"Millennial Dawnists. Russell advertised for 1000 preachers in 1881, and encouraged all who were members of ""the body of Christ"" to preach to their neighbors, to gather the ""little flock"" of saints while the vast majority of mankind would be given the opportunity to gain salvation during Christ's 1000-year reign. Russell's supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible and his writings. Russell rejected the concept of a formal organization as ""wholly unnecessary"" for his followers and declared that his group had no record of its members' names, no creeds, and no sectarian name. He wrote in February 1884:"
"Bible Student movement The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell. Members of the movement have variously referred to themselves as ""Bible Students"", ""International Bible Students"", ""Associated Bible Students"", or ""Independent Bible Students"". The origins of the movement are associated with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881. A number of schisms developed within the congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society between 1909 and 1932. The most significant split began in"
"Free Bible Students The Free Bible Students is a branch of the Bible Student movement. The Free Bible Students form independent, autonomous assemblies and the name, ""Free"", is given to them to distinguish them from Bible Students, with whom they share historical roots. The group discarded many of the teachings of Bible Student founder Charles Taze Russell. In 1905 Paul S. L. Johnson, one of Russell's pilgrims and a former Lutheran minister, pointed out to Russell that his doctrines on the New Covenant had undergone a complete reversal: until 1880 he had taught that the New Covenant would be inaugurated"
"a form of ""soul sleep"". Advent Christians such as George Storrs and Jonas Wendell influenced the Bible Student movement. In the 1870s, a Bible study group led by Charles Taze Russell formed into what was eventually called the Bible Student movement. Russell's congregations did not consider him to be the founder of a new religion, but that he helped in restoring true Christianity from the apostasy that Jesus and the Apostle Paul foretold. They believed that other Churches departed in a Great Apostasy from the original faith on major points, and that the original faith could be restored through a"
"major changes since it was formulated in 1881 by Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement. Russell initially applied it to the ""church""—the ""little flock"" of 144,000 who would go to heaven—but five years later explained that it was an individual who would act as a sole channel or agent for Christ, dispensing ""food"", or new truths, for God's ""household"". Bible Students consequently regarded Russell as the ""faithful and wise servant"" of the parable. In 1927 the Watch Tower Society announced that the ""servant"" was not in fact an individual, but was made up of the entire body"
"work was popular with contemporary evangelical Christians. In 1891 pyramidology reached a global audience when it was integrated into the works of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement. Russell however denounced the British-Israelite variant of pyramidology in an article called ""The Anglo-Israelitish Question"" . Adopting Joseph Seiss's designation that the Great Pyramid of Giza was ""the Bible in stone"" Russell taught that it played a special part in God's plan during the ""last days"" basing his interpretation on Isaiah 19:19-20 which says - ""In that day shall there be an altar (pile of stones) to the Lord"
"young men on campus and in urban YMCAs, as well as such denominational youth groups such as the Epworth League for Methodists and the Walther League for Lutherans. Mary Baker Eddy introduced Christian Science, which gained a national following. The Society for Ethical Culture was established in New York in 1876 by Felix Adler and attracted a Reform Jewish clientele. Charles Taze Russell founded the Bible Students movement. In July 1879, Russell began publishing a monthly religious journal, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. He and his group of fellow students first identifying themselves as The People's Pulpit"
"Russell and his associates formed a Bible study group in the 1870s in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, developing teachings that they considered to be a revival of ""the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles"". Watch Tower publications claim both the Great Apostasy and Russell's subsequent ""restoration"" of original Christianity were a fulfilment of Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds at Matthew 13:24-30,36-43. Although many of their eschatological teachings have changed over the years, Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently claimed to be the only true religion. Based on their interpretation of Revelation 18:2-24, Jehovah's Witnesses believe all other religions are"
"Dawn Bible Students Association The Dawn Bible Students Association is a Christian organization and movement, and a legal entity used by a branch of the Bible Student Movement. It was founded with the intention of becoming a publishing house to begin printing and distributing the first six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures series that were written directly by Charles Taze Russell which the Watchtower Society had officially ceased publishing in 1927. In 1966, the Dawn published 'Oh, the Blessedness', a small booklet which rejected most of Russell's views of Bible prophecy and end time predictions resulting in numerous"
"Faith"" and the ""Church of God General Conference (Morrow, GA)"". Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church The United Seventh-Day Brethren is a small Sabbatarian Adventist body. In 1947, several individuals and two independent congregations within the Church of God Adventist movement formed the ""United Seventh-Day Brethren"", seeking to increase fellowship and to combine their efforts in evangelism, publications, and other . The Bible Students movement founded by Charles Taze Russell had in its early development close connections with the Millerite movement and stalwarts of the Adventist faith, including George Storrs and Joseph Seiss. The various groupings of independent Bible Students has"
"Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell, which led to his joining the Bible Student movement, and he was baptized in 1906. He was appointed the legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society in 1907, as well as a traveling representative prior to his election as president in 1917. His early presidency was marked by a dispute with the Society's board of directors, in which four of its seven members accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. The resulting leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and contributed to the loss of one-seventh of adherents by 1919"
"the Restitution of all things, the Restoration of Paradise and the General Resurrection under the Millennial Reign of Christ. Dawn Bible Students Association The Dawn Bible Students Association is a Christian organization and movement, and a legal entity used by a branch of the Bible Student Movement. It was founded with the intention of becoming a publishing house to begin printing and distributing the first six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures series that were written directly by Charles Taze Russell which the Watchtower Society had officially ceased publishing in 1927. In 1966, the Dawn published 'Oh, the Blessedness',"
"known as simply as ""Bible Students""), though Wilson never had any association with the founder of the Bible Students group Charles Taze Russell. Further, Wilson's own views on the allegorical nature of the devil, non-preexistence of Christ, literal return of Christ – increasing in conflict with the Watchtower Society after 1914 – are occasionally reflected in the side column of the ""Diaglot"", giving Wilson's own English translation. The church Wilson was a leading figure in founding still exists today. In 1921 the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith split into two, primarily over the issue of whether the devil"
"God, resulting in a slaughter of the unfaithful. With that doctrinal change, the focus of the movement's chiliasm changed from awaiting its collective escape from earth to waiting for the impending destruction of the present world order in the Battle of Armageddon. To clarify its identity, the group, which came to form the Bible Student movement, formulated a body of historical doctrine, including a mythical self-history, which provided a comprehensive symbolic linkage with the past but also fortified the movement's expectations for the future. In 1876 Russell adopted the belief promulgated by some Adventist preachers that Jesus' ""parousia"", or presence,"
"of the apocalypse advocated by Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Student movement. A second biography of Parsons was published in 2005 through Weidenfeld & Nicolson with the title ""Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons""; it was written by George Pendle, who described Parsons as ""the Che Guevara of occultism"" and said that although Parsons ""would not live to see his dream of space travel come true, he was essential to making it a reality."" Pendle considered that the cultural stigma attached to Parsons' occultism was the primary cause of his low public"
"Lake Valley in what is today Utah. In 1870, Charles Taze Russell began to study the Bible with a group of Millerist Adventists, including George Storrs and George Stetson, and beginning in 1877 Russell jointly edited a religious journal, ""Herald of the Morning"", with Nelson H. Barbour. In July 1879, after separating from Barbour, Russell began publishing the magazine ""Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence"", highlighting his interpretations of biblical chronology, with particular attention to his belief that the world was in ""the last days"". In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to"
"Pastoral Bible Institute The Pastoral Bible Institute was started in 1918 when a number of prominent leaders and members withdrew their support from the Watch Tower Society after Joseph Rutherford became the president of the Society, following the death of pastor Charles Taze Russell. The Watchtower society was the publishing arm of the Bible Student movement, a Christian denomination following Millerite Adventist notions guided by principles expounded by Pastor Russell who founded and led the movement. The first Bible Student Convention held independent of the Watch Tower Society took place on July 26-29, 1918, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In"
"Society between 1917 and 1928, sponsoring the ""First Annual Reunion Convention of Bible Students"" in 1929. As a result, new congregations of Bible Students were formed in various countries worldwide and publishing their literature in various languages. In 1966 the Dawn published ""Oh, the Blessedness""; a small booklet which rejected many of Russell's views on Bible prophecy and end times. This rejection polarized those Bible Students who still accepted Russell's views, and an independent movement was formed in 1974. Russell's ""Studies in the Scriptures"" as well as all other writings never before reproduced since his death were now being republished"
"preachers. Russell engaged in significant global publishing efforts during his ministry, and by 1912, he was the most distributed Christian author in the United States. Russell moved the Watch Tower Society's headquarters to Brooklyn, New York, in 1909, combining printing and corporate offices with a house of worship; volunteers were housed in a nearby residence he named ""Bethel"". He identified the religious movement as ""Bible Students,"" and more formally as the International Bible Students Association. By 1910, about 50,000 people worldwide were associated with the movement and congregations re-elected him annually as their ""pastor."" Russell died October 31, 1916, at"
"17-year-old Russell attended a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of a group he called ""Second Adventists"" and heard Advent Christian preacher Jonas Wendell expound his views on Bible prophecy. Wendell, influenced by the teachings of William Miller, rejected traditional Christian beliefs of the ""immortal soul"" and a literal hell and interpreted scriptures in the books of Daniel and Revelation to predict that Christ would return in 1873. Russell became convinced that God would reveal his purpose in the last days of the ""Gospel age"" and formed an independent Bible study group in Pittsburgh. He rejected Adventist teachings that the purpose of"
"October 24, 1909 former Society secretary-treasurer E.C. Henninges, who was by then the Australian branch manager of the International Bible Students Association, based in Melbourne, wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship Hundreds out of the estimated 10,000 US Bible Students also left, including pilgrim M.L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn. The dissidents formed the"
"The Photo-Drama of Creation The Photo-Drama of Creation, or ""Creation-Drama"", is a four-part Christian film (eight hours in total) produced by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania under the direction of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Student movement. The film presents their beliefs about God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Production began in 1912, and the presentation was introduced to audiences in 1914. It was the first major screenplay to incorporate synchronized sound, moving film, and color slides. Russell also published"
"to their religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture), and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God's selection of the Bible Students associated with Charles Taze Russell to be his people in 1919. They also believe the destruction of those who reject their message and thus willfully refuse to obey God will shortly take place at Armageddon, ensuring that the beginning of the new earthly society will be composed of willing subjects of that kingdom. The religion's doctrines"
"wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching, and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship. Hundreds of the estimated 10,000 U.S. Bible Students also left, including pilgrim Matthew L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students, and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn, forming the New Covenant Believers. The group, which informally referred to members as Free Bible Students, published ""The Kingdom Scribe"" magazine until 1975. The group is currently known as"
"late 1906, as the Adventists were unwilling to send him back to Africa and the Church of Christ turned him down as a missionary because he was too political. While in Scotland in 1906, Booth became familiar with the writings of Charles Taze Russell, a prominent Christian restorationist columnist and founder of the Bible Student movement, later known as the Watch Tower Society. In late 1906, journeyed to the United States and met Russell in New York. Russell's Watch Tower Society appointed Booth as a missionary As Booth was banned from returning to Nyasaland, he went in 1907 to Cape"
"the Millerite movement. Charles Taze Russell later stated that ""I confess indebtedness to Adventists as well as to other denominations"". In light of this, the Bible Student Movement was influenced by Adventists roots, but did not emerge from the Millerism movement. Bahá'ís also credit Miller's analysis of the time of Christ's return. See also Day-year principle for a more complete review of how William Miller's analysis of the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8 matches the Baha'i understanding. Baha'is believe that, although William Miller's understanding of the location and method of Christ's return was not accurate, his calculation of the"
"reject the doctrines of a co-equal Trinity, immortality of the soul, and a literal hell-fire. ""Studies in the Scriptures"" teaches two phases of the Kingdom of God - a spiritual phase, invisible, and an earthly phase. ""Oh, the Blessedness!"" in 1966 addresses the two dates in Charles Taze Russell's prediction – the ""beginning of the Master’s second presence"" in 1874, and the ""times of the Gentiles"" end in 1914, recognising as did Russell himself in 1907 and 1916 that the predicted ""foretold harvest"" of saints did not end in 1914 and still is going on. Dawn Bible Students believe in"
"by Charles Taze Russell) over Russell's arrangements for the Editorial Committee outlined in his Last Will and Testament and the Society's official charter. This caused the Society to splinter into many factions with over 25% of the original Bible students leaving the WTBTS by 1928 with many forming other independent groups and fellowships which included the Elijah Voice Society, The Pastoral Bible Institute (PBI) and others. The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement (LHMM) was formed by three former members of the Pastoral Bible Institute Committee which was formed by a large group of dissenting brethren in 1917 at the Fort Pitt"
"fellowship, but was viewed as a ""stand for the truth"" by ceasing sponsorship of elders associated with the Dawn Bible Students, and avoiding attendance at their conventions. In recent years, attempts have been made to reintegrate the groups. The Independent Bible Students publishes a non-doctrinal magazine, ""The Bible Students Newsletter"". The Free Bible Students separated very early from the Watchtower Society, as Russell began to change some teachings. In 1909, Matthew L. McPhail, a traveling elder (""Pilgrim"") and member of the Chicago Bible Students, disassociated from Russell's movement when controversy arose over Russell's expanded view of the application and timing"
"Bible Students in Australia until her death. On March 22, 1911, ""The Brooklyn Daily Eagle"" reported that Russell was accused of gaining profit from a strain of wheat named ""Miracle Wheat"" by K.B. Stoner of Fincastle, Virginia, who claimed to have discovered this strain. Russell sold the wheat for $60 per bushel, far above the average cost of wheat at the time. Throughout 1912 and 1913, the ""Eagle"" continued to report on Russell's alleged fraud. Russell sued the ""Eagle"" for libel, but lost. A government expert investigated the ""Miracle Wheat"" and said it ""was low in the Government tests"". Prior"
"to study the Bible. During the course of his ministry, Russell disputed many beliefs of mainstream Christianity including immortality of the soul, hellfire, predestination, the fleshly return of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, and the burning up of the world. In 1876, Russell met Nelson H. Barbour; later that year they jointly produced the book ""Three Worlds,"" which combined restitutionist views with end time prophecy. The book taught that God's dealings with humanity were divided dispensationally, each ending with a ""harvest,"" that Christ had returned as an invisible spirit being in 1874 inaugurating the ""harvest of the Gospel age,"" and that"
"a May 22, 1879 letter to Barbour, Russell explicitly resigned: ""Now I leave the 'Herald' with you. I withdraw entirely from it, asking nothing from you . . . Please announce in next No. of the 'Herald' the dissolution and withdraw my name [as assistant editor on the masthead]."" In July 1879, Russell began publishing ""Zion's Watch Tower"", the principal journal of the Bible Student movement. (Several years after Russell's death, the magazine became associated with Jehovah's Witnesses and was renamed ""The Watchtower"".) By 1883 Barbour abandoned belief in an invisible presence and returned to more standard Adventist doctrine. He"
"Mason ... Something I do seems to be the same as Masons do, I don't know what it is; but they often give me all kinds of grips and I give them back, then I tell them I don't know anything about it except just a few grips that have come to me naturally. Throughout his ministry he said that he believed Christian identity is incompatible with Freemasonry. He described Freemasonry, Knights of Pythias, Theosophy, and other such groups as ""grievous evils"" and ""unclean"". Charles Taze Russell Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell,"