https://eacanada.wordpress.com/2020/04/26/charles-taze-russells-great-pyramid-scheme/
The author evidently actually believes what he is written to be true, but in actuality, many incorrect statements are given.
The author makes the mistake many often make of saying that Charles Taze Russell was the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Anyone who is truly familiar with the works of Russell would know that he never advocated such an organization. He actually preached against such an organization, and he also preached against the kind of message that the Jehovah's Witnesses present. He was definitely not the founder of that in which he did not believe, and which he preached against. For more with documentation related to Russell and the Jehovah's Witnesses:
https://ransomforall.blogspot.com/p/jws.html
Russell's book, Thy Kingdom Come, as well all his other works, were never designed for an organization such as the Jehovah's Witnesses. Any claims made by the leadership of that organization to the effect that Thy Kingdom Come is a book published by their organization is actually false. As far as Russell was concerned, there was no such organization associated with the Watch Tower Society of Russell's day, nor with the International Bible Students of Russell's day. For more information with documentation related to Russell, Organization and Authority:
https://ransomforall.blogspot.com/p/authority.html
https://ransomforall.blogspot.com/p/authority.html
It is claimed that Charles Taze Russell "was a great enthusiast when it came to the Egyptian pyramids." Actually, Russell had little interest in the "pyramids" (plural) of Egypt. He was definitely interested in anything pertaining to the Bible, and thus he was interested in the study of God's Witness in Egypt, since that Witness corroborates the Bible. This interest, however, pertained to only one of the pyramids of Egypt, that is, the one often referred to as the "Great Pyramid". Indeed, the only interest we have found that Russell had in the Egyptian "pyramids" was that of showing the inferiority of the Egyptian pyramids with the one pyramid he believed to be God's Witness in Egypt.
It is stated that Russell "claimed to be able to see divine omens in them and wrote about them in his works." No reference is given as to where Brother Russell wrote about any pyramid in which he saw "divine omens." Evidently, this is stated this way to leave the impression that Russell was practicing some kind of spiritistic occultism, etc., or something associated with some form of demonology. Nevertheless, we have not found any such claim ever made by Russell.
Russell's study on God's Witness in Egypt may be found online at:
The article states that the Watchtower Society now views the Great Pyramid as "Satan's Bible." We can say that this was what Rutherford and his associates claimed. An article entitled, "The Great Pyramid: of God or of Satan?" was published in The Golden Age magazine of October 10, 1934, in which it was stated: "Satan, the erstwhile holy cherub named Lucifer, put his knowledge in dead stone, which may be called 'Satan's Bible', and not God's stone witness." Evidently, Rutherford, realizing that he could not make the measurements of the Great Pyramid fit with his new applications of Biblical time prophecies, came up with the idea that the Great Pyramid was of Satan. What Rutherford and his associates actually presented, however, would have meant that Satan had knowledge of the Bible before it was written, including having knowledge of the year that Jesus was to die.
It is claimed that one of the strangest "revelations" that Brother Russell (allegedly) received from the Great Pyramid was that of the "end of the world." This is definitely false, since Russell never claimed to have obtained any revelation from the Great Pyramid pertaining to "the end of the world." This evidently has reference to Brother Russell's expectations related to 1914. Neither the date nor Russell's expectations concerning that date came as a result of any "revelation" from the Great Pyramid. The date, 1914, comes from study of Biblical prophecies, not from the Great Pyramid, although the measurements of the Great Pyramid certainly corroborate that date. Russell, however, plainly stated that he was not expecting the end of the world in 1914.
Regarding "revelation" and the Great Pyramid, Russell wrote:
Regarding "revelation" and the Great Pyramid, Russell wrote:
The Great Pyramid, however, proves to be a storehouse of important truth – scientific, historic and prophetic – and its testimony is found to be in perfect accord with the Bible, expressing the prominent features of its truths in beautiful and fitting symbols. It is by no means an addition to the written revelation: that revelation is complete and perfect, and needs no addition. But it is a strong corroborative witness to God's plan; and few students can carefully examine it, marking the harmony of its testimony with that of the written Word, without feeling impressed that its construction was planned and directed by the same divine wisdom, and that it is the pillar of witness referred to by the prophet in the above quotation. --- Thy Kingdom Come, pages 314,315.
It should be apparent that Russell did not view the Great Pyramid as a "source" of divine revelation, but rather as a corroboration of the Bible.
Nevertheless, the date 1914, and Russell's expectations related that date, are based on study of Biblical prohesies, not the Great Pyramid. If one takes the time to see how the date 1914 is arrived at as presented in Volumes 2 and 3 of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures, one can see that it is based on the Bible, not the Great Pyramid. The study of the measurments of the Great Pyramid simply corroborate that date. Russell, however, was not expecting "the end of the world" in 1914, and plainly stated such. Russell was expecting the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, and especially from 1904 onward, he was expecting the time of trouble to begin in 1914.
Indeed, Russell was not the first to point to 1914 as being the end of the Gentile Times. As best as we can determine the first to point to that date as a possible end of the Gentile Times was Edward B. Elliott, in his 1844 edition of *Horae Apocalypticae*, Volume 3, page 1429. Elliott only used the Bible itself; he never mentioned any measurements of the Great Pyramid. Nelson Barbour adopted this from Elliott and Russell adopted it from Barbour. At some point Barbour used Smyth's measurements so as add those measurements as a corroboration of 1914. The measurements of the Great Pyramid only corroborate this date; those measurments, however, are not the source of the date.
Indeed, Russell was not the first to point to 1914 as being the end of the Gentile Times. As best as we can determine the first to point to that date as a possible end of the Gentile Times was Edward B. Elliott, in his 1844 edition of *Horae Apocalypticae*, Volume 3, page 1429. Elliott only used the Bible itself; he never mentioned any measurements of the Great Pyramid. Nelson Barbour adopted this from Elliott and Russell adopted it from Barbour. At some point Barbour used Smyth's measurements so as add those measurements as a corroboration of 1914. The measurements of the Great Pyramid only corroborate this date; those measurments, however, are not the source of the date.
It is stated concerning this: "Unfortunately for C.T. Russell, the prophecy did not come true," As we have shown elsewhere, Russell was not expecting the end of the world in 1914, but, additionally, Russell was not a prophet, and he did not present his expectations as being divinely-inspired prophecies. Russell, however, died in 1916, still rejocing in the belief that the time of trouble had begun in 1914.
Much ado is made concerning the change that was made in the 1905 edition of Thy Kingdom Come regarding the inches of the floor of the lower descending passageway. Russell himself never claimed to to have measured the passageways of the Great Pyramid, thus he relied on the measurements provided by others. The measurement in question was regarding the floor of the lower part of the descending passageway which no one had actually measured because of the debris that covered that part of the pyramid. Smythe had measured the roof, and thus the measurements given of the roof were used as a basis for calcualting the measurement of the floor. When the debris was later removed and actual measurements of the floor were taken, it was discovered that both measurements Russell had given were incorrect. 1914, however, was not based on this measurement. This we have discussed at https://ransomforall.blogspot.com/2023/03/pyramid-claims.html and we will not repeat this here. We will, however, discuss some of the strange and false statements made regarding those changes.
Much ado is made concerning the change that was made in the 1905 edition of Thy Kingdom Come regarding the inches of the floor of the lower descending passageway. Russell himself never claimed to to have measured the passageways of the Great Pyramid, thus he relied on the measurements provided by others. The measurement in question was regarding the floor of the lower part of the descending passageway which no one had actually measured because of the debris that covered that part of the pyramid. Smythe had measured the roof, and thus the measurements given of the roof were used as a basis for calcualting the measurement of the floor. When the debris was later removed and actual measurements of the floor were taken, it was discovered that both measurements Russell had given were incorrect. 1914, however, was not based on this measurement. This we have discussed at https://ransomforall.blogspot.com/2023/03/pyramid-claims.html and we will not repeat this here. We will, however, discuss some of the strange and false statements made regarding those changes.
It is stated that Brother Russell "gets the date for the Great Pyramid wrong. It was actually 2,560 B.C."
What Russell stated:
A reference is given to a Wikipedia article on the Great Pyramid. That article does not give a specific date, but states: "The majority of recent chronological estimates date Khufu and his pyramid roughly between 2700 and 2500 BC." This, of course, ignores completely Biblical chronology and is also based on the generally-accepted hypothesis that the pyramid was constructed by Khufu. Nevertheless, the time given in the Wikipedia article is somebody's estimate, which could or could not be correct. Nonetheless, when the Great Pyramid was constructed is not all that important. It really does not matter when it was made or completed.
What Russell stated:
Prof. Smyth has concluded that the Great Pyramid was built in the year 2170 B.C., reaching this conclusion, first, from astronomical observations. Perceiving that the upward passage angles correspond to a telescope, and that the "Entrance Passage" corresponds to an astronomer's "pointer," he set about to investigate to what particular star it could have pointed at any time in the past. Calculations showed that a Draconis, the dragon-star, had occupied a position in the heavens which looked directly down the entrance, at midnight of the autumnal equinox, B.C. 2170. Then, considering himself as an astronomer at that date, with his pointer fixed upon a Draconis, and considering the ascending passages as though they were a telescope, which they much resemble, he calculated what constellation or what notable star would have been before his telescope thus fixed at the particular date indicated by his pointer, and found that it must have been the Pleiades. So wonderful a coincidence convinced him that the date of the Great Pyramid's building was thus indicated; for a Draconis is no less a symbol of sin and Satan than Pleiades is a symbol of God and the center of the universe. The Great Pyramid thus indicates that its Architect knew of the prevalence of evil and of its domination over the downward course of mankind, and indicates also what lies beyond all human sight—that the only hope for the race is in Jehovah.
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.
The entire study may be found at:
http://mostholyfaith.com/Beta/bible/volumes/C10.asp
Paul S. L. Johnson's updated version of Thy Kingdom Come may be found at:
https://www.biblestandard.com/uploads/2/1/4/9/21496142/sits3_-_thy_kingdom_come_[web].pdf
What Russell presented regarding his study of the Great Pyramid, we believe, is basically correct, although we believe he did make an error on the measurement of the lower part of the descending passageway. Nevertheless, the evidence that the Great Pyramid is indeed God's Witness is too great for me to ignore. For studies related to the Great Pyramid, see our page: The Great Pyramid.
The author of the article asks: "And what does the bible say about all of this?" And then quotes Deuteronomy 18:20-22, without any explanation as to how these verses have any application to Russell's Biblical study of God's Witness in Egypt. We will present this from the American Standard Version:
Deuteronomy 18:20 - But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
Deuteronomy 18:21 - And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken?
Deuteronomy 18:22 - when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
However, nothing is given to connect Deuteronomy 18:20-22 to the comments made in fthe article, or that shows how these verses are thought to apply to Russell's study of God's Witness in Egypt. Russell, himself, certainly never claimed to be a prophet as described in these verses. In fact, he consistently disclaimed being a prophet, and he consistently disclaimed that his conclusions were divinely-inspired prophecies. He only claimed to be a student of Bible prophecy, and he never claimed that his applications were without error. For links to our research related to this, see the resource page on "Charles Taze Russell - Not a Prophet".
The article we are responding to offers no explanation regarding what is to be considered Russell's pyramid "scheme." The word "scheme" itself is not a bad word. Its basic meaning is "a large-scale systematic plan or arrangement for attaining a particular object or putting a particular idea into effect." Russell, of course, did believe that God's divine plan, or scheme, for man as revealed in the Bible is demonstrated in the Great Pyramid. The actual evidence does indicate that this is true. Nevertheless, this "scheme" is not Russell's scheme, but rather it is God's scheme for mankind.
More than likely, however, the word "scheme" is being used to mean, "a secret or underhanded plan; a plot." The meaning is usually applied to some who deceptively seek to persuade or influence others to do or believe something that is not true. The article on the website fails to present Brother Russell as having any such scheme. The article, however, does, in effect, display either ignorance of what Russell's study of God's Witness in Egypt is actually about, or else willfully seeks to deceive people concerning his study of God's Witness in Egypt. We believe, however, that more than likely the author of that article actually has been deceived into thinking that Russell was indeed deceptively trying to influence others to believe something that is not true.
More than likely, however, the word "scheme" is being used to mean, "a secret or underhanded plan; a plot." The meaning is usually applied to some who deceptively seek to persuade or influence others to do or believe something that is not true. The article on the website fails to present Brother Russell as having any such scheme. The article, however, does, in effect, display either ignorance of what Russell's study of God's Witness in Egypt is actually about, or else willfully seeks to deceive people concerning his study of God's Witness in Egypt. We believe, however, that more than likely the author of that article actually has been deceived into thinking that Russell was indeed deceptively trying to influence others to believe something that is not true.
Sadly, this is only one of many, many similar presentations, often supposedly reporting "facts", that actually distort and misrepresent facts to make it appear that Russell was a false prophet actually serving Satan rather than Jesus. However, anyone truly familiar with his works know that Russell was indeed a servant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
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