His most noted works are the six-volume set of "Studies in the Scriptures" and his monthly magazine, "The Watch Tower," which he edited for over 40 years until his death in 1916. All of these books, and several others, have been maintained in print for several years.
In addition to these works, however, there are several other less-known works that have either never been printed before in book form, or which are currently out-of-print.
It is in the desire to preserve these valuable writings from extinction that the Chicago Bible Students' Book Republishing Committee has decided to produce a multi-volume set of the other writings of Pastor Russell – of which this volume is the first.
This book is divided into five sections:
(1) The Three Worlds
(2) The Russell vs. Eaton Debates
(3) The Russell vs. White Debates
(4) Old Theology Quarterly Tracts
(5) Bible Students Monthly Tracts
The first of these sections is the re-publication of the first book authored and printed by Pastor Russell (with the exception of an early pamphlet on the Lord's Second Presence.) This work, "The Three Worlds," was co-authored by Russell and an early co-laborer, Nelson H. Barbour. The concepts expressed in its pages form the outline for much of his later writings, though many of the thoughts have undergone revision in the author's own mind. This section has been re-printed mainly for historical purposes and to show the development of thinking in the ministry of Pastor Russell.
The thoughts of the "Three Worlds" were updated in a later publication, "Food for Thinking Christians," in 1881. This volume was distributed widely at Church doors throughout the nation by the use of Western Union messengers. The contents of this book can be found in the Reprints of the Watch Tower magazine for September 1881, pages R250-R255. Later it was again revised and published as his most popular work, "The Divine Plan of the Ages," volume 1 of Studies in the Scriptures.
The second and third sections of this volume are stenographer's reports of two noted debates between Russell and prominent clergymen of the time. The debate with E. L. Eaton was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903 and the one with L.S. White was held in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1908. The Russell vs. Eaton debates was copied from the Pittsburgh Dispatch which carried complete coverage of the event. The record of the Russell vs. White debates was reprinted from a book carrying the complete record distributed by the Church of Christ, of which White was a Pastor.
One of the largest-scale enterprises carried on by Russell and his co-workers was the distribution of tracts and other Free Literature.
The first of a regular series of tracts, under the general title, "Old Theology Quarterly," began publication in 1889 and was announced on the pages of the Watch Tower magazine in March of that year, and can be found on Reprint page R1109.
These tracts were written primarily for public dissemination and covered a wide range of doctrinal, prophetic and other Scriptural topics, interspersed with gleanings of current events and scientific developments. These brief news items have been included in this volume also, in order to give the historical context for the Scriptural messages which formed the main theme of these tracts.
This series of tracts were printed as multi-page tracts, about 5 inches by 7 inches, often going as much as 24 pages each. They were distributed free on a large-scale basis.
In 1909 the frequency of publication was moved from quarterly to monthly, and a larger print format was instituted. This new style of tract was introduced under the title, "Bible Students' Monthly," and was printed as a four-page tabloid newspaper.
These tracts were not only used in the United States but were also made available in the following languages: English, German, French, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Welsh, Polish, Hungarian, Hollandish, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Russian, Armenian, Arabic, Tamil, Malayalam, Zulu, Esperanto, Maori, Gujarti, Marathi, Telegu, Urdu, Chinese (Wenli and Mandarin), Korean and Japanese. Braille editions were published in American, English, New York Point, German, French, Swedish and Danish. The above information can be found in the Reprints of the Watch Tower Magazines, page R5353, dated Nov. 15, 1913.
Much of the same material was simultaneously published in three other tract series, under a similar format – "The People's Pulpit," "Everlasting Gospel," and "Everybody's Paper." A very few articles did appear under these series' titles that are not found in the "Bible Students' Monthly" series. These will be published as a miscellaneous section at the end of the last volume of this current series of books.
The bulk of the remainder of this series will be given to the publishing of the Sermons of Pastor Russell which were syndicated to some 800 newspapers in the United States, along with over 200 others in the British Isles and in Australia.
In order to facilitate the use of these volumes as research tools in the study of the Scriptures, an index has been prepared to all texts cited in each of these books.
While not exhaustive, we have endeavored to make the material in these volumes as complete as possible. A debt of gratitude is owed to the many friends of Pastor Russell who have so graciously supplied us with the material which is reproduced herewith.
The reader will note by the many, many cross-references to other of Pastor Russell's works that a large amount of material in his tracts was reprinted from other sources. These titles are included for two purposes –
(1) to assist the reader in finding the full text elsewhere; and
(2) to inform the reader of all the material used in this voluminous production of tracts.
It is with the hope that this volume may, in some small way, help to preserve both the bright vision of Scripture-truth and the equally bright vision of its continued proclamation, that its current publishers send it on its way.
Sincerely in Christ, CHICAGO BIBLE STUDENTS BOOK REPUBLISHING COMMITTEE