The prophets and the apostles prophesied the loss of many precious truths, and the pollution of the sanctuary class with defiling errors. As well, they spoke of the cleansing of the sanctuary as the end of the age would approach. Some brethren have researched the history of Truth doctrines, and others may have an interest in doing so. For those who wish it, the following is a staffing bibliography.

1. Bibliographic History of Dispensationalism, D. Ehlert, 1965, Baker Book House. Concise summary of the various schemes and outlines of dispensations and ages. CT Russell given about 1 page coverage of 3 ages and Divine Plan Chart approach.

2. Living in the Shadow of the Second Coming, T. P. Weber, 1979, Oxford. Good background of the 19th century premillennial beliefs. Essentially non-adventist in scope.

3. Prophets and Millennialists, W. Oliver, 1978, New Zealand. Relates numerous prophetic movements to historical settings. Coverage of reformation to 19th century. Substantially overlaps Froom’s Prophetic Faith.

4. The Protesters, Alan Eyre, 1975, England. Christadelphian. Cites specific persons from reformation through mid 19th century with views similar to present Christadelphians. For areas where Bible Students agree with these, there is much interesting material.

5. The Religion of Isaac Newton, E. Manuel, 1974, Oxford Univ. Press. Detailed account of Newton’s beliefs on the Trinity, the Millennium, prophecy, etc. He was ahead of his time.

6. Martin Luther’s Religious Thought, W. Landeen, 1971, Pacific Press Pub. Assoc. Interesting discussion of Luther’s beliefs on justification, death and other subjects.

7. The Decline of Hell, P. Walker, 1964, Univ. of Chicago Press. Good coverage of 17th century repudiation of the eternal torment dogma by many prominent European scholars. Contains a lot of philosophical argumentation used at that time.

8. Foundations of the Seventh Day Adventist Message and Mission, P. Damsteegt, 1977, Eerdmans Pub. Relates more to the 7th Day branch of adventists, but contains a good summary of Millerite activities.

9. The Midnight Cry, D. Nichols, 1944, Review & Herald Pub. The best single history of Millerite activities. Is a defense of many accusations of fanaticism in the 1844 movement. Available in paperback.

10. Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, 2 Volumes, 1978. Exhaustive survey of all types of religions. Has several articles on Adventist and Bible Student backgrounds. Bulk of this material unrelated to the Bible Students.

11. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, L. Froom, 4 Volumes, 1950s, Review & Herald Pub. The best current study of beliefs on the prophetic patterns of Daniel and Revelation. Much bibliographic material and quotations from important authors from the early church through the 1840s. Excellent information on tracing the origins of historical interpretations versus modern day fundamentalist futurism. Includes sections at the end concerning SDA’s distinctives.

12. The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, L. Froom, 2 Volumes, 1960s, Review & Herald Pub. Complementary volumes to the Prophetic Faith books. Excellent coverage of the conditional immortality beliefs from the Old Testament times to mid-20th Century. Good material on persons like Rotherham, Storrs, and CT Russell.

13. Future Probation in Christian Belief, A. O. Hudson, Bible Study Monthly, England. Introductory study and brief history of the doctrine of Future Probation. Good starting point.

14. Systematic Theology,  G. Huffer, 1976, The Restitution Herald, Oregon, Illinois. Basically a theological textbook from a more or less Christadelphian standpoint. Has several good summary chapters on the history of thought concerning the nature of man and the kingdom.

15. In Pursuit of the Millennium, Norman Cohn, 1971, Oxford. A good historical account of many prophetically oriented movements in the middle ages and reformation time. Written from a sociological viewpoint.

16. Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Alan Rogerson, 1970. An account of Bible Student and Jehovah’s Witness history from the 1870s to the 1950s. Gives a good perspective on the subject, and is sympathetic with Bible Student perspective.

17. A People for His Name, Timothy White, 1967, Vantage Press. An account similar to Rogerson’s. The book is more difficult to find due to the limited number published.

18. The Origin and Progress of Trinitarian Theology, Forrest, 1853. Illustrates the development of trinitarian dogma in the early church in the creeds and writings of the church fathers.

19. The Destiny of the Soul, Alger, Greenwood Pub., Reprint. Appendix, “The Literature of the Doctrine of a Future Life,” Ezra Abbott, 1968, reprint. Written from a Universalist slant, this gives good information relating Christian views on salvation and other non-Christian ones. The appendix is the valuable part with an excellent bibliography for books on the nature of man and salvation. Originally compiled in 1860, its coverage ends at that time.

20. The Rise of Adventism, Edwin Gaustad, 1974, Harper & Row. Contains several essays relating to Millerite activities and their special context. Has an excellent bibliography of books and journals related to Millerism and early adventism.

21. History of Dogma, Adolph Harnack, 7 Volumes, 1970s, reprint. Very detailed history of the early church and early middle ages. Large amount of information on various councils and the rise of trinitarian doctrines.

22. Antichrist and the Millennium, R. Chamberlin, 1975, E. P. Dutton & Co. A survey of some of the notable characters and teachings from the middle ages to early 20th century. Some material on the Watchtower, but nothing unique.

23. Historical Waymarks of the Church of God, Clyde Randall, 1976, Oregon, Illinois. A concise history of the Church of God, Abrahamic faith, a blend of Adventists and Christadelphian backgrounds. Contains very interesting material for comparison to Bible Student development. Benjamin Wilson belonged to this group.

24. The Great Second Advent Movement, Its Rise and Progress, N. Loughborough, 1973, reprint. A good account of the Millerite movement, with emphasis on the subsequent Seventh Day branch and its activities. Not as useful as Nichols’ work.

25. History of the Second Advent Message and Mission, Isaac C. Wellcome, 1874. A very detailed history of the Millerite movement from an Advent Christian perspective. Some material on George Storrs, and brief notices on N. H. Barbour. Good biographical material on many Millerites and Adventists. Book is difficult to find.

26. The Advent Christian Story, C. Kearney, 1968. Brief account of the history of this Adventist branch. Gives good background for studying people that CT Russell tried to reach in the 1880s. Numerous reference to their competitive journal, The Crisis, can be found in the early Watchtower articles.

27. The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Published by the Watchtower. Has a 100 page section covering the history of the Watchtower from the viewpoint of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

28. Meraiism end Gershonism, Epiphany Volumes 6 & 7, P.S.L. Johnson, 1938, Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement. Contains Johnson’s version of the 1917-1930 controversy in the Watchtower and PBI after CT Russell’s death.

29. The Incredible Cover-Up, Dave MacPherson, 1975, Logos International. Historical critique of the pre-tribulation rapture idea of people like Hal Lindsey. Interesting narrative on 19th century development of 7 year tribulation and rapture views.

30. Finding the Lost Prophetic Witnesses, E. Froom, 1946. Brief personal account of tracking down sources for the Prophetic Faith books.

31. Finding the Lost Conditionalist Witnesses, E. Froom, 1965. Account of tracking sources for Conditionalist books. What does the Future Hold?, C. H. Hewitt, Advent Christian Pub. Contains some good analysis of various approaches to Conditionalism. Also has summary of Advent Christian views on the nature of man and of salvation.

32. Movement of Destiny, L. E. Similar in style to the Prophetic Faith volumes, but more concerned with developments in the post-Millerite movement of Seventh Day Adventists. Interesting notes on various unorthodox factions of nontrinitarian, future probation and nonsabbatarian adventists.

33. Dr. Thomas, His Life and Works, Robert Roberts, 1970, Birmingham, England. Gives a history of the founder of the Christadelphians. Illustrates a similar development in beliefs to Bible Students that began from different starting points than Adventism. In some ways reflects a more accurate tradition than classic Adventism.

34. Baptism through the Centuries, F. Brown, 1965, Pacific Press. Coverage of early church practices and continues to modern revivals of water baptism.

35. History of the Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity, H. Stannus, 1882. Emphasis on early writers and creeds on the development of the trinitarian view.

36. The Shaking of Adventism, G. J. Paxton, 1977, Zenith Publishers. Study by a non-Adventist on the question of justification by faith in the 7th Day Adventist Church. Useful as a comparison study, but not much direct application.

37. A Great Baffle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, J. Rutherford, 1915. Consists of a defense of C. T. Russell against various of the morals charges by his contemporaries. Substantial biographical information.

Download PDF