Why Was Charles Russell a Christian Zionist

Why Was Charles Russell a Christian Zionist?

Didn’t the Jewish people reject and crucify their Messiah, Jesus Christ? Although a few accepted Jesus, didn’t Israel as a nation reject Jesus? Don’t all the promises originally to Israel now belong to Christians?

Certainly, Apostle Paul explains, “With the breaking off of some ‘natural branches’ of the figurative olive tree, there was a grafting in of ‘wild’ non Israelite ones…(Rom. 11:17-24; Gal. 3:28,29)….Natural Israel failed to produce the required number [for his Church], so God ‘turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name’ (Acts 15:14)…” (Aid to Bible Understanding, p.855).

“Seed” of Abraham—both Heavenly and Earthly

But Charles Russell understood what the rest of what Apostle Paul says in Chapter 11 of Romans. God is able to graft Israel as a people back in again into the “olive tree” (Rom. 11:23, 24). Israel’s blindness was to be only for a limited time! He planned to graft them back into the olive tree of the promise to Abraham. How could He? Israel is loved for their fathers’ sake! Finally, with God’s Deliverer, ungodliness will be turned from the natural children of Jacob—and all Israel will be saved!

“For I do not want you brothers, to be ignorant of this sacred secret…that a dulling of sensibilities has happened in part to Israel until the full number of people of the nations has come in. And in this manner all Israel will be saved. Just as is written, ‘the delivered will come out of Zion and turn away ungodly practices from Jacob…when I take their sins away…they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are not things he will regret…”
(Romans 11:25-29 New World Translation)

Yes, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” (New American Standard NIV, RSV, etc.) The “olive tree” from which Israel originally grew was the promise to Abraham that “in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 28:14). When Abraham had demonstrated his faithfulness in being willing to sacrifice his beloved son, this promise was described as including both “stars” (heavenly) and “sand” (earthly):

“…Because you [Abraham] have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Genesis 22:16-18 (NAS)

Jehovah’s Commission to Comfort “My people.” Charles Russell realized the responsibility of anointed church to “comfort” and encourage the Jewish people to believe their Prophets regarding their restoration and go back to their Land.

"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Isaiah 40:1-2 NAS

With time prophecy, Charles Russell calculated 1878 as the time when Israel’s “double” time of disfavor ended as penalty for rejecting Jesus Christ. That year, in fact, was remarkably validated visibly with the first Jewish settlement back in the Land as the turning point of returning favor to natural Israel. (See Thy Kingdom Come, Study 8, “The Restoration of Israel”)

Charles Russell Anticipated the Turning Point of 1914. He scripturally calculated the “times of the Gentiles” rule over the Holy Land—beginning after Judah’s last king Zedekiah—as ending in 1914. Of course, World War I dramatically confirmed his expectation with the fall of the dynasties of Europe which “ushered in a twentieth-century ‘Time of Troubles’…from which our civilization has by no means yet emerged” (The Fall of the Dynasties, Edmond Taylor, p. 16)

“A world mesmerized by Science and Progress mocked the mysticism of religious sects which had long predicted that the world would end in the year 1914; fifty years later the world isn’t so sure that it didn’t end in 1914. The first war to involve the whole world saw the collapse of Western European domination ….The European dream of peace was shattered….”
(Britannica GREAT BOOKS, 1963, pp. 107, 108)

But on the positive emerging side for Israel, the results of World War I—in an unusual way—were significantly beneficial for provision of a State of Israel. The result of the War left Britain and France with control over much of the Turkish/Ottoman Empire property in the Middle East.

The Establishing of Israel in Homeland after 1914. Now the British government wanted to reward one British chemist Chaim Weizmann for producing acetone used for explosive propellants critical to the Allied war effort. Being Jewish, Weizmann asked for assurance for a national homeland for the Jewish people in their historic homeland (named by Rome as “Palestine”). In response to this request, the British government prepared the Balfour Declaration in 1917 that stated, “His majesty’s government look with favor on the establishment of a Jewish national homeland…” Although in a “travail” of regathering and establishment in the Land, Israel remains a vital sign of the proximity of Jehovah’s Kingdom.

“For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD [Jehovah], that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it….11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished….17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. 18 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.”
Jeremiah 30:3-7, 11, 17-18

Up until 1934, Rutherford actually continued to present the teaching that Jews and Jerusalem had a special place in prophecy and Jehovah’s Kingdom (The Finished Mystery, pp, 356, 555; The Harp of God, p.256). But then Rutherford contradicted his previous conviction and attributed Israel’s reestablishment to Satan! (Vindication, Vol. 2) Like many other “Christian churches”—ignoring Romans 11—he claimed the Society is “Israel.”

The Witnesses of Jehovah Described by the Prophet Isaiah. As a matter of fact, the Prophet Isaiah three times (Ch. 43, Ch. 44) identifies the “witnesses” of Jehovah historically as the Jewish people! They were the only people called “Jacob” who miraculously passed through the “waters” of the Red Sea after being bought from the slavery of “Egypt.” Yes, the children of Jacob were led on a “road through the wilderness” for forty years.

Prophetically, as “predicted,” Israel is the people who are being regathered from the “East,” “West,” “North” and “South”—even while still “blinded.” Yes, Israel’s “Jerusalem…shall be rebuilt.” Just as “Cyrus” of Persia was used of Jehovah to return the Jews from Babylon back to their Land, Jesus Christ is Jehovah’s “Shepherd” regathering His people—natural Israel at this end of the Age.

“43:1 But now thus said the LORD—
Who created you, O Jacob,
Who formed you, O Israel:
Fear not, for I will redeem you;
I have singled you out by name,
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through water, I will be with you;
Through streams,
They shall not overwhelm you….
3 For I the LORD am your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as a ransom for you…
5 Fear not, for I am with you:
I will bring your folk from the East,
Will gather you out of the West;
6 I will say to the North, ‘Give back!’
And to the South, ‘Do not withhold!
Bring My sons far afar,
And My daughters from the end of the earth—
7 All who are linked to My name,
Whom I have created,
Formed, and made for My glory—
8 Setting free that people,
Blind though it has eyes
And deaf though it has ears….
10 My witness are you—declares the LORD [Jehovah]
My servant, whom I have chosen.
To the end that you may take thought,
And believe in Me,
And understand that I am He;
Before Me no god was formed,
And after Me none shall exist—
11None but me, the LORD;
Beside Me, non can grant triumph.
12 I alone foretold the triumph
And I brought it to pass;
I announced it,
And no strange god was among you.
So you are My witnesses—declares the LORD [Jehovah]….
14 Thus said the LORD,
Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel;
For your sake “I sent to Babylon;
I will bring down all [her] bars,
And the Chaldeans shall raise their voice in lamentation.
I am your Holy One, the LORD,
Your King, the Creator of Israel.
16 Thus said the LORD,
Who made a road through the sea
And a path through mighty waters,
17Who destroyed chariots and horses,
And all the mighty host—
They lay down to rise no more,
They were extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not recall what happened of old,
Or ponder what happened of yore!
I am about to do something new;
Even now it shall come to pass,
Suddenly you shall perceive it:
I will make a road through the wilderness
And rivers in the desert….
21The people I formed for Myself
That the might declare my praise.
22 But you have not worshiped Me, O Jacob,
That you should be weary of Me, O Israel,
You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings,
Nor honored Me with your sacrifices…
Instead, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities,
25 It is I, I who—for My own sake—
Wipe your transgressions away
And remember your sins no more….
44:1 “But hear, now, O Jacob My servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2 Thus said the LORD, your Maker,
Your Creator who has helped you since birth:
Fear not, My servant Jacob,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen,
3 Even as I pour water on thirsty soil,
And rain upon dry ground,
So will I pour My spirit on your offspring,
My blessing upon your posterity.
4 And they shall sprout like grass,
Like willows by watercourse.
5 One shall say, ‘I am the LORD’s’
Another shall use the name of ‘Jacob,’
Another shall mark his arm ‘of the LORD’
And adopt the name of ‘Israel.”
6 Thus said the LORD [Jehovah] , the King of Israel,
Their Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts:
I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no god but Me.
7 Who like Me can announced,
Can foretell it—and match Me thereby?
Even as I told the future to an ancient people,
So let him foretell coming events to them.
8 Do not be frightened, do not be shaken!
Have I not from of old predicted to you,
I foretold, and you are My witnesses.
Is there any god, then, but Me?
‘There is no other rock; I know none!’….
21 Remember these things, O Jacob
For you, I Israel, are My servant:
I fashioned you, are you are My servant—
O Israel, never forget Me.
22 I wipe away your sins like a cloud,
Your transgressions like mist—
Come back to Me, for I redeem you. …
Thus said the LORD, your Redeemer,
Who formed you in the womb;
It is I, the LORD, who made everything,
Who alone stretched out the heavens
And unaided spread out the earth;
25 Who annul the omens of diviners,
And make fools of the augurs;
Who turn sages back
And make nonsense of their knowledge;
But confirm the word of My servant
And fulfill the prediction of My messengers,
It is I who say of Jerusalem,
‘It shall be inhabited,’
And of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt;
And I will restore their ruined places.
27 [I] who said to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your floods.’
28 Am the same who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd;
He shall say of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be rebuilt,’
And to the Temple, ‘You shall be founded again.’”
Isaiah 43, 44

Christians are All to be Zionists Also! So, yes, Charles Russell was a Christian Zionist because he was a faithful watchman announcing the “time to favor” Zion had come! (Psalm 102:13). Following his example, we are also encouraged to give Jehovah no rest until Jerusalem becomes a “praise in the earth.”

“For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
2 And the nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you. 6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Isaiah 62:1-7

No longer with Israel’s Jerusalem seem “forsaken.” No longer will all nations be gathered against Jerusalem! On the other hand, they will be gathered to Jerusalem to learn about the “God of Jacob”! They will put down their weapons of war. That time will then mean that Jehovah’s Kingdom of true peace on earth is established in full power and glory!