On Pyramidology and God's throne

Chapter X of the third volume of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Thy Kingdom Come, is entitled "The Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, the Great Pyramid in Egypt".

For his exposition Russell relied heavily on "Prof. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer-Royal for Scotland," who published in 1874 Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid.

On pages 327-8 the "Rev. Joseph Seiss, D.D." is quoted on the "scientific testimony" of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. While no reference is given for the quotation, it turns out that it was from Seiss's 1877 book A Miracle in Stone, or The Great Pyramid of Egypt, pages 90-1 (8th edition). Seiss also extensively used Piazzi Smyth's book for his exposition (pp. 34-5, 329-34). Interestingly, Seiss's book contains a reference to Alcyone, the central star in the Pleiades constellation. He said that the physical construction of the Great Pyramid indicated that Alcyone is at "the centre of the universe," and furthermore,
 

Science has at last discovered that the sun is not a dead centre, with planets and comets wheeling about it but itself stationary. It is now ascertained that the sun also is in motion, carrying with it its splendid retinue of comets, planets, its satellites and theirs, around some other and vastly mightier centre. Astronomers are not yet fully agreed as to what or where that centre is. Some, however, believe that they have found the direction of it to be the Pleiades, and particularly Alcyone, the central one of the renowned Pleiadic stars. To the distinguished German astronomer, Prof. J. H. Maedler, belongs the honor of having made this discovery. Alcyone, then, as far as science has been able to perceive, would seem to be "the midnight throne" in which the whole system of gravitation has its central seat, and from which the Almighty governs His universe. And here is the wonderful corresponding fact, that at the date of the Great Pyramid's completion, at midnight of the autumnal equinox, and hence the true beginning of the year as still preserved in the traditions of many nations, the Pleiades were distributed over the meridian of this pyramid, with Alcyone (y Tauri) precisely on the line.

Here, then, is a pointing of the highest and sublimest character that mere human science has ever been able so much as to hint, and which would seem to breathe an unsuspected and mighty meaning into that speech of God to Job when He demanded, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?"

Russell took up this theme and ran with it.

J. F. Rutherford, in the 1928 book Reconciliation, said on page 14:
 

The constellation of the seven stars forming the Pleides appears to be the crowning center around which the known systems of the planets revolve even as our sun's planets obey the sun and travel in their respective orbits. It has been suggested, and with much weight, that one of the stars of that group is the dwelling-place of Jehovah and the place of the highest heavens; that it is the place to which the inspired writer referred when he said: "Hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven" (2 Chron. 6:21); and that it is the place to which Job referred when under inspiration he wrote: "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?"--Job 38:31.

The constellation of the Pleiades is a small one compared with others which scientific instruments disclose to the wondering eyes of man. But the greatness in size of other stars or planets is small when compared with the Pleiades in importance, because the Pleiades is the place of the eternal throne of God.

Note how Rutherford embellished and blew out of proportion what Seiss had said. This is entirely typical of Rutherford's style. The real significance of Rutherford's view is shown by what the November 15, 1922 Watchtower said -- that the pyramid connection was divinely inspired:
 

It has been shown in a preceding article that the parallel dates of present-truth chronology are proof of divine foreknowledge, and that they demonstrate that the system is of divine origin.... Since by many infallible proofs we discern that these things are of God and that we who hold them as a precious treasure are the people of God, what manner of men ought we to be!.... Not all of the consecrated are familiar with the entire chronological system of present truth. For this reason, and because it is edifying and inspiring to all new creatures in Christ Jesus to have the things of God brought to remembrance, we present in this article a few of the divinely-given chronological parallelisms. Much of the research by which these were discovered was carried on by the late Brother Dr. John Edgar and by Brother Morton Edgar, of Glasgow, Scotland, and published in their book, "Great Pyramid Passages, Volume 2." The foundation was laid by Pastor Russell in the first three volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. [p. 355]

[~1877] Russell publishes The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return, this pamphlet reveals a set of beliefs that came from: Adventism, Storrs, and contemporary evangelical Protestantism. However, the central thesis, that prior to Christ's revelation at the end of the earth He returns and is present in an invisible form, originated in 1828 by Henry Drummond and was popularized throughout Britain and the U.S. by a number of ministers. This idea was expressed by the Rainbow, a millenarian journal, in the 1860s and 1870s. This doctrine was promoted by Dr. Joseph Seiss, and, according to Carl Olof Jonsson, "the available evidence strongly indicates that he [Russell] plagiarized the views of Dr Seiss on this matter". Dr Nelson H. Barbour's book Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World is published. Russell had encouraged Barbour to write this book after hearing Barbour's biblical chronology. The Barbour chronology uses the year-day system to understand Bible prophecies and the 360 day 'prophetic year'. The chronology also took the view that Revelations is a prophetic history (the so called historicist interpretation of Revelations). Barbour also believed that there were prophetic mathematical relationships expressed in the Bible that proved the accuracy of his chronology. Barbour's chronology was accepted by Russell. Three Worlds contains most of the ideas that Russell and his followers would promote well into the 1900's.

One of Seiss's works, The Gospel in the Stars, Or, Primeval Astronomy, was originally published in 1882 and republished in 1972 by Kregel Publications, a religious publisher here in the US. Zion's Watch Tower printed two of Seiss's articles on pages 3612 and 3620 of the Reprints, but they had nothing explicitly to do with chronology. The one on page 3612, from the August 15, 1905 Tower, was interesting because it applied the New Testament description of "lovers of self, lovers of money," etc., as applying in 1905. Again an application of a scripture becomes so flexible it can be applied to most any time and any place.

JWs will be astounded, I think, to learn how many of their doctrines were taught by a Lutheran minister when Russell was still a boy, and how, just like Barbour and Russell, applied "the signs of the times" to his own day!

AF