I remember one time (Luke 5) when Jesus made the "net work" even though it was overloaded at the time. They were able to signal another boat.* (see footnote)
Daniel 4:17 mentioned something about using copper to make use of its "band width".
Eccl 11:1 speaks of a "broad cast" over the waters, or maybe it was "bread cast". At any rate, I'm sure a "short wave" would have been involved.
But seriously...
In all probability, it included a mixture of ideas from Daniel 12:4 about "roving to and fro" and "knowledge". But specifically, I believe it was Job:38:34,35, if I recall correctly.
- 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?
Russell (and therefore Woodworth and Rutherford) kept an interest in new technologies, because he believed that many practical inventions were going to become useful for creating a new Millenial order in the earthly paradise. Even miracle wheat piqued his interest, Russell says, because such discoveries and new technologies for harvesting, travel, and communication would facilitate caring for an increased population of 20,000,000,000 or so people on the earth, after the resurrection. Some of their speculations got to be a bit bizarre, like this bit from the Golden Age [quoted from websites]:
"Many have wondered how accidents would be avoided during Christ's kingdom, since we are told that nothing shall then hurt or destroy. Most accidents are due to gravitation and its effects. Falling from airplanes... etc., may be avoided by an individual negative gravity device.
"Scientists tell us that there is enough atomic energy in a finger-nail to propel a battleship. The people of the future may carry a little of this energy around with them, and if they fall down an elevator shaft they can let themselves down easy. Then they can turn a little more on and go back up. ... No danger of falling down stairs then." - Golden Age, March 24, 1926, p. 404.
Giving prophesied status to radio might have helped sales of Watchtower sponsored products. The Golden Age used to advertise a radio device for quack medicine. Not to be confused with the previously advertised "Radio-Solar Pad" also a quack device advertised in the Golden Age. That pad, used by Rutherford, was named after radium, which, some speculate, may even be tied to Rutherford's colon/rectal cancer. Radio was a popular "marketing" buzzword at the time.)
The Electronic Radio Biola I HAVE named this new discovery, which I believe will be epochal in the history of the treatment of disease, and which I am exclusively announcing in THE GOLDEN AGE prior to its general publication elsewhere, The Electronic Radio Biola, which means life renewed by radio waves or electrons. The Biola automatically diagnoses and treats diseases by the use of the electronic vibrations. The diagnosis is 100 percent correct, rendering better service in this respect than the most experienced diagnostician.... THE principle of operation of the Biola is the collection... of the disease vibrations.... the fluid containing the same waves or vibrations enters the body, meets the disease waves and destroys them.... This is a great step forward, marking the Biola as the most valuable treatment apparatus obtainable today, and well worthy of notice in the columns of a magazine like THE GOLDEN AGE... The Golden Age, April 22, 1925, p. 454. (Ad for the Electronic Radio Biola is on page 479.)
------Footnotes:
* Luke 5:5 You say and let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. [I'm sure this could have been used for ship-to-shore]
