Unlike Joseph Smith, Mary Eddy Baker, and other false teachers, Russell did not rely on visions or other extra-biblical revelation. Rather, he simply misinterpreted the Bible and was an accomplished liar when characterizing other Christians like in his world tour vacation to "investigate" missionaries.
He set the framework and tone for people like Rutherford, who just followed in his footsteps.
While claiming to be a Christian who was restoring the faith of the New Testament, he denied many key Christian doctrines including the tri-partite nature of man, the triune nature of God, the existence of the Holy Spirit, Russell held that the soul simply ceases to exist after death.
As with Arius centuries before, he held that Jesus was a created being, and was actually Michael the Archangel in disguise. He taught that Jesus rose only spiritually rather than physically. He denied the divinity of Jesus.
These flip flops about Jesus as Mediator are documented by JW Facts:
Russell appears to have been thoroughly confused about the role of mediator. At times he felt that the 144,000 were not under the new covenant, at other times that they were under the New Covenant. When he taught that they were not under the New Covenant it followed that they did not need a mediator and that they (along with Jesus) played role of mediator for mankind.
- Up to 1880 Russell taught that Jesus and the body of Christ (the 144,000) mediated for mankind, so the 144,000 were not included in the New Covenant.
"It should be remembered that we are in him heirs of glory, not under the new covenant, which is still future, but in the Abrahamic covenant." Zion's Watch Tower 1880 Feb p.72
- Russell changed his mind and from 1881 to 1907 said the Church is included in the New Covenant
"In a sense, the operation of the new covenant begins with the Gospel church and lifts us from the plane of degradation and sin-to a justified or reckoned perfect condition, from which we can go forward in the narrow way, becoming heirs of the first covenant." Zion's Watch Tower 1881 Sep p.151
- In 1907, Russell re-introduced his teaching that the new covenant is not made with the church at all.
"It was very inconsistent for us to quote in one breath the Apostle's statement that we are members of the Isaac Seed, the children of the old, original Covenant, and then in the next breath to class ourselves as beneficiaries of the New Covenant." Zion's Watch Tower 1909 Jan 1 p.12 (See also Zion's Watch Tower 1909 Apr 1 p.110)
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The significance of these heresies cannot be overstated. They directly affect a persons' salvation.
1. Scriptures says if we deny Jesus' bodily resurrection, then we have no hope.
2. If Jesus was really Michael the Archangel, then somebody has false faith in the wrong Jesus.
3. If Jesus isn't our Mediator, then we cannot be Justified (declared righteous)
I always wondered where the outcry and pushback was from the Christian community when Russell started publishing his heresies. Scriptures are clear like in Gal. 1: 8-9 that if anyone preaches a different gospel than what the apostles preached, that they are double cursed in the bible.
A lot of exjws don't know that the elder/pastor/deacon requirement of being "a husband of one wife" is taken quite literally and quite seriously, even today, by many churches. You simply cannot hold one of those offices if you have been married more than once. So, the divorce was just another point on which to inform the public.
Early Christian leaders were discipled directly by the apostles. Then, early schools were set up in Antioch and Alexandria to make sure the faith was not perverted as it passed from one person to another. Usually Christian leaders studied under someone or some institution that could vouch for their orthodoxy. But Russel just popped up and announced that everyone except for himself was a fraud and that people had no hope unless they listened to him.
Rutherford, other WT presidents, and all JW's today preach the EXACT SAME THING just as Russell taught.
Russell, Rutherford and the WT organization as a whole perfectly fit the description of a false Christ (Savior).
