2. The Root of Lies

The second half of the nineteenth century in the history of religious denominations in the United States was marked by a surge of interest in new forms of biblical revelation. This phenomenon is commonly called the "movement of saints", and numerous adherents of Protestantism hoped to find the lost faith of the Apostles in it. Different religious movements and groups followed different paths in their searches. Some experimented in the emotional-psychic sphere, completely indulging in mystical experiences and ecstatic "inspirations," hastening to pass off their subjective sensations as the action of the Holy Spirit. Others went "from the head", rationally focusing on this or that biblical truth, in the hope of illuminating or opening to the world another new way of salvation.

However, at all times, apostates, having once betrayed the unity of the Holy Church, inevitably plunged themselves into the abyss of pernicious self-government, depriving themselves of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The United States can rightfully be considered the birthplace of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as many other heresies. The peak of interest in eschatology - the teaching about the end of the world - in the United States fell on the 50-60s of the last century. One such religious group, which focused on searching the Bible for indications of the time of Christ's Second Coming, was led by Charles Russell (1852-1916). Proclaiming the motto, "The Reformation continues," he later became the ideological inspirer of the religious movement known today as Jehovah's Witnesses.

The founder of Jehovah's Witnesses, Charles Russell, was born in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA), in the family of an outerwear store owner. His parents were Presbyterians of Scottish descent.4 Until the age of seventeen, Russell zealously professed this teaching, but soon, under the influence of Adventists5, he was completely immersed in the search for an answer to the question that troubled him: When will the Savior come to earth?

As is often the case, Russell did not create something original, but only modified what already existed. Russell himself adhered to the teachings of Jones Wendell, which were popular among believers who turned their searching eyes to the Bible in search of the "end times" - the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the age. The Wendellits, disagreeing with the already announced dates, proposed their own - 1874, but then they "spiritually rethought" this date as well. All this happened after the failure of a number of prophecies of the Adventist William Miller, who first announced 1843 as the date of the Second Coming, and then 1844. It was assumed that the Savior entered public service at the age of 30, so the Second Coming should take place 30 years after His Coming to the heavenly temple.

In 1872, Russell and his friends formed a Bible study group, and two years later his book, Why and How Will the Lord Jesus Christ Come to Us?

When the time of Christ's appointed Coming (1874) had passed, Russell's companions were again faced with the question: When would the Second Coming come? Russell looked for the answer to the question almost everywhere... except the Bible. He was interested in the materials published by N. Barbour (the leader of the New York Adventists) in one of the magazines. It was Barbour who proved to Russell that the Greek word "parousia" could be translated as "presence" and "coming," and that Christ had been invisibly present since 1874.

The meeting between C. Russell and N. Barbour, who also shared the eschatological concept of D. Wendell, eventually united their groups into a single community. N. Barbour and like-minded people, who had previously joined the Adventists, later departed from their previous views, believing that the Second Coming should be spiritual and invisible.6 At the time of Russell's meeting with Barbour, the latter was editing the journal The Herald of the Morning, published in Rochester. In 1877, they published the book "The Three Worlds, or the Ways of Redemption", which asserted that in 1874 the Second Coming of Christ began, i.e. the forty-year harvest period began. Arguments were also given here according to which in 1914 the times of the pagans would expire.7 In 1878, Barbour and Russell were engaged in an uncompromising, intense search for new, increasingly precise, as it seemed to them, theological formulations, for the latter asserted that the grace-filled gifts of Christ's death extended not only to Adam (death for Adam), but to all mankind.

Soon (1879), together with like-minded people, the closest of whom was D. Peat, Russell began to publish the journal "The Tower of the Guard of Zion and the Herald of the Presence of Christ"9. Subsequently, the name changed more than once: "Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence," and then "The Watchtower," and finally, from 1966 to the present, the magazine is called "The Watchtower".10

But Pete soon left Russell, who became the owner of the magazine and headed the earlier religious movement.11 Russell declares his divergence from the teachings of the Protestant churches, which he accuses of betraying the principles of the Reformation. In all his speeches and articles, he seeks to prove that with his followers he remained the only successor to the traditions of early Christianity.

Similar tendencies are manifested in other religious movements, where the spiritual authoritarianism of the leaders prevails - the cult of self-reverence and self-worship. Charles Russell himself declared himself to be no less than the seventh messenger of God, about whom it is said in the Bible that he wears "the scribe's device" (Ezekiel 9:2). According to his periodization, the first six messengers were the apostles: Paul, John, followed by Arius, Wald, Wycliffe, Luther, the seventh, who completes the revelation of biblical truths, Russell, as he unequivocally states in the seventh volume of his work "Study of the Holy Scriptures"12 "The six volumes of my book "Study of the Scriptures," he writes, "are essentially the Bible, compiled according to themes, each of which is supported by biblical texts (there are very few of them. - I.E.). It can be called a thematic Bible. In other words, it is not just a commentary on the Bible, but the Bible itself. People cannot understand God's intentions without my book. Even if a person has studied the Study of the Scriptures for 10 years and has learned to understand the Bible properly, if he puts down my book and reads only the Bible, experience has shown that after two years he will again be in complete darkness. But it will be enough for him to read only the Studies in the Scriptures and the references contained in them. Thus, even without opening the Bible, my reader will be in the light, for the light of the Scriptures will be revealed to him."13

Unencumbered by Christian humility, Russell placed himself above the prophets and apostles. "This does not mean," he wrote, "that the prophets and apostles could understand the fate and plan of God better than we do, they simply served God as an instrument for communicating to us and to the whole church [meaning the church of the late nineteenth century - I.E.] truths concerning God's plan."14

In 1882, Charles Russell sold his store (he was the last son in the family) and founded his own company, which carried out intermediary contacts between private firms and state institutions, and also specialized in the publication of religious literature. The funds received were used for missionary activities, printing books and pamphlets, in which all religions and political organizations were declared Satanic. In them, Russell explained how, through politics, commerce, and religion, Satan keeps the world in chains. Such irreconcilably harsh judgments caused a storm of indignation in the ruling circles of the United States, and as a result, Russell's teachings were outlawed for more than ten years, which was facilitated by the scandalous lawsuits that were periodically initiated by the authorities against the Jehovah's Witnesses.15