Bible Student Groups

★1204 ★

Back to the Bible Way

(Defunct)

Long-time pioneer for the International Bible Students Association and the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roy D. Goodrich was excommunicated in 1944. To put his case before the public and to serve as a rallying point for other "free" Bible Students, he began publishing a periodical, Back to the Bible Way, in 1952. Goodrich departed from the main body of Bible Students at two points. He denied that Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement, is to be considered the "wise and faithful servant" of Matthew 25: 45-47. He also rejected Russell's thinking relative to the ransom, and to the significance of 1914. Headquarters were established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from which a large amount of literature was distributed to a mailing list of as many as 3,000.

Goodrich died in 1977 and the movement centered upon him dissolved.

Periodicals: Back to the Bible Way. (Published in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1952-1973.)

★1205 ★

Christian Believers Conference

℅ Berean Bible Students Church
5930 W. 29th St.
Cicero, IL 60650

Since Charles Taze Russell (whose work led to the founding of the Jehovah's Witnesses), raised the issue of the atonement in a most "unorthodox" way, it was no surprise that dissent from a more "orthodox" perspective would appear. J. H. Paton was the first to break with Russell. Paton promulgated his own speculations in both a book and a magazine. In 1909 a significant challenge to Russell arose from three prominent leaders (pilgrims) within his movement–H. C. Henninges, M. L. McPhail, and A. E. Williamson. They rejected Russell's teaching on the ransom atonement in that it elevated the church to the place of Christ as the redeemer and mediator for humanity. They said Russell's theology spoke of Christ as only a part of the sin-offering presented to God. They also rejected Russell's identification of himself with "that servant" of Matthew 25:45-47.

In the midst of the controversy, which lasted for some two years, Henninges led many of the Australian brethren out of Russell's Millennial Dawn Bible Students and McPhail and Williamson led out groups in New York and Chicago. In America, the groups took the name of the Christian Believers Conference. Continuing polemics by descendants of Henninges and McPhail have brought into focus the sharp distinction which the Christian Believers draw between themselves and Russell. They reject the idea of the elect being limited to 144,000 as "mere assumption." They insisted the Lord did not come in 1914 (or 1925) invisibly; he has always been present (Matthew 18:20).

The Christian Believers Conference is structured very loosely, being held together by its peculiar doctrine. For many years a Publications Committee published The Kingdom Scribe, discontinued in 1975. The most active ecclesia as of the 1980s is the Berean Bible Students Church in Cicero, Illinois, which publishes the main periodical serving the group nationally. Since 1910 an annual conference has been held, in most recent years in Grove City, Pennsylvania. The conferees meet for mutual edification and Bible instruction, and they have no legislative authority.

Membership: Not reported. In the early 1970s there were 13 ecclesias scattered across the United States from Massachusetts to Wisconsin and Florida.

Periodicals: The Berean News.

Sources:

McPhail, M. L. The Covenants: Their Mediators and the Sin-Offerings. Chicago: The Author, 1919.

What Say the Scriptures about the Ransom, Sin Offering, Covenants, Mediator, Scapegoat? Melbourne, Australia: Covenant Publishing Company, 1920.

★1206 ★

Christian Bible Students Association

(Defunct)

Gradually separating from the Dawn Bible Students Association in the late 1960s was the Christian Bible Students Association headquartered in Warren, Michigan. This group began publication of the periodical Harvest Message in 1969 and subsequently published several booklets and tracts. Like the Dawn Bible Students Association and the Pastoral Bible Institute, the group emphasized the writings of Pastor Charles Taze Russell and carried the same statement of beliefs. A radio program, "The Harvest Message Broadcast," was heard in Chicago, Nashville, and Detroit. The group disbanded in 1978, and members were absorbed back into the Dawn and other Bible Student groups.

★1207 ★

Christian Millennial Fellowship

307 White St.
Hartford, CT 06106

Three groups are in agreement theologically but separate administratively. They are the Christian Millennial Fellowship, the Western Bible Students, and the Christian Believers Fellowship. The former began as the Italian Bible Students Association of l'Aurora Millenniale. In 1928 following a break with the International Bible Students Association due to doctrinal and service problems, the Italian Bible Students were incorporated in Connecticut in 1948. It later became known as the Millennial Bible Students Church and under such name was granted bulk mailing privilege by the United States Postal Service and reorganized as a non-profit religious organization for tax purposes by the Internal Revenue.

Since the beginning of its monthly publication of The New Creation magazine in January 1939, the group was also known as the New Creation Bible Students. Founded by Italian-American Gaetano Boccaccio, who also edits the magazine, the Fellowship is centered on a single congregation in Hartford with nationwide membership.

The fellowship is an independent lay movement headed by a board of directors elected annually by the membership. Officials of affiliated member churches of Bible classes are elected by their congregations to the office of elder, deacon, secretary, and treasurer. No officers receive a salary, as all work is volunteered. Besides the monthly magazine, a special African Newsletter is also published (as part of the magazine) for all the African readership. Three different Bible correspondence courses and a variety of Christian literature is distributed free to any who request it. The voluntary donation of the membership and readership undergird the fellowship's efforts. Besides the magazine, it publishes literature in Spanish, Nigerian, Mala-wian, and Tulugo (India).

Italian-American Bible Students in Connecticut and Massachusetts began work in Italy in 1939. A periodical, L'Aurora Millenniale, was begun in Hartford and mailed to subscribers in the homeland. Growth of the work allowed the periodical to be transferred to Italy for publication in 1962. It is now known as La Nuova Creatione and is published by the Chiesa Christiana Millenarista at Pescara, Italy. Its present editor is Mario Celenza.

During the 1980s, fellowship groups have been established in Great Britain, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. There is also work in the Philippines, Guyana, and India.

Membership: No membership records are kept.

Educational Facilities: Christian Millennial College, Ghana.

Periodicals: The New Creation. • African New Creation.

Sources:

"We Believe". Hartford, CT: Christian Millennial Church, 1980.

★1208 ★

Christian Prophets of Jehovah

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Christian Prophets of Jehovah was formed in the 1970s by Timothy Tauver, a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Trauver was a typesetter in the Witnesses headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, before his questioning of various doctrinal questions led to his disfellowshipping. After a period of intense Bible study, he came to feel that God had ordained him a prophet. While commissioned to speak to the nations, Tauver has a special word to the Witnesses and has on several occasions been arrested for refusing to leave their meeting halls.

During the early 1980s, Tauver outlined a prophetic timetable calculated from the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation: on October 5, 1982, Babylon the Great (Revelation 17:5) will be established as the greatest power on earth; during 1983, over a million people were to suffer a premature death; Antichrist was to reign until 1989; God will deliver his judgment to the entire "world system" in 1989. Tauver has spread his message through constant travels, advertisments in newspapers, and media coverage of his attempts to confront Jehovah's Witnesses. He has also written a series of open letters to United States President Ronald Reagan.

Membership: Not reported.

★1209 ★

Dawn Bible Students Association

199 Railroad Ave.
East Rutherford, NJ 07073

The Dawn Bible Students Association grew up among younger members of the Brooklyn ecclesia of the Pastoral Bible Institute (PBI) in the late 1920s. Some energetic members led by former radio broadcaster W. N. Woodworth, who had worked with Charles Taze Russell, wished to begin a radio ministry. Without any hostility toward the work, the PBI felt genuinely unable to sponsor it. The group, joined by some recent additions who had left the IBBA (International Bible Students Association) led by Judge J. F. Rutherford (soon to be renamed the Jehovah's Witnesses), withdrew, formed the Dawn Publishers, and began radio work. The very popular "Frank and Ernest" radio show has become a major outreach effort and has more recently been joined by a television show, "The Bible Answers."

The Dawn carries on the most extensive outreach ministry of any of the Bible Student groups other than the Jehovah's Witnesses. Their monthly periodical, The Dawn, was begun in 1932. Over the years, the group has published numerous booklets and pamphlets and a few books. The Association is among the most avid reprinters of Russell's works and keeps most of the other Bible Students supplied.

Doctrinally, the Dawn is at one with the PBI, differing only in being more strict concerning doctrinal divergences among its members. The PBI is much more open to fellowship with other Bible Students groups. The Dawn carries in each issue the same statement of beliefs as the PBI's Herald of Christ's Kingdom.

The Dawn is a service organization supplying literature and services to independent Bible Student congregations (ecclesias) across the country. These congregations and the Dawn conduct an extensive outreach program. The Dawn magazine is circulated for only a token subscription cost of $3.00 per year (or with no price) beyond membership. The radio and television programs cover the United States and Canada, and extend overseas to South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. A tract and literature ministry is pursued, including Spanish language work in South America and Mexico. Foreign work reaches Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Moldavia, Finland, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Australian work is coordinated through the Berean Bible Institute, headquartered in Melbourne; and Canadian work through the Canadian Bible Students Association in Vernon, British Columbia. The South India Bible Students Committee headquartered in Bangalore, has developed a working relationship with the Dawn Bible Students through the Northwest India Committee for supplying literature. The Africa Bible Students Committee also uses the Dawn for supplies of literature.

Membership: No membership statistics are maintained since membership is not a requirement in any of the congregations. A rough estimate as of 1997 is that the attendance in congregations worldwide is about 9,000 with about 3,000 in the United States.

Periodicals: The Dawn. Send orders to East Rutherford, NJ07073.

Sources:

The Book of Books. East Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, 1962.

The Creator's Grand Design. East Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, 1969.

Our Most Holy Faith. East Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, 1948.

When Pastor Russell Died. East Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, 1946.

★1210 ★

Epiphany Bible Students Association

Box 97
Mount Dora, FL 32757

After the death of Paul S. L. Johnson in 1950, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement began to experience troubles in its leadership. In the spring of 1955, charges of fraud and dishonesty in business were circulated against John J. Hoefle (1895-1984), a prominent leader who had spoken at Johnson's funeral. Hoefle, in turn, accused the leadership of the Layman's Home Missionary Movement of slander and lying, and, in the ever growing polemics, some doctrinal distinctions between Hoefle and Raymond Jolly, who had succeeded Johnson as head of the organization, began to appear. They disagreed on the nature and validity of John's baptism (Acts 19:1ff), which Hoefle saw as an excuse for Jolly to accuse him of being out of harmony with both Johnson and Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student Movement. Hoefle was formally disfellowshipped on February 8, 1956.

Hoefle began to publish the correspondence on the controversy and his opinions on the ongoing administration of Jolly. By the end of 1957, these letters had become a regular monthly publication. In 1968, the title Epiphany Bible Students Association began to appear on the masthead. Hoefle continues in the Russell/ Johnson theological school with only minor differences with the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement, primarily of an administrative nature and concerning variations on the interpretation of specific texts. For example, both the LHMM and the Hoefle taught of two classes of individuals who would appear in the future Kingdom of God: the Ancient Worthies who would rule (Ps. 45:16) and the Youthful Worthies who would be in partnership with them. The LHMM under Jolly, were teaching that as of 1954, all of the Youthful Worthies had been won and began to speak of a new class of people, the Consecrated Epiphany Campers. Hoefle rejected this teaching, claimed that no such class existed, and that the Youthful Worthies would be won until the time of restitution.

The Epiphany Bible Students Association is organized around individuals who receive the monthly newsletters. There are regular meetings for Bible study at the Mount Dora Bible House, the headquarters in Florida. Other study groups around the country meet in private homes. Leonard E. Williams has succeeded Hoefle as president of the association, and Emily Hoefle, his widow, remains active as the secretary.

Membership: There is no formal membership. In 1997, there were approximately 1,400 people in the United States receiving the mailings and an additional 250 in foreign countries.

Periodicals: The association publishes an untitled newsletter.

★1211 ★

Jehovah's Witnesses

25 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Jehovah's Witnesses are a worldwide Christian society of people noted for their use of Jehovah as the name of God. Their purpose is to bear witness regarding God and his purposes for mankind and do God's will as revealed in the Bible. According to the Witnesses, in the Bible all faithful worshipers, such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Jesus, were called witnesses of God (Hebrews 11:1-12:1; Revelation 3:14). A prominent Witness in modern times was Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). Though his parents were Presbyterians of Scottish-Irish descent, Russell joined the Congregational Church. However, in 1870 he organized a Bible study group in Allegheny (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, for the purpose of promoting the basic teachings of the Bible. It was his desire to return to the beliefs of first-century Christianity. In 1879 he began to publish the results of his research, bound by "no creed but the Bible" in the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, today called The Watchtower.

The basic teachings of the Witnesses go back to the early Bible studies of Russell. Because of what he learned from the Bible, Russell rejected the belief that hell is a place of eternal torment. He understood it to be mankind's common grave. Benefiting from existing Bible research by nineteenth-century scholars, Russell learned that the Greek word translated "coming" (parousia) in the King James Version of the Bible actually meant "presence," and so he and his associates realized that the return of Christ was to be invisible (Matthew 24:3). As these continued their study of the Scriptures and progressed in their knowledge of them, they harmonized their teachings with their deeper understanding. In 1882 Russell wrote: "The Bible is our only standard, and its teachings our only creed, and recognizing the progressive character of the unfolding of Scriptural truths, we are ready and prepared to add to or modify our creed."

Just as did Russell, Jehovah's Witnesses today accept the entire Bible as the inspired Word of truth. Not being Trinitarians, they believe that God, "whose name alone is Jehovah," is the Most High (Psalm 83:18). Jesus said: "My Father is greater than I." He is the Son and the Redeemer of believing mankind (John 14:28). The holy spirit is God's active force for accomplishing His will. God's Kingdom is a heavenly government made up of Jesus Christ as King along with 144,000 corulers, such as the apostles, taken from earth (Revelation 14:1-4). The over six million Witnesses worldwide (2001) proclaim the Kingdom as the only hope for mankind and warn that we are living in "the last days" of this present system. The Kingdom, or heavenly government, will soon exercise dominion over the earth and remove wickedness from the earth, transforming it into a paradise in which true worshipers will live forever. There will be a resurrection of the dead into that Paradise.

For much of the last century, the Bible Students, as Jehovah's Witnesses were then known, met together in classes (congregations). Yet, they felt an obligation to share their beliefs with others, so they distributed millions of copies of tracts, books, and booklets. Russell determined that these preaching activities should depend entirely on volunteer workers. To this day, the house-to-house ministry, home Bible study activity, and distribution of literature by Jehovah's Witnesses are done voluntarily.

In 1884 they formed a nonprofit corporation, now the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, with Russell as the elected president. Branch offices of the society were established in Britain, Germany, and Australia in the early 1900s. The number of countries with branches has steadily increased, and in 2001 there were over 100 branches.

The headquarters of the society was moved from Allegheny to its present location in Brooklyn, New York, in 1909. Printed sermons by Russell were syndicated in newspapers, and by 1913 they appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers in the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and Australia, reaching an estimated 15,000,000 readers.

A few months after Russell's death in 1916, Joseph F. Rutherford (1869-1942) took the lead among the Bible students. In 1918, because of the pressure from prominent clergymen, Rutherford and seven other members of the headquarters staff were imprisoned on the false charge of sedition. However, in 1919 they were released, and eventually they were fully exonerated. Rutherford initiated a great expansion of the preaching work, giving greater emphasis to the door-to-door evangelizing activity. That year companion periodical to The Watchtower, first known as The Golden Age and now called Awake!, was introduced.

In 1931 the Bible Students embraced the name Jehovah's Witnesses, based on Isaiah 43:10, which states: "Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen." (American Standard Version) During the 1930s and 1940s, there were many arrests of Witnesses because of their preaching activity. A period of intense legal battles ensued in which the Witnesses fought for freedom of speech, press, assembly, and worship. Of the 59 cases they brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Witnesses won 43. These victories had a profound impact on the development of constitutional law and preserved freedom of speech, press, and religion for all.

A concerted program of training and global expansion began when Nathan Homer Knorr (1905-1977) followed Rutherford. A training school for missionaries, called the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, was established in 1943. By 1992 more than 6,500 graduates had been sent to well over 200 lands and island groups. In 1995 this school was moved to the newly constructed Watchtower Educational Center at Patterson, New York. This complex of 28 buildings–including school facilities, an office building, and residence buildings for 1,500–was built entirely by volunteers.

In 1961 the Witnesses released the entire New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a modern-English Bible translated from original-language texts. By 2001 over 100 million copies had been printed. The New World Translation has been translated in whole or part into 38 languages, making it available in the native tongues of upwards of one fourth of the earth's population.

The worldwide activities in 235 countries are coordinated by a Governing Body made up of a group of men, presently 11 in number, located at their world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The members of the Governing Body and all others who work full-time in the preparation and production of Bibles and Bible literature at the New York-based headquarters receive only their room and meals and a small reimbursement for expenses.

Conventions are an integral part of the Witnesses' activities. In the early 1890s, these were held in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In 1893 the first one outside that locality was held in Chicago, Illinois. It was attended by 360 persons, and 70 adults were baptized. The largest single international convention convened in New York City in 1958, using both Yankee Stadium and the nearby Polo Grounds (since demolished). Peak attendance was 253,922; those baptized numbered 7,136. Since then, there have been large international conventions in scores of lands. Smaller regional conventions are normally held each year in many cities throughout the world.

Although the Witnesses are politically neutral, they are interested in their communities. In 2001, they conducted individual weekly Bible study sessions in over 4,900,000 households, thereby helping many in their communities to learn and apply Bible standards of honesty, morality, and family values. In the summer of 1994, a team of Witness volunteers from Europe rushed to help refugees of the civil war in Rwanda. Well-organized camps and field hospitals were set up for the refugees. Huge quantities of clothing, blankets, food, and Bible literature were flown in or shipped to them by other means. More than 7,000 afflicted persons–nearly three times the number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Rwanda at the time–benefited from the relief effort. Similar humanitarian aid has often provided after natural disasters.

Witnesses respect government officials as the "superior authorities" and have a reputation of being law-abiding citizens (Romans 13:1). While respecting the flag of any country, they consider the saluting of a flag to be an act of worship. When ill, they seek medical treatment, including, when necessary, transfusions of nonblood products. However, because they are careful to follow the apostolic edict to abstain from blood, they refuse blood transfusions (Acts 15:29). There are over 93,000 congregations, each presided over by a body of elders. The elders, assisted by ministerial servants, receive no payment for their services. Most congregations hold their meetings in Kingdom Halls, usually built by the Witnesses themselves. The Witnesses take literally Jesus' command: "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19, 20). All Witnesses accept this responsibility to share their beliefs with their neighbors, especially by preaching from "house to house" (Acts 20:20).

Literature is distributed without cost to those who show interest in reading it. The expense of publishing and distributing literature worldwide is covered by voluntary donations. No collections are taken at meetings. No dues or tithes have to be paid.

Membership: By the end of 2001, over six million Witnesses in 93,154 congregations were active in 235 lands. During that year 263,431 were baptized. For the annual Memorial of Christ's death in 2001, worldwide a total of 15,374,986 were present. That same year the United States reported 979,637 publishers (active members), associating in 11,582 congregations; 27,731 new ones were baptized; and 2,163,602 attended the annual Memorial of Christ's death. Witnesses have been especially active in Europe and they are either the second or third largest religious body (next to the traditional state church) in most of the European countries.

Educational Facilities: Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, Patterson, New York.

Periodicals: The Watchtower.• Awake!.

Sources:

Bergman, Jerry. Jehovah's Witnesses and Kindred Groups, A Historical Compendium and Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1985.

Botting, Heather, and Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984.

Gruss, Edmond Charles. Apostles of Denial. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1970.

Jehovah's Witnesses: Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1993.

Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1959.

"Make Sure of All Things". Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1957.

Organization for Kingdom-Preaching and Disciple Making. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1972.

Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1983.

Rogerson, Alan Thomas. Millions Now Living Shall Never Die. London: Constable & Co., 1969.

The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, n.d.

White, Timothy. A People for His Name. New York: Vantage Press, 1967.

★1212 ★

Laodicean Home Missionary Movement

Rte. 38
9021 Temple Rd. W.
Fort Myers, FL 33912

John W. Krewson was a member of the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement who withdrew in protest over the leadership of Raymond Jolly, who had succeeded Paul S. L. Johnson. In 1955, within months of Johnson's death, Krewson was disfellowshipped and soon began to publish a periodical, The Present Truth of the Apocalypsis. He offered LHMM members an option to John J. Hoefle, who had also been disfellowshipped and had formed the Epiphany Bible Students Association. They began to argue, each casting doubt on the other's right to preach and asserting that the other was not a pilgrim (preacher with proper credentials). As time passed, Jolly, Hoefle and Krewson have continued the intrafamily feud; sometimes Jolly and Krewson agree against Hoefle, and sometimes Hoefle and Jolly agree against Krewson. Krewson and Hoefle disagreed on Johnson's status as the last saint, Hoefle arguing that Charles Taze Russell's appointments of other pilgrims (who were still alive) was ample refutation. Both Hoefle and Jolly joined in refuting Krewson's teaching on the apocalypse.

The Laodicean Home Missionary Movement is loosely structured around Krewson's periodical by individuals and small groups who use it for study and edification.

Membership: Not reported. Readership of the magazine is estimated in the hundreds.

Periodicals: The Present Truth of the Apocalypsis.

★1213 ★

Laymen's Home Missionary Movement

1156 St. Matthews Rd.
Chester Springs, PA 19425

Shortly before Pastor Charles Taze Russell died in 1916, Paul S. L. Johnson, a Jew who had become first a Lutheran minister and then a Bible Student pilgrim (teacher/preacher), 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.

The issue came to a head at the 1918 board meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the corporate entity of the Bible Students, at which Rutherford's authority was decisively confirmed. 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 major strength was in the Philadelphia ecclesia. Two periodicals, The Herald of the Epiphany (for general readership) and the Present Truth (an in-group periodical and major polemic organ), were begun.

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." As Russell brought word of the presence, so Johnson, as the "epiphany messenger," brought word of Christ's appearance. Raymond Jolly, Johnson's successor, was the succeeding Editor. Like Russell, Johnson published voluminously. During Johnson's lifetime, fifteen of the seventeen volumes of the Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures, volumes following the format and appearance of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures, appeared. Jolly published two additional volumes during the 1950's.

The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement remains one of the "orthodox" Bible Student groups which still uses Russell's writings and follows Russell's pattern of finding Biblical types of current events and groups. Other Bible Student groups were typed as divisions of the tribes of Levites (Num. 3:17-37). PBI students were seen as Shimite Gershonites, revolutionists changing Russell's charter into an ecclesiastical, clerical document. Johnson's main disagreement with the PBI and the Dawn Bible Students Association, which he saw merely as the PBI masked under another name, concerned the harvest. Johnson believed that, in 1914, the door of salvation (Luke 13:24-25) closed as an entrance into consecration and spiritual-begettal for high calling purposes. The door, he believed, is closed for entrance into the spiritual kingdom. The PBI believed that the door was still open. In essence, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement pointed to the closing of the inner circle, but allowed new members, including the great and earthly classes. They also believe they are in the period called the Epiphany, during which the Lord is revealing Himself to the world and His people to establishing His kingdom.

Membership: Not reported. There are conflicting claims on membership, ranging from 10,000 to 50,000. The lower estimate more closely approaches the LHMM's real strength.

Periodicals: The Bible Standard and Herald of Christ's Kingdom. • The Present Truth and Herald of Christ's Epiphany.

Sources:

Johnson, Paul S. L. Gershonism. Chester Springs, PA: Layman's Home Missionary Movement, 1938.

——. Meratiism. Chester Springs, PA: Layman's Home Missionary Movement, 1938.

Jolly, Raymond. The Chart of God's Plan. Chester Springs, PA: Layman's Home Missionary Movement, 1953.

★1214 ★

Pastoral Bible Institute

1425 Lachman Ln.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

"Harvest siftings" was a term used by the Bible Students led by Charles Taze Russell to describe a period of controversy which resulted in the loss of doctrinal or organizational dissidents. Such a period followed the death of Russell, whose work with Bible Students eventually led to the formation of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Judge J. F. Rutherford, who succeeded Russell as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the Bible Students' corporate entity, was opposed in his rise to power by a number of board members, including R. H. Hirsh, I. F. Hoskins, A. I. Ritchie, and J. D. Wright. They opposed Rutherford's issuance of Volume VII of the Studies in the Scripture, the first six volumes of which had been Russell's central teaching materials. They fought Rutherford's power until the elections at the convention in 1918. After his decisive victory, they withdrew and with some 50 colleagues and supporters set up the Pastoral Bible Institute (PBI). A committee of seven was appointed to supervise the work and R. E. Streeter was made editor of a new periodical, The Herald of Christ's Kingdom.

Doctrinally, the PBI is the most conservative of the Bible Student groups. Each issue of the Herald carries a creed-like statement summarizing the truths which "To us the Scriptures Clearly Teach." These include the following:

"That the church is the 'Temple of the Living God'–peculiarly 'his workmanship'; that its construction has been in progress throughout the Gospel Age–ever since Christ became the world's Redeemer and the chief corner stone of this Temple, through which, when finished, God's blessings shall come to 'all people,' and they find access to him. I Cor. 3:16, 17; Eph. 2:20-22; Gen. 28:14; Gal. 3:29.

"That meantime the chiseling, shaping, and polishing of consecrated believers in Christ's atonement for sin, progresses, and when the last of these 'living stones, elect and precious,' shall have been made ready, the great Master Workman will bring all together in the first resurrection; and the temple shall be filled with his glory, and be the meeting place between God and men throughout the Millennium. I Pet. 2:4-9; Rev. 20:4,6.

"That the basis of hope for the church and world lies in the fact that 'Jesus Christ, by the grace of God tasted death for every man,' 'a ransom for all,' and will be 'the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' in due time. Heb. 2:9; John 1:9; I Tim. 2:5,6.

"That the hope of the church is that she may be like her Lord, 'see him as he is,' be a 'partaker of the divine nature,' and share his glory as his joint-heir. I John 3:2; John 17:24; Rom. 8:17; II Pet. 1:4.

"That the present mission of the church is the perfecting of the saints for the future work of service to develop in herself every grace, to be God's witnesses to the world; and to prepare to be the kings and priests in the next age." Eph. 4:12; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:6, 20:6.

"That the hope for the world lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by Christ's Millennial Kingdom-the restitution of all that was lost in Adam, to all the willing and obedient, at the hands of their Redeemer and his glorified Church-when all the willfully wicked will be destroyed." Acts 3:19-23; Isaiah 35.

The import of the statement for PBI comes in its belief that the membership in the church is still open. The harvest is not yet closed, and evangelism, not just the perfecting of those believers left in 1918, is a major thrust. The invitation is to the fullness of the heavenly hope, not just to an earthly paradisiacal state, as with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Because of their evangelistic endeavors, PBI and related groups, although small, are the largest of the Bible Student bodies other than the Witnesses.

Organization of the PBI is very loose, with individuals and autonomous local congregations affiliated through the Herald and an annual meeting at which the seven-member board and five-member editorial committee are elected. Active correspondence and interchange with the British Bible Fellowship Union and the Berean Bible Institute of Australia are promoted.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Herald of Christ's Kingdom.

Sources:

Streeter, R. E. Daniel the Beloved of Jehovah. Brooklyn, NY: Pastoral Bible Institute, 1928.

——. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 2 vols. Brooklyn, NY: Pastoral Bible Institute, 1923-1924.

★1215 ★

Philanthropic Assembly

Current address not obtained for this edition.

F. L. Alexander Freytag (1870-1947) was in charge of the Swiss Bureau of the International Bible Students Association. Though an able leader, he was never an exponent of founder Charles Taze Russell's theology, and in 1917 he began to criticize Russell's main teaching books, the six-volume Studies in the Scripture. Then in 1920 he published the Message of Laodicea as an attack on the society, and Judge J. R. Rutherford, who succeeded Russell, took up the debate in The Harp of God, his first major book, before the year was out. In 1921, Freytag withdrew and set up the Church of the Kingdom of God, also known as the Philanthropic Assembly of the Friends of Man, taking with him many Swiss, German, and French Bible Students.

Freytag concentrated on the religious problem of death. He believed that he had found the answer in his intimate relationship with the person of Christ. One overcomes death by conforming to the form of Jesus. By eschewing sin and following Jesus, one escapes the wages of sin. Freytag's message of death conquered was set within a framework of Russell's theology. He added an important point: eternal happiness is God's goal for all mankind, without exception. The replacement of death with hell's torment was not good enough for Freytag, who demanded the conquering of death itself. The idea is further supported by allegiance to the Universal Law-"God is love." This characteristic is the supreme fact of creation.

Freytag's movement main strength was in central Europe (Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium and Italy), but it found some adherents among Bible Students in the eastern United States. The American headquarters circulates English-language editions of Freytag's books and two periodicals.

Membership: Not reported. American adherents are estimated to be in the hundreds. Internationally, the Monitor, the main periodical, circulates 120,000 copies in several languages.

Periodicals: The Monitor of the Reign of Justice. • Paper for All. Available from L'Ange de l'Eternal, Le Chateau, 1236 Cartigny, Switzerland.

Sources:

Freytag, F. L. Alexander. The Divine Revelation. Geneva, Switz.: Disciples of Christ, 1922.

——. Eternal Life. Geneva, Switz.: Messenger of the Lord, 1933.

——. The New Earth. Geneva, Switz.: Bible and Tract House, 1922.

★1216 ★

Western Bible Students Association

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Western Bible Students Association centered in Seattle, Washington, is at one in doctrine with the Christian Believers Conference but administratively separate. It holds an annual conference at Mission Springs, Santa Cruz, California.

Membership: Not reported.