This 8.5" x 11" softcover REPRINT EDITION contains clear photocopies of all 608 pages of the RARE original 1917 first edition of THE FINISHED MYSTERY. Each 8.5" x 11" page contains four of the pages from the smaller original book. Shoppers should be aware of the history surrounding the publishing of this book in 1917, and the revisions and deletions made in subsequent editions.

The WatchTower Society currently teaches that, in 1918, Jesus Christ conducted a thorough examination and evaluation of all the Christian religions in the world in order to find the one Christian religion that was preaching and teaching "the truth" at that time. The WatchTower Society teaches that, in the Spring of 1919, Jesus Christ selected the WatchTower Society and its leaders, over all other Christian religions, because only it had proved to be the "faithful and discreet slave" which had "watched over the master's belongings". The WatchTower Society further teaches that Jesus Christ then granted its leaders oversight of all of Christ's activities on the earth.

To test this claim made by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a person has only to examine the exact same WatchTower teachings that Jesus Christ would have examined in 1918, if in fact, Jesus Christ had conducted such an examination.

In 1918-9, THE FINISHED MYSTERY was the most recent major WatchTower book, and it contained the very teachings which Jesus Christ would have examined and evaluated -- the teachings to which Jesus Christ supposedly gave his endorsement.

Interestingly, the PREFACE to THE FINISHED MYSTERY stated that even prior to 1919 that Jesus Christ had already selected one specific individual to be His "faithful and discreet slave": 

"The great Master laid special emphasis on the importance of the messenger to the seventh, or Laodicean, period of the Church, saying that such an one would be 'a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord would make ruler over all His Household, to give them meat in due season.'

"Those consecrated Christians who have read and fully appreciated the Truth as contained in the preceding six volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES readily sea and agree that Charles Taze Russell was the messenger of the Church of Laodicea. In the mind of every one who believes the Bible the evidence set forth in this volume will establish that fact beyond the question of a doubt.

"...  Pastor Russell being the messenger to the Laodicean Church, and occupying the position of the Lord's special servant to give the Household of Faith meat in due season, it was to be expected that he would bring forth from the Lord's great "Storehouse" the needed spiritual food for the Church, in harmony with God's will.

"... The examination of the contents of this book will disclose the fact that it deals with Revelation and Ezekiel; that the Lord long ago caused to be recorded therein, in symbolic language, a history of the Church, particularly the closing earthly experiences thereof; ...; and that the earthly creature made prominent therein above all others is the messenger of the Laodicean Church — "that wise and faithful servant" of the Lord  — CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL."

On page 53, THE FINISHED MYSTERY's interpretation of Revelation 3:16 reveals:

"The special messenger to the last Age of the Church was Charles T. Russell, born February 16, 1852. He has privately admitted his belief that he was chosen for his great work from before his birth."

It is not until page 327, in THE FINISHED MYSTERY's interpretation of Revelation 21:19, that another tidbit of long-lost WatchTower "oral history" is revealed about the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses:

"It calls to mind a dream of Pastor Russell's, often told in private. In his early youth he dreamed of sleeping in an attic. Suddenly he awoke to see the morning sun, just emerged over the hill-top, blazing directly in his face. He Jumped to his feet with a start, thinking that it must be late. In doing so he stumbled over several forms still asleep. He was about to reproach himself for thus rudely awakening them, when he discovered that not one of the sleepers had been disturbed. The application is evident. 'The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.' Pastor Russell was awakened by the rising of the Sun of the New Day. He tried to waken others, and succeeded with 'just one here, one there;' but the great mass are still asleep. However, the Dawn comes on apace."

On page 57, THE FINISHED MYSTERY discloses what may be this book's most revealing secret about the man who founded the Jehovah's Witnesses:

"For fifty years he suffered constantly with sick headaches, due to a fall in his youth, and for twenty-five years had such distressing hemorrhoids that it was impossible for him to rest in the easiest chair; ..."

Tylenol and Advil did not exist in the 1800s. For those readers who do not get the significance of a 19th century religious "guru" being in constant pain for decades, I suggest reading the book, In the Arms of Morpheus: The Tragic History of Morphine, Laudanum and Patent Medicines.  That book will provide the reader with all the info the reader needs to figure out where Charles Taze Russell actually found the "inspiration" for his unorthodox interpretations and teachings.

Some JWs may be surprised to learn that Jesus Christ has already "returned", and that the Millennium has already started -- both happened in 1874: 

"The Millennium (Rev. 20:8, 4, 7) began in 1874, with the Return of Christ. It was at about that time that Pastor Russell came to his fellow-Christians with the beginning of a better understanding of the Bible, "the vision of God." -- page 386.

By the Spring of 1919, Jesus Christ would not have been the only one to know that some of THE FINISHED MYSTERY's prophesies had already failed to occur:

"Also, in the year 1918, when God destroys the churches wholesale and the church members by millions, it shall be that any that escape shall come to the works of Pastor Russell to learn the meaning of the downfall of 'Christianity'". -- page 485.

Interestingly, here is one of THE FINISHED MYSTERY's prophesies that did come true in 1918 -- but just not exactly the way that the JWs were expecting:

"Pastor Russell's voice was stilled in death on October 31, 1916. If an application of Ezekiel's period of dumbness is valid here as a time feature, the tidings, the realization that Christendom is smitten by the onslaughts of revolution, might be expected to flash throughout the world on or about April 27, 1918, a year, five months and twenty-six days after the death of God's great watchman. As in Ezekiel 24:27, this would be a sign, an indication to Christendom of the truth of Pastor Russell's commission from the Almighty." -- page 530.

"As the fleshly-minded apostates from Christianity, siding with the radicals and revolutionaries, will rejoice at the inheritance of desolation that will be Christendom's after 1918, so will God do to the successful revolutionary movement; it shall be utterly desolated, 'even all of it.' Not one vestige of it shall survive the ravages of world-wide all-embracing anarchy, in the fall of 1920." -- page 542.

In a ridiculous attempt to prove that the writing and publishing of THE FINISHED MYSTERY was prophesied in Revelation 14, the 1600 furlongs mentioned at Rev. 14:20 are interpreted on page 230 as the distance in mileage from Scranton, Pennsylvania (where the author lived) to the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in Brooklyn, New York:

"By the space of a thousand and [six] TWO hundred furlongs. -- This can not be interpreted to refer to the 2100 mile battle line of the world war. A furlong or stadium is not a mile and this is without the city whereas the battle line is within the city. See Rotherham's translation.

"A stadium is 606 3/4 English ft; 1200 stadii are, mi., 137.9.

"The work on this volume was done in Scranton, Pa. As fast as it was completed it was sent to the Bethel. Half of the work was done at an average distance of 5 blocks from the Lackawanna station, and the other half at a distance of 25 blocks. Blocks in Scranton are 10 to the mile. Hence the average distance to the station is 15 blocks, or ........ 1.5 miles.

"The mileage from Scranton to Hoboken Terminal is shown in time tables as 143.8 and this is the mileage charged to passengers, but in 1911, at an expense of $12,000,000, the Lackawanna Railroad completed its famous cut-off, saving 11 miles of the distance. From the day the cut-off was completed the trainmen have been allowed 11 miles less than the time table shows, or a net distance of ....... 132.8 mi.

"Hoboken Ferry to Barclay Street Ferry, New York is ........ 2.0 mi.

"Barclay Street Ferry to Fulton Ferry, New York, is 4,800 feet or ....... 0.9 mi.

"Fulton Ferry, New York, to Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn, is 2,000 feet or ....... 0.4 mi.

"Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn, to Bethel, is 1,485 feet or ........ 0.3 mi.

"Shortest distance from place where the winepress was trodden by the Feet Members of the Lord, Whose guidance and help alone made this volume possible. (John 6:60, 61; Matt. 20:11.) ....... mi 137.9"

Shoppers should know that these few selected excerpts are not even 1% of all the ridiculous quotes that can be excerpted from THE FINISHED MYSTERY. There is something worth citing on at least every second or third page of the 592 pages of text, if not nearly every single page. Even people who care nothing about Jehovah's Witnesses would enjoy reading this book as pure entertainment. Most people in the year 2007 would never believe that this much foolishness could have been believed by people in 1917. Send a copy to comedians, radio DJs, etc.