Dr. H.A. Ironside, short H.A.I.
Terry wrote: Ever hear of the famous 20th century Evangelist, H. A Ironside?
This preacher had been using a peculiar phrase to identify his followers.
He used the term “Jehovah’s witnesses.”
Ever hear of that phrase as occurring BEFORE 1931?
Judge Rutherford didn't even have sufficient imagination to capitalize the "w" in "witnesses".
No--instead even *borrowing* the use of the lowercase "w" in "witnesses", just as H. A. Ironside had already been using in his multiple Biblical commentaries and published sermons that Ironside had authored at least as early as 1909, and as was the "Jehovah's witnesses" notation in Ironside’s personal Bible next to Isaiah 43:10.
This surely was the whisper of “Jehovah’s witness” in Rutherford’s ear!
H.A.I, who had already used the term "Jehovah's witness" in 1911 for Israel, thus long before the Rutherford in 1931 had the inspiration to call the little flock of IBSA or the slave class also "Jehovah's witness".
Why did he, the genius, come up with that new term “Jehovah’s witness” 20 years before Rutherford?
Did God let fall his work into oblivion because he was overhasty and rushed on ahead Jehovahs chariot? Did Rutherford copy his idea 20 years later after reading his work?
First, there is no doubt that he was an outstanding bible scholar although he had no formal education!
Then, Dr. H.A.I. served in the Salvation Army, the Plymouth Brethren and the Moody memorial church with 7000 sermons and hundreds of books as well as bible commentaries. He promoted dispensionationalism in America.
And further, despite his lack of formal education, his tremendous mental capacity, photographic memory and zeal for his beliefs caused him to be called, "the Archbishop of Fundamentalism”.
So it was his special method in bible reading, his creativity that lead to call Israel Jehovahs witness?
Perhaps. Think only of the fact that besides his devotion and homiletical methods it was kind of marking the bible with sayings, ephitaphs, poems, diagrams, and even chinese characters, which he studied for recreation. So he marked here and there the great themes of the Bible, and so his comments written by him in margins and scattered over 1500 pages are the richest treasure to study.
Here some more of the honours given to him:
"He was probably the most famous exponent of vers-by-vers exposition of our generation. Literally thousands of sheep crowded the great Moody Church week after week for over eighteen years, because better pasture could not be found anywhere else."
This kind of bible study method like the vers-to verse reading seemed to have inspired people like Rutherford.
"H.A.I.'s manner of marking the bible is a fascinating study
itself".
"What a giant intellect and spirituality Dr.
Ironside was".
Another comment reads
"The very dust of whose writings is gold." (In his biographc of the late Dr. H.A. Ironside, Dr. e. Schuyler English mentions that Richards Bentley's the above description of Bishop Pearson can well be applied to Dr. Ironside)
A.I's commentaries on the Bible - 32 volumes
Russel another genius did not come up with the name JW in 1911 but it was Dr. Irsonside
And again 20 years another genius – Rutherford- he called JW a new people.
“Author Chandler W. Sterling refers to this as “the greatest stroke of genius” on the part of J. F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society. As that writer viewed the matter, this was a clever move that not only provided an official name for the group but also made it easy for them to interpret all the Biblical references to “witness” and “witnessing” as applying specifically to Jehovah’s Witnesses. In contrast, A. H. Macmillan, an administrative associate of three presidents of the Watch Tower Society, said concerning that announcement by Brother Rutherford: “There is no doubt in my mind—not then nor now—that the Lord guided him in that, and that is the name Jehovah wants us to bear, and we’re very happy and very glad to have it.” Which viewpoint do the facts support? Was the name ‘a stroke of genius’ on the part of Brother Rutherford, or was it the result of divine providence?” (1931)
1911: Ironside: In his "Lectures on Daniel the Prophet" he referred to the Jews to whom the promises of Isa.43 would be fulfilled as “Jehovah’s witnesses”. Quote
"These shall be Jehovah’s witnesses, testifying to the power and glory of the one true God, when apostate Christendom shall have been given up to the strong delusion to believe the lie of the Antichrist.” Page 152
http://jwawake.com/tag/rutherford/
How many of those GENII Jehovah uses and was not Russel a genius too, why did he not use Charles Taze Russel the genius to call his people JW but Irsonside when they lived anyway in the same time period? Why did Jehovah allow people to go to Irsonside and that "better pasture could not be found anywhere else" including the first usage ot the term JW although Russel had also written much creative stuff?