Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #6 Revisions of revisions

With the years some english people came to believe that God prepared another world language. Though Spanish and Chinese or Sinitic languages (Sino-Tibetan language family: Mandarin, Wu, Min, Gan, Hakka, Xiang, and Cantonese sharing the common literary language wenyan) are bigger world languages, they do think that

English is that world language. And one reason is because of the preservation of the word. {Why should God’s Word be restricted to English?}

Because often those people not knowing enough the other languages and not able to compare them with the original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew language, they like to place their own language in the first place, not seeing that in many of Bible editions in their language words were not always translated exactly or not seeing that certain words where changed in names in place to taking it for the things they meant in the original language.

In the past some English scholars knew that sometimes the Hebrew and Greek way of saying things could be too complicated for some English speaking people, of which approximately 330 to 360 million have that language as their first language. They did find God His Word so important they wanted all people, young and old, educated and not schooled ones, to be able to come in contact with those precious words. Looking at the level of reading they wanted to adapt the  language of the text to such levels.
The translators wanted to keep the Divine Author in view but found it important to bring over His message. They looked at the meaning of what was said in the original text and translated or defined loosely what was meant. The (more or less) free rewording of an expression or text, as an explanation, clarification, or translation gave way to different paraphrased Bible translations.

Outside cover of Revised Version of Bible, bound in leather with a full yapp, Published by Oxford in 1885.

Others looking at such loosely translated versions started to attack those translations and got the wheel going with lots of discussions saying this or that translation was a corrupted one. Also reasons for a new translation gave the impression to others that they should doubt the sincerity of the translation. as such Muslims got food to call the Bible corrupted, looking at sayings in prefaces, like the scholars’ introduction of the Revised Standard Version of The Bible produced in 1971 as proof of this. {Christian Scholars Admit To Corrupting The Bible} In the Preface are these words:

The King James Version has grave defects…these defects are so many and so serious as to call for revision.

Under The Milky Way writes

Muslims find these statements by Christian scholars to be self-incriminating. For Christian scholars to say that the King James Version of the Bible has grave defects which require revision is taken as a self-evident admission that either the Revised Standard Version (RSV) or the King James Version (KJV) of The Bible or both have been intentionally distorted with the intention of fabricating false teaching. {Christian Scholars Admit To Corrupting The Bible}

Though this translation was called to be the first and the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Version in Britain, having the Old Testament edited four years later than the New Testament, which saw the light in 1881. The Apocrypha got printed in 1894. Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, whose texts  formed also the basic for the New World Translation (NWT) where the best known of the translation committee members. Their stated aim was

“to adapt King James’ version to the present state of the English language without changing the idiom and vocabulary,”

and

“to adapt it to the present standard of Biblical scholarship.”

To those ends, the Greek text that was used to translate the New Testament was believed by most to be of higher reliability than the Textus Receptus used for the KJV. The readings used were compiled from a different text of the Greek Testament by Edwin Palmer. {Palmer, Edwin, ΚΑΙΝΗ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗ. The Greek Testament] with the Readings Adopted by the Revisers of the Authorised Version. London: Simon Wallenberg Press, 2007. ISBN 1-84356-023-2}

This version was adapted and revised as the “Revised Version, Standard American Edition” or getting names as American Revised Version, the American Standard Revision, the American Standard Revised Bible, and the American Standard Edition, but at the end of the 20th century commonly known as the American Standard Version (ASV). Here-fore Philip Schaff had recruited scholars from different denominations (Baptist, Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, Friends, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, and Unitarian) who began work in 1872 to complete it 29 years later.

The Revised Version (both the 1885 and the American Standard Version of 1901) are some of the Bible versions that are authorized to be used in services of the Episcopal Church, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. For the American version was chosen to bring in again God’s Divine Name and where normally the tetragrammaton stood in the original text, it is consistently rendered Jehovah in 6,823 places of the ASV Old Testament, rather than YHWH or rather than LORD as it appears in the King James Bible.

That choice of omitting God’s Name would become more important in later years, several editors afraid of publishing God’s Holy Name and therefore preferring to print the ‘meaningless’ word ‘Lord’ (in later years even omitting the big capitals) so that people could not see the difference between the Lord Most High, the Adonai Elohim Hashem Jehovah, and God His son, the other lord between the many lords.

During the mid-20th century again a revision appeared on the market wanting

“to put the message of the Bible in simple, enduring words that are worthy to stand in the great Tyndale-King James tradition.”

Revised Standard Version

In a first stage a New Testament (first edition), 1946 (originally copyrighted to the International Council of Religious Education), six years later followed by the Old Testament and thus offering the full ‘Protestant Bible’. A Catholic version was accomplished with the Apocrypha in 1957. Again receiving some modification and a Modified edition (1962) followed by the RSV Catholic Edition (RSV-CE), (NT 1965, Complete Bible 1966). those editions got again revisions with publications in 1971, 1973, an Apocrypha expanded edition (1977) and a RSV Second Catholic (or Ignatius) Edition (RSV-2CE) in 2006.
In later years, the RSV served as the basis for two revisions – the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of 1989, using gender-neutral language, and the  Protestant evangelical English Standard Version (ESV) of 2001.

A revision in 1973 ordered the books in a way that pleased both Catholics and Protestants, dividing the library into four sections:

1. The Old Testament (39 Books)
2. The Catholic Deuterocanonical Books (12 Books)
3. The additional Eastern Orthodox Deuterocanonical Books (three Books; six Books after 1977)
4. The New Testament (27 Books)

Four years later that ‘Common Bible’ got the Apocrypha expanded to include 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, and Psalm 151, three additional sections accepted in the Eastern Orthodox canon (4 Maccabees again forming an appendix in that tradition), although it still does not include additional books in the Syriac and Ethiopian canons. This action increased the Common Bible to 84 Books, making it the most comprehensive English Bible translation to date with its inclusion of books not accepted by all denominations. The goal of the Common Bible was to help ecumenical relations among the churches.

Facing all those revisions of revisions this Summer the non-profit publisher Crossway released what they are describing as a “permanent” English biblical translation which has  sought to be “as literal as possible” while maintaining clarity of expression and literary excellence, but still shall need some updating. But such updating sometimes can bring wrong texts.

17 years after it was first authorized by Crossway, its publisher, the translation oversight committee changed just 52 words across 29 verses — out of more than 775,000 words across more than 31,000 verses — for what they called the final “permanent text” edition. The board then voted, unanimously, to make the text “unchanged forever, in perpetuity.”

“The text of the ESV Bible will remain unchanged in all future editions printed and published by Crossway—in much the same way that the King James Version (KJV) has remained unchanged ever since the final KJV text was established almost 250 years ago (in 1769),”

Crossway stated on its website.

One difference: While the ESV copyright is held universally by Crossway, the KJV copyright held by the Crown of England is only valid in the United Kingdom. So modified versions of the KJV have been popping up in the United States and elsewhere for several hundred years. (Christian Today has explored whether copyrights help or hurt Bible translation.)
The publisher’s intended goal was

“to stabilize the [ESV], serving its readership by establishing the ESV as a translation that could be used ‘for generations to come,’”

The editor desires for

“there to be a stable and standard text that would serve the reading, memorizing, preaching, and liturgical needs of Christians worldwide from one generation to another.”

This September they wrote:

“Our goal at Crossway remains as strong as ever to serve future generations with a stable ESV text. But the means to that goal, we now see, is not to establish a permanent text but rather to allow for ongoing periodic updating of the text to reflect the realities of biblical scholarship such as textual discoveries or changes in English over time.”

That way the same will happen to the ESV as to the KJV that people are going to think they have it about the same Bible translation, though might have a totally different version.

What happened in the past is that many people each time a new revision came unto the market, certainly with a different name several Christians reacted strongly against the new text. Lots of church members prefer a text that doesn’t and won’t ever change, not a text that is on the path of continual improvement. This also comes mainly because several denominations stick to only one Bible translation and do not, like several non-trinitarian groups, have a roster of different Bible translations to look at, taking every time an other version as standard for the next year, having their members to think about the essence of the text and not pinpointing to human doctrinal teachings or limiting themselves just to one Bible version.

Tremper Longman III, a member of the New Living Translation (NLT) committee said

But making a translation permanent ignores the need for updates that reflect scholars’ advances in their understanding of the text, as well as the continuing development of English as a living language.

He continued

“Most translators and linguists would say that such an approach to translation is actually less accurate in terms of communicating the thought of the ancient writer to a modern audience.”

A collection of Bibles in Taiwanese. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

People should always remember that language is a living thing and by the years words may change meaning or additional (new) words may be better suited to bring over the meaning of those old writing, of which researchers still get more and new insights. Longman also remarks

“The English language changes, and my guess is that over the years even this particularly type of translation will sound more and more stilted, just as the KJV does to modern readers.”

Bible translations to polish language by Czesław Miłosz. On the left Five Megillot, in center Book of Job, on right Psalms (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Publishers are aware that the copyrights of a publication are limited in time and as such it is more profitable to create a whole new Bible version to keep the money coming into the till. At certain times there are also new preachers of high position who want to have their notes presented in a bible version they feel good with in a language of the time they are living in, what again demands a new Bible translation, under a new name.

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Preceding articles:

Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #1 Pre King James Bible

Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #2 King James Bible versions

Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #3 Women and versions

Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #4 Steps to the women’s bibles

Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #5 Further steps to women’s bibles

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Additional reading

1. Absolute Basics to Reading the Bible
2. Finding and Understanding Words and Meanings
3. Lord in place of the divine name
4. Lord or Yahuwah, Yeshua or Yahushua
5. Lord and owner
6. People Seeking for God 7 The Lord and lords
7. Another way looking at a language #5 Aramic, Hebrew and Greek
8. Another way looking at a language #6 Set apart
9. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #13 Prayer #11 Name to be set apart
10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God
11. The Bible and names in it
12. Let us recognise how great God is
13. Listening and Praying to the Father
14. Written to recognise the Promissed One
15. Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
16. Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
17. Background to look at things
18. Religious people and painful absence of spring of living water
19. 2001 Translation an American English Bible
20. NWT and what other scholars have to say to its critics
21. Some Restored Name Versions
22. The most important translation…
23. Accuracy, Word-for-Word Translation Preferred by most Bible Readers
24. Listening and Praying to the Father

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From Mary Harwell Sayler’s article Lent: Let the Bible readings begin!

Further related articles

1. The inspiration of Scripture
2. The Preservation of Scripture
3. The Challenge of Translating
4. English Bible Translations
5. Infographic on English Bible Translations
6. How Trustworthy Are Bible Translations?
7. The most important translation…
8. Advice for The Church (Part 3 – Translation)
9. What Makes A Bible Translation Good?
10. Where was the Bible before 1611? How can we know God endorsed the KJV?
11. The King James Bible and the Restoration
12. The King James Removed Verses?
13. Study the Word for More Than Words
14. The Bible or The Watchtower?
15. What is the New World Translation?
16. Brief Introduction to the Greek Text of the New Testament
17. I believe the King James Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
18. King James Only?
19. King James Only–Refuted
20. Six Reasons To Not Follow “King James Version-onlyism”
21. New Testament Textual criticism
22. Textual Criticism Pt. 1
23. Manuscripts in the Old Testament Synagogue 
24. Textual Criticism Pt. 1
25. Which is the best English Bible?
26. 128 Source Greek Text for NT Translation
27. 133 Komma Johanneum in die King James Version.
28. ESV Men’s Devotional Bible
29. Top Five Premium ESV Bibles for Christmas 2015 (plus two)
30. The English Standard Version of the Bible
31. ESV Classic Reference Bible (ESV1) in Burgundy Goatskin by R. L. Allan & Son
32. ESV Journaling Bible: Interleaved Edition in Natural Brown Cowhide
33. ESV Heirloom Thinline Bible in Brown Calfskin (Crossway)
34. Bible Reviewer: ESV Single Column Journaling Bible
35. Crossway Reverses Decision to Make ESV Bible Text Permanent
36. Does the ESV Honour the Holy Spirit?
37. ESV for “Joe the Bus Driver”
38. (Lost in) Permanent Translation
39. New International Version Bible at 50 Years
40. Book Review, “Guys Slimline Holy Bible,” Tyndale House publishers
41. Girls Slimline Holy Bible
42. Sanctuary: A Devotional Bible for Women, New Living Translation
43. Bible Review: Tyndale Select Reference Edition
44. Neither Conservative or Liberal … Let’s Be Just!
45. Lent: Let the Bible readings begin!
46. Trinitarian Bible Society
47. Was Dr. John R. Rice a Heretic?
48. Straightway
49. Applying God’s Holy Word
50. How to Study Your Bible…a book review
51. Basic Principles for “Doing Theology”
52. Synod Dunnville 2016 (7)

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Jesse Hemery and the The Goshen Fellowship

From the old website of the Association of bible researchers or Bible -scholars: “Bijbelvorsers“, we published on October 5, 2010 at 1:04 pm on http://bijbelvorsers.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3518291-jesse-hemery-and-goshen-fellowship

The Dutch original version written by us on the “Windows Live Spaces” is not traceable any more

Jesse Hemery

The Goshen Fellowship, not to be mixed with the Trinitarian House Church movement, nor the Baptist church group, was formed as a result of the ministry of Jesse Hemery in England.

Colporter during 19th century

J.C. Sunderlin and J.J. Bender were two associates of the well-known “Pastor” Charles T. Russell of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, had started of the growth of the Bible Students movement in England in 1881. Nearly ten years later, on July 1, 1891, Charles T. Russell first arrived in the British Isles, landing at Queenstown, Ireland, and made a two-month missionary tour, embracing Britain, Europe and Russia. He concluded that Britain offered the best potential and decided to concentrate activities there. He visited and talked to small groups of Watch Tower subscribers and addressed public meetings of up to two hundred interested persons specially invited in Liverpool and London. He also arranged with a London firm to supply Millennial Dawn books, Bible study aids, at special rates to colporteurs (colportage men and women, knockers, canvassers or peddlars).

By December 1898 there were nine established congregations in Britain. Help in organization became the pressing need. C. T. Russell had previously sent “pilgrims” from America to work with colporteurs in the field and to address congregations. Pilgrims were spiritually older men who visited congregations giving Scriptural counsel and encouragement. They were really the forerunners of the travelling ministers now known as circuit overseers.* Russell then decided to appoint Jesse Hemery, a railway signalman from Manchester, to pilgrim service. For ten years Hemery had responded actively to the tract work organized by Bender, and now he commenced his new service on January 3, 1899.

Jesse Hemery had arranged his affairs so that he could devote all his time to the ministry, and he was willing to take up an assignment in London. Hence, on Thursday, November 1, 1901, Hemery was appointed branch overseer of the British Isles branch.

Women had played quite a prominent part in the early days in Glasgow and other congregations, conducting Sunday schools for children. When in April 1903, Russell was in England for a convention tour and expressed that he was not in favour of the ladies doing all that important work some were rather put out by the modified view on woman’s place in the Christian congregation. But the sense of urgency among the brothers in those days kept them going and moved them to undertake a distribution of free literature to every farm and isolated homestead in both Scotland and England.

In time the growing activity of the Bible Students in Britain called for changes in the legal structure of the group. On June 30, 1914, the International Bible Students Association (IBSA) was registered under the Companies Acts as an unlimited company. The liability for the mortgage on the London Tabernacle was transferred to the new legal corporation, which became the lessee also of 34 Craven Terrace, then occupied by the Hemerys and ten other members of the Bethel family. The parent legal body was the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Paul S. L. Johnson, a Jew who had become first a Lutheran minister and then a Bible Student pilgrim (teacher/preacher), shortly before Pastor Charles Taze Russell died in 1916, was sent to England to straighten out troubles among the British students. In order to facilitate Johnson’s work, Russell gave him “enlarged powers.” Johnson, in November, proceeded to England and, under the authority received from Russell, fired two of the managers of the London office. Judge J. F. Rutherford, confirmed as president of the Watch Tower Corporation while Johnson was in still in England, saw Johnson as a major threat to his consolidation of leadership control. Johnson believed that the “special authority” given by Russell was still valid. Johnson, Raymond Jolly, and a host of Bible Students withdrew from the Rutherford-led organization and joined in the formation of the Pastoral Bible Institute (PBI).** Differences soon arose among the PBI leaders, so Johnson left and formed the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement. The Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement believes Russell was that faithful and wise servant of Matthew 24:45-47 and was labelled by Johnson the “parousia messenger.”

It turned out later-from Johnson’s own writings-but was not known at the time, that he had come to England having in his possession not only a copy of the proposal signed by the Elders, but also a copy of the 1916 Elders’ Schedule marked by Jesse Hemery to show which of the Elders were sponsoring the move toward control of its own affairs by the Church. And he says that Jesse had sent two copies of this list to America before he left for Britain.

Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869–1942), also known as “Judge” Rutherford, president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, who played a primary role in the organization and doctrinal development of Jehovah’s Witnesses. – Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942), ook wel bekend als “Rechter” Rutherford, voorzitter van het Wachttorengenootschap, die een primaire rol in de organisatie en leerstellige ontwikkeling van Jehovah’s Getuigen had.

Three men, namely Rutherford, Johnson and Hemery, were each convinced that they were, the best man to rule and direct the brethren, ambitious enough to attempt achievement of the coveted position, and blind to the harm they were causing.

Johnson “dismissed” Jesse Hemery as manager for the Society; Jesse took no notice of that but realizing, rather late it must be admitted, the seriousness of the situation, called in Shearn and Crawford, whom he had quite happily seen disfellowshipped and sent into the wilderness only a few weeks previously, to come back and help him get rid of Johnson-which, with perhaps a commendable disregard for old differences, they did.

Jesse Hemery was progressively centralizing power in himself. Secession from Hemery, J. F. Rutherford and the Watch Tower Society progressed rapidly after World War I ended. The Bible Students Committee was constituted in London on April 5, 1919 to coordinate publishing, pilgrim service, etc., outside the Society. He was undoubtedly the most prominent Bible Student/Jehovah’ s Witness in England, serving as Vice President of the IBSA, a position he held until 1946 since his appointment by Pastor Russell in 1901. He had a powerful and indeed all-sufficient ally.

Rutherford began to forcibly and dogmatically alter the existing doctrinal views, organizational structure and other Bible Students started to react against it or go their own way. Bible Students began to realize that not only the truth, but even the spirit of truth they held so dear had been compromised.

Jesse Hemery printed a short booklet supporting Rutherford, and denounced Johnson in “Harvest Siftings Reviewed” itself reviewed (December 7th, 1917).

By the end of 1928 three-fourths had severed their association with Rutherford and the newly changed Watchtower Society. In Great-Britain several separate groups came into existence:

William Robertson formed the Bible Student Publishing Co. before the major split of 1917; he published a quarterly journal The ­Bible Student that was critical of both Pastor Russell and Rutherford. There were certain IBSA ­officials who joined after the split in 1917. This group stopped operations in the 1920s.

Bible Fellowship Union 1917

At the time of the split in 1917, the Forest Gate Church was the second largest Bible Student group in England. F. G. Guard, father-in-law of William Crawford, led the class in ­divorcing themselves from the Society. In 1939 they started publishing The Forest Gate Church Bible Monthly, along with booklets and tracts. This group disbanded in 1979.
Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement 1918 [Paul S.L. Johnson]
Berean Bible Institute 1918 [Australia]
Stand Fast Bible Students Association 1918
Christian Truth Institute 1920
New Jerusalem Fellowship 1922
Elijah Voice Society 1923
Institute of Pyramidology 1923
Old Paths Publications 1925
Dawn Bible Students Association 1928 reorganized as DAWN in 1932
Watchers of the Morning 1937 [offshoot of Pastoral Bible Institute]
Goshen Fellowship 1951 [Jesse Hemery]
Epiphany Bible Students Association 1957 [John Hoefle]
Laodicean Home Missionary Movement 1957 [John Krewson]

Jesse Hemery was disfellowshipped by N. H. Knorr in 1951. Although he accepted much of Russell’s interpretations, he did reject the second presence as being a current reality. Believing Revelation was to be fulfilled in the future, he wrote and published a few Futurist interpretations of Revelation and other books of prophecy. He did reject the second presence as being a current reality.

He died in 1955 shortly after founding the “Goshen Fellowship” in 1951. Frank Lewis Brown headed the group for many years, publishing Zion’s Herald, a monthly journal beginning in 1965. Today there are still some adherents.

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We added on March 2, 2012 at 4:29 am:

The problem with smaller groups or schisms of the Jehovah Witnesses is that they still found themselves as a special chosen group who should be careful not to read material which could bring them off their path.

The Goshen Fellowship, having no internet website, may as such also have been diminishing by their members getting older and dying. The problem mainly could be that they either did not preach enough or did not make work enough to get them be known.

As such those who leave the Watchtower Group should sincerely decide if they want to be a Watchtower Movement member or if they want to be part of a worldwide movement of Bible Students.

We think it is better that they try to share their ideas and help others in this way to explore the Bible and to come to more wisdom. Sharing ideas with other groups can help them both to grow in their knowledge of the Word of God, and shall be giving both more ways to honour Jehovah.

As brother Marcus (Marcus Ampe) points out, the problem of keeping contact, makes that we sometimes loose track of persons.

 

*

Our member Jani responded on February 4, 2012 at 4:44 am: Jani Member Posts: 6 My article about this group: The Goshen Fellowship (1951 – Present) Still exist?   The Goshen Fellowship was formed as a result of the ministry of Jesse Hemery. He was undoubtedly the most prominent Bible Student/Jehovah’s Witness in England, serving as Vice President of the IBSA, a position he held until 1946 since his appointment by Pastor Russell in 1901. He was disfellowshipped by N. H. Knorr in 1951. Although he accepted much of Russell’s interpretations, he did reject the second presence as being a current reality. Believing Revelation was to be fulfilled in the future, he wrote a few commentaries on Revelation and other books of prophecy. He died in 1955 shortly after founding the “Goshen Fellowship” in 1951. Frank Lewis Brown headed the group for many years, publishing Zion’s Herald, a monthly journal beginning in 1965. According to this source, they still exist. http://bijbelvorsers.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3518291-jesse-hemery-and-goshen-fellowship   According to a Great Britain source the movement now is defunct. I think this group have two good points in common with the “Back to the Bible way” movement: 1. They reject the second presence as being a current reality 2. Believing Revelation was to be fulfilled in the future The bad thing was that JH claimed he is the faithful slave, as some say, if I understood correct. Writings: 1. Ministry of the lamb, 108 pages Zion’s herald Autor: Frank Lewis Brown Editor: Goshen Fellowship, 1970 http://books.google.ro/books/about/Ministry_of_the_lamb.html?id=CzhtPAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y 2. The scripture of truth: the vision, its understanding, 84 pages Autor: Frank Lewis Brown Editor: Goshen Fellowship, 1967 I need more information. http://www.weneedgodforever.blogspot.com/2012/02/goshen-fellowship-1951-present-still.html — Shalom, peace, paix, pace, béke   Jani * On March 2, 2012 at 4:19 am Marcus Ampe wrote: Marcus Ampe, a.o. founder of the Bijbelvorsers, Vereniging voor Bijbelstudie – Bible-Scholars, Association for bible Study Bijbelvorser Marcus Ampe Site Owner Posts: 16 Last year, the Biblestudents from Belgium had some talks with members of that group. The problem is that of several ex-JW there are still a lot who do not like to stay in contact the electronic way because they do not want to use the internet. When they move they also not remember to contact other believers who are also interested in their movement.Two people of the Goshen Fellowship, who we knew, died last year. and on March 2, 2012 at 5:59 am he continued: There were also many JW in the group of Free Christians who were still really JW, but face their problem with what happened to their children in their community. Several churches got problems about sexual actions which should not be permitted and certainly should not happen in a church community. The Kingdom Halls could not escape the trap of this world either, and because of the coverup operations the Watchtower Organisation tried to do, several parents were displeased with the organisation, but in their heart and kidneys they stayed JW. So when the Free Christians ceased some of them went back to the organisation. Of some others, who did not agree with certain teachings at the time, we also know they returned to the Brooklyn Society Organisation and a few became again elders or very active members in the JW movement. One of them still does a lot of good work on the net. + March 3, 2012 at 8:13 am: Until a few years ago I got a Dutch version of the Zion’s Herald which was sent to me from Germany. If I remember well I was subscribed until 2005-06, but I do not have any copies any more to get the address back. The contact person I had for the magazine was somebody living in Holland, if I remember well somewhere in the South East (Limburg). The magazine was printed in English, German and Dutch. From the way of writing it was clearly they had a Jehovah Witnesses stamp more than the Bible Student division of Charles Russell, though traces of The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, Studies in the Scriptures could still be found. I wonder if the Bible Fellowship Union at 4 Manor Gardens, Barnstone, Nottingham, NG3 9JL UK, would not know more; Perhaps some people joined that Bible Students Group.  I do not have full names, because in their magazine I can only find abbreviations like: DN, TH, AOH, GC. Perhaps you can contact them and see if they can tell you more.

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Notes:

* International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended. Prominent Bible Students A. H. Macmillan and J. F. Rutherford were both appointed pilgrims before they joined the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; the IBSA later adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses and renamed pilgrims as traveling overseers.

** R. E. Streeter was one of the founding fathers of the Pastoral Bible Institute and a member of the editorial board of that churches The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom magazine.

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Find additional reading:
Troubled Years 1916-1918
A Bible Study Investigation into Our Relationship to God and into “the Time of the End”
A People for His Name: A History of Jehovah’s Witnesses …
Introduction – Biblical Truth Seekers

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Preceding articles:

1. Looking at older articles series over Russell on the previous Bible-scholar Association
2. Around C.T.Russell
3. Charles Taze Russell and what he started
4. Russell himself never claimed to be a prophet.
5. Russell and his beliefs
6. Charles Taze Russell never claimed to have found a new religion, or a new church.
7. Biblestudents & T.C.Russell
8. A visible organisation on earth
9. Different approach in organisation of services #1
10. Different approach in organisation of services #2
11. Different approach in organisation of services #3
12. Suprising figures about Jehovah Witnesses
13. Jehovah’s Witnesses not only group that preach the good news

 

Charles Taze Russell and what he started

We would like to present some older articles published by us on the website of Bijbelvorsers Webs, the Association of Bible Scholars or Researchers an Association for Bible-study, and Biblestudents on March 4, 2011 at 5:41 am:

Charles Taze Russell and what he started.

C. T.Russell was born in 1852 (the second of five children) in Allegheny,Pennsylvania in the US. He grew up in faith with his father, got to know the Presbyterian and the Congregational Church. He investigated the philosophies of the Far East – Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism but soon concluded that these philosophies were empty, and his quest for spiritual satisfaction and peace remained unfulfilled.

Christians worldwide were for the first time ever considering the prophetic chronology of the Bible, concluding that Christ was going to return on dates calculated anywhere from 1862 through 1881 (with greater focus on the year 1868). From 1868 to 1875 a lot of Christians all over the world had come in great expectation for the return of Christ, believing that the 6,000 years from the creation of Adam were complete, and the seventh and final millennium began. Lots of preachers,determined to find the truth, went around the world to proclaim the end times.

George Storrs (1796–1879) one of the leaders of the Second Advent movement and affiliated with William Miller and Joshua V. Himes. He began publication of his magazine The Bible Examiner in 1843 and continued it until 1879 with a few breaks – George Storrs (1796-1879) een van de leiders van de Tweede Advent beweging en aangesloten bij William Miller en Joshua V. Himes. Hij begon met de publicatie van zijn tijdschrift The Bible Examiner in 1843 en bleef het tot 1879 met een paar pauzes publiceren

George Stetson (1814–1879) Millerite who also wrote for George Storrs’ magazine The Herald of Life and the Coming Kingdom, and for other magazines such as The World’s Crisis – George Stetson (1814–1879) Millerite die ook schreef voor George Storrs’ magazine The Herald of Life en the Coming Kingdom, en voor andere bijbelstudenten tijdschriften zoals The World’s Crisis

Soon C.T. Russell began also to see that he was living somewhere near the close of the Gospel age, “and near the time when the Lord had declared that the wise,watching ones of his children should come to a clear knowledge of his plan.” From the years 1870 through 1875 Charles, his father Joseph, his sister Margaret, along with several other interested friends and associates, and a few other truth-seekers in Pittsburgh and Allegheny formed a class for Bible study with the well studied Millerite pastors George Storrs, and George Stetson. These studies were purposely detailed and analytical with the goal of examining every ‘jot and tittle’ of Christian doctrine, creeds and traditions in order to determine their accuracy, or to see if they were nothing but “the traditions of men”. Slowly, and step by step, they were able to separate which doctrines were Bible-based from those that were error, or mere tradition. Such detailed studies and questions of faith were common to numerous Protestant groups in the United States at this time in American history.

Charles had a time of constant growth in grace and knowledge and love of God and his Word. During this time of his Bible study, the Russells were also influenced by Adventists such as Jonas Wendell, Nelson Barbour, the Christadelphians and the Lutheran minister Joseph Seiss. In the history of Bible Students we cannot escape to see several names coming up in different denominations of today. In the nineteenth century there was a big cross-pollination. Some of Russell’s beliefs can be traced back to the very beginning of the Second Advent movement started by William Miller.

William Miller (1782-1849), American clergyman, founded a movement which involved thousands in eagerly awaiting the Second Coming of Christ. – William Miller (1782-1849), Amerikaanse dominee, stichtte een beweging die duizenden reikhalzend deden uitkijken naar de wederkomst van Christus.

Because of their intensive study of the Bible, the Russell family (Charles, Margaret, and Joseph) concluded that they had finally gained a new and clearer understanding of what a Christian is called to do in laying down their earthly life in sacrifice and service to God. All three renewed their consecration (vow of dedication) and decided to be re-baptized in 1874.

In 1876 Russell sold his father’s men’s clothing tailoring store named “The Old QuakerShop” located on Federal Street in downtown Pittsburgh and used this money to use it for preaching and publication purposes.

Russell was impressed with Nelson Barbour’s “invisible presence” views on Christ’s coming and he accepted much of his chronological views. Barbour and Russell soon became partners in publishing Herald of the Morning, Pastor Russell becoming an assistant editor of the Adventist magazine.

C.T.Russell became also the co-publisher of the book, Three Worlds and The Harvest of This World (Also called, Three Worlds: Or Plan of Redemption) (1877). A doctrinal dispute between Russell and Barbour over the atonement, and that the Rapture of the saints would occur in April 1878, resulted in Russell ending his partnership with Barbour and publishing his own magazine the Zion’s Watch Tower magazine, starting in 1879. When Russell left, he took many of Barbour’s readers with him, including J.H. Paton, the Herald magazine’s other assistant editor. He continued with Barbour’s chronology of 1874 being the date of Christ’s invisible return, 1799 as the start of the time of the end and 1914 as the “end of the Gentile Times”.

In 1908 the name of their magazine was changed to The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence.

Russell married Maria (pronounced ‘moriah’) Frances Ackley (1850-1938 ) on March 13,1879, after merely a few months’ acquaintance. The marriage was based on a mutually agreed celibate partnership established for preaching the gospel. In 1897 they separated following disagreements over the propriety of her role in the management of Zion’s Watch Tower magazine.

In 1881 “Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society” was founded with the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles, and was officially chartered in 1884.

Charles devoted nearly a tenth of his fortune in publishing and distributing his first major publication, entitled “Food for Thinking Christians” in 1881. In that same year he also wrote and distributed, “Tabernacle and its Teachings”, and “Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices”. In “Food for Thinking Christians”, Russell’s zeal to throw light upon the creedal errors motivated him to tear into the error without first showing that the Bible was indeed true, and that there was truth to be found therein. This approach shivered many men well and did the rear.

Russell wanted to outline the entire Bible and God’s plan for humanity, completely free of the Roman creeds and “traditions of men” in a seven-volume set. The first volume was originally entitled “The Plan of the Ages”, later renamed “The Divine Plan of the Ages”.

The”Divine Plan of the Ages” took the opposite approach of “Food for Thinking Christians” and first showed the beauty and harmony of the Bible before attacking the creedal errors. This approach was accepted as a refreshing answer to people’s search for truth so evident from the end of the 19th century onward.

The remaining volumes of the series, originally named “Millennial Dawn” but renamed in 1904 to “Studies in the Scriptures”, are:

 

The Time is at Hand (1889)

Thy Kingdom Come (1891)

The Day of Vengeance/The Battle of Armageddon (1897)

The Atonement Between God and Men (1899)

The New Creation (1904)

 

The delayed publishing of the seventh volume eventually became a source of great anticipation and mystery among Bible Students. Following Russell’s death in 1916, a seventh volume entitled The Finished Mystery, was published in 1917 and advertised as his “posthumous work”. True to Russell’s plan, this seventh volume was a detailed interpretation of the book of Revelation, but had included interpretations of Ezekiel, and the Song of Solomon. Immediate controversy surrounded both its publishing, and contents. In a short time it was established that it was actually written and compiled by two of Russell’s former associates, Clayton J. Woodworth and George H. Fisher, and edited by Joseph Franklin Rutherford. [i]

By 1903, newspapers began printing sermons written by Pastor Russell. The success of this got perhaps in his head. Though a lot of criticism came up he became more in the picture and got more followers.

While on the one hand claiming no special “authority,” Russell clearly desired to be the “servant” in the estimation of the “household of faith.” The danger became that he started claiming to be the “mouthpiece” of God. While others before him paved the way in giving the “midnight cry,” such as Miller and Barbour, Russell believed he was finally chosen as the one in restoring true Biblical teaching. While saying everyone needed to decide for himself, etc., Russell clearly wanted everyone to”study” the Bible solely from his writings.

Frederick William Franz (1893–1992) member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and served as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal entity used to direct the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. – Frederick William Franz (1893-1992) lid van het Regerend Lichaam van Jehovah’s Getuigen en diende als president van het Wachttorengenootschap the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, de juridische entiteit gebruikt om het werk van Jehovah’s Getuigen te leiden.

After Russell’s dead it became even worse. A leadership crisis arose surrounding the new president of the Society, Joseph Rutherford, resulting in a movement-wide schism. As many as three-quarters of the approximately 50,000 Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931, resulting in the formation of several groups that retained variations on the name Bible Students. The idea of the truthful slave was interpolated to the Watchtower Tract Society. Rutherford and Fred Franz (Frederick William Franz) their followers who maintained fellowship with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931. They accept that the Society is provided with the only truthful slave and is the only one which has received the light from God and can show the light and right way to enter the Kingdom of God. JW‘s believe the Bible Students are still stuck on the “old light” of “Pastor” Russell and thus haven’t kept up with the latest “light” or “present truth.” Thus JW’s are no longer “Russellites” or followers of Russell as detractors have called them and they used to proudly call themselves. [ii] Russell is no longer viewed by the Watchtower Society as the “faithful and wise servant” alone serving the “meat in due season” or proper explanation of the Scriptures as they taught until 1927. [iii] They have gone back to the original view that the “servant” is a class of people, the 144,000, of which Russell was only one. The truth is still being progressively revealed to the modern “remnant” of the 144,000 who are currently leading the corporation Russell founded according the Jehovah Witnesses. Russell is viewed by JW’s today as the founder of their movement who helped revive the truth and separated them from Babylon the Great, but who taught many things that are no longer the “truth’ as the “light has grown brighter” since his day. JW’s therefore do not and are not encouraged to read Russell’s material at all, except the brief quotations provided by the Society’s writers in their current publications.

The Society of the Watchtower stopped publishing Russell his Studies in the Scriptures in 1928. Many Bible Students believe for the most part that the Society has become apostate as it no longer believes in many of Russell’s teachings as exposed in his Studies. As Russell warned about those who would do such a thing, the Society has gone into spiritual darkness, according to those other Bible Students. JW’s are viewed by many Bible Students as part of the Whore of Babylon and tell JW’s to “get out of her my people.”

Although the JW testify to be bible the only real research workers of truth, we fortunately can determine that there are, though be it in comparison with the traditional religions, not so many, still several people who were faithful to study the Book of books wanting to examine the Holy Scriptures and to investigate how they can be most faithful to this Word of God.

Those who severed ties with the Society formed their own groups including the Pastoral Bible Institute in 1918 (publishing The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom), the Layman’s Home Missionary Movement in 1919, and the Dawn Bible Students Association in 1929.

Moreover the former not associated Bible researchers remain still active in their Bible study and the proclamation of the Word of God.

*

Notes:

[i] http://www.pastor-russell.com/misc/bio.html

[ii] Walter Martin and Norman Klan, Jehovahof the Watchtower (Minneapolis, MN.: Bethany House Publishers), 1953, 1974,p. 41; The Golden Age, March 17, 1920, pp. 409-414.

[iii] J. F. Rutherford, The Harp ofGod (Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society), 1921, pp. 237,239.

Dutch speaking readers at that time could find this text in Dutch on the Space of the Belgian bible Students but by the disappearance of Windows Live Spaces the article also disappeared

Nederlandstaligelezerskonden dit artikel in het Nederlands vinden op de Space van Bijbelstudenten uit België maar door het wegvallen van Windows Live Spaces hebben wij dat artikel verloren : Charles Taze Russell, een bal die veel aan het rollen bracht.

 ++

Find also:

1. Different approach in organisation of services #1
2. Different approach in organisation of services #2
3. Different approach in organisation of services #3
4. Priority to form a loving brotherhood
5. Commitment to Christian unity
6. Parts of the body of Christ
7. Dissolution of Bijbelvorsers (Bible scholars), Association for Bible study

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