The teaching of the sectarians is set forth in Ilyin's works "The Zion News", "The Ray of Light of the Dawn", "Universal Human Truth". They distort the doctrine of the Trinity. The Hebrew god of gods is called the Father, God the Son is the god Jehovah who rules the solar system. God the Spirit is the state of people who are part of the right hand brotherhood. The soul of a person lives in his blood, that is, it is mortal. For 6000 years, Jehovah as the god of immortals and Satan as the god of mortal men have been opposed. At the end of this period, Jehovah, according to Ilyin's teaching, will defeat Satan, put him in chains, cast him into the abyss, establish peace, and also give freedom and prosperity to all nations for 1000 years under the world domination of the Jerusalem Republic. A city made by heavenly people will descend from heaven into Palestine. In the middle of it will be a palace for Jehovah. All the streets are lined with gold. In the middle is a river, with fruit trees growing along the banks. People will live there without aging. "Yehovah will divide this country of Israel into 12 parts in strips. Starting from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. And their Jerusalem republic will prevail over all the kingdoms and peoples on earth... From Zion even to the Chinese city of Canton there will be a railway with luxurious stations and beautiful gardens... There are no barbaric sciences, no recruiting schools, no riots, no jokes... There are no police, no judges, people are holiness everywhere... ranks and red trousers are the foolishness and charm of Satan."[AK1].39 At the end of a thousand years, Satan and all Satanists, i.e., Christians, will be destroyed. Then a new planet will be created, on which Jehovah and all his immortal "right brothers" will live for 280,000 years in a state of inconceivable happiness. The Bible, from Ilyin's point of view, is "a satanic mixture of lies and truth." The Orthodox Church is called the "of Babylon." Divine services are rejected, but joint prayers are prescribed, which can be said at any time and in any place. The cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses consists in evening meetings, and they also had confession. Ilyin himself invented the rite of "vespers", "mass", as well as "repentance without a confessor". These ranks include cantes called "the bomb of God's artillery", "the march of the people of God", etc. Sectarians held great reverence for the image of the name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters, as well as a cross with the image of the name of Jehovah on the triangle. They also honor the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.

We will see later that the main features of the teaching of the "right hand Brethren" are very similar to the essential points of the dogma of Jehovah's Witnesses. As noted above, the simultaneity of the emergence of these sects in different parts of the world and the similarity of the terminology they use are surprising. However, our interest in Ilyin's followers is purely theoretical, since they have practically disappeared in Russia. Already at the beginning of the XX century, the number of these Jehovah's Witnesses living in the Urals, North. Caucasus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, was negligible.

CHAPTER 2. HISTORY AND FEATURES OF THE ACTIVITIES OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

2.1. THE HISTORY OF THE SECT FROM THE EMERGENCE TO THE DEATH OF RUSSELL

The history of the creation of the sect, which later received the name "Jehovah's Witnesses", is inextricably linked with Charles Taze Russell. He was born on February 16, 1852, and spent his childhood in the small town of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Charles's education was limited to five years of school, which was rather the norm for American children of that time. These schools of the mid-to-late nineteenth century were closely connected with local church communities, so young Russell was also brought up in the traditions of the local Congregational Evangelical Church.

In 1870, at the age of seventeen, Russell organized a Bible study group of six people, who began to call him "pastor." At the same time, he began to write books and articles on Bible topics. In the classes of the circle, young Charles and his students developed the ideas of the Seventh-day Adventists, which they were fascinated by as early as 1868. As a result of diligent research, these theologians were able to clarify the date of the Second Coming of the Adventists, postponing it to 1873.

At that time, Russell was under the influence of Jonas Wendell, a preacher of the Christian Advent Church, whom he had met at the age of sixteen.

A whole generation has grown up since the "Great Disappointment" of 1844, when Christ did not return to earth. During this time, Miller's followers became widely known as Adventists. Seventh-day Adventists, such movements as the Life and Second Coming Society, and communities such as the Advent Christian Church, to which Wendell belonged, called themselves so. Under the influence of this preacher, Russell looked forward to the Coming in 1873-1874. Naturally, he questioned other doctrines of the Congregational evangelical church, such as the doctrines of predestination and the immortality of the soul.

However, the spiritual search did not prevent the young "Bible student" from actively engaging in business. The result of commercial activity was not long in coming, Russell became the owner of several ready-to-wear stores in North Pittsburgh. The income from the trade allowed him to provide financial support for some currents of the Second Coming movement.