By Ronald R. Day, Sr. (ResLight; RLBible)
Regarding Russell's change of viewpoint in 1904, briefly, before 1904, Russell held that the "time of trouble" would end in 1914, based on Barbour's conclusions. Even before 1904, evidently some Bible Students had come to the conclusion that 1914 would see the beginning, not the end, of the time of trouble. Russell at first rejected that viewpoint, but in 1904, he evidently became convinced that the ending of the Gentile Times in 1914 does indeed indicate, not the end, but the beginning of the time of trouble, and thus wrote of this in the July 1, 1904 WT:
https://reslight.boards.net/post/2028/thread
https://reslight.boards.net/post/2028/thread
In the June 15, 1905 issue of the WT, Russell presented both John Edgar's and U. G. Lee's parallels. Edgar pointed to the year 1915 as the a possible year of Christendom's destruction (the end of the time of trouble). Lee's chart pointed to the year 1920. Russell presented both views without comment, but elsewhere he stated that he did not know when the time of trouble was to end.
We present Lee's chart below:
We have presented many quotes from Russell reflecting his change of viewpoint related to 1914 at:
Regarding changes in the Studies in the Scriptures, some changes were made in the 1905 edition, especially as related to the pyramid passage regarding the descending passageway. Some more changes to original editions were noted in the Watch Tower of 1909, and were given as follows; we are not sure in what editions all the changes were made. We know that the change concerning the descending passageway of the Great Pyramid first appeared in the 1905 edition.
(See the subtopic: Russell's Supposed Pyramid Date Change)
From the Watch Tower, September 15, 1909, page 283, Reprints 4477:
http://www.mostholyfaith.com/Bible/reprints/Z1915MAR.asp
CHANGES IN "SCRIPTURE STUDIES"
We call attention to a few slight changes which have been made in four pages of Vol. II. and six pages of Vol. III., "STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES." These are all trivial and do not alter the real sense and lesson, but conform to the facts as we have them today. The pages containing these corrections are as follows:Vol. II., page 77, line 1, "will be the farthest limit," reads "will see the disintegration."
Vol. II., page 77, line 6, "will obtain full universal control," reads "will begin to assume control."
Vol. II., page 77, lines 16,17, "end of A.D. 1914," reads "end of the overthrow."
Vol. II., page 81, line 9, "can date only from A.D. 1914," reads "could not precede A.D. 1915."
Vol. II., page 170, line 16, "at that time they will all be overturned."*
Vol. II., page 221, line 25, "full favor until A.D. 1914," reads "full favor until after 1915."
Vol. III., page 94, line 29, "in this end or harvest," reads "at the end of this harvest."
Vol. III., page 126, line 12, "at A.D. 1914," reads "after 1914."
Vol. III., page 133, line 21, "ere the harvest is fully ended."+
Vol. III., page 228, line 11, "some time before 1914," reads "very soon after 1914."
Vol. III., page 228, line 15, "just how long before," reads "just how long after."
Vol. III., page 362, line 11, "some time before," reads "some time near."
Vol. III., page 364, line 14, "must not only witness," reads "may not only witness."
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*How long it will require to accomplish this overturning we are not informed, but have reason to believe the period will be short.
+The end of the harvest will probably include the burning of the tares.
It is often claimed that Russell sought to cover up these changes. In fact, Russell in no way sought to hide these changes, and there is nothing at all wrong with Russell making these changes, regardless of how one might imagine, assume, and attribute something evil or sinister to these changes. There are those, however, who fail to note that many of these changes were not something "new" in 1914 or 1915, since they reflect what Russell had stated many times in the pages of the Watch Tower and elsewhere between the years 1904 up to 1914.
Russell Disclaimed Being a Prophet
Some treat Russell's statements as though they were presented as being divinely-inspired prophecies. Russell never made any such claim, and, in fact, he consistently disclaimed that his expectations were divinely-inspired prophecies. A few quotes from Russell:
"Our own views are not prophecy, but interpretations of the holy prophets of old." -- Watch Tower, October 1890, page 8.
"Neither must you lean upon the DAWN and the TOWER as infallible teachers." -- Watch Tower, June, 1893 pg. 168
"We claim no infallibility for our presentations." -- Watch Tower, April 15, 1901, page 136
Russell was not correct about everything; he admitted that possibility from the start. And many things he had right, but even in these many of the details were not as expected, nor did all happen as soon as he was expecting. Furthermore, at times he gave several variations of what might be expected regarding 1914, one of which was the possibility that nothing at all may happen in the fall of 1914, or 1915, etc. Nevertheless, these were just that -- expectations, they were not prophecies. Indeed, amongst the Bible Students before 1914 there were many different conclusions concerning what would happen in 1914 and dates before and after. (There was no centralized authority as Rutherford developed after Russell died).
See:
It has been claimed that we blindly follow Russell, and accept what he said. The reader should understand that we do not agree with all of Russell conclusions; we believe, for instance, that what he refers to as the 'grace covenant' is indeed the New Covenant, since grace comes by the blood of the New Covenant. (Matthew 26:28; Romans 6:14,15; Hebrews 10:29) A true "Bible Student" should never put Russell's -- are anyone else's -- opinions above the Bible. Indeed, Russell himself, in effect, stated such several times.
Did Russell Change 1914 to 1915?
Did Russell Change 1914 to 1915?
Many mistakenly have presented the idea that when 1914 did not bring what Russell expected, that Russell changed 1914 to 1915, whereas, in reality, 1915 had been discussed in the pages of The Watch Tower long before 1914 had arrived. As noted above, 1915 was given as a possible date for the ending of the time of trouble, and throughout Russell's ministry, Russell had referred to 1915 with various applications. Additionally, another viewpoint held, long before 1914, by some Bible Students, long before 1914 had come, was that October of 1915 was to be real end of the Gentile Times. Brother Russell, although he did not himself accept this view, did at least twice present this view in the pages of the Watch Tower. Some of the Bible Students were pointing to 1933 as the end of the Gentile Times. Russell discussed all of these dates, and a few others. Overall, however, he held that the last date that he believed could be determined by Biblical time prophecy was 1914, and he continued to believe this until he died in 1916; all other dates he did not give as much credence to because they were being determined by parallels, or based on a different viewpoint of chronology itself.
Something many also do not realize is that Russell also referred many times to October of 1914 as the start of the year 1915; in this he was using the fall-to-fall years, as the Jewish year. He was not changing 1914 to 1915.
Some have quoted page 99 of the 1914 or later edition of Volume II of the Scriptures Studies, and offer this as proof of their claim that when 1914 failed, Russell changed the date to 1915. This method is misleading, however, since the change on page 99 appeared at least three years before 1914, and did not first appear in the 1914, 1915 nor in 1916 editions (or later), as many would make it appear. In other words, in Volume II of the Studies, the 1911 edition, on page 99, 1914 was changed to 1915, but this change was not made in 1914 (or later), as some report; this change appeared in Volume II as early as 1911. We have found it odd, however, that no report of such a change being made in the pages of the Watch Tower, and, thus, it has been speculated that the change may have been made without Russell's authorization. We do not believe Russell ever authorized such a change, since the resulting statements do not harmonize with what Russell was saying elsewhere in 1911. Indeed, the change to 1914 to 1915 in the context on page 99 does not really make sense, although taken out of context, one could conclude that Russell may have changed this to correspond with John Edgar's thought that the time of trouble was to end in 1915; that is, the "time of trouble" was to last for one year, from October of 1914 to October of 1915. Russell, however, although he presented Edgar's, as well as U. G. Lee's, conclusions in the pages of the Watch Tower in 1905, did not fully adopt either of these conclusions. He maintained that we do not know how long the time of trouble was to last, although he stated that it probably would not last for more than a year.
See:
See:
The earlier editions of Volume II on page 99 read:
In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished
by the end of A. D. 1914.
The change that appeared as early as the 1911 edition, three years before 1914, reads as follows:
In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished near the end of A. D. 1915.
The year 1914 was changed to 1915. As stated, and in context, it would appear that the 1911 edition would, by this one sentence, have the Times of the Gentiles to end in 1915, which, however, from the context, we know that this was not what is meant. If Russell authorized this change, he evidently did so with Edgar's parallel in mind, which seemed to indicate that the time of trouble was to begin in around October of 1914 and end around October of 1915. We highly doubt that Russell would have authorized such a change that would be so much out of context, however.
We will also note that this sentence in the LHMM edition of 1937 reads:
In view of this strong evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth that the overthrow of the kingdoms of this world begin in 1914, preparatory to the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
This latter edition actually more accurately reflects Russell's view that he adopted in 1904, ten years before 1914. P. S. L. Johnson, who edited the LHMM edition of the Studies, had worked closely with Russell as Russell's personal secretary.
Nevertheless, at the time of this writing, we do not know for a certain as to why such a change was made in the way that it was made in the 1911 edition. We can only state that the LHMM edition actually is more correct in expressing the view that Russell adopted in the year 1904, ten years before 1914. It may have been that when changes were made that someone somehow, either by accident, or on purpose, also changed the wording on page 99 from 1914 to 1915. Brother Russell died in 1916, without ever making any comment concerning such a change or any of the changes from 1914 to 1915, which leads us to the conclusion that he may not have even been aware of such changes from 1914 to 1915. We do know, however, that it was not Russell's thought that the end of the Gentiles should be changed to one year later. The overwhelming testimony throughout the pages of Watch Tower attest to this.
The following quotes from Russell between October of 1914 until his death in 1916 show that Russell did not change 1914 to 1915:
Watch Tower, February 15, 1915, page 53:
For a wise purpose He permits this reign of lawlessness, this condition which evokes universal odium. Our thought is that we should look for still further evidences day by day that the Gentile Times have ended, and that God's Kingdom has begun its work.
Watch Tower, February 15, 1915, page 53:
We believe that the Times of the Gentiles ended just on time, as shown in Volume II. of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.
Watch Tower, February 15, 1915, page 55:
The Times of the Gentiles have ended, and the nations are now disintegrating.
Russell certainly believed, in February of 1915, that the Gentile Times had already ended. He had not changed the date to October of 1915. Russell, however, by his various statements from 1911 to 1916, seemed to be unaware that of the changes that had appeared in the 1911 editions of his STUDIES. This provides evidence that he was never aware that the dates had been changed in the 1911 editions of his books.
Watch Tower April 15, 1915, page 127:
We believe that the dates have proven to be quite right. We believe that the Gentile Times have ended, and that God is now allowing the Gentile Governments to destroy themselves, in order to prepare the way for Messiah's Kingdom.
Rather than saying that 1914 was the wrong date, Russell states that he still believed that the dates had proven to be quite correct. Thus, in April of 1915, Russell had not changed the date 1914 to 1915.
Watch Tower June 1, 1915, page 166:
We do not think that the Gospel Age fully ended in September 1914, but merely the Times of the Gentiles.
Again, this shows that in June of 1915, he still believed that the Gentile Times had already ended in 1914; he was not looking for them to end in October of 1915.
Watch Tower, July 15, 1915, page 215:
As we leave here today, we do so with the thought that we may meet again as a Convention, or perhaps we may not meet again. It is not for you or for me to be dictatorial. The Bible indicates that the Gentile Times have ended. Their kings have had their day.
The above was taken from a discourse that Russell gave in Oakland in June of 1915. It shows that in June of 1915 he was still holding to the belief that the Gentile Times had already ended. It also shows that he had not set forth any date for the time of trouble to end.
Watch Tower September 1, 1915, page 286:
Many Bible students are thoroughly convinced that the 2520 years from Zedekiah's day to October, 1914, ended there--that that date marked the end of God's lease of world power to the Gentile nations.
In September of 1915 Russell was still pointing to the 1914 as the end of the Gentiles; he did not mention any expectation that they were to end a month later.
Watch Tower January 1, 1916, page 4
We have seen, too, that when Elijah's time for translation came, he was sent from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho and from Jericho to Jordan; and that these different points were measurably disappointing; yet that Elijah and Elisha were not discouraged, but went on--Jordan representing the end of the Times of the Gentiles, 1915.
Here Russell does refer to the end of the Time of the Gentiles as being 1915. Does this mean that he had changed his view, and that he was saying that the Gentile Times had not ended in 1914? No, because his usage of 1915 is the same as found in the very first editions of his STUDIES, as referring to the Jewish year corresponding to 1915 as beginning in October of 1914. See the first edition of The Time Is At Hand (1889) page 232, where he spoke of A.D. 1915 as "the closing of the Gentile Times." The chronology that Russell used was based on "whole years" or "full years" running from October to October, thus the end of 1914 A.D. in October would be the beginning of 1915 A.D, according the autumnal Jewish year. Indeed, he often referred to the Gentile Times as ending in 1915 as meaning the beginning of the Jewish year in October of 1914.
Watch Tower February 1, 1916, page 38.
Did the Times of the Gentiles end by October 1st, 1914? It certainly looks very much as if they did.
Russell, in February 1916, was still holding to the belief that the Gentile Times had ended in October of 1914. He had not changed 1914 to 1915.
Watch Tower September 1, 1916, page 264.
It still seems clear to us that the prophetic period known as the Times of the Gentiles ended chronologically in October, 1914.
In September of 1916, just before his death, he was still holding to the belief that the Gentile Times had ended in 1914. He still had not changed it to 1915.
We should always remember, however, that Jesus is the truth and the only way one can be reconciled to his God.
John 14:6 World English:
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me." -- Not by means of Russell, nor of an organization, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
This research has been added to from time to time for past fifteen years are so. Recent edits: 12/12/2013; 4/9/2014; 5/29/2014. Last edited 8/12/2021.
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