1874, The Year of Christ’s Invisible Presence
Founder of a movement which branched into the Jehovah’s Witnesses:
Russell kept the year 1874 all the way to the grave:
● “So I paid Mr. Barbour’s expenses to come to see me at Philadelphia (where I had business engagements during the summer of 1876), to show me fully and Scripturally, if he could, that the prophecies indicated 1874 as the date at which the Lord’s presence and the Harvest began. He came; and the evidence satisfied me.” (Harvest Gatherings And Siftings)
● “The next chapter will present Bible evidence that 1874 A.D. was the exact date of the beginning of the ‘Times of Restitution,’ and hence of our Lord’s return.” (The Time Is at Hand, Study V, p. 170)
● “On the strength of this inspired statement alone, we have clear evidence of the fact that our Lord’s second advent was due when the Times of Restitution were due to begin, viz., in October, A.D. 1874, as marked by the Jubilee arrangement.” (The Time Is at Hand, Study V, p. 188)
● “The date of our Lord’s second advent, and the dawn of the Times of Restitution, we have already shown to be A.D. 1874.” (The Time Is at Hand, Study VII, p. 211)
● “And the harvest of this age began with the presence of our Lord at the beginning of Earth’s Great Jubilee, in 1874…” (The Time Is at Hand, Study VII, p. 234)
● “Our Lord’s presence as Bridegroom and Reaper was recognized during the first three and a half years, from A.D. 1874 to A.D. 1878.” (The Time Is at Hand, Study VII, p. 239)
● “The Scriptural time-proofs which we have considered show that this trouble was due to date from the time of Christ’s second advent (October, 1874), when the judging of the nations would commence, under the enlightening influences of the Day of the Lord.” (Studies in the Scriptures, Study X, p. 341)
● “Christ came in the character of a Bridegroom in 1874 … at the beginning of the Gospel harvest.” (Watch Tower, Oct 1879, p. 4)
● “The fact of our Lord’s second coming is definitely settled by the Scriptures … The Scriptures show that his second presence was due in 1874 … This proof shows that the Lord has been present since 1874 … The indisputable facts, therefore, show that … the Lord’s second presence began in 1874.” (Watch Tower, Mar 1, 1922, p. 67)
● “Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874, A.D., according to the testimony of the prophets …” (Battle of Armageddon, 1913 ed, p. 621)
● “Bible prophecy shows that the Lord was due to appear for the second time in the year 1874. Fulfilled prophecy shows beyond a doubt that he did appear in 1874. Fulfilled prophecy is otherwise designated the physical facts; and these facts are indisputable.” (Watch Tower, Nov 1, 1922, p. 333)
● “Applying the same rule then, of a day for a year, 1335 days after 539 A.D. brings us to 1874 A.D. at which time, according to Biblical chronology, the Lord’s second presence was due.” (Creation 1927, p. 298)
● “The most important thing to which all the prophecies point and for which the apostles looked forward has been the second coming of the Lord. It is described by the Prophet as a blessed time. Daniel then says: ‘Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.’ (Daniel 12:12). The watchers here, without question are those who were instructed by the Lord to watch for his return. This date, therefore, when understood, would certainly fix the time when the Lord is due at his second appearing. Applying the same rule, then, of a day for a year, 1335 days after 539 A.D. brings us to A.D. 1874, at which time, according to Biblical chronology, the Lord’s second presence is due…” (This Gospel of the Kingdom, 1906, p.p. 229-230)
● “No one can properly understand the work of God at this present time who does not realize that since 1874, the time of the Lord’s return in power, there has been a complete change in God’s operations.” (The Watch Tower, September 15, 1922, p. 278)
● “The Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D.” (The Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, p. 67)
● “The Scriptural proof is that the period of his presence and the day of God’s preparation is a period from A.D. 1874 forward. The second coming of the Lord therefore began in 1874 …” (Creation, p. 310)
● “Surely there is not the slightest room for doubt in the mind of a truly consecrated child of God that the Lord Jesus is present and has been since 1874.” (Watch Tower, Jan 1, 1924, p. 5)
