The personal life of the creator of the sect was generally quite scandalous. In 1879, Russell married his follower, Mary F. Ackley, who had assisted him in publishing the magazine during the Pittsburgh period. Eighteen years later, on 09.11.1897, a family break occurred, as a result of which the wife left him, motivating her departure by the immoral behavior of her husband. Earlier, in October 1886, Mrs. Russell had resigned as assistant editor of The Watchtower. The divorce proceedings lasted a long time. His wife, who in her time was the first to call the founder of the sect "a faithful and discreet slave" (Matthew 24:45), now called him "a wicked slave and a slothful one" (Matthew 25:26). However, she remained one of the directors of the Society until February 12, 1900. It was not until 1906 that a court decision was officially made to divorce Russell and Mary F. Ackley in connection with his adultery. The court found proven the existence of an indecent relationship between Russell and a woman named Rose Ball and awarded his ex-wife compensation of 6036 US dollars. An interesting fact came to light at the trial. Russell, having taken possession of 990 out of 1000 shares of his "Society", began to manage its finances alone. At the same time, following the advice of his friends, he managed to donate most of the "jointly acquired" property with his wife before the court decision was made, so that she would not get it. Russell's interests in the divorce proceedings were defended by his future successor, "Judge" Rutherford 44.

Diligent study of the Bible, apparently, did not interfere with the development of the commercial talents of the "pastor". The income from the publishing house no longer suited him, so a new business was found, because of which Russell suffered. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle exposed his fraudulent attempt to sell ordinary wheat as miraculous at the hefty price of $60 a bushel (32.5 liters). In addition, the newspaper accused the "pastor" of "fraudulently depriving his wife of income from her dowry; in the fact that his name is associated with the names of other women; trying to pass himself off as a representative of all denominations, when he is not connected with any of them and rejected by all of them; in the stories that he preached to great crowds of people in certain places, while he did not utter a word; that he tried to involve some clergymen in reckless transactions; that it is associated with lead, asphalt and turpentine companies; in pressuring the sick and dying to make their wills in his favor; that he arranged for the sale of property worth $35,000 for $50 in order to defraud another person."45 In 1913, Russell sued the editors of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, but in the end the information given in the newspaper publication was found to be reliable.

This was far from the last trial in which the founder of the sect appeared. Pastor J. J. Ross, in his pamphlet, accused Russell of being utterly ignorant of the languages of the Bible, and also reported that the latter's assertions were "contrary to logic, contrary to science, contrary to the Bible, and contrary to Christianity, constitute a lamentable perversion of the gospel of the beloved Son of God." This, of course, did not please Russell. Regular court hearings followed. Russell took a false oath before the court that he could read Greek, but it turned out that he did not know a single letter. At the end of the trial, he was forced to admit that everything said about him in Ross's publication was true, i.e. the founder of the sect "did not even receive a secondary education, knows practically nothing about philosophy, systematic and historical theology, and is completely ignorant of ancient languages."

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russell made a large number of missionary journeys, including the territories that were part of the Russian Empire at that time. In 1908, he appeared in Romania and Finland. During the same period, he was caught in another deception. In 1912, a certain sermon by Russell in Honolulu (Hawaiian Islands) was widely advertised. But as a result of the investigation, it turned out that "... he did not make any speeches."48 The same happened with the sermons in China and Japan.49

By this time, the year 1914 began to appear in Russell's prophecies more and more often. "... by the end of 1914 what God calls Babylon will be completely gone, and people will be Christendom..." 50," he wrote. True, these calculations were also based on the study of pyramidology. Russell took every inch of the size of the various inner corridors of the Great Pyramid of Giza in one year and, based on the figures obtained, predicted that the believers would be raptured in 1910 and that the world would end in 1914, as mentioned above.

The First World War began. It was interpreted by the Rasselites as the beginning of the End of the World. Sectarians began to conduct active anti-war propaganda. In 1914, Russell was expelled from Canada because he and his supporters had become too insistent on opposing the mobilization of troops.

The most important of Russell's works is the seven-volume Millennial Dawn Scripture Studies. He himself considered it more important than the Bible. "The six volumes of my book, A Study in the Scriptures, are practically a bible, organized into themes, each of which is supported by biblical texts. It can be called a thematic Bible. In other words, it is not just a commentary on the Bible, but the Bible itself... Not only are people unable to understand God's purpose without my book. Even if a man has read the Study of the Scriptures for ten years, if he has learned to understand the Bible properly and puts down my book and tries to read only the Bible, then experience shows that in two years he will be in complete darkness. On the other hand, if he reads only the Study of the Scriptures and the references that are given there, then, even without opening the Bible, he will be in the light in two years, because he will see the light of the Scriptures," Russell wrote shortly before the outbreak of World War I. The first volume was published in 1886 under the title "The Diuine plan of the Ages". Then came the second and third volumes, "The Time is at Hand" (1889) and "Thy Kingdom Come" (1891). The Day of Vengeance, later retitled The Battle of Armageddon, was published in 1897, followed by The New Creature (1899) and The Atonement between God and Man (1904). The seventh volume, The Finished Mystery, also attributed to Russell, was published in 1917, after his death, under the new President Rutherford.

Russell's teaching is identical to today's teaching of the sect. Although it is asserted that sectarians "... do not quote him, do not publish and do not distribute his works..." 53, but in the book Jehovah's Witnesses in Divine Design (1959 edition), fifty pages are devoted to Russell and his contribution to the cause of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The heresiarch died on October 31, 1916, having survived the date of the end of the world predicted by him by two years. His followers buried him under a stone slab, the inscription on which calls Russell the "Laodicean Herald." Near the grave, the worshippers erected a massive stone pyramid with a cross and a wreath inscribed "Watch Tower Society,54 suggesting serious reflection on the roots of the entire teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses. This pyramid still stands in a cemetery in the town of Ross, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, where it attracts tourists, as it is clearly visible from the side of 55 Seametery Lane.

2.2 HISTORY OF THE SECT FROM RUSSELL'S DEATH TO RUTTERFORD'S DEATH

In accordance with Russell's will, which was published in The Watch Tower of December 1, 1916, members of the Publications Committee were appointed, with the right to control all the publications of the Society: William E. Pace, William E. Van Amburgh, Henry Clay Rockwell, I. W. Brennaison, and F. H. Robinson. In addition, Russell proposed several candidates for possible vacancies on this committee: A. I. Burgess, Robert Hirsch, Isaac Hoskins, Joe H. Fisher (Scranton), J. S. Smith. F. Rutherford and Dr. John Edgar. We see that Russell's successor was not among the members of the committee, but only among the 56 deputies. Financial control was also regulated by a will: "I have already given the Watchtower Bible Society all of my voting shares, placing them in the hands of five trustees: Sister I. Louise Hamilton, Sister Almeta M. Nation Robison, Sister J. Smith. G. Herr, Sister S. Tomlins, Sister Alice G. James. These trustees are appointed for life. In the event of their death or resignation, successors will be appointed directors of the Watch Tower Society, members of the Publishing Committee, and the remaining trustees."57