questions

First: Are all of the many Bible Students who are currently seeking and hoping for a spiritual reward (as is clear from the many Bible Student publications) deluded and their hopes all pure folly?

answer: yes... they have been taught by their forebears a false hope and this goes back to about 1917... This is Lot and his daughters... so its not about having a bad character... its about being fathered into the truth with a false hope and reading the book through their father's specs

Second: What kind of service to the Lord would one perform now in this world to merit an earthly reward in the earthly Kingdom above and beyond what is already assured to all men by the grace of God – and where in Scripture is it stated that there is such a reward?

answer: Being faithful is always the work at hand and life is always the reward... Joel 2:28 gives a strong clue showing three classes ahead of the daughters (compare to Isa 60). Part of the current work is defending the truth as involved in question one above, but mostly it is preaching the message of a coming earthly kingdom and defending the message as taught by pastor Russell. Funny how the LF today (?) must defile the message of the pastor in order to believe as they do. He clearly taught as to the mission of the Gospel age... that has been done quiet well. In his last months he predicted a great coming separation amongst the brethren that could not be mistaken... that the majority would be the great company and then he died and Rutherford raised up as the driver of the great chariot on fire between the two classes. Its never been the same. Bible Students meanwhile are still waiting for a fulfillment and discounting every thing the pastor taught on the subject. The brethren were in fact divided never to be healed and sub divided many times over into many groups. Go figure