The Rainbow

    

 (Much of the background to The Rainbow’s doctrinal position with its key players is taken from Edwin Le Roy Froom’s The Conditional Faith of Our Fathers, volume 2 (1956) starting on page 380.)

     The Rainbow was a British monthly periodical which is of interest to those researching Watch Tower history. Its first issue was in January 1864 and its final issue was for December 1887. Its founding editor was William Leask (1812-1884). Leask came from a Congregationalist background and had the pastorate of the independent Maberly Chapel in London for the last twenty years of his life. After his death Joseph Bryant Rotherham (1828-1910) took the editorial chair. Rotherham came from a Church of Christ (Campbellite, Restoration Movement) background and brought the paper to its conclusion.

     The purpose of the magazine was stated clearly on its title page.

     The subheading “with special reference to the revealed future of the church and the world” remained with the magazine throughout its history.

     According to Froom (volume 2, page 381): “Starting out as a forum for discussion of opinion, the journal soon became a veritable battleground of effective debate.” So in its first year, for example, you had contrasting articles side by side. From the April 1864 correspondence section you had “COMING” AND “APPEARING,” DIFFERENT (pages 180-182) immediately followed by (pages 182-184) “COMING” AND “APPEARING,” THE SAME (pages 182-184).

     The periodical fulfilled its brief with a variety of articles. In its first three years, subjects included:

PLAN OF THE AGES

SCRIPTURAL DATES OF THE TIME OF THE END?

SECOND ADVENT – PRE-MILLENNIAL

WILL THE RAPTURE BE VISIBLE OR SECRET?

WILL THERE BE A SECRET PRESENCE?

     The concept of certain events being secret or invisible was frequently discussed and when Matthew 24 v.3 was explained, “parousia” was often rendered as “presence.”

 

     Here are a few examples:

July 1864

July 1866

December 1868

     When Benjamin Keith showed Nelson Barbour the Diaglott’s interlinear rendering “presence” in Matthew 24 v.3 in the mid-1870s, leading to the invisible presence explanation for 1874, he could perhaps have been a Rainbow reader. We will return to this thought later.

     The magazine soon settled into its most identifying feature, promoting the tenet of conditional immortality. According to this belief, man does have an immortal soul and there is no literal eternal Hell fire; rather, immortality is only granted by God through Christ and is conditional.

     The catalyst that led to The Rainbow’s reputation for this doctrine, was an article written by William Maude (1827-1883). Maude was a contributor to the paper from its very first year on various subjects, but it was his article on conditional immortality simply titled IMMORTALITY published in March 1869 that cemented The Rainbow’s position. Maude’s history and a detailed précis of this key article can be found in Froom, volume 2, pages 383-389.

     This caused a furore and around five hundred promptly cancelled their subscriptions. But the die was cast. New subscribers soon replaced those who had gone, and the follow-up articles included (from 1870):

IS ENDLESS SUFFERING THE DOCTRINE OF SCRIPTURE?

LIFE AND IMMORTALITY ONLY IN CHRIST

     Various names were given to this position, Life only in Christ, Immortality through Faith, Annihilationism, Conditionalism, but Froom (page 451) credits Leask and The Rainbow for popularising the expression “Conditional Immortality.”

     In America writers like Henry Grew and George Storrs promoted conditional immortality and now The Rainbow was doing the same in Britain. It is therefore not surprising to find Rainbow readers in America.

     A number of American periodicals mentioned The Rainbow. In the Advent Christian Church fold, The World’s Crisis called it “an able monthly” (1 April 1868) and offered to act as agent for American subscribers. From the Crisis for 13 October 1869:

     Here it is called a “valuable monthly.” These offers and descriptions were to be repeated and the Crisis also frequently republished material from The Rainbow; perhaps most notably when William Maude’s key article on IMMORTALITY was serialised over three issues, 31 March, 7 and 14 April, 1869. 

     Confirming the connection, the Crisis editor Miles Grant had a letter of support published in The Rainbow for February 1870.

     When an official agent was appointed in New York to handle subscriptions, the Crisis published the information and continued to make positive comments such as (19 February 1873) “The Rainbow contains valuable articles from able writers. We commend it to our readers.”

     Other Advent Christian papers followed suit. The Advent Christian Times (9 January 1872) with typical verbosity called The Rainbow “an invaluable arena for adventurers in the stupendous conflict of religious thought” and frequently reprinted its articles.

     The Advent Christian Quarterly likewise reprinted material from The Rainbow’s pages. For example, from Volume 1, number 3 (January 1870):

     In the Church of God/Age to Come fold, the Gospel Banner and Millennial Advocate (edited by the Diaglott’s Benjamin Wilson) regularly re-cycled Rainbow articles. See the example below from 15 May 1868.

     The Banner was succeeded by The Restitution and that too used Rainbow material. One of the earliest surviving issues is for 16 December 1874, where an article is introduced:

     The Life and Advent Union’s Herald of Life and of the Coming Kingdom frequently raided The Rainbow’s pages for copy. Under George Storrs’ stewardship, the Herald noted (March 29, 1871) that “The Rainbow is doing a great work in (Britain).” When an accredited agent was appointed for American subscribers in May 1871 (George W Young of New York) this was advertised in each weekly issue until nearly the end of the year, and the paper probably used Rainbow material more than any other American paper at this time.

     When Storrs went back to producing Bible Examiner it too praised The Rainbow. The February 1874 issue described The Rainbow as being “filled with good and interesting matter.”

     Storrs advertised that George W Young was still the American agent for sbscriptions and articles continued to be taken from its pages.

     Joseph Seiss’ Prophetic Times was another supporter. The November 1865 issue described the new periodical as a “sprightly and valuable English Magazine of Christian Literature” and like others reprinted material from it. A further testimonial from June 1867 read:

     Looking at all of the above, if you were a reader of Adventist or Millennialist periodicals in the United States in the late 1860s and throughout the 1870s there was no way you could avoid The Rainbow.

     We mentioned Benjamin Keith earlier. We know he was a regular reader of The World’s Crisis for a number of years. This paper contained a feature where the names of those who requested literature were listed. The name B W Keith occurs in this a number of times, including the issue below for 30 September 1868.

     Other examples are found in issues for 24 June 1868, 4 November 1868, 9 June 1869, 28 September 1870, 12 October 1870, 21 February 1872, 31 July 1872, and 2 April 1873. In addition Keith attended New York State conferences at Springwater (including in June 1872) and wrote to the paper, for example, in its issue for 2 April 1873. He is also mentioned as a conference delegate in the Advent Christian Times.

     So with all these quotations and links, the suggestion that Keith could also have been a Rainbow reader, and might therefore have partly absorbed the “invisible presence” concept from that source, while unproven, is perfectly feasible. But certainly the historical influence of this periodical was considerable.

     In view of all the above, it is not surprising that the Rainbow had connections with certain key players in Watch Tower history and pre-history.

     Here now are some examples.

 

George Stetson.

     George Stetson (1814-1879) spoke at different times at Quincy Hall, Allegheny[i], and CTR credited him as an influence in Harvest Gatherings and Siftings (ZWT May 1890 and several times reprinted)[ii]. When Stetson died in 1879, CTR spoke at his funeral.[iii]

     Stetson wrote a letter to The Rainbow in its issue for February 1873.

 

George Storrs

     Another American figure, already mentioned, who features in Watch Tower pre-history is George Storrs. Storrs was a champion of conditional immortality and after leaving The Herald of Life returned to publishing Bible Examiner. In 1874 he visited Allegheny for a series of meetings, and specifically mentioned CTR’s father, Joseph Lytle Russell, as a friend he made there.

     We have already noted Storrs’ enthusiastic endorsement of The Rainbow in Bible Examiner for February 1874 and he often reprinted articles from it thereafter. The Rainbow in turn referred to Storrs in its February 1879 issue.

Nelson Barbour

     Barbour is mentioned several times. A British writer, retired Baptist pastor Elias Helton Tuckett (1814-1891), wrote for The Rainbow, and singled out Barbour for special mention. In an article entitled “Probable Time of the Second Advent” which ran in two parts over August and September 1877, Tuckett highlighted the predictions of Joseph Seiss for 1870 and then those for Nelson Barbour a little later. From the September 1877 issue, page 426, Tuckett wrote:

     The article concludes with a summary straight out of Barbour, featuring the dates 1874, 1878 and 1881.

     A further article by Tuckett in the November 1878 issue entitled “The Midnight Hour” also singles out Barbour:

     These comments on Barbour were highly favourable, although an earlier review of his book Three Worlds was less so. From July 1876, and we assume written by editor Leask:

     The review mentioned C F (sic) Russell as publisher of Barbour’s work.

     The Crisis never deigned to review Barbour’s work, but in its issue for July 25, 1877 a correspondent took issue with the above review; not the actual criticism of Barbour – they fully agreed with that - but the statement: “The incurable tendency of our American brethren to fix dates for the advent and the resurrection is fatally exhibited in this pamphlet.” They felt this was unfair to Americans, and some of the British were just as bad.

 

Charles Taze Russell

     CTR’s key work The Plan of the Ages (later re-titled The Divine Plan of the Ages) would be given a full-scale review by Joseph Bryant Rotherham in 1886, who by then was the paper’s editor. From The Rainbow for December 1886:

     Rotherham starts very positively:

“THIS is a notable book—bold, broad, and breezy; very refreshing after the stereotyped dogmas and platitudes which pass current in the theological world. It is a book for men and not for children... “The Plan of the Ages” is a valuable production, and is probably destined to furnish material assistance in shaking down old walls and building up new.”

     The review totals nearly ten pages. Rotherham concluded with:

“Only those who read dispassionately for themselves “The Plan of the Ages” will perhaps believe us when we assure them that enough in any case remains that is unimpeachable to render this volume such as is likely to repay abundantly any discreet man’s perusal. The Chapter on “The Permission of Evil” is alone more than worth the price of the whole volume, and is the fullest discussion of this great mystery, and the nearest approximation to a probably correct solution of it, with which we are acquainted.”

     It should be noted that in the full review, Rotherham questioned some of CTR’s views on the millennium, dispensations, restitution, the person of Christ, judgment day and the nature of man. However, it has also been observed that many of these reservations were resolved by Rotherham in two detailed appendices in the 1902 edition of his Emphasized Bible.

 

Zion’s Watch Tower articles

     This positive view of CTR’s ministry was reinforced when The Rainbow chose to reprint three Zion’s Watch Tower articles, all in the September 1887 issue. All three had been taken from Zion’s Watch Tower for July 1887. Pages 383-384 (Rainbow) carried the article THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST NECESSARY TO SALVATION. This originally appeared in Zion’s Watch Tower as part of THE VIEWS FROM THE TOWER. The Rainbow reprint concluded:

     Then pages 401-403 carried the article “HOW CAN YE BELIEVE,” which was a complete article from the July 1887 ZWT.

     And finally, almost immediately afterwards on pages 404-405 came the article REVEALED IT UNTO BABES which again first appeared in the July 1887 ZWT.

 

End of the Rainbow

     The magazine was struggling with its circulation during 1887 and attempts were made to attract new subscribers. But eventually in the December 1887 issue Rotherham announced that it would be the last. Soundings were taken for a new replacement journal that would be half the size and half the price. But this apparently never happened.

     One possible reason for this was that back in 1878 the Conditional Immortality Association was formed. Leask was one of the founding members. They organised annual interdenominational conferences. They also had their own journal The Bible Standard which started the year before in 1877. Its masthead proclaimed that it was “devoted to the doctrine of...Conditional Immortality.”

     Other papers too promoted the same view like The Bible Echo (1872>) and The Messenger (1876>).

     The Rainbow had served its purpose for 24 years but now it was time to call it a day.

---

[i] See for example, World’s Crisis, 9 October 1872 page 3, and Speaker’s Appointments from 20 November 1872 page 27, and several weeks thereafter, also Advent Christian Times, 11 November 1873, page 112.

[ii] ZWT May 1890 page 4, Harvest Gatherings and Siftings, reprinted in ZWT 15 July 1906 page 230. Also incorporated into A Conspiracy Exposed and Harvest Siftings, special ZWT, 25 April 1894, page 96.

[iii] See Stetson’s obituary in ZWT November 1879 page 2, and World’s Crisis, 5 November 1879, page 102.

Philadelphia Convention - 1900

 

Held in St. George's Hall, the same place where Barbour lectured at Russell's invitation. 

1957

Among the Rarest

 The Index lists a number of early Bible Student booklets. It is far from complete, but among those listed is  George W. Hessler's The Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, 1888, It is exceptionally rare, and few have seen it. The copy below, from my personal research collection, was dis-bound from a collection of booklets owned by William Wright, a Watch Tower Society director.

Rarer still is a paper bound book by Jesse Harper of Danville, Illinois, entitled The Millennium Age. The Restoration. The Race Restored. The Earth Restored, 1892. There are perhaps ten copies in institutional libraries. Harper came in contact with Watch Tower belief by reading The Plan of the Ages. His book is a summary of his notes taken from Millennial Dawn series and Zion's Watch Tower. Shown below is my copy.

Photodrama postcards

     A series of sepia postcards has been found that advertise the Photodrama of Creation. They include both still shots from the slides and frames from the moving pictures.

     From the slides they include:

         This picture had earlier been used for the inside rear cover of the special 1 January 1912 Watch Tower.

     It was also the subject of a well-known Lardent card.

  
     From the moving pictures they include:

     The reverse of the postcards contain no further information. Of the ten this writer has seen, the one above is the only one to have been used in the mail. If any reader would like to decipher the address and message, please do let us know. What can be ascertained is that this particular card was posted from Chicago in 1919.

     The Chicago link suggests that this is part of a set that was advertised in the St Paul Enterprise in early 1915. Starting in the issue for 8 January 1915 the following advertisement appeared in the paper.

     The Chicago Temple produced its own postcards to advertise showings of the Photodrama. One famous view was this one.

     The temple actually ceased operation in mid-1915. For its full story see the article:

     https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-chicago-city-temple-and-photodrama.html

     The advertisements for Photodrama postcards disappeared from the Enterprise after its 13 August 1915 issue.

     Although the postcards were still being used in 1919 from the evidence above, they were soon superseded by a far superior product. In 1916 CTR ordered a series of 40 postcards that reproduced scenes from the Photodrama in color. They were printed in France but because of war conditions did not arrive in America until around April 1917. This announcement was placed in The Watch Tower in its issue for 15 April 1917.

     These cards are most collectable today, featuring a color picture on one side and the appropriate text of the lecture recording on the other. There was space for a mailing address but any personal messages had of necessity to be brief.

     A comparison of the quality shows why the 1917 cards had far greater circulation.

Additional photodrama cards from this set - B.W.S.

Interest Tract, 1900

 

Nels Edward Nelson

 

Revised and with pictures

A full account of the life of Nels Edward Nelson may someday be written. A tale that would chronicle the journey of a boy born in Sweden on October 2, 1875, who, at age seven, crossed the Atlantic to begin a new life in America. And tell how on August 13, 1902, the boy, now a young man forging steel in the mills of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, married Laura M. Reese with whom he built a family, welcoming Margaret A. Nelson on June 21, 1903. And how this family grew to include Carl Richard Nelson on March 10, 1910, who suffered from mental illness later in life and passed away at 43 years of age. It would vividly portray their triumphs and struggles in the gritty heart of coal and steel country during all the upheaval of The Great War and the decades that followed.

But today is not that day and this is not that story. This article has a much narrower aim: to share what available records say about Nels Edward Nelson's life as a devoted Bible Student. Nelson became identified with the Bible Students in 1897. This timing, revealed in an article published in response to critic of the movement William T. Ellis. Nelson writes of himself:

I have not only been at Brooklyn, and at the same convention that Mr. Ellis attended at Washington, D.C., but additionally have attended eleven other general conventions of the I.B.S.A. and I have been identified with the movement for sixteen years-a personal acquaintance of the venerable Pastor during the period and have read nearly all that he has written and many of his publications have been read several times.

Much of what we know about Nelson's relationship with Bible Students comes from The National Labor Tribune. While the Labor Tribune was not the first newspaper to regularly publish Russell's weekly sermons it was one of the earliest, publishing Russell's sermons as early as January 1905. The Labor Tribune became a favorite among Bible Students because of the prominent place it gave to Russell's sermons, placing them on page 2 or 3 rather than on the back page, and the generous spacing and clear font made it an easier read than other papers. Gradually, the Labor Tribune expanded the area given for Bible Student content to include letters of appreciation, and by 1910 they were publishing contributions by Bible Students other than Russell.

Articles by well-known Bible Students such as Bohnet, Blackmore, and Van Amburgh found their way onto the pages of the Tribune. But it was the writings of N. E. Nelson that loomed largest. It's been said that every person has one good novel in them. For Nelson, this 'novel' was a history called "Pastor Russell's Sphere in the Reformation." This remarkable work first appeared in February 1913 Labor Tribune as "Pastor Russell and His Mission." His article continued in the October 1913 issues as “Pastor Russell and His Mission-Culminates in the Reformation (October 1913), and as "Pastor Russell's Sphere in the Reformation" which was serialized from October 1915 to 1917.

Nelson's argument was that Russell, and by extension Bible Student doctrine, unified the best of the Protestant Reformation while avoiding its excesses. Nelson wasn't the first person to say this, but he made the case persuasively. A version of this idea appears in The Finished Mystery. Its writer-compiler, Clayton J. Woodworth, also edited Nelson's Pastor Russell's Sphere in the Reformation.

A clue to how Nelson's work was received by Bible Students of the era can be found in the United States vs. Joseph F. Rutherford et al. trial transcript. A letter from Gertrude W. Seibert written to the then newly formed Executive Committee and dated December 6, 1916, suggested a memorial to Russell be published in book form that would include, among other things, Russell's comments on Revelation and Ezekiel and “Bro. Nelson's articles on 'Pastor Russell's place in the Reformation,’ " as printed in Labor Tribune.

Other articles, series, and letters appeared by Nelson in the Labor Tribune, all in his characteristic style. These include "Triunity of Creation," “Arius and Servetus contrasted to St. Augustine and Calvin," and “Dante's Camouflage." These writings reflect a mind deeply familiar with Literature, Church History, and Bible Student theology. The source of this knowledge is one of the enduring mysteries attached to him.

Nelson was very active at Russell's funeral. William Abbot, Editor of The St. Paul Enterprise, with whom Nelson had prior disagreements regarding The Enterprise's publishing standards, mentioned Nelson in his funeral account (November 14, 1916): "The lining of Brother Russell’s grave pure white, emblematic of his purity of life-was decorated with one thousand feathery mountain ferns and elaborately studded with white chrysanthemums, the handiwork of the cemetery associates, under the oversight of the writer, assisted by Brothers F. E. Williams and N. E. Nelson and wife of Duquesne. It was loving hands that wrought this work of art as a last tribute to our noble brother.”

In the first photo, which is circulating among Bible Student researchers, Nelson appears as the moustached gentleman standing in the middle. Nelson, his wife and daughter also appear in two additional photos from the Labor Tribune reporting following Russell’s death.

 

 

The divisions that formed in the Bible Student community as a result of the events of 1917 and early 1918 made their way onto the pages of the Labor Tribune. The Tribune's editor at that time, Joseph H. Vitchestain, though sympathetic to the cause was at a disadvantage in adjudicating these disputes as he was not 'consecrated' himself. Even with Bible Student J. H. Blackmore acting as a kind of censor for the Tribune's Bible Students’ pages, many divergent ideas still slipped through.

Nelson did not always comment, but when he did his words reflected a strong sensibility and acted as a corrective of sorts. For example, in 1918, Bible Student W. W. Giles suggested that paying the War Tax was equivalent to receiving the Mark of the Beast mentioned in the Bible book of Revelation. Nelson couldn't help himself, and his response, directed to the Editor, was published in the Labor Tribune on March 7, which says in part:

I appreciate your spirit of fair play in granting your readers the privilege of expression, even though they do not always voice the sentiments of the majority, but this particular article is no credit to your paper, nor to the cause of the I.B.S.A. Perhaps you are not aware of it, but this article contains seditious teaching, and since the writer poses as a representative of the I. B. S. A, in advocating resistance to paying war taxes to the United States Government I request this article be repudiated through your columns. The writer of this article sets forth a hazy and ill-defined proposition that the "Mark of the Beast" is an intellectual assent to, or a willing paying of taxes to the government because it is at war. Every one has a right to his opinions on all questions, but this article states that "we of the I.B.S.A., etc., implying that all members of that association stood for the principle as defined by him. I am not speaking for the association in repudiating this, but I know of no such proposition being promulgated officially by the proper representatives of our association. 

Nelson is credited with playing a key role in the release of Rutherford and associates from prison following the close of World War I. A report about the I.B.S.A. Convention at Scranton published in the Labor Tribune on August 26, 1920, includes the following detail: "Among the arrivals from your town is Brother H. E. [N.E.] Nelson, of Duquesne: who drove here with his family in his machine. Brother Nelson has the honor, with Mrs. Woodworth's assistance, of starting the ball rolling to release the "convicts" from Atlanta, He is quiet and unassuming and takes his honor lightly, knowing he did only his duty."

How Nelson "started the ball rolling" may in part be understood by reading about the vigorous campaign the Labor Tribune waged in late 1918 and 1919 to free "The Men at Atlanta." This campaign was aided by Nelson, as noted in the Labor Tribune, "The work and the indomitable persistency of N. E. Nelson, of Duquesne, Pa., must not be overlooked in the campaign for the freedom of the eight men who have been given their freedom. Nelson was tireless and was ever ready with his wise counsel.” A letter written by Nelson to Clayton J. Woodworth has also survived the walls of the Atlanta Penitentiary. These four handwritten pages dated August 1, 1918, give a peek into the personality of Nelson, Woodworth, and another notable Bible Student of the period:

Well dear brother are you getting accustomed to your quarters! How is brother Mack? [Alexander Hugh MacMillan] I fancy he will be hunting something to work off his energy. I hope he will not get into periods of despondency for he is a boy of extremes. And perhaps you also may be subject to this tendency. I understand you and Mack are together - I think you will make a good team.

Nelson attached to this letter a section of his will, expressing his desire to publish a 300 page manuscript of ‘Pastor Russell's Sphere in the Reformation’ in book form and leaving with executors $2500.00 ($53,700 by 2025 standards) for that purpose. Ultimately Nelson left the decision with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania whom he also gifted his manuscript concluding "if the Lord wishes to make use of it, my plans will not stand in the way."

In the Fall of 1920, the Labor Tribune severed its relationship with Bible Students. It is at this point that records of Nelson's writing stop. One can’t help but speculate on how his thinking developed over the subsequent decades. A short article by him about the weather, "A Strange Summer,” appeared in the Golden Age magazine, December 6, 1922. He ended the article with a perhaps uncharacteristically indecisive note: "Is The Christ, the new Power of the Air, actively taking in hand the atmospheric conditions, with a view to the still further undoing of Satan's empire? I wonder.”

Probably Nelson but maybe his son is reported to have sung at the 1929 Bible Student Convention Report "a tenor solo by Brother Nelson, of Duquesne, Pa. Later in life, Nelson and his family took the same course as several other Bible Students from Pennsylvania and left the city of rivers for the coasts of Florida, moving with his wife and, eventually, his son to St. Petersburg in 1930, where he lived for the remainder of his life. His passing was commented on in the Tampa Bay Times on September 20, 1956, page 4. Nelson's death was not listed in any of the journals that represented various branches of the Bible Student movement. The well- known Dawn Bible Student George O. Jeuck officiated. Regrettably, the report says little about his life but perhaps says enough with the words, "He was a member of the International Bible Students."