Many Jehovah's Witnesses are unaware of the role that 19th Century Adventism played in the development an influence of Charles Taze Russell and his early Bible Students.

Some have outright denied that there is any connection and, of course, the Society perpetuates the understanding that C.T. Russell and the Bible Students "resurrected" true Christianity in a form recalling the 1st Century Christians. Despite these claims, the facts clearly show that Adventism is the spiritual forefather of Jehovah's Witnesses and there are several clear links between the leaders of 19th Century Adventism and C.T. Russell and the early Bible Student leaders. In addition to the human connections, the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses obviously includes many of the standard tenets of Adventism. Thus, it is unquestionable that Jehovah's Witnesses belong in the Adventist Family.

The period between 1820 and 1960 in the United States was a period of extreme religious upheaval, sometimes referred to as the Second Great Awakening.  The period was characterized of revivalist and evangelical movements that in part resulted from greater access to and study of the Bible and from the socio-economic changes of the times.

Among the many religious developments of the time was a large movement termed Adventism which was not a single group or church but which roughly described what would come to be a number of new churches, groups, schisms and sects of established religions.  The commonality of these groups was the belief that the adherents were living in the "time of the end" and that the second coming or "advent" of Jesus Christ was very near or imminent.  Many of these groups looked to the dawning of a new age of enlightenment and global change brought about by Christ's return, the Millennial Reign.

The Foolish Virgins: The Millerites

The "Grandfather" of (American) Adventism was William Miller, a Baptist, who believed that he had determined when the Second Coming would occur.  Initially, he pinpointed the Second Coming to occur sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.  When this period failed to bring any change, he revised his calculation to October 22, 1844.

In what would be a foreshadowing of C.T. Russell and the Bible Students, on the evening of October 22, 1844 many of the faithful gathered in confident expectation of the Second Advent.  When nothing occurred, this date and event came to be called the "Great Disappointment." 

The main body of Millerites dissolved after the Great Disappointment but various new groups formed including the "Seventh Day Adventists", the "Advent Christian Church", the "Life and Advent Union", and various small groups using variations of the names "Church of God", "Christian Church", "Church of Christ", etc.  It was all these groups collectively that were sometimes referred to as the "Second Advent Movement."

C.T. Russell was baptized by "Second Adventist" George Storrs.  Russell's group of "independent Bible Students" was itself a splinter from the Pittsbugh/Allegheny area "Advent Christian Church."  He later associated his group with Nelson Barbour's group from 1875-9 which also was made up of former "Advent Christian Church" members.  In addition to these facts, the vast majority of the readership of Russell and Barbour's Herald of the Morning magazine were members of the various sects of the "Second Advent Movement" churches and bible study groups.

The following is a link to an excerpt from Russell's Studies in Scriptures, Vol. III, "Thy Kingdom Come" which clearly details the view of the Bible Students towards Miller and the Millerites who they definitely saw as forerunners of their own movement and also as being used by "the Lord" to accomplish his purpose.  (Read the Excerpt)

Below is just a small snippet of the above excerpt from the Studies in Scriptures volume that positively and conclusively shows that Russell considered the Bible Students to be an extension of Adventist movement.

Just so some now contemptuously inquire, "Can any good thing come out of Adventism?" and dismiss unconsidered the testimony of the Lord and the apostles and prophets. But the humble, holy ones, wise in God's sight though foolish in the world's estimation, take no such attitude. But the "Miller movement" was more than this: it was the beginning of the right understanding of Daniel's visions, and at the right time to fit the prophecy. Mr. Miller's application of the three and a half times (1260 years) was practically the same as that we have just given, but he made the mistake of not starting the 1290 and 1335 periods at the same point. Had he done so he would have been right. On the contrary, he started them thirty years sooner-about 509 instead of 539, which ended the 1335 days in 1844, instead of 1874. (Studies in Scriptures Vol. III. Thy Kingdom Come)

The Adventist Family

In 1845 the last conference of the Millerites as a body was held in Albany, New York, on April 29.  After this conference, thousands of Millerites left the movement entirely while many others split into three main factions. It is from these three "main branches" off the trunk of Millerite Adventism that most Adventist sects, including Jehovah's Witnesses, stem today.

Miller and Himes both affiliated with the first faction.  After Miller's death, this faction in 1858 formed into the "American Millennial Association" and would later be called "Evangelical Adventists."  This group published a magazine called the Advent Herald (later changed to the Messiah's Herald.)  This group continued to believe in the imminent return of Christ, the immortality of the soul and Sunday worship.

The second faction spiritualized Miller's prophecy concerning the Second Advent. They contended that Christ had indeed returned on October 22, 1844 only invisibly and they further believed that the Millennium had begun on that date.  One of the principal leaders of this faction of Adventism was John T. Walsh who taught that the wicked would not be raised at the Second Advent but only during the Millennial Reign.

The third faction also believed that Christ had in fact returned invisibly on October 22, 1844 but rejected the idea that the Millennium had already begun.  Two former Millerites, Hiram Edson and O. R. Crozier, were responsible for this view.  Crozier described having a vision the morning after the Great Disappointment of the "High Priest entering into the Most Holy of the heavenly sanctuary" and "that he had a work to perform in the most holy before coming to the earth."  This vision was later refined into what the Seventh-Day Adventists call the "investigative judgment" doctrine.  Eventually, through the influence of Joseph Bates and others, this group began to observe the seventh-day Sabbath.  (Seventh-Day Adventists today represent a sizable Adventist sect.  They hold the teachings of Ellen G. (Harmon) White, a former Millerite, sacred. They believe White to be a prophet. White began claiming to have visions in December 1844. Leaders in this group were influenced by Sabbatarian Baptists thus they keep Saturday instead of Sunday as the Sabbath day.  The Seventh-Day Adventists assumed this name about 1860 and developed its basic organization by 1863.)

Among the first faction of Adventists two important leaders immerged.  One of them, Jonathan Cummings, set 1854 as the new date for Christ's return.  The other, George Storrs, who edited the Bible Examiner, simultaneously began to teach that man does not possess an immortal soul and that the dead are in an unconscious state in the grave. 

Storrs and Cummings soon joined forces but when the Christ failed to return in 1854 a rift occurred among this first faction of Adventists.  In 1855, the conditionalists, like Storrs and Cummings formed the "Advent Christian Church."

In the late 1850s, Storrs accepted Walsh's notion that the wicked would not be raised during the Second Advent and left the Advent Christian Church, and together with Walsh formed the "Life and Advent Union" in 1863.

In the 1870s Russell would come to associate with Storrs and was introduced to all of these teachings which he found to be quite palatable to his own developing theology.

The above shows the direct influence of Adventism upon the Bible Students and C.T. Russell and their own view of Miller and Adventism.  But even beyond this influence, we must not overlook the importance of certain Adventist members in the early Organization along with the Millerite influences upon these.

Charles Fitch (b.1805-d.1844)

After studying at Brown University in Rhode Island, Charles Fitch began his ministry in the Congregational Church at Abington, Connecticut. In March of 1838 Fitch wrote William Miller stating that he had read Miller's Lectures and did not doubt the correctness of his views. For approximately three and a half years, he held back from preaching the Millerite message. Eventually, because he preached the doctrine of "holiness" and was exhorted not to do so, Fitch felt it necessary to separate from the established church. This separation caused him to be less influenced by the fear of man regarding the Millerite understanding of the advent.

Josiah Litch visited Fitch and told him he needed the doctrine of the second advent to add to his doctrine of holiness. Litch left him more literature to study and requested he correspond as to the result of his study. This study led to his accepting the advent doctrine.

Thereafter, Fitch traveled tirelessly, throwing himself unreservedly into proclaiming the need of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. He moved his family to Cleveland, Ohio and held meetings and baptisms all over Ohio.

In 1842, feeling the need of an accurate chart, Fitch and Apollos Hale prepared the famous chart illustrating the fulfillment of the last-time prophecies of Daniel. This was used extensively by the Millerites. Fitch himself used this chart and also other visual aids including a replica of the Daniel 2 statue that could be separated into its various parts. Charles Fitch became seriously ill, probably with pneumonia, in the month of October, 1844. He had chilled while baptizing converts. He died on Monday, October 14th, 1844.

In July 1843, Fitch began giving the sermon based on Revelation Chapter 18, entitled "Come Out of Her, My People" and calling upon all believers to leave their churches. Fitch's sermon established (argued) that "Babylon" was Antichrist and included not just those who rejected Christ outright but also the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Christendom and that in order to be a real Christian and avoid destruction it was not only necessary to become Adventist but also to "come out" from membership in the churches. The sermon was widely circulated and the message was adopted by George Storrs and Joseph Marsh (Voice of Truth, Rochester) entirely.

George Storrs

Storrs was a former Millerite and the founder of the Life and Advent Union Church after the Great Disappointment. In the early 1840s, Storrs was a frequent companion of Orange Scott, founder of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. After hearing Charles Fitch's sermon on the meaning of Revelation Chapter 18 and Babylon the Great in 1843, Storrs accepted these teachings and began to popularize them himself along with his views on the soul and death.

Born in New Hampshire, George Storrs was converted and joined the Congregational Church at the age of 19. He felt called to preach, and joined the Methodist ministry in 1825 through the influence of a godly Methodist minister. He preached much about slavery, even being arrested in 1835 while praying for the slaves during an antislavery society meeting. He was set free after a trial.

In 1837 he studied what the Bible had to say about the state of the dead after reading a tract on the subject. His conclusions led him to leave the Methodist church. In 1842 he published six sermons he had given on the topic. The same year he heard the Advent message, and began preaching the soon coming of Christ, distributing copies of his "Six Sermons" as he preached.

Charles Fitch wrote him January 25, 1844: "As you have long been fighting the Lord's battles alone, on the subject of the state of the dead, and of the final doom of the wicked, I write this to say, that I am at last, after much thought and prayer, and a full conviction of duty to God, prepared to take my stand by your side."

Storrs published and edited a paper called "The Bible Examiner" (Brooklyn, NY) from 1843 until he died in 1879. He did not accept the sanctuary teaching which attempted to explain the 1844 disappointment, nor the seventh-day Sabbath teaching, but continued to believe the Bible teaching about the state of the dead.

Storrs first helped C.T. Russell publish some articles in the Bible Examiner. He reportedly even baptized C.T. Russell and so far as it is known Russell never received any other baptism. Without a doubt Storrs was quite influential on the shaping of C.T. Russell's theology and understanding of scripture.

Storrs is probably responsible for helping Russell reach his conclusions on the falsity of the immortal soul, the state of the dead (what others misname "soul sleep"), and the resurrection hope.

It is through Storrs to Fitch to William Miller and Josiah Litch that there is a direct connection between C.T. Russell and the Bible Students to Millerite Adventism.

Given this connection, it seems likely that the Fitch-Storrs relationship may also be responsible, if not at least highly influential, for Russell's understanding of Babylon the Great and perhaps even in the development of his dispensational Chart of the Ages which is so similar to Fitch's Millerite chart.

Nelson H. Barbour

Barbour was also a former Millerite. He became an "Independent Adventist" and started his own group of Bible Students who were all former members of the "Advent Christian Church."  His association and influence upon Russell are well documented and well known to Jehovah's Witnesses.  Barbour is almost solely responsible for introducing Russell to a number of eschatological and chronological concepts including the 6,000 Year-Day Theory, Year-Day Rule, the Gentile Times, the 360-Day Prophetic Year, and a historical interpretation of the book of Revelation. He also helped reinforce Russell's understanding of Parousia.

Jonas Wendell

Wendell was an Adventist minister that helped rekindle C.T. Russell's faith in the Bible and God not long after Russell had "formally renounced all religion."

George Stetson

Stetson was an Adventist minister said to be very influential in helping C.T. Russell formulate some of his theological views.

John H. Patton

Patton, a conditionalist Adventist and associate of N.H. Barbour, shared charge of the bible study group in Rochester, New York that affiliated with Russell's Pittsburgh study group.  He broke with Russell in 1881, when Russell insisted that the anointed (those of the "high calling") had been sealed as of that year, while Paton insisted that these would ascend to heaven in 1914.

B. W. Keith

Keith, a conditionalist Adventist and early associate of the Bible Students and reader of Barbour's Herald of the Morning, is best known for discovering Wilson's translation of "parousia" as "presence." This allowed Barbour and Russell to reinterpret the non-events of 1874. Keith later contributed important articles on Restitution, Parousia and similar themes to Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence.

Joseph Seiss

Although he wasn't an Adventist, it should be noted that Russell was evidently influenced by this Lutheran minister's book on Pyramidology, A Miracle in Stone, as he quoted it favorably in his Thy Kingdom Come in the chapter on Pyramidology.

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Finally, as the old saying goes "the real proof is in the pudding." The greatest indication that the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses fits under the Adventist umbrella is to consider the residue of Adventism that is still upon Jehovah's Witnesses today. 

In addition to Sociologist Bryan Wilson's "Adventist Sect" definition which includes:

1.        focuses attention on the coming overthrow of the present world order
2.        emphasizes the prophetic literature of the Bible (often interpreted allegorically)
3.        regards conventional eschatological ideas of heaven and hell as false,
                and thus replaces them with the resurrection of the dead for judgment as the chief eschatological event
4.        views Christ as a divine commander as well as Savior
5.        subscribes to a high moral standard based on the moral precepts of Jesus
6.        participation in the new world order will be dependent on maintaining doctrinal and moral rectitude
7.        evangelizes through the preaching of the word and despises emotionalism
8.        regards the established church as anti-Christ
9.        lives separate from the world while at the same time living in the world
10.        hostile towards the wider society and anticipates its violent overthrow

The following specific Adventist doctrines and teachings are still featured prominently among modern Jehovah's Witness theology:

• Conditionalism

• Dispensation
• Restitution
• Christ's Parousia
• Memorial (Lord's Supper) annually on Nisan 14
• Millennialism
• Paradise Earth
• 6,000 Year - Day Theory (recently abandoned)
• Year - Day Rule
• Shut-Door Doctrine/Harvest Doctrine
• Type/Antitypes
• Gentile Times Doctrine
• Vindication Doctrine (aka the "Great Controversy" or the Grand Cosmic Trial)
• Special Stewardship (the Faithful and Discreet Slave/Steward Doctrine)