Pyramidology was a religious fad. Russell was caught up in it, introduced to it by his association with the One Faith movement, the antecedent to what is today the Church of God General Conference [Atlanta]. He read the works of Thomas Wilson, nephew to Benjamin Wilson, the Diaglott translator.
Thomas Wilson wrote in Our Rest: “I have been
for some time prayerfully engaged in the study of that greatest wonder of earth
(The Great Pyramid), ‘the witness,’ and the Lord has at last blessed my
investigations by revealing to me what I sought after, viz., a perfect
chronology, reaching back to the beginning of the world. I have felt impressed
for some time with the idea that this building of His, so perfect in all other
respects, would not fall short here, and so it has proven. The testimony is
gradually being given, and in every instance it witnesses for the truth of that
good old book, the Holy Bible.” – Quoted in B. W. Savile: Anglo-Israelitism
& the Great Pyramid, London,
1880, page 102. Wilson wrote a
series of articles on the Great Pyramid in the 1880s. Two of the most
significant are found in the January and November issues of Our Rest.
These were picked up and commented on by The International Standard: A
Magazine Devoted to … The Great Pyramid. See the May 1884 issue, pages 117,
124.
We write in Separate Identity:
The Witness of the Great Pyramid
They were introduced to
speculations about the Great Pyramid of Giza at least by 1875.[1]
How soon they adopted the view that the pyramid was God’s “great stone witness
on the border of Egypt” is unknown, but it must have been in this era. As with so much else,
claims made about Russell’s belief that the Great Pyramid was a secondary
witness to the divine message are often wholly or partly false. One writer
suggests that Storrs introduced Pyramidology to “the Millerites,” and that
belief centered in Adventist bodies. Those who lack persistence and skill as
researchers, the lazy and polemicists may have an interest in limiting belief
to “fringe” groups, but this distorts the record. Pyramidology was discussed in
America at least by 1861.[2]
Believers were a diverse group that ran the spectrum from Astrologers to Thomas
De Witt Talmage, a popular Presbyterian and Reformed pastor, who had “no doubt”
that Isaiah’s reference to a stone witnesses on the border of Egypt meant the Great Pyramid.[3]
Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, popularized and
elaborated the theories of John Taylor, who without visiting the pyramid
suggested that it was constructed by Noah. Smyth traveled to Egypt, examining and measuring the pyramid. He penned Our
Inheritance in the Great Pyramid which was published in 1864. It attributed
the Great Pyramid to Melchizedek and gave it a scientific and religious import.
Smyth’s theories gained a following among Egyptologists, not the least of whom
was William Matthew Flinders Petrie. But when Flinders Petrie traveled to Egypt in 1880, making his own measurements he found so many
flaws in Smyth’s theory that he abandoned it, calling it “lamentable nonsense.”
By the end of the 19th Century no reputable Egyptologist supported
it.
James K. Walker, president of
the Watchman Fellowship, suggested that Pyramidology was “a major source of
revelation” for Russell, writing that Russell admitted to this. As is true of
most of what Mr. Walker writes, this is absurd. At least one writer claims that
Pyramidology attracted Adventists primarily, and many claim that pyramid belief
was rank superstition, occultism, or connected to the Masons. All of this is
wrong, some of it out of context and some contrived. Certainly, Walker’s claim that Russell was dependent on pyramid
measurement for his chronology is false. Ron Rhodes described Russell’s belief
that the pyramid fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy as “cornerstone component” of his
belief system. This is also false.
In 1881, Russell wrote that he
had “great respect” for the teaching of the Great Pyramid, adding, “We do not
build our faith upon it. It has well been called ‘A Miracle in Stone,’ and it
commends itself to us as a work of God, and not planned by men, for it seems in
every respect to be in perfect accord with God’s plan as we are finding it
written in His Word; and this it is, that causes our respect for it.”[4] It
is no more true that Russell found in the pyramid a cornerstone of his theology
than it is of Clarence Larkin, the Baptist expositor, who also saw the pyramid
as God’s stone witness on the border of Egypt.
Russell
was introduced to Pyramidology through his One Faith and Millennialist
connections. Storrs, writers for Age-to-Come journals, and others
promoted Smyth’s ideas and added thoughts of their own. Thomas Wilson’s Our
Rest focused on the dual themes of Christ’s return and the Great Pyramid.
Russell could not have avoided the discussion. The quotation above shows us
that he read J. A. Seiss’ Miracle in Stone when it was published in
1877. Seiss published on the theme in 1869, but while Russell may have read
that tract we cannot prove he did. The nature of the Great Pyramid was the
subject of lectures, pamphlets, books and public discussion. If it later became
the pet theory of fringe religion and occultists, it was not that in this era.
We honor Isaac Newton for his science. We forget that when everyone else
believed Phlogiston was a scientific reality, he did too. If he were alive
today, we’d raise our eyebrows and scoff. Context is everything here. Put in
context, Russell’s adoption of Smyth’s theory made him a man of his times. He
believed it when others did.
Seiss, whose works are still
published, is honored as a serious and scholarly exegete. Others of repute in
the religious world found the theory attractive. A long list of favorable
reviews of his Miracle in Stone appeared in the religious and secular
press. The Illustrated Christian Weekly expressed some reservations but
recommended it. The Reformed Church Messenger approached it in the same
way. So did The Christian Intelligencer. Messiah’s Herald wrote, “We’re
glad that it is being studied by men of learning and piety; and those who have
a taste for study in that direction, will find many things in this volume to
help them.” We do not know how Russell was introduced to Seiss’ book. He
probably heard of it from various sources. The Pittsburgh Dispatch
reviewed it, saying: “The lectures of Dr. Seiss are as remarkable for the
polished beauty of their construction, as for the information which they
contain. That mysterious pillar, the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, its relation to
ancient history, modern discoveries, and Bible connections, are thoroughly
canvassed in this volume.” If we are to fault Russell at all, it is for
believing the theory long after its defects were apparent.
[1] The Great Pyramid, Bible
Examiner, 1875, page 233 ff.
[2] 1861 New York Tribune Almanac, page 3.
[3] T. De Witt Talmage: Lesson of the Pyramid, The Peekskill,
New York, Highland
Democrat, October 24, 1891.
[4] C. T. Russell: The Year 1881, Zion’s Watch Tower,
May 1881, page 5.
