One could suppose, when noting what occurred among Bible Students when Pastor Russell died, that despite the vast scope of the harvest conducted under his supervision, made possible by the marvelous spirit of zeal and self-sacrifice which consumed him and the brethren generally during that period, it had failed of lasting results. But this would be an incorrect viewpoint. Time is an important element in God’s arrangements. What we see  today  may not be true of tomorrow. God changes not, but in developing and testing his people he permits them to pass through varying experiences in order that their faith might be tested and their determination to serve him faithfully crystallized.

The years following Brother Russell’s death have been a period of special testing. It has been a fiery furnace   for all the Lord’s  people, and we should be careful not  to misjudge any of the brethren upon the basis of their temporary reactions to the flames. The great test upon all has been their loyalty to God and to the truth and its spirit, apart from human leadership. Brother Russell was not only “that servant” of God, but he was a noble, good man whom we all loved and upon whom we leaned. But God wants us to lean upon him, and to be faithful individually in doing his work. Through the truth he called us out of churchianity—Babylon—and through these years he has been putting us through the fiery furnace of trial in order that all the cords of bondage might be burned away to set us free entirely from human leadership, that we may be bound only to our Lord and one another by the cords of love and devotion to the doing of his will.

With the exception of those who have departed from the truth to the extent of denying its great fundamentals, all the brethren during these years of trial have remained “in the truth.” They have been proud to be called “truth people.” But in the hearts of most of them has been a realization that something was lacking in their Christian experience, that something else died with Brother Russell. No substitute program could take the place of this loss, and they would not be satisfied until the real thing was restored.

Yes, they knew what it was! They had learned the lesson well that being a Christian was more than merely the acceptance of God’s grace for our personal salvation and satisfaction. The same lesson was learned by the disciples at the very beginning of the age. Even before Jesus died he “sent out” the twelve into the ministry, and later he sent out the seventy. When the women found the empty tomb, the symbol that he was no longer dead, they were bidden to “go tell” the news to others. When Jesus met with his disciples shortly before he returned to heaven, he told them to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, and then they were to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

If we could imagine those who went early to the tomb simply being told that Jesus had been raised from the dead and then instructed to go home and say or do nothing about it; or if we could think of Peter and the other disciples receiving similar instructions; or if Jesus had told his disciples to continue tarrying at Jerusalem until they had lived out their natural span of life and died in inactivity; then we could at the same time imagine somewhat the feelings of many of the Lord’s people during these years of trial since Brother Russell died. With the exception of the effort which led brethren into activity to preach other than truth in its purity, the friends generally had been left to suppose that the height of Christian experience, the end of all that the truth should mean to them, is to “tarry” until they were called “home” to be with Jesus in the kingdom.

But the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. It reached the Lord’s people at this end of the age through the medium of present truth. The death of a great leader might, and did, result in consternation among the brethren, but it did not drive the Holy Spirit from their hearts—at least, not from the hearts of all. It remained! The spirit of truth and of love continued to burn, and to thousands of the brethren the world over, it continued to say throughout all the uncertain years, “Go and tell,” “Go ye into all the world.” They became “weary with forbearing,” they perhaps were inclined to “tarry” for  a while, but realized that continued inactivity was vitiating their spiritual lives.

This was the individual experience  of  brethren  in all groups. While there was intense activity in some quarters, the truth was being changed and many who loved the truth found themselves sitting on the sidelines, unable to cooperate. Individuals in other groups were being prompted by the Holy Spirit in their hearts to realize that something should be done that wasn’t being done. It was not a concerted, organized demand, but the spontaneous revival in the hearts of individuals of that spirit of love toward others which characterized the truth movement during the lifetime of Brother Russell.

About this time brethren began to leave the original organization in larger numbers than previously. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a sufficient number left at one time to form an ecclesia. Soon thereafter (in October 1929), this ecclesia arranged to hold a convention; and, interestingly, this convention was held in the old Bible House Chapel where Brother Russell had carried on the ministry of the truth for so long a time.

The following October another convention was held in the same place. The desire of the brethren concerning the ministry of the truth began to make itself felt at this second convention. A business meeting was called, much against the wishes of a minority, who, sad to report, wanted the brethren to continue “tarrying,” forgetting that the Spirit had been given nineteen centuries ago! At this meeting a committee was appointed to investigate the possibilities of what could be done to assist the brethren in giving a wider witness for the truth and to build one another up in the most holy faith.

The following winter, brethren in the New York district expressed their desire to “go and tell” the truth to others. This was done through the Brooklyn Ecclesia, a class  that had been formed in 1918 and which had remained loyal to the truth throughout all the years which followed. Realizing that the radio, a new means of disseminating knowledge which had come into being since Brother Russell died, was available for use, a radio committee was formed comprised of the thirteen elders of the ecclesia, and programs were prepared and broadcast  over one of New York’s most powerful stations.

The effect upon the friends was electrifying. Brethren sitting on the sidelines heard the  programs  and  rejoiced. Many of these began to cooperate. By reason  of opposition to the effort on the part of some and in the Lord’s providence, we believe, the matter was brought  to the attention of brethren throughout the entire country, and even in Great Britain and Australia. Those still holding to the truth rejoiced.

The radio work as of that time (1932) proved to be too expensive to be continued; although in addition to the New York broadcasts, a few transcribed programs were made and these were used on a limited number of stations elsewhere in the country. Evidently, in the Lord’s providence, its principal purpose was to serve as a signal to the brethren that the time had come to cease tarrying, that there was something for willing hands to do.

This radio effort called for the publication of suitable literature to follow up the interest, and while the radio work itself did not at  that time continue, there could  be no question about the desire of brethren the country over that the publication of literature be maintained. This was done. The weekly “Radio Echo,” designed   to follow up  the  programs,  was  enlarged  and  made a monthly magazine. It was called The Dawn in keeping with the original Millennial Dawn literature, and because of  a  deep conviction that we  are living  in the dawn of the Millennium. The Dawn did not assume leadership of the  friends, but sought merely to render assistance where and when invited by individual brethren and ecclesias. The Dawn insists that God’s voice in the church is heard through the local ecclesias.

As the years went on, and as the Lord pointed the way, Tabernacle Shadows, the Daily Heavenly  Manna, Hymns of Millennial Dawn, and Studies in the Scriptures, were republished. Booklets and tracts were published and widely distributed. New interest in the truth developed, and there was a general awakening among the Lord’s people as their hearts responded to   the theme which had lain nearly dormant so long. Once more they rejoiced in that concept of the truth embodied in the Master’s command, “Go and tell.”

Love for the brethren increased, and they desired more and more to be together. Local and general conventions began to be the order of the day. On occasions The Dawn was used to announce as many as twenty-­five such conventions in a single issue. This gathering together of the friends has further stirred them up in the old-time enthusiasm for the truth and its service. “This is just as it was in Brother’s Russell’s time,” was the remark made over and over again by thousands of the brethren as they met one another at these various conventions. And they were right!

In 1940, through the urging of a number of the brethren, it was decided to try the radio work again. Those who had the matter in hand were frankly skeptical of the ability of the friends to carry on  such an effort. But a start was made, and to the surprise and joy of all the brethren, practically all of the United States and Canada was being reached weekly with the kingdom message of truth. Brethren in Australia had also taken up the radio work. Newfoundland, too, was being served in this way, as was Great Britain and other parts of Europe and Asia.