J. Stuart Russell

Portrait of Russell by John Cochran

James Stuart Russell M.A., D.Div., (1816 – 1895) was a Christian pastor and author of The Parousia.

The book was originally published in 1878 under title The Parousia: A Critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of Our Lord's Second Coming with a second edition published in 1887.

James Stuart Russell - Undated Photograph, colorized by Virgil Vaduva

Early life and ministry

Russell was born in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, on November 28, 1816. He entered King's College, University of Aberdeen at the age of twelve and completed his M.A. degree at eighteen. Due the influence of his older brother, Russell chose to pursue Christian ministry. He served in a law office for a time before studying in the Theological Halls of Edinburgh and Glasgow, ultimately finding his way to Cheshunt College.

In June 1843, Russell became an assistant minister at the Congregationalist Church in Great Yarmouth before taking over as minister. In 1857, Russell transferred to the Congregational Church in Tottenham and Edmonton. While holding this position, Russell visited Belfast to observe the Ulster revival and came under its influence. On his return, a similar revival occurred in his own church.

After a five-year term with his second church, Russell moved to a new church in the rapidly growing suburb of Bayswater, and a new chapel was built on Lancaster Road in 1866. Russell continued to serve this church until his retirement near the end of 1888.

Russell was involved in several national campaigns. He was present at the formation of the Evangelical Alliance, in 1843 and worked with it for the remainder of his life. He was an outspoken proponent of the Temperance Movement and was the first chairman of the Congregational Total Abstinence Association. He was also a member of the National Temperance League and the United Kingdom Alliance counted him among their members.

Publishing The Parousia

In 1878, Russell anonymously published The Parousia, containing an exegesis of passages of the New Testament concerning the "Parousia" (a New Testament Greek word referring to the Second Coming) of Jesus Christ. Based on his critical analysis of the relevant New Testament texts, Russell set forth his interpretation that Christ's Second Coming occurred in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans. Russell wrote: "The destruction of Jerusalem was not a mere thrilling incident in the drama of history, like the siege of Troy or the downfall of Carthage, closing a chapter in the annals of a state or a people. It was an event which has no parallel in history. It was the outward and visible sign of a great epoch in the divine government of the world. It was the close of one dispensation [the Mosaic Age] and the commencement of another. It marked the inauguration of a new order of things."

Russell's second edition, published in 1887, showed his name as the author. In his preface to this later edition, Russell commented on scholarly and public reaction to his first edition: "It was hardly expected that [his Preterist or past-fulfillment] views, which come into conflict with traditional and popular opinion, should meet with ready concurrence; but the author must confess his disappointment that no serious attempt has been made to disprove any of his positions. The work is almost wholly exegetical; and there is no attempt to invent or establish a theory, but only, by honest and faithful interpretation of the New Testament Scriptures, to allow them to speak for themselves."

The book is written in three parts; the Parousia in the Gospels, the Parousia in the Acts and the Epistles and the Parousia in the Apocalypse.

This work drew much attention to the subject on both sides of the Atlantic. The University of Aberdeen showed its appreciation of the book by conferring a Diploma in Divinity on Russell.

Published works

•  A Leaf from the Early History of the Ancient Congregational Church in Great Yarmouth. 1642-1670 (1850)
• Is it Possible to Restore Unity Between Evangelical Conformists and Nonconformists? A Bicentenary Lecture (1853)
•  Nonconformity in the Seventeenth Century: An Historical Discourse, Delivered at the Celebration of the Bicentenary of the Congregational Church, Wattisfield, Suffolk (1854)
•  The Parousia: A Critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of Our Lord’s Second Coming (1878) (published anonymously)
• The Parousia: A Critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of Our Lord’s Second Coming (1887) (published publicly)
• “Comments on the 40th anniversary of the Evangelical Alliance” (Evangelical Christendom, Vol. 41, p. 314)(1887)
• “A Rejoinder by the Author, Rev. J.S. Russell, MA” (The Congregational Review, Volume 2, Part 1, February 1888, pp. 148-151)

Later life

Russell's later years were marked with ill health. During his sickness, he is quoted as having repeated the phrase, "On Christ the solid rock I stand!" His two children assisted him during his later years. He died on October 5, 1895, and was buried in the Kensal Green Cemetery.

External links

• The Parousia: A Careful Look at Our Lord's Second Coming (HTML format)
• The Parousia (HTML format)
• Parousia lui Iisus translation in Romanian; Parousia in Romana, impartita in trei parti (fisiere .doc - Microsoft Word)

• LA PARUSÍA translation in Spanish