The "chain of evidence" which links Jehovah's Witnesses with Adventist die-hards influenced by William Miller (framer of the failed prediction of Christ's return which triggered the Great Disappointment) includes Nelson Barbour.
Nelson Barbour
One major influence on Russell's beliefs during this time was Nelson Barbour of Rochester, New York. Barbour was the publisher of the Adventist magazine, The Midnight Cry which had a circulation of 15,000. It proclaimed that Jesus would return visibly in 1874. When Jesus didn't return, Barbour was at first puzzled. His readership "dwindled to about 300" as a result. 8 One of The Midnight Cry's readers was B.W. Kieth who later became a contributing writer to Russell's Watch Tower magazine. He noted that in Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott Greek/English interlinear translation of Matthew 24, the word parousia translated as coming was rendered as "presence." It was suggested that Barbour had the date of Christ's return right (1874) but had expected the wrong thing (a visible return). Barbour believed that Jesus was invisibly "present" since 1874. Most of his readers didn't accept this explanation of his prediction of Christ's return, resulting in his readership dwindling as noted above. However, one person who did accept this explanation was Charles Russell.9
In October of 1874, The Midnight Cry ceased publication. In 1875 the magazine was restarted as Herald of the Morning. After receiving a copy of the Herald magazine in about 1876, Russell was impressed with Barbour's "invisible presence" views on Christ's coming (which Russell apparently came to believe independently from Barbour) and he accepted much of his chronological views. His acceptance of Barbour's chronology came about in the following manner: After reading the Herald, Russell wrote to Barbour about his chronology. Later in 1876, Russell arranged a meeting with him in Philadelphia to see if he could convince him, in Russell's words, "that the prophecies indicated 1874 as the date at which the Lord's presence and the 'harvest' began." "The evidence satisfied me," Russell said. 10 Jonsson noted:
It is apparent that during these meetings Russell accepted all of Barbour's time calculations, including his calculation of the Gentile times. While still in Philadelphia, Russell wrote an article entitled "Gentile Times: When do They End?" which was published in George Storrs' periodical the Bible Examiner in the October 1876 issue. 11
Barbour and Russell soon became partners in publishing Herald of the Morning, Russell becoming an assistant editor of the Adventist magazine.
Herald of the Morning, July, 1878.
C.T. Russell, J.H. Paton listed as assistant editors. "Times of the Gentiles end in 1914" bottom right.
Pastor Russell's significance to the current religion of Jehovah's Witnesses becomes embarassing in light of the above.
Why?
Russell cannot be singled out as having included anything at all in his teaching which ORIGINATED from his status vis a vis Jehovah!
The peculiar and necessary doctrine of FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE implies that Jehovah works through ONE single channel of communication. If all of Russell's teachings came from outside sources---where does that leave him as channel??
It becomes all too evident that the source of Russell's "teaching" is not Jehovah. It is sectarian die-hards, pyramidologists, dispensationalists and not Jehovah!
What Pastor Russell did was spend his considerable fortune in assembling ALREADY EXISTING crackpot guesses, conjectures, theories and flim-flam under one heading while distilling them into STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.
Studies in the "Scriptures?"
More accurate would be "Studies in Other People's Ideas."
To put his own name to authorship of these plagarized notions and allow himself (privately) to be singled out as the channel of God's communication is nothing short of Intellectual Dishonesty.
Jehovah's Witnesses today cannot find a legitimate way to unhitch their wagon from Pastor Russell. But, they seek to minimize the influence of the Adventists.
Nelson Barbour and his teachings, ideas and ESPECIALLY HIS 1914 INVISIBLE PRESENCE conjectures are the lynchpin of Modern Day Jehovah's Witnesses.
In the Proclaimers book the Society dances around his contributions and try to minimize him and belittle him.
For good reason!
HE is the source and "mouthpiece" of their KEY teaching!! Not the anointed or FDS!!