaking and fanatical hard-headedness about God's purposes for them.
The first effort of Puritan colonists was to bring about God's kingdom through hard work, self-improvement and human institutions which would raise mankind up little by little to perfection in Jesus Christ.
This was seen to have failed by the middle 1800's and a new approach was needed.
A rural, self-taught farmer from a Baptist heritage named William Miller filled the need. Using just his wits, sincerety and a bible and concordance, Miller searched the scriptures and his neighbor's libraries for the answer.
Miller's research led him to the unshakeable conclusion that Jesus Christ would return sometime in 1843. Miller polished his arguments and began a preaching circuit to churches around America's most fervent centers of Christian enthusiasm. By the time 1843 had come and gone (without incident!) over 100,000 true believers had separated themselves from mainstream Christianity and divided themselves into contrarian groups awaiting the End.
Miller eventually apologized and died still waiting Christ's return. His following split into various opinions about what had happened and why.
New dates were set and disproved time after time radicalizing the most die-hard believers into hardcore Adventists bent on proving their ideas correct.
Two of these Adventist die-hards would eventually preach and publish a revised speculation that reached the eyes and ears of young Charles Taze Russell.
Russell came along 30+ years after a wave of End Times speculations had swept America. He had the cash backed enthusiasm necessary to join forces with these failed Adventist hard heads to "adjust" the message yet again.
Russell's speculations, additional refinements and money launched a Bible Students movement which would eventually prove as stubborn as the failed 2nd Adventists which had inspired him.
Prophecy Chart demonstrating that Christ would return in 1843. William Miller's date.
Nelson Barbour: He published his own work in 1871, entitled Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873, or The Midnight Cry . It went through two editions that year. The date 1869 is sometimes attached to the first edtion in profiles of Barbour. Both editions are dated 1871.
Beginning in 1873/4 he started the publication The Midnight Cry but soon after changed its name to Herald of the Morning. Barbour would later associate with C.T.Russell.
Adventist paper published in 1849 by Ellen White. Jonas Wendell's views influence Russell.
Russell embraces Wendell's Adventist ideas that Christ would return 1868 or 1873.
Russell concentrated on all the available writings of his day and cherry-picked among the ideas. This included Pyramidology.
(Wikipedia:) In late winter/early spring of 1876, Barbour received correspondence from C.T.Russell, who was on an extended business trip in Philadelphia. Russell had seen a copy of the Herald and was interested in the approach he was taking, and their scriptural viewpoints since they were similar to those discovered by a Bible study group Russell was pastor of in Pittsburgh. Russell paid Barbour's way to Philadelphia and the two compared notes, and shared their views with each other: Russell enlightening Barbour on the nature of Chirst's return, the Ransom, and the errors of the creeds; Barbour enlightening Russell regarding the biblical and prophetic chronology showing that the "harvest" had begun, and that the return of Christ, and the Rapture, were due to occur in 1878. During their meeting Barbour informed Russell that his readership was dwindling due to the fact that his subscribers were mostly disappointed Adventists who remembered the "Great Disappointment", but were now losing their faith due to the fact certain expectations for the year 1873/4 had not materialized. Russell encouraged Barbour to do all that he could to build his subscription list, and gave him several thousand dollars to begin the workings of a ministry which would result in the printing of the book Three Worlds; or Plan of Redemption in 1877, outlining their mutual viewpoints as of that time, along with The Object and Manner of our Lord's Return written by Russell in 1874 illustrating that Christ returns to bless the earth, not burn it up. Christ is also to return invisibly, as a spirit, since he was resurrected as a spirit, and the Bible informs us that only his true followers would discern his return. The Herald magazine for the entire year of 1877 was divided up as the text of Three Worlds.
Barbour and his followers now started to reexamine the evidence. One of Barbour’s readers, B. W. Keith , came up with a solution. Having obtained a new translation of the New Testament, Benjamin Wilson’s The Emphatic Diaglott, Keith noticed a marginal alternative translation of Parousia, the Greek word normally translated ‘coming,’ namely ‘presence.’[11] None of these men were skilled in Biblical Greek, but the idea took hold that what had started in 1874 was indeed Christ’s invisible presence. [12] (Jonsson 1983) This year, Barbour said, started a millennial morning, and the periodical The Midnight Cry became The Herald of the Morning. Barbour failed to convince many of his original readers, but he did manage to convert one young man. This man was Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). (http://home.broadpark.no/~jhauglan/rutherford.htm#_Toc493437572)(Wikipedia:) When, again, the expectations hoped for did not come to pass, Barbour and numerous other Adventist readers were heart-broken. Although Barbour felt intensely embarrassed and took responsibility for building what he called a "false hope" for his brethren, Russell believed this was an opportunity to figure out what happened. The chronology was correct, therefore there could not be any error in calculation. This meant, to him, that something went wrong with their expectations, and this lead him to carefully reconsider what the scriptures actually say about the 'first resurrection'. Russell concluded that an invisible process had newly begun: as each of the faithful die, they do not sleep in death as those of old, but are immediately changed "in the blinking of an eye" at the moment of their earthly death. Barbour could not accept this reasoning, and attempted to divert his readers' attention away from what he considered an error in the chronology. This circumstance lead to doctrinal debates in the pages of the Herald between Barbour, J.H. Paton, and Russell. Russell or Paton would write an article on some doctrinal point, and Barbour would add editorial comments, or discount it by an entire article. This went on for a while, until Russell withdrew his association with Barbour, both physically and financially. In July 1879, Russell began his own publication, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. The first issue contained a long, detailed supplement explaining why he had split from Barbour and why he was starting his own paper.
After their split, Barbour began to write articles which disputed some of Russell's views and claims appearing in the Watch Tower. In 1880 he began to write his opinion about what the symbols of the Jewish Tabernacle meant. Russell was convinced Barbour was in error, and soon wrote Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices outlining, in great detail, what he and his study group believed was the true understanding of those symbols. At this point there is no more association between Barbour and Russell.
Barbour continued the "Herald of the Morning," though with breaks, until at least 1903, occasionally issuing statements critical of C. T. Russell. He wrote favorably though cautiously that he was persuaded 1896 was the date for Christ's visible return. This wasn't original with him, but grew out of the Advent Christian Church. He abandoned belief in an invisible return earlier, about 1884, and wrote a small pamphlet labeling the view as "spiritism." There are no known surviving copies.
C.T.Russell picked the bones of William Miller and Miller's supporters. He didn't have an original clue; only variations.
Russell, just like Miller, was proved wrong again and again. Just like Miller's followers he and his own group sought to plug the holes in the failures.
Was Russell "inspired"? Was Russell the "mouthpiece of God?" Was Russell being directed by Jehovah to reveal accurate knowledge? Or was this just another hoax believed by hard-headed and zealous misfits?
History tells the tale.
In 1975 another failure shovelled yet more dirt on the grave of William Miller and buried the hopes of Jehovah's Witnesses.
2nd Adventists had already morphed into contrarian side issues such as the Sabbath celebration on Saturday instead of Sunday. Seventh Day Adventists are a vigorous and successful religious denomination who still pick Miller's bones for fragments of "truth". Russell's Bible Student movement split into International Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses. JW's promote side issues too such as blood-transfusion, flag salute and other contrarian doctrines.
All of this is grave-robbing and none of it is original or inspired by the spirit of God leading fanatical man-made denominations hell-bent on proving their own peculiar fantasies true.
Russell was like a jazz musician playing variations on a theme composed by others. If Miller was wrong; Russell was wrong. If Adventism was contrarian and schismatic; Russell's doctrines were too.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is living proof that bad ideas won't die where stubborness and radical zeal replace humility and a mild spirit.
