''Studies in the Scriptures'' is a series of publications, intended as a

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

study aid, containing six volumes of great importance to the history of the Bible Student movement, and the early history of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

. A seventh volume was published posthumously and was written by other authors.

Origin

The author of the first six volumes of ''Studies in the Scriptures'',

Charles Taze Russell Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Adventist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of the Bible Student movement. He was an early Christian Zionist. In July ...

, reported that he did not write them "through visions and dreams, nor by God's audible voice," but that he sought "to bring together these long scattered fragments of truth". The first volume was written in 1886. Originally entitled ''The Plan of the Ages'' as part of a series called ''Millennial Dawn'', it was later renamed ''The Divine Plan of the Ages''. The name ''Studies in the Scriptures'' was adopted in limited editions around October 1904 and was more generally used from 1906.

Purpose

The series was written as a Bible study aid. Russell held that topical study was the best approach, rather than verse by verse. The series contains commentary about biblical events and expressions, and progresses from elementary topics such as the existence of God and promoting the Bible as God's word, to deeper subject matter throughout the series. Russell did not claim infallibility, but declared that God's plan of salvation could not be understood independently from his writings. He stated, "if he then lays he Studies in the Scripturesaside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness." ''Studies in the Scriptures'' claimed to represent that humankind had reached the end of the current era, and that Jesus would soon separate the wheat from the weeds.

# ''The Divine Plan of the Ages'' (1886)—interpretations of fundamental biblical topics associated with God's plan of salvation; # ''The Time is at Hand'' (1889)—an interpretation of biblical chronology, keys to time prophecies, the second advent of Christ, and the identification of the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

; # ''Thy Kingdom Come'' (1891)—describes biblical prophecies in further detail, along with the fate of Israel and information on the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...

as being built under God's direction. The section on

Pyramidology Pyramidology (or pyramidism) refers to various religion, religious or pseudoscience, pseudoscientific speculations regarding pyramids, most often the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.Martin Gardner, ''Fads and Fallaci ...

was influenced by the theories of

Charles Piazzi Smyth Charles Piazzi Smyth (3 January 1819 – 21 February 1900) was a British astronomer who was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888; he is known for many innovations in astronomy and, along with his wife Jessica Duncan Piazzi Smyth, hi ...

, who also helped review it; # ''The Day of Vengeance'' (1897), later renamed ''The Battle of Armageddon''—suggests causes of the dissolution of the present order, with the biblical remedy as God's kingdom; # ''The At-one-ment Between God and Man'' (1899)—discusses the nature of humanity, the work of redemption, and the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

; # ''The New Creation'' (1904)—discusses the seven days of creation found in Genesis, and the duties and personal responsibilities of a Christian.

''The Finished Mystery''

Russell had stated an intention to write a seventh volume of ''Studies'', which would be a commentary on the books of

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

and

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

, as early as 1906. Following Russell's death in 1916, a seventh volume—entitled ''The Finished Mystery''—was published in 1917 and advertised as his "posthumous work". This seventh volume was a detailed interpretation of the books of Ezekiel and Revelation, as well as the

Song of Solomon The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...

. An advertisement for the book in '' Zion's Watch Tower'' called it "the true interpretation", and it was promoted as being "of the Lord—prepared under his guidance." Immediate controversy surrounded both its publication and content. It was soon established that it was largely written and compiled by two of Russell's associates, Clayton J. Woodworth and George H. Fisher, and edited by Russell's successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford.

Legacy

The abandonment of several core doctrines under Rutherford's presidency prompted the Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society to cease publication of all seven volumes of ''Studies in the Scriptures'' in 1927, and distribution of remaining stock ended in 1929. The six volumes of ''Studies in the Scriptures'' authored by Russell are still published by independent groups within the Bible Student movement.

References

External links