Sometimes we turn to scripture to find what we want to be there and force an interpretation into it that has no textual support. If there is any possible way to interpret a passage to make it fit our ideas then that is preferable to admitting that we are wrong. The verses which use the word "parousia" should be our primary source data for determining if the "parousia" is going to be visible or invisible. From the tables below we can see that CTR only used a sub-set of the passages which use the word "parousia". He effectively gave us a guided tour of scripture to support his entire interpretation of an invisible coming of Christ. Even so, none of the verses he used contain any words that mean invisible!
Charles Russell made a lot out of the verses in Matt. 24 and saw in them an invisible return of Christ. But when you look at those verses, no words are used that have a definition of "invisibility". If other verses that mention the word "parousia" do contain words that have a definition of "visibility" then a positive mention of visibility trumps any inferred idea of "invisibility".
| Verse | # | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| Matt. 24:3 | 3 | Oct 1883; Jan 1885; Aug 15, 1894; Sep 1 & 15, 1898; March 15, 1902; |
| Matt. 24:27 | 10 | Nov 1880; May 1882; May 1883; May 1883; Oct 1883; March 1884; Aug 15, 1894; Nov 15, 1895; March 15, 1902; Jul 15, 1906; |
| Matt. 24:37 | 8 | July 1880; Aug 1880; Nov 1881; May 1882; Aug 1883; Jan 15,1894; March 15, 1902; Jul 15, 1906; |
| Matt. 24:39 | 4 | July 1880; Nov 1880; March 15, 1902; Jul 15, 1906; |
| 1 Cor. 15:23 | 2 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (both times used as reference but no discussion) |
| 1 Thess. 2:19 | 1 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| 1 Thess. 3:13 | 1 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| 1 Thess. 4:15 | 1 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| 1 Thess. 5:23 | 2 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (both times used as reference but no discussion) |
| 2 Thess. 2:1 | 2 | Nov 1880; Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (all used as reference but no discussion) |
| 2 Thess. 2:8 | 3 | Aug 15, 1894; July 1, 1896; March 15, 1902; Oct 1, 1902; (all used as reference but no discussion) (this verse uses the word "epiphaneia" = appearance, manifestation) |
| 2 Thess. 2:9 | 2 | Dec 15, 1902; March 15, 1910 (both times used as reference but no discussion) |
| James 5:7 | 4 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| James 5:8 | 3 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| 2 Peter 1:16 | 1 | Aug 15, 1894 (used as reference but no discussion) |
| 2 Peter 3:4 | 2 | Aug 15, 1894; March 15, 1902 (both times used as reference but no discussion) |
| 1 John 2:28 | 1 | Aug 15, 1894 (used as reference but no discussion) uses the word "phaneroo" = appears |
| Date | References |
|---|---|
| 1880 July | Matt. 24:37,39 |
| 1880 Aug | Matt. 24:37 |
| 1880 Nov | Matt. 24:27,39; 2Th 2:1 |
| 1881 Oct & Nov | Matt. 24:37 |
| 1882 May | Matt. 24:27,37 |
| 1883 May | Matt. 24:27 |
| 1883 Aug | Matt. 24:37 |
| 1883 Oct | Matt. 24:3 |
| 1884 March | Matt. 24:27 |
| 1885 Jan | Matt. 24:3 |
| 1894 Jan 15 | Matt. 24:37 |
| 1894 Aug 15 | Matt. 24:3,27; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1,8; James 5:7,8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4; 1 John 2:28 |
| 1895 Nov 15 | Matt. 24:27 |
| 1896 July 1 | 2 Thess. 2:8 |
| 1898 Sep 1 & 15 | Matt. 24:3 |
| 1902 March 15 | Matt. 24:3,27,37,39; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1,8; James 5:7,8; 2 Peter 3:4 |
| 1902 Oct 1 | 2 Thess. 2:8 |
| 1902 Dec 15 | 2 Thess. 2:9 |
| 1906 July 15 | Matt. 24:27,37,39 |
| 1910 March 15 | 2 Thess. 2:9 |
All of these prophecies below were based on a faulty interpretation of an invisible return of Christ, first in 1874, then later in 1914. The fact that the End Of The World and Armageddon failed to occur is all based on the same false doctrine.
| Unfulfilled Prophecies of Charles Russell and the Jehovah's Witnesses |
|
|---|---|
| Prophecy | Year |
| Coming or Presence of Christ | 1874 |
| Resurrection | 1878 |
| End of favour to the Gentiles | 1881 |
| Armageddon | 1914 |
| Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob resurrected | 1915 |
| Christendom and its Churches destroyed | 1918 |
| Disappearances of Republics | 1920 |
| Establishment of God's Kingdom on earth | 1925 |
| Abraham in Jerusalem to resurrect loved ones | 1925 |
| End of the World or Armageddon | 1975 |
| Ref | Text | Manner |
|---|---|---|
| Mat 24:27 | For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. | suddenly, unexpectedly, visibly |
| Luke 17:24 | For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. | suddenly, unexpectedly, visibly |
| Luke 21:34 | Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; | suddenly |
| Mat 24:37-39 | For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. | suddenly, unexpectedly |
| Luke 17:26-27 | And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. | suddenly, unexpectedly |
| Luke 17:28-30 | It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed (apokalupto). | suddenly, unexpectedly |
| Mat 25:14 | For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. | |
| Mark 13:34 | It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. |