022 Why Not Russell ism'? alias 'MILLENNIAL DAWNISM' 1/6 FRANK BALLARD, Nrt U.D., M.A., B.Sc. (Lond.), &c. 159 Why Not 'Russellism'? Alias 'Millennial Dawnism' CONTENTS PACK I. INTRODUCTORY NOTE . . 161 II. FACTS 167 III. HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF ' PASTOR RUSSELL ' 173 IV. GOOD POINTS IN ' RUSSELLISM ' . 178 V. ITS CLAIMS AND ITS REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN CHURCHES . . 186 VI. THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES OF ' RUSSELLISM ' 194 VII. ITS ERRORS AND DANGERS . . 207 VIII. CONCLUDING SUMMARY . , . 263 /VJ INTRODUCTORY NOTE IT will be news to most people, whether believers or unbelievers, that the year 1872 was exactly the six thousandth year since Adam and Eve were suddenly created and placed in the Garden of Eden ; that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ definitely happened in 1874 ; that in 1878 ' the dead in Christ ' rose ' first/ ; that all the prophets, apostles, saints, mentioned in the Bible, with all the faithful saints ' down to our own day/ were raised up, and are now ' possessed of the glorious spiritual bodies promised them ' ; that in the same year all the divine ' disfavour ' of the Jews ended ; and there began a period of ' favour ' which culminated in 1914. That, further, in 1878 ' the spring of that year marks the date when nominal church systems ' i.e. the ordinary Christian churches of to-day ' were spewed out/ so that ' from that time they are not the mouthpiece of God, nor in any degree recognized by Him.' That, further, in October, 1881, the ' special favour to Gentiles to become joint heirs with Christ and partakers of the divine nature ' closed ; that ' Baby- lon/ i.e. ordinary Christianity, fell ; the days of vengeance ' arrived a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation.' Furthermore, that between 1910 and 1912 the ' great time of trouble began/ culminating with the end of the ' Times of the Gentiles ' in October, 1914. Yet 162 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? more ; that in 1914 the Jews ' were received into full divine favour,' whilst ' Earth's great Jubilee,' which began in 1878, ended with the ' overthrow of Gentile power ' ; the ' kingdoms of this world ' came to a ' final end, and the Kingdom of God was fully established ' ; ' earth's present rulership ' was ' completely overthrown ' ; ' the Gentile king- doms ' were ' ground to powder, and utterly removed, no place being found for them,' whilst ' Christ's Kingdom was fully established.' In a word, 1914 ushered in the Millennium, and all the kingdoms of the world became the kingdoms of the returned invisible Christ. That year was ' the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men ' ; so that the kingdom of God obtained ' full universal control, and was set up on the ruins of present institutions.' Also, before the end of that year, ' the last members of the divinely recognized Church of Christ, the Royal Priesthood, were glorified with the Head ; whilst all the dead out of Christ began to be recreated, with a view to a second probation on earth. Meanwhile, the Jews were restored to their own land, and Jerusalem became the capital of the world, so that Abraham and the patriarchs, being recreated from the dead as visible glorified men indeed, ' princes in the earth ' began their work as ' intermediaries between the world and the invisible Church, the New Creation.' l x The repetition of inverted commas, or paragraphs spaced off, may prove tedious to the reader ; but as limitation of space forbid the giving exactly every reference to pages from the six books, and yet, in face of such confident avowals, it is necessary to be exact, either of these signs in the following pages will mean that every such phrase or sentence is taken verbatim from the authoritative issues mentioned in the next section. WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 163 But if most of us have not been aware of these amazing happenings, how can we know that they have transpired ? Or how can we be called upon to believe such marvels? Because we must bear in mind that all these things have been hidden by the Lord, in such a manner that they could not be understood or appreciated, until the due time had come ; and then only by His earnest faithful children who esteem truth as more precious than rubies, and who are willing to seek it as men search for silver. So that since 1878, when all the churches were ' spewed out,' the only saints who have thus sought for the truth and found it, have been the followers of the author of these announcements, an American known as ' Pastor Russell/ whose discoveries are summed up under the general name of ' Millen- nial Dawn.' But how does he know all this ? Because ' the Lord more than two thousand years ago gave, through the Prophet Daniel, a clear description of the times in which we are now living.' Since, however, the testimony of Daniel and the rest of the Bible was not sufficient, a further revela- tion has been vouchsafed to Pastor Russell and his friends, in the construction of ' the Great Pyra- mid of Gizeh/ not far from Cairo. Concerning this we learn that The fact that the Pyramid's secrets were kept until the close of six thousand years of the world's history, but that now it begins to give its testimony as the Millennial Dawn draws on, is in perfect harmony with the written Word, whose abundant testimony relative to the glorious plan of God has likewise been kept secret from the foundation of the world, and only now is beginning to shine forth in its completeness and glory. 164 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? But what if this alleged double testimony fails to impress, let alone convince, us? Only this, that we are among the ' many who profess to be watching, but are reading the prophecies through the coloured glasses of old and long-cherished errors, and with their eyes miserably crossed by prejudice.' But what if, undeterred by such an alarming diagnosis, we proceed to show how this whole scheme is a delusion, for all its overwhelming detail of confident quotations from the Bible and exact measurements in the Pyramid? Then, indeed, it will be on our part a display only of ' bubbles of self-complacency, pride, sarcasm, and folly, set afloat by those who think themselves to be somebody, and discredit the inspired revelation and those who stick closely to the Book.' Alas, that is not all. Others also will undoubtedly exclaim ' What, controversy again and between professing Christians? Why can we not let each other alone ? If certain folk bearing the Christian name do claim to be special Bible students, and hold peculiar views, what does it matter so long as they live decent lives and give proofs of their sincerity ? Why can you not let things go, and have an end of controversy, so as to give the world the comfort of a real Gospel ? ' One knows well that such questions will be asked, and that it will in many cases be useless to answer them. None the less, so long as Christianity is worth a moment's regard, it will be best to be in the Apostolic succession and heed the word addressed to the Philippians ' Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true these keep well in mind.' So it must suffice here to reply that the Christian name is a mere matter WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 165 of convention in our English and American midst ; that sincerity is no guarantee for truth ; that a claim is nothing unless it will bear investigation ; that so far from its being unchristian or unworthy to undertake such investigation, the New Testament abounds in instances of both exhortations and actions to that effect. Paul, we know, went so far as to say to the Galatian Christians: There are some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any other Gospel than we preached unto you, let him be anathema. And even John, the Apostle of love, wrote : Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, for many false prophets are gone out into the world. . . . Whosoever falls away and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, has not God. If any one comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, nor welcome him. 1 Such exhortations are entirely in harmony with the whole attitude of the New Testament. The notion which is not seldom met with, that ' controversy ' is always unspiritual and harmful, finds there no support whatever. At least half of the Gospels and Epistles is controversial; that is to say, it is concerned with maintaining truth against untruth. To do that, therefore, is quite as real and necessary a part of Christian faith and duty as the preaching of comforting sermons, or ' proclaiming the Gospel ' upon the basis of wholesale unchallenged assump- tions. 1 ijohn iv. i ;, 2 John 9, 10. 166 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? But even apart from general Christian prin- ciples, when a company of avowed Christian believers make it a part of their special creed, in our modern midst, to declare that all Christendom is in error ; and that half a century ago God ceased to recognize any of the ordinary Christian churches ' in any degree ' ; and when it is found that the advocates of this conceit and falsity are going through the country and by various plausible devices are drawing after them no small number of followers, besides trou- bling very many more, then, if Aposto ic teaching and example count for anything at all, it becomes the duty of some one, whether he be thanked or scorned for his pains, to endeavour to save Christian faith from becoming a disappointment to those who cherish it, and a derision to those who turn away from it. For such reasons the following brief but careful and sufficient examination of Russellism, otherwise known as ' Millennial Dawnism,' is thus issued. 167 II FACTS It may be said without fear of exaggeration, that never before in Christian history has the word written of old to Timothy been so conspicuously fulfilled as in our modern midst : The time will come when men will not endure healthy teaching, but with itching ears will heap up for themselves teachers after their own fads ; they will give up listening to the truth, and will be swept away after myths. 1 One has but to notice the number of announce- ments of religious services in the Saturday papers, alike in London and the provinces, to see how many and various are the tastes or convictions of religious people in these days. The list is, indeed, bewildering. To say nothing about foreign faiths which have their representatives in this country, Christianity is repre- sented by Romanists, Anglicans, Free Churches i.e. Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, United Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Quakers, Plymouth Breth- ren, Christadelphians, Brethren of Christ, Sweden- borgians, Spiritists, and others. From the East, we have the strange medley which calls itself ' esoteric Buddhism,' but is generally known as ' Theosophy.' Whilst from the West, Mormon missionaries have endeavoured to propagate, even in this country, some- thing far worse than the Shakerism which preceded it. The two latest vagaries consist of large numbers of devoted followers of an ambitious woman and a 168 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 1 pushing ' man. The former call themselves ' Chris- tian Scientists/ though their principles are demon- strably neither Christian nor scientific. The only true appellation for their creed is ' Eddyism/ seeing that it is neither more nor less, from beginning to end, than the religious imaginings of Mrs. Eddy. In like manner, ' Millennial Dawnism,' the latest American contribution to religion, ought certainly to be known as ' Russellism ' ; for it also is nothing else than the theological fancies of one ' Pastor Russell,' who claims to be the prophet of the age, and to supersede all other forms of Christian faith by his wonderful ' Plan of the ages,' based upon his interpretation of the Bible and the Great Pyramid. It was first made known in this country by means of profuse and costly advertising in leading news- papers, which is still continued. Every one knows that in such journals large space as an advertise- ment for long sermons must represent great expense. Many, indeed, were driven to wonder what man or what Church could afford, to such an extent and for so long, to make known in such a way the peculiar doctrines which characterized these productions. ' Pastor Russell ' was unknown in our midst ; nor was it easy to find out much about him and his work in America. Soon after, however, further information was forthcoming, in the shape of gra- tuitous lectures given in the largest halls in all the best known cities and towns, under the title of the ' Photo-Drama of Creation/ illustrated with lantern slides and some moving pictures, and accompanied by gramophone descriptions. These latter, however, amounted to little more than an ordinary Sunday- school lesson programme, except for the introduction, WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM '? 169 wherever feasible, of the peculiar tenets of Russell- ism. Large audiences naturally gathered to see pictures on religious themes without entrance fee or collection. What impression was made, it is difficult to estimate. But the chief agent in the propagandism of ' Millennial Dawnism ' has been, as one might expect, the press ' The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society/ of Brooklyn, New York, and Ever- sholt Street, London, has issued numberless periodi- cals and booklets, including, it is said, five millions of tracts each month more especially The Watch Tower and, Herald of Christ's Presence, a semi- monthly, and The People's Pulpit, published both in Brooklyn and London. These are issued, for the most part, without any date attached, as is also The Bible Student's Monthly. They represent what is called ' The International Bible Students' Asso- ciation,' which is connected with ' The People's Pulpit Association ' and ' The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.' The following note is appended : Brother Charles Taze Russell is President of all three of these organizations. Newspapers and the public often refer to him by the title Rev., Mr., and Dr., but he prefers to be known as ' Brother ' or ' Pastor,' because these are Bible terms. To him personally we will presently turn. Here it is most to the point that we should make special reference to the standard work of Russellism, from which all the references in the present scrutiny are taken. It consists of six good-sized volumes, comprising altogether more than three thousand pages, of well-printed matter, neatly bound in 170 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? brown cloth, and entitled variously: (i) The Divine Plan of the Ages', (2) The Time is at Hand; (3) Thy Kingdom Come ; (4) The Day of Vengeance ; (5) The At-one-ment between God and Man ; (6) The New Creation. They are all said to be ' Studies in the Scriptures a helping hand for Bible students.' The circulation of these volumes, whether by sale or gratuitously, has been very large, if the appended figures may be trusted. On the opening page, indeed, of the first volume appears the statement ' 3,920,000 Edition.' What is meant is not clear. One can but suppose it to be that this edition completes the issue of that number of copies. All these volumes are translated into some other languages ; of the first it is said translations are made into six other tongues. Along with these are published also many volumes of sermons preached either by Pastor Russell him- self at Brooklyn, or by some of his associates in the London Tabernacle. The notice accompanying the latter is as here given. PEOPLE'S PULPIT International Bible Students' Association. LONDON TABERNACLE, CRAVEN TERRACE, LANCASTER GATE, W. Monthly is. per year. Sample Free. Divine Worship every Sunday. London Tabernacle. ii a.m., 3 p.m., and 6.30 p.m. Seats Free. No Collection. You are invited. and the following invitation accompanies the printed issue : WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 171 In the midst of all the confusing voices of this evil day, the Lord's sheep will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and, following him, will not be left in the outer darkness of doubt and unbelief, but will be guided into all the truth now due to the household of faith. . . . Write to us at once if you feel a hunger and thirst for the bread of life and the living water ; for Luke xii. 37 is now being fulfilled. We send sample tracts and papers free to applicants. In all the six volumes referred to more than three thousand pages for js. 6d. the same Preface occurs. It is to the effect that ' a great tidal wave of unbelief is sweeping over Christendom ' through modern views of the Bible. In one issue the Higher Criticism is represented as the devil sitting on a chair, with a long tail, instructing a student from one of the colleges. Whence ' Our society, real- izing the need, is seeking to do all in its power to stem the tide and lift up the Lord's standard for the people.' Like Mormonism and Eddyism, there- fore, Russellism declares itself to be not an enemy to Christianity, but a friend. It is, as usual, the discovery of the only real and final Christianity. It would be strange if this latest religious pro- paganda had not met with some effective opposition in the land of its birth. It has, indeed, been there vigorously dealt with. But, unfortunately, average American theology, with some few worthy excep- tions, is definitely behind what the most careful and reverent modern thought accepts as true. So that the booklets which have been issued, like those of Messrs. Cook, Haldeman, Ross, Stephen, and others, though forceful and in some respects impres- sive, do not meet the situation. In fact, for the most part, they leave wholly untouched the main 172 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? fallacy of Russellism which lies at at the root of all else. The greatest question of all for modern Chris- tianity is the treatment of the Bible. It is here that the noxious growth of Millennial Dawnism makes its maybe well-meant but deadly blunder. From 'this all else flows, and the chief difficulty in dealing with its mischievous doctrines and misleading attitude is that vast numbers of those who, both in this country and across the Atlantic, are asso- ciated with Evangelical Churches, are more or less disposed to make the same mistake, and to anathe- matize rather than thank any man who endeavours to show them the truth. That difficulty, however, must not deter us from our task, but must be met as frankly as sympathetically. 173 III AS TO THE FOUNDER The question ' Who is this Pastor Russell ? ' cannot but arise, and must be answered with equal truth and charity. The American replies to his pub- lications, above mentioned, certainly do not lack force. Dr. Haldeman declares that this new doctrine from beginning to end is one of the most terrific religious perils that ever came forth in the name of Christ, or sought to authorize itself with a ' Thus saith the Lord.' It is the peril of an audacious counterfeit and a concealed poison. It is the counterfeit of perverted truth and downright falsehood. It is poison of a subtilly distilled blasphemy. But in these days strong invectives do not count for much. Something very definite must be known, both about the man who founded this vast movement and about what he actually teaches, to warrant such a philippic as the above. First of all, then, about ' Pastor Russell ' himself. The Rev. J. J. Ross, of Hamilton, Ontario, was so moved with indignation at the spread of Russell- ism that he published in 1912 a leaflet against the whole procedure. For this, Pastor Russell brought an action against him in the Canadian Court of Law, 1 but the case was thrown out of court on the 1 Full details of this action, together with the leaflet in question, in a small booklet entitled Some Facts and More Facts about the Self- styled Pastor Charles T. Russell, may be obtained from C. C. Cook, 150 Nassau Street, New York ; also all the other booklets here mentioned and other publications bearing on this subject. 174 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? evidence furnished by Russell himself. In his published statement Mr. Ross has set forth the whole case, and completely justified his action. From him, therefore, we may safely take the following : Though the name of Russell is quite familiar, very little is known about the man himself. Nothing is known of his parentage, nor of his early boyhood. We first hear of him selling shirts in Alleghany, Pa., having inherited this business from his father. He lectured on religious subjects from time to time, in various halls and churches, becoming known as ' the crank preacher.' He got a considerable following of the common people, and sold out the five men's furnishing stores which he owned, thenceforth devoting all his time to teaching and preaching his peculiar religious doctrines, and giving out that he himself was some great one. We learn, further, that he received no college training, has no acquaintance with the original languages of Scripture, l and has no special know- ledge of history or philosophy. He was never ordained to any church, in any way beyond his own adoption of the title ' Pastor/ In regard to his domestic life, seeing that we have here no desire to dwell upon that, and yet are bound to tell the truth, it shall suffice to quote again from the pamphlet by Mr. Ross, seeing that it has been legally endorsed. Russell's domestic life was such as to make life intolerable to his wife, and to justify her in leaving him, and afterwards suing for a limited divorce, which one Court granted and a 1 In the examination, before the Court in March, 1913, he showed badly, inasmuch as he first affirmed that he knew Greek, but when a Greek New Testament was handed to him had to confess that he did not even know the alphabet. After which he owned that he knew nothing of Latin or philosophy WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 175 higher one on appeal confirmed, at the same time most severely censuring Pastor Russell for his conduct, which the Court described as insulting, domineering, and overbearing to a sensitive Christian woman. The divorce was given, and the alimony granted to Mrs. Russell. Russell had considerable property in his own name. He tried to practise fraud upon his wife by trans- ferring his property to corporations and societies over which he himself had absolute control. This attempt at evasion was frustrated ; also another such. In all the evidence it came out that First, his conceit, egotism, and domination were such as co make life intolerable for his wife. Second, that his conduct in relation to other women, if not immoral, was definitely improper. Third, that on one occasion he was silent to his wife for four weeks. Fourth, that he sought by most despicable means to isolate his wife from society, and designed to get her pronounced insane in order to put her away. Into his business relations we need not here penetrate far. Mr. W. T. Ellis, editor of The Continent, who investigated Pastor Russell's in- dictment of Foreign Missionary work, says : I sought a prophet, and I found a business man. In- stead of a humble seeker after truth, I found the cleverest propagandist of the age a man before whom John Alex- ander Dowie, Mary Baker Eddy, Madame Blavatsky, Abbas Eifendi, Elijah Sanford, and Joseph Smith, pale into puerile ineffectiveness. That there must be some truth in this estimate, is manifest from the growth of Russellism, and from the way in which throughout the country it is able to provide gratuitous lectures and literature. As regards the proceeds from ' The Watch Tower RUSSl LLISM a 176 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? Bible and Tract Society ' ' of which Pastor Russell is the head, and which society is the mother of all his other business corporations/ representing between four and five million dollars they were in 1912 no less than 202,000 dollars. When the Brooklyn Eagle made known the facts, as to his connexion with certain business companies, he brought an action against that journal. But under examination he was asked, ' Are any of these charges true ? ' ' They are not true,' was his most emphatic answer. ' Not true.' But when he was forced into the witness-box by the defence, and learned that we had the facts about these companies on hand, and the charters of them in our possession, he made a clean breast of the whole thing. Then, in the face of such direct lying, what can be said against the final summary of Mr. Ross in this regard ? This is the way it works. The international Bible stu- dents all over the world, and others who are foolish enough to do so, send their money into the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which is Russell. A part of that money is used to pay the expense of circulating Russell's literature, paying his advance agents and ' Pilgrims,' which always means the glorifying of Russell, and the rest goes through to U.S. Investment Co., Ltd., which is also Russell, and is invested in lands, lots, timber, limits, houses, &c. You can see it is all Russell. It is claimed that he is many times a millionaire, and yet he has not one cent that we could find in his own name. If Mrs. Russell were not living, or if the divorce were not a limited one, permitting alimony, would such be the case ? To ask the question is sufficient. In the little booklet mentioned above, from which this indictment is taken, will be found other WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 177 details of reasons for a sombre estimate of the moral character of this man who professes to know and interpret the Bible better than all other Christian teachers, and does not hesitate to denounce all the churches as leading the people astray by false doctrine, the truth being that which only he and his associates, as ' the elect ' of God, possess and dispense. Without pronouncing here any wholesale condemnation, one cannot but affirm that, despite the venerable appearance in leaflets and on posters, the personal character of this man does not bear out his assumption of superior sanctity, as one of God's ' elect,' specially chosen to judge the world during the Millennium. Nor does it predispose any careful thinker to believe that his peculiar teachings are as he claims so divinely inspired as to mean condemnation for all who reject them. IV GOOD POINTS IN 'RUSSELLISM' It is difficult indeed to believe that in these days of ever-growing intelligence, millions of men and women could be so hoodwinked by plausible error as to become followers of a man, and devotees of a system, wholly and only bad. In all the known heresies of the past there has ever been some germ of truth, some elements of good, some sound wheat amongst the chaff. The Millennial delusion is no exception to the rule. However much we may deprecate the behaviour of the founder of this vast movement, as noted in the previous section, there are no sufficient reasons for bringing a sweep- ing charge of insincerity or hypocrisy against him and his associates. Sincere fanaticism has ever done more harm to truth than downright fraud or falsity. So here we will avoid imputing motives, and content ourselves with facts. Certainly there are practical reasons for asking, with Mr. Cook : How does Pastor Russell win the crowd and get the money ? He is literally drawing the crowd and getting the money in vast sums, for his advertising schemes are world-wide, and entail expenditures that stagger the minds of those who know the cost of such efforts. But it is not sulficient simply to avow that ' Mil- lennial Dawnism is about the flimsiest religion that has ever been unloaded on a gullible humanity.' WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 179 Nor does it by any means explain all the success of Russellism to say that Give the average man a guarantee that there is no hell, and you will tickle him in the right place. Tell him that the heathen are not lost, and it meets his heartiest approval. He will wax eloquent in expatiating upon and defending such an easy-going, common-sense, satisfying religion, and will subscribe handsomely and voluntarily for its promul- gation. That may be American, in estimate as in style, but it does not meet the case, nor does it do justice to the accused. If what is known as ' orthodoxy ' is true, it can afford to be both fair and charitable. There are quite sufficient reasons for dismissing Russellism, without either vituperation or in- justice. It is impossible to study carefully these three thousand odd pages without., noting some features which must provoke respect, if not admira- tion. It is only right to mention these before making plain the other side. These six volumes undoubtedly represent a vast amount of labour on some one's part. Whether it be true or not that Pastor Russell's divorced wife wrote as she claims a large portion of it, it is simply impossible to question the great expenditure of time, and pains, and patience, which these closely printed thousands of pages represent. The style, moreover, throughout, is lucidity itself. If certain well-known Doctors of Divinity in British churches could be induced to take lessons herefrom, it would be greatly to the advantage of their readers and hearers. It might seem unkind to say besides, that these chapters are plausibility incarnate. But it i8o WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? would be true ; for so smoothly, easily, unhesitat- ingly, does the stream of exposition run on, that one cannot wonder at its making real impression on uneducated but sincere readers, wearied as they too often are with ordinary religious platitudes and obscurities. What, for instance, could be fairer than this ? As seekers after truth it will not do for us to say, in view of these passages, that the majority of them seem to favour whatever view we incline to prefer, and then to ignore the others. Until we have a view of the matter in which every Bible statement finds a reason- able representation, we should not feel sure that we have the truth on the subject. One statement of God is as true and as firm a foundation for faith as a hundred. And it would be wiser to seek for a harmonious understanding, than to arrive at a conclusion or adopt a theory based on a one-sided interpretation, and thus to deceive ourselves and others. The pity is that the method which here is so wisely condemned is that by which the whole structure of Millennial Dawnism is reared. Even in this appar- ently rational protest it makes itself manifest. ' One statement of God ' is really a quiet begging of the whole question as to the true interpretation of the Bible. But it must be owned that the writer or writers undoubtedly the latter of these volumes, have achieved a wonderful intimacy with the ' Author- ized Version ' of the English Bible, and in their more than five thousand quotations from it they display a marvellous ingenuity of application to their peculiar cause. Their whole method is, however, vitiated by one or two fundamental but WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 181 false assumptions, and it soon becomes plain that, starting from these assumptions, they have come to the Bible to find in it what they desired, not to accept what it actually conveys to an unbiased reader. The dexterity with which isolated passages are made to buttress their main scheme is, indeed, noteworthy. One cannot wonder that great num- bers of well-meaning but uninstructed readers have been deeply impressed, or even carried away. The most attractive note, probably, in the first appeal of this new Gospel to the world of half a century ago, was the strong denunciation of the ' orthodox ' eschatology which then obtained amongst Evangelical Churches. Most of the stress of their preaching was then laid upon the doctrines of ' everlasting punishment ' and ' eternal torment ' in some cases enforced and embittered by gruesome and repulsive details of physical sufferings, with added emphasis upon Calvinistic notions of election and predestination. The unsparing denial and de- nunciation of these doctrines undoubtedly procured Russellism an early hearing and brought him many lonverts. Then, on the positive side, the confident ease with which he marshalled his passages from Daniel and the Pentateuch, as well as from ' Revela- tion,' on behalf of his theories, could not but win the confidence of very many. In some respects, it may be acknowledged, he did service to Christian truth and influence. His protest, occasionally, against the crass and childish literalness with which the figurative language of so much of the Bible was interpreted, was truly needed and timely. We have here no space to give instances, but the pity is again that in regard to some of the 182 WHY NOT 'RUSSELLISM'? most important and emphatic statements of Scrip- ture, just where he should have been most of all true to his own protest, he utterly forsook it. In regard to the much-disputed matter of Christ's ' Second Coming,' one paragraph at least demands quotation here, because it deals as plainly as gently with the lamentable fallacy which still obsesses the minds of myriads of good Christian folk. The notion that there must be in the future and some insist in the immediate future some overwhelming celestial cataclysm, some staggering spectacular physical catastrophe, in which the concluding words of the second letter attributed to Peter will find absolutely literal fulfilment, yet weighs upon the minds of vast numbers of modern believers, quite as influentially as did the corresponding delusion on the minds of the earliest Christian converts including even the Apostles. Paul's first letters to the Thessalonians and the Corinthians bear indubitable witness to that fact. Some take Peter's statement literally, that ' the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and pass away with a great noise ' ; also the Revela tor's description of the same events by a very similar symbol, ' The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.' It would seem, however, that one glance upward, at the myriad gems of night shining through millions of miles of space, with nothing between to roll away or to take fire, should be argument enough in one moment to convince such that they had erred in supposing these statements to be literal should convince them that their expectation of a literal fulfilment is absurd in the extreme. If we consider the wisdom and prudence of our Lord's methods of manifesting His presence to His disciples after His resurrection, as well as previously, it may help us to remember that the same wisdom will be displayed in His methods of revealing Himself at His second advent, both to WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 183 the Church and to the world methods not necessarily similar, but in each case well suited to His object, which never is to alarm or excite men, but to convince their cool, calm judgements of the great truths to be impressed on them. Our Lord's first advent was not a startling, excit- ing, or alarming event. How quietly and unobtrusively He came ! So much so that only those who had faith and humility were enabled to recognize in the infant of humble birth, in the man of sorrows, in the friend of the humble and poor, and finally in the crucified one, the long- looked-for Messiah. This conception is well applied to the last scene as recorded in Acts i. n ' Shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go ' : What, then, was the manner of His going ? Was it with great splendour and with great demonstration ? Was it not as quietly and secretly as was possible consistent with His purpose of having thoroughly convinced witnesses of the fact ? None saw Him or knew the fact, except His faithful followers. This is much sounder exegesis whatever becomes of Millennial dates than that which obtains at not a few Evangelical ' conventions.' And the sober support which Dr. W. N. Clarke gives to it in his invaluable volume on Christian theology, merits both much more notice and more acceptance than it generally receives. No visible return of Christ to the earth is to be expected, but rather the long and steady advance of His spiritual kingdom. The expectation of a single dramatic event corre- sponds to the Jewish doctrine of the nature of the Kingdom, but not to the Christian. ' 1 An Outline of Christian Theology, p. 444. 1 84 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? Another strong point in the protest of Russellism which very many of us cannot but deem as alike good and timely, is its unflinching denunciation of priesthood or sacerdotalism, in all its forms, as foreign to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. That there are many sincere Christian believers who will not endorse this, we are quite aware. But the utmost exercise of Christian liberty and charity must not prevent our expression of conviction that in this respect Russellism is right, and the Romanism which herein virtually includes High Anglicanism is wrong, so long as we have any regard for the New Testament. Assuredly no one will call in question the assertion of these volumes that ' the responsibility of those who have undertaken the Gospel ministry in the name of Christ is very great.' In many other matters these writings are undoubt- edly on the right side. The vigorous and unsparing protests against the evils of drink, selfish extra- vagance and wasteful luxury, the miseries and devilries of war, the crying wrongs of our present social system, are all set forth in their true light as contrary to the Gospel of Christ no less than to the wellbeing of men. Even in regard to Socialism, the brief reference is much more sensible and true than one often finds in orthodox religious circles. Socialism differs from Nationalism in that it does not propose to reward all individuals alike. It differs from Communism in that it does not advocate a community of goods or property. It thus avoids the errors of both, and is a very practical theory, if it could be introduced gradu- ally and by wise, moderate, unselfish men. WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 185 On some such lines most surely, in coming days, Evangelical individualism will have to express itself, if Christianity is to count for anything nationally or internationally. These few hints must here suffice to show that the rapid spread of Russellism, on both sides of the Atlantic, is not merely due to clever propagandism beguiling the unwary, but also in some real measure to attractions other than those suggested by its American critics. In spite of the unattractive personality of its founder and the demonstrably wrong principles upon which it is based, there is gold mixed with the dross. Even as we proceed to show its mistakes, we cannot but acknowledge the apparent sincerity as well as intensity of conviction which permeates the whole, and may well serve to attract anxious inquirers who are dissatisfied with ordinary churches and their methods. The utmost anathema which would seem to be justified is that expressed by the Apostle Paul in his dealing with certain opponents of the true Gospel in his day ' I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.' The reasons for so dismissing ' Millennial Dawnism ' we now proceed to consider. i86 THE CLAIMS OF RUSSELLISM AND ITS REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN CHURCHES Like all other abnormal religious developments, Millennial Dawnism is due to the influence of one strong human personality, and seeks to justify its existence by strictures on the forms of Christianity already in existence. It is scarcely necessary to point out how these two features have characterized all the most noticeable modern religious cults, as in Shakerism, Mormonism, Eddyism, Theosophy. So far, indeed, as personal influence goes, all branches of the Christian Church, and Christianity itself as a whole, are results of its effectiveness. In the present case Millennial Dawnism is Russellism. It has been growing under Pastor Russell's guidance for some fifty years, and has all the tune been protesting vigorously against current forms of Christian belief. These protests have taken final shape in the volumes we are considering. The general mildness of the language and suavity of the style do not lessen the severity and comprehensiveness of the reflections sometimes even sneers at the ordinary churches of to-day and their work. The nominal Church of to-day, because of her mixed condition, the Lord calls Babylon confusion. The nominal " Church contains many hypocrites who have associated them- selves with her because of her honourable standing in the eyes of the world, and who, by their conduct, are making Babylon a stench in the nostrils of the world. . . i Babylon holds so many doctrines contrary to God's Word. WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 187 The great human systems called churches have never been more than nominally the Church. They all belong to a false system which counterfeits, misrepresents, and hides from the world the true Church, which is composed only of fully consecrated and faithful believers who trust in the merit of the one great sacrifice for sins. The ' fully consecrated and faithful believers ' are, of course, only those who have accepted the interpretations of Pastor Russell. In the constant and severe indictment of Romanism, Protestants also are largely included. While many faithful souls, igro'ant of the real state of the case, have reverently worshipped God within these Babylon systems, nevertheless this does not alter the fact that they are one and all ' harlot ' systems. Confusion reigns in them all, and the name ' Babylon ' aptly fits the entire family mother Rome, daughters, and accomplices, the nations styled Christendom. The most learned and prominent among them have written massive volumes of what they term Systematic Theology, all of which, like the Talmud of the Jews, is calculated to a large extent to make void the Word of God to fetter free thought and honest reverent investigation of the sacred Scriptures, with a view to simple faith in their teachings regardless of human traditions. The masses drift off in the popular current towards infidelity in its various forms Evolution, Higher Criticism, Theosophy , Christian Science , Spiritism, or other theories, denying the necessity and merit of the great Calvary sacrifice. Sincere truth-seekers will most quickly convince them- selves that Christian people in general have for centuries, in thought at least, been adding to the Word of God, much to their own confusion. A mill is a place where food is prepared ; the ministers and theological schools do the grinding of the spiritual food for Babylon, and turn out very poor grist not clean provender. The food supplied is largely husks and chaff, which will not sustain spiritual life and strength, and each i88 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? grinder is obliged to prepare what is given him by his own denomination. He cannot hold his position and yet provide clean provender for the household of faith. In reply to his own question ' What shall we say of those who blaspheme God's holy name by teaching doctrines of devils ? ' ' the hollow mockery of Christendom's false pretensions ' the writer of vol. iv kindly predicts, on the authority of Rev. xviii. 21, and Jer. li. 61, 64, that Christendom, with all her boasted civil and ecclesiastical power, with all her assumed dignity, wealth, titles, influence, will be cast into the sea (the restless sea of ungovernable peoples), to rise no more. Her destruction will be fully accomplished by the end of the appointed Times of the Gentiles, i.e. by 1915. There is no need of words to refute these wholesale slanders. But they do not dispose one to welcome the claims of superiority which follow naturally in their wake. In brief, they are as follows, and will be best considered under two heads (i) The estimate and treatment of the Bible, and (2) The doctrines resulting therefrom. As to the Bible, the main claim which we will estimate presently is that only Pastor Russell and his disciples either appreciate or understand the Bible. Consequently they alone are qualified to teach its meaning and lessons. In the Preface which is found in each of the six volumes this is quietly assumed, and these ' Studies in the Scrip- tures ' are said to be so complete and satisfactory that in regard to any modern difficulty all that is necessary is WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 189 sit down and read the short study on that subject, and the whole matter of your question will be fully and satisfactorily settled ; and if your doubt ^ever again arise, come over and read the same afresh. The whole attitude cannot be more fairly and truly expressed than in Pastor Russell's own words from The Watch Tower of September 15, 1910 : If the six volumes of the Scripture studies are practically the Bible topically arranged, we might not improperly name them ' The Bible in an arranged form ' ; that is to say, they are not merely comments on the Bible, but they are practi- cally the Bible itself, since there is no desire to build any doctrine or thought on any individual preference, or any individual wisdom, but to present the entire matter on the lines of the Word of God. Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see also that if any one lays these Scripture studies aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, if he has read them for ten years if he then lays them aside and ignores them, and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood the Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he has merely read these Scripture studies with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures. Upon this deliverance Dr. R. A. Torrey who will not be accused of pandering to modern views or new theology says : When any man makes such claim as this, it is unnecessary to read or listen to anything more that he has to say. By such a statement he proves himself to be beyond question a charlatan and religious impostor. This is simply th old Papal error in a new form. 190 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? But the completeness of his claim to a monopoly of truth in regard to understanding the Bible, is yet more manifest from his own explanation : Though the Bible contains no direct statement that the seventh thousand year will be the epoch of Christ's reign, the great Sabbath Day of restitution to the world, yet the venerable tradition is notwithoutareasonablefoundation. . . . The reader must not expect to have passages of Scripture pointed out in which these matters and dates are plainly written. On the contrary, he must bear in mind that all these things have been hidden by the Lord in such a manner that they could not be understood or appreciated until the due time had come, and then only by His faithful children who esteem truth as more precious than rubies. The faithful children, of course, are those who, as above intimated, let the Bible go unread in order to follow the leading of Pastor Russell's ' Studies.' This is a large claim, and we will consider it fairly and fully. For the moment, however, it is necessary to have before us the other claims which naturally arise out of the foregoing. If he alone possesses the true clue to the interpretation of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, it stands to reason that only he can teach the truth concerning all those matters which rest ultimately upon the Bible for their foundation. For awhile we will postpone the actual detailed statement of his distinctive tenets, and note only his general claim. It may, indeed, be expressed in a sentence. All other Christian teach- ings are wrong, and only those doctrines are right which are enunciated by the true Church the ' little flock/ as they are often called i.e. those who follow Pastor Russell and his ' Scripture Studies.' WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 191 One statement, which is typical, in his own words, will suffice. The Church of the Gospel age is frequently spoken of in the Scriptures as a New Creation its ultimate members, the overcomers, being specifically mentioned as ' New Creatures ' in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. v. 17). Unfortunately, however, it has become customary with fully consecrated Christians, as well as with others, to read the words of divine inspiration in a mazy-hazy manner which fails to give to its utterance their real import, and deprives the reader of much of the blessing and comfort and instruction which might be his if he but pursued a more reasonable course, and were more thoroughly filled with the spirit of discipleship with a desire to comprehend the divine revelation. When it is borne in mind that ' the Church of the Gospel age ' consists only of Russellites, the enormity of the claim which is thus as throughout all these volumes so plausibly stated, becomes too manifest to need comment. It can be very briefly expressed The temple of the Lord are we, And heathen all beside. Whether such a claim is justifiable remains to be seen. There is, however, another claim which cannot be overlooked, to which a large portion of vol. iii. is devoted. The last seventy pages of that section are occupied with an elaborate attempt to justify the assertion that the Great Pyramid of ' Gizeh,' in Egypt, near Cairo as already hinted constitutes ' a Bible in stone,' to such an extent and in such a manner that every detail of Russellism's exposition of Scripture is there anticipated and expounded. God showed signs and wonders in Egypt when He brought out Israel in triumph ; but He also set signs and wonders there which remain ' even unto this (our) day.' The Great Pyramid, we believe, is the principle (sic) one of these RUSSB1XISM 3 192 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? very signs and wonders ; and it now begins to speak to scientists in their own language, and, through them, to all men. Much reference is made to the labours of Professor Piazzi Smyth and Robert Menzies, whence this claim is said to be derived. Soon it became apparent that the object of its construc- tion was to provide in it a record of the divine plan of salva- tion, no less than the record of divine wisdom relating to astronomical, chronological, geometrical, and other import- ant truths. However, not having discerned the scope and completeness of the plan of salvation revealed in the Scrip- tures, these gentlemen have thus far failed to note the most wonderful and beautiful features of the Great Pyramid's testimony in this direction, which we now find to be a most full and complete corroboration of the ' plan of the ages,' and the times and seasons therewith associated, as taught in the Scriptures and presented in this and the preceding volumes of the Millennial Dawn Series. And further, we see that this storehouse of knowledge, like the major part of the Bible store, was kept purposely sealed until its testimony should be needed and appreciated. It is ' conjectured ' that Melchizedek built this Pyramid by means of Egyptian labour in the year 2170 B.C. And the Scripture description of it is said to be found in Isa. xix. 19, 20. From this it is but a short step to say that This ancient structure being thus repeatedly referred to in the Scripture, we cannot doubt that, if questioned, this witness of the Lord in the land of Egypt will bear such testimony as will fully correspond with His written word. That is, with Pastor Russell's interpretation of it. For it is remarkable that, like the plan of the ages in the written word, this stone witness kept silence until now, when its testimony shall shortly be delivered to Egypt the world. But the saints, the friends of God from whom He will hide WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 193 nothing, are privileged to hear the testimony of this witness now, before the worldly mind is ready to appreciate its testimonies. Only when ready to obey the Lord can any appreciate His witnesses. Here, again, it must not be forgotten the few specimens given above are only typical of a host of utterances to this effect that only those who follow Pastor Russell's ' Studies ' are the ' saints and friends of God who obey the Lord.' So that there is really neither room nor need to quote more concerning the scope and significance of the claims made by this latest candidate for the religious devotion of modern humanity. It is not necessary for us to enter into the elaborate series of quotations which are adduced as corresponding so exactly with measurements in the Great Pyramid. The same plain principles which exhibit the falsity of the ingenious attempts to get Millennial Dawnism out of the Bible, will suffice no less to explode the plausible but misleading delusions connected with the ' miracle in stone.' Both schemes alike are well calculated to impress a certain type of religiously disposed minds ; but under calm and rational scrutiny in the light of modern knowledge which cannot be gainsaid, they are seen to be such ' cun- ningly devised fables ' that Dr. Torrey's summary can hardly be pronounced too severe : Doubtless there will yet be some blinded dupes who will still hold to him, just as has been the case with every other religious impostor and false prophet and fraud throughout the centuries, even when they were totally discredited by the failure of their predictions. But all real lovers of the truth and all well-balanced men and women will wash their hands of Russell and his predictions arid his societies foj ever, VI THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES OF ' RUSSELLISM ' In the remarkable propagandism which has sent forth millions of publications from the Brooklyn centre of ' The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society,' throughout this country as well as America, there is not a little to be admired in the way of devotion and system. Seeing, moreover, that it is all done in the name of Christ and Christianity, it becomes the more necessary that a definite idea should be obtained as to what those specific doctrines are, upon which Millennial Dawnism bases its claim to be the only true church and its right to denounce all others. It is not easy to state in succinct form notions which are elaborately diffused throughout three thousand pages, but under seven heads we will here state, with brief and dispassionate carefulness, the substance of this new Gospel which aims at superseding all other Christian faith. When this is clearly before us, we will in the next section estimate it. (i) The one great main claim of Russellism, from which all else flows, is that it alone understands and truly interprets the Bible. To it the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments constitute ' God's Word ' in the most absolute and comprehensive sense. With the exception of a few references to a ' Diaglott ' translation, which is itself the property of Pastor Russell, and is of no critical value whatever, WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM ' ? 195 all the quotations are taken from the version of 1611 though in some cases, by no means in all, its mistakes are corrected, i.e. whenever it will help the theories of Millennial Dawnism. These ' Bible Studies ' embody the ' wonderful way ' in which, through Russellism, God by His Spirit has been bringing numbers of His people into a clearer understanding of Bible truths, cleansing the Word from the dust of centuries, bringing out things new as well as old for examination, clinching and dovetailing its various books so that it can be seen that not a single one can in anywise be done without, and causing the whole Scripture to shine forth in all its undimmed glory as the one great, glorious, all-sufficient, perfect Word of God to our fallen but Christ-redeemed world. Thus the whole Bible is, to use the old term, so ' verbally inspired ' that any portion may be taken to apply anywhere, for any purpose, with equal authority. No critical notice whatever is taken of the Revised Version it is, indeed, scarcely ever mentioned but on every possible occasion criticism is denounced, and the ' Higher Criticism ' especially is said to be the work of the devil. The opening chapters of Genesis are so literally true, historically and scientifically, that any thought of the modern suggestion of evolution is to be utterly scorned. We find that the Word of God most absolutely contradicts this entire theory, so that no harmony is possible between the Scripture teaching and the teaching of evolution science falsely so-called. Whoever believes in the evolution theory, to that extent disbelieves the Scripture theory. To whatever extent people hold the theory of evolution, to that extent they are off the only foundation for faith which God has 196 WHY NOT ' RUSSELLISM'? provided ; to that extent they are prepared for further errors which the Adversary will be sure to bring forward, presented so forcibly that they would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect. When the whole Bible is thus taken, without any qualification, as the ' Word of God,' its teaching must reveal a ' plan of the ages,' and this plan it is the purpose of these ' Studies ' to make clear. It does so ' from an altogether different standpoint from that of any other work ' the special subjects being ' the coming of our Lord and the prophecies and symbolism of the Old and New Testaments.' The Book of Daniel is to be taken as unrolling the future as surely and clearly as Genesis reveals the past. The voice from The Watch Tower is : Do you know that the Lord more than two thousand years ago gave, through the Prophet Daniel, a dear descrip- tion of the times in which we are now living ? Do you know that the Bible, in referring to this present time as ' the time of the end,' does not signify the destruction of the earth, but the end of the present dispensation, after which a new age will be introduced the Millennium ? ' The earth abideth for ever.' Do you know that, according to the Scriptures, ' the time of the end ' above mentioned began in A.D. 1799, and will continue until A.D. 1915 ? Do you know that God promised that in this ' time of the end ' in which we are living, the wise (toward God, not the worldly wise) should understand the hitherto secret things of His plan and Word ? And do you wish to be one