By Ronald R. Day, Sr.
It is stated that many terms Russell used and many "symbols" that Russell used are now considered "pagan" by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Of course, the fact that pagans may have used such symbolism or terminology does not mean that any such symbolism or terminology cannot be used for Biblical purposes. Symbols of the "sun" are used by pagans for heathen worship and practices, and yet the sun is one of God's creations, and the Bible often uses sun symbolism.
Our concern, however, is not with what the JWs think, but with Russell, what he believed, and if Russell is being misrepresented.
All the "symbols" or illustrations that Russell used are actually Biblically based, irrespective of whether some pagans may have used similar symbols. The endeavor, appears to be to connect the illustrations and terms Russell used with the Freemasons, so that those illustrations and terms may be labeled "Masonic". And it is evidently being then presumed that Masons are pagan worshippers, practicing evil religious activities, evilly scheming to take over the world, etc. All this despite the fact that most of the Masons are members of the various denominations and full believers in the trinitarian creeds. Indeed, in order to be a member of the Knights Templar, one has to profess belief in the trinitarian creeds.
Watch Tower
The terminology "watch tower" appears in the King James Version of the Bible, and that is probably what influenced Russell more than anything in making use of the terms "Watchtower", "watch tower", "tower" and watchers, etc. (2 Chronicles 20:24; Isaiah 21:5; 21:8; see also 2 Kings 9:17; Isaiah 5:2; 21:6,11,12; Mark 12:1; Jeremiah 6:27; Habakkuk 2:1; Matthew 24:42,43; 25:13; Mark 13:33-37) Whatever usage the Freemasons may make of this term is probably due to the fact that most of the Freemasons profess to be Christian and may therefore have an interest in Biblical terminology as applied to the Masonic goals, and especially as such is related to the Knights Templar, since one has to profess belief in Christianity, including man's trinitarian creeds, in order to be a member of the Knights Templar. One does not need to profess to believe in Christ or the God of Abraham in order to be a member of the Freemasons, but to be accepted into the Knights Templar one has to profess belief in the God of the Bible, which they erroneously claim to be a triune God.
Golden Age
Brother Russell made usage of the term -- although it does appear to possibly be of pagan origin -- usually to represent what the heathen have been blindly waiting for, that is, the time when the desire of all nations shall come (Haggai 2:7). Paul speaks of the "whole creation" now groaning in pain, and says what they are waiting for is the "the manifestation of the sons of God". (Romans 8:19) Of course, they do not KNOW that this is what they are waiting for, but with the expression of a coming "golden age" they show that they are ignorantly waiting for the time when all nations will be blessed through Jesus and the sons of God. -- Genesis 22:18; 26:4; Galatians 3:8,16,29.
An example:
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| From Bible Students Monthly, Volume 9, No. 1 as reproduced in Harvest Gleanings, Volume 3, page 34 |
This usage of this term by Russell certainly has nothing to do with condoning heathen religious practices, heathen spiritism, heathen idolatry, the Masons, etc. Rather, just the opposite, he used that term to describe the time when the heathen will be healed (Isaiah 19:22; 29:17,18,24; Revelation 22:2) and when all peoples will learn Jehovah's ways and the ways of righteousness. (Isaiah 2:2-4; 26:9) It expresses the expectation of a coming time when all will be blessed, as foretold in the Bible.
Jehovah
"Jehovah" is simply one of the ways God's Holy Name is transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew text. We have not been able to verify that the Masons make any frequent or general usage of this form of God's Holy Name; most appear to usually follow the King James Version in changing God's Holy Name to "Lord", "the Lord", and "God". There does appear to be some emphasis on the Hebrew tetragrammaton among some lodges of the Masons. Evidently, these lodges consist of only professed Christians or perhaps mostly professed Christians.
Forms of God's Holy Name have been or still are often misused in forms of spiritism and other practices that are actually condemned in the Bible. So is the Bible itself. The misuse of the Bible and/or God's Holy Name in such practices, however, does not make this Latin form of God's Holy Name or the Bible to be of or from those people who do such. Heathen people have misused many things of God's creation in their worship, including the Sun, the Moon, the stars, cows, tree, etc. The misuse of God's creation in false worship does not make anything of God's creation to have originated from those who misuse God's creation in such ways. See our blogsite on "The Holy Name of God".
New World Order
Russell apparently never used this term. We did electronic searches of Russell's works for "New World Order" and "World Order", but could not find either term used by Russell.
Russell did speak of the Biblical new order (Greek, kosmos) of a new heavens and a new earth. (2 Peter 3:18) "Order" is one of the meanings of the Greek word often transliterated as "kosmos", which Peter used in 1 Peter 3:6 in describing the "the world [kosmos] that then was". Russell's Biblical usage of such terminology certainly had nothing at all to do with the Masons, or some heathen occultism, or some conspiracy to take over the world. If by "New World Order" is meant some kind of idea that man will bring about a new order, and/or some kind of conspiracy of imperfect men to bring about a new world order, Russell actually preached against such ideas. He did not believe that men of sinful nature will bring about God's new order of things.
All-Seeing Eye
Of course, God's all-seeing eye is spoken of in the Bible, and Brother Russell did make a few references to such and he used an illustration of Jehovah's "all-seeing eye" in the Photodrama, none of which offers any proof whatsoever that Brother Russell was a Freemason or that he was a member of an alleged "Illuminati" group whose goal is to take over the world. Indeed, such an idea is totally out of harmony with the Bible message that Brother Russell spent nearly his entire life preaching and defending.
It is often claimed the the "eye" illustration Russell used is the "eye of Horus". Actually, the 'eye of Horus' symbolism is not the same as the illustration used by Russell to represent Jehovah's all-seeing eye. See also our reference page: Russell and the All-Seeing Eye
Winged Sun Disk
What is being referred to as a "Winged Sun Disk" is actually artwork designed to relate to the sun of righteousness spoken of by Jehovah as recorded in Malachi 4:2. The "sun of rightoeusness" illustration used by Russell is not the same as the Egyptian "winged sun disk" nor have we found any evidence that the Masons ever made use of the same symbol that Russell presented on his books.
The Egyptians made use of a winged sun disk which has some similarities, but is not the same.
At any rate, Malachi 4:2, however, provides scriptural evidence that the symbolism originates from Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that like many other Biblical symbolisms, the Assyrians, Egyptians, etc., have perverted the symbolism to their own goals. As Jehovah speaks of Egypt, so it is with all the heathen. -- Isaiah 19:14.
Fritz Springmeier presents Malachi 4:2 as evidence that the prophet had been influenced by the heathen. This would actually mean that Malachi was a false prophet claiming that Jehovah said something that Jehovah did not say. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) Did the NT writers accept the prophet Malachi? Yes. Some believe that Luke 1:78 is a reference to Malachi 4:2. Since the prophet Malachi is quoted and referenced in the New Testament (Matthew 11:10,14; 17:10-13; Mark 1:2; 9:11-13; Luke 1:17; 7:27; Romans 9:13), if the prophet Malachi was under the influence of the heathen, to be consistent, it would mean that Jesus and his apostles were all under the influence of the heathen. Even worse, it would indicate that the entire New Testament is false.
Pyramids
Russell had no special interest in "pyramids" (plural). Russell did have interest in one pyramid (the Great Pyramid of Egypt), but only because of his belief that is related to the Bible. His Biblical study of that pyramid has nothing at all to do with the Freemasons, except that some individual Freemasons may have endeavored a similar study. It definitely has nothing to do with any kind demonic occultism, heathenistic religious rituals, spiritism, astrology, etc.
Zionist Stance
Russell did believe that the Zionist movement was in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Again, his interest was purely Biblical and had nothing at all to do with Masons, many of whom do not believe that the prophecies have a fulfillment in the restoration of Israel. His interest in these Biblical prophecies definitely has not at all to do with some kind conspiracy by imperfect men to take over the world, which he preached against. We doubt that anyone associated with the Illuminati would agree with Russell's applications of the Bible prophecies.
The Sign of the Pyramid
The usage of this expression could be misleading in that the reader could think that Russell made use of some kind of pyramid as a "sign". As far as we can determine, Russell never used the expression "sign of the pyramid". Russell did believe that Great Pyramid is what is spoken of in Isaiah 19:20 as a "sign and wonder" in the land of Egypt.
It is stated as being a fact:
In the early 1900's he went to Egypt to measure the pyramid and claimed that the passage of the great pyramid of Gizeh was 2170 inches and that it was built in 2170 B.C.E.We have fouund no record of Russell ever going to Egypt "to measure the pyramid". Russell did go to Egypt and did visit the pyramid. We did find a picture taken of Russell while he posed with a measuring rod when he did go the pyramid, but it appears to be simply a pose. The first edition of the Thy Kingdom Come was in 1891, which was before the "early 1900s". It was stated then that the measurements are based on the measurements given by Professor Piazzi Smyth. The only measurement in question was the measurement of the floor lower part of the descending passageway, which Smyth could not take a measurement of due to the debris in that area. He did take a measurement of the roof of the lower descending passageway, and Russell endeavored to use his measurement of the roof to project a measurement to floor of the lower part of the descending passageway. Evidently, in 1905 Russell became concerned that the measurement of the lower passageway was incorrect, and projected a different measurement. It was not until 1909 that the Edgar Brothers removed the debris and took actual measurements of the lower part of the descending passageway, and found that both of the measurements that Russell proposed were incorrect.
Regarding 1270 BC: Russell relied greatly on others who had studied the Great Pyramid before him. It was not Russell who came up with the suggestion that the Great Pyramid was constructed in 1270 BC. Russell simply reported the conclusion of Piazzi Smyth and others. None of this originated from Russell himself. On page 321, Russell plainly stated:
Prof. Smyth has concluded that the Great Pyramid was built in the year 2170 B.C., reaching this conclusion, first, from astronomical observations....
This conclusion of Prof. Smyth's as to the date of the Great Pyramid's building, was most abundantly corroborated, later, by certain measurements by which the Great Pyramid indicates its own date of construction.
Brother Russell thus presented the conclusions of others, based on evidences, that leads to the suggestion that the Great Pyramid was constructed in 2170 B.C. If one actually takes the time to read what Russell presented in his study, it should be apparent that this conclusion was not because Russell "went to Egypt to measure the pyramid and claimed that the passage of the great pyramid of Gizeh...."
A quote is given from a 1909 edition of Studies in the Scriptures Volume 1. We could not find a 1909 edition of Volume 1, but this quote appears to be from an advertisement for Volume 3 that was placed in the back of Volumes 1 and 2, and possibly Volumes 4,5 and 6. We did find this advertisement in 1909 edition of Volume 2:
A picture is presented of a special edition of Volume 1 that was published in 1913. This special edition simply took the last study from Vol. 3 and placed it at the beginning of this special edition of Volume 1. This apparently did not go over very well. The problem with doing this was that the last study of Volume 3 assumes that one has already studied the material before it, thus if a reader started out with this study, he would not know what much of it is referring to, and evidently some who read Volume 1 for the first time --without having read Volumes 2 and 3, were coming to wrong conclusions.
The following statement is made:
In a monumental display of deceit, when Russell revised his doctrine to focus more on 1914 than 1874, he updated his pyramid measurements in later editions of Thy Kingdom Come to suit his new interpretation.
Sadly, the words written in the quote show that the author is the one who is being deceitful. Russell discussed the change being referred to and was not the one who was deceitful. The deceit, however, is the manner in which this is presented on the webpage being discussed. Quotes are given and pages reproduced from page 342 of Thy Kingdom Come from the 1891 edition and from the 1911 edition. Russell made a change related to the lower part of the descending passageway. Nevertheless, the reader is left with the impression that this change took place in 1911 when actually it took place in 1905. Anyone familiar with Russell's works would know that the change made in 1905 on page 342 of Thy Kingdom Come has nothing at all to do with focusing on 1914 rather than 1874. Russell had always focused on 1874 as the date when Christ returned and he had always focused on 1914 as the time of the end of the Gentiles. He continued that focus even after 1905.
Russell did present a change of focus regarding both 1874 and 1914 in the year 1904. Before 1904, Russell believed that the time of trouble (Armageddon) had begun in 1874 and that it was to end in 1914. In 1904, he began to realize that the time of trouble could not begin until after the times of the Gentiles had ended, and thus in 1904 there was a change of focus regarding when the time of trouble was being made, but this did not mean that a focus on 1914 rather "than" 1874. Russell had always had a focus on 1914 ever since 1876, only before 1904 that focus was on the idea that Armageddon was to end in 1914. From 1904 onward, the focus was on the time of trouble as beginning in 1914 (or shortly thereafter). The focus continued on 1874 as the date of Christ's return and the beginning of the harvest, the beginning of the end of the age.
The change on page 342 in the 1905 edition reflects Russell's change in 1904 regarding the time of trouble as beginning in 1914, although his change of viewpoint concerning in 1904 did not necessitate the change of measurement of the lower part of the descending passageway. He could have kept the measurement as it was and referred to pointing to 1874 as the time of Christ's return. As had been noted before, the floor of this lower part of the descending passageway had not been actually measured because of debris in that part of the passageway. Evidently, either Russell or someone else began to realize that there may be an error in the manner in which measurements were being applied regarding that lower part of the descending passageway, which led Russell to adjust that measurement. The adjusted calculation pointed to 1915 (the end of 1914). Russell had the year before begun to realize that 1914 (the beginning of 1915) was to be the beginning of the time of trouble. Russell never endeavored to update all statements of his Studies to show the change regarding the time of trouble as beginning in 1914, rather than ending in 1914. He did make some changes along this line in 1915, but he never made a full update of his studies to reflect his change related to the time of trouble, and this still left many statements in his Studies referring to 1914 as the end of the time of trouble, rather the beginning of the time of trouble. We discussed the change on page 342 of Thy Kingdom Come in more detail in our research related to: False Claims Regarding Russell and the Great Pyramid Examined. See also our research related Russell's change of viewpoint in 1904 related to the "time of trouble".
Russell's Grave and the Pyramid Monument
It is stated that Russell's grave in the Rosemont is a "family owned grave". If by "family" is meant the Russell family, this is appears to be incorrect. As best as we can determine, Russell's grave is part of the plots owned by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
Several years after Russell died, Rutheford authorized the construction of pyramid monument as a replicat of the Great Pyramid in Egypt, deemed to be God's Witness in Egypt spoken of in Isaiah 19. We could not find any record of how much that monument weighed, but we highly doubt that it weighed several tons as stated on the webpage.
There is no Knights Templar symbolism on that monument, however. One has to imagine and assume that the Biblical cross and crown symbol is a Knight's Templar symbol. Russell, both by what he taught and what he said showed that he was not in favor of the Freemasons or the Knights Templar. He evidently, however, believed that all Freemasons are Christians, and thus considered the Freemasons as another Christian "sect", which was to pass away. God is certainly not going to allow the various sects and denominations to continue to exist in the age to come. The original design for the monument does not show an all-seeing eye. It does appear that someone etched an "all-seeing eye" on one side of the monument after it had been constructed.z
The Masonic Center shown in the picture was constructed in the mid 1990s on what used to be farmland adjacent to the cemetery. This has nothing at all to do with Russell. There may be some Masons buried in the Rosemont Cemetery, as in almost all cemeteries, This has nothing to do with Russell.
For more see our post: Russell, the Freemasons and the Rosemont Cemetery
The Chart of the Ages
The "Chart of the Ages" is not about pyramids nor God's Witness in Egypt. It is about the progressive development of God's plan in the various ages, using pyramid illustrations showing constructions at various stages to illustrate that progression, until the pyramid is finally completed, representing how God's Kingdom is to be when finally completed. See Russell's study on this chart.
More be added later, God willing.....
Regarding the Claims that Russell Used Astrology, see
Did Russell Use Astrology to Support His Beliefs?
Regarding the Illuminati, see:
Russell and the Illuminati
Regarding the Freemasons, see:
Russell and the Freemasons
Picture of Pastor Russell colorized by pallette.fm.
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