VOL. XXIX June 1946 NO. 6 Palestine, the Jews, and the World of 1946 The Apostle Paul Discusses the Jewish Problem Two More Questions on the Little Flock Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute Brooklyn and Detroit Conventions VISIONS IN THE WORDS OF CHRIST Palestine, the Jews, and the World of 1946[While we may not agree with
all the conclusions of the following article, we much appreciate the spirit in which the
subject is considered, and it has been approved for publication, believing it will be of
deep interest to our readers and that a blessing will come from considering its various
points with the author. - Ed. Com.] EVIDENCE
BROUGHT to light at trials of Nazi war criminals in Germany reveals that six million Jews
lost their lives during the years of the Nazi terror. The magnitude of this frightful
calamity is probably lost upon a world already saturated with horror and bloodshed, but
here and there readers of history may draw a melancholy comparison from the fact that many
times the number of Jews were murdered, or starved, or tortured to death by the Nazis than
were killed in the memorable siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies under Titus, 70 A.D. Of the Jews
of Germany, Poland, the Ukraine, and other territories overrun by the Nazis, not many
remain. Only from 3,000 to 4,000 are said to be living of the half million Jews of
Germany. In Poland, the survivors are said to number about 75,000 out of a total Jewish population of
over three million. In one Polish city, two are said to be
living of a former Jewish community of 100,000. Dr. Louis Baeck, former chief rabbi of
Berlin, arriving in the United States, says that the history of the Jews in Germany is
ended. "Jewish life," he declares, "has now only two centers, one in
America and the other in Palestine." While the
commission of this monstrous crime is directly attributable to the Nazi gangsters in
Germany,. the Gentile world as a whole cannot escape its share of guilt. The atmosphere of
the world between the two wars was favorable to the rise of Fascism. Mussolini could
easily have been checked, but was not. Hitler was tolerated, and even encouraged by the
holders of wealth and privilege in many countries until the menace was beyond control.
When Nazi hatred and persecution fell upon the Jews, the escape of many was made difficult
or impossible because no place of escape was open to them. And then, as if to complete
the fatal encirclement, immigration into Palestine was cut off, and the Jews were left to
die. Many will
plead that the words of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 imposed no obligation upon Great
Britain and the United States in respect to the entry of Jews into Palestine. But the
Declaration was made in good faith; its intent and meaning were clear, and were accepted
at their face value. Legally there may be loopholes, but morally and before the bar of
Divine judgment the two leading nations will not be held blameless for their failure to
carry out the commitments implicit in the words of the Declaration to which in 1917 both gave their assent. The subsequent
calamities falling upon the Jews of Europe are in part at least attributable to the
frustration of their plans and. hopes in the making for themselves a national home in
Palestine, where they had been encouraged to look by the words of the Balfour Declaration. THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECYMany
prophecies of Scripture point to a return of the Jews to Palestine in the latter days.
'Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, the Lord liveth which
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. But the Lord liveth which
brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and
from all countries whither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own
land." - Jer. 23:7, 8. These words
and others of similar meaning indicate the opening of Palestine as a homeland to the Jews, and a return of
the dispersed from among many nations. The real question is not whether God would cause
them to return, but when this movement might be looked for. In the
fulfillment of many prophecies the Balfour Declaration seemed to issue at a most fortunate
and propitious time. The great Biblical epoch known as the "times of the
Gentiles" was believed to be nearing its end. Many Bible students dated the
beginning of these Gentile times from 604 B. C., when Nebuchadnezzar came to rule in
Babylon, and the kingdom of Judah first became a subject province of the great northern
monarchy. If the times of the Gentiles be a period of seven prophetic "times" or
2520 years in all, then the year 1917, when
the Balfour Declaration was made, was a year providential in the purpose of God, for it
was in that year that the 2520
year time-cycle, dating
from 604 B. C., came to its full termination. Many other
signs and prophetic fulfillments point to the period of the first World War as the end of
an epoch. In Palestine particularly this view was confirmed by the course of events. The
Balfour Declaration was made public November 2, 1917. At that time the British armies were
advancing northward from Egypt over lines of communication newly constructed
through the desert of Sinai. In December Allenby entered Jerusalem as a conqueror, and in. July, 1918, the
Turkish armies defending Palestine were defeated at the battle of Megiddo, and all of
Palestine and Syria fell into British hands. The changes
effected in the political status of the Holy Land were the greatest since the conquest of
Jerusalem by the Crusaders, nearly a thousand years before. In fact, the victories in
Palestine, coupled with the Balfour Declaration, constituted in every sense of the word, a
turning point in the history of the country, and the prophetic significance of these
changes is not lessened by the subsequent delays and political intrigues which have up to
the present hindered a more general migration of Jews to their ancient land. One may not
study the present difficulties of the Jews in Palestine without comparing them to the
trials and setbacks encountered in a previous return, that of the liberated captives from
Babylon. Then also the Samaritans and other peoples who had settled upon the land raised
obstructions, and set up the same type of political opposition as certain elements among
the Arabs are now doing. - Ezra 4. But the Jews under Zerubbabel went ahead with their work of building the temple. So also, after many years of delay and opposition, Jerusalem was built again, the broad place and the wall, "even in troublous times." (Daniel 9:25.) One may expect now that the delay and obstruction will continue, but the Lord will overrule all opposition, and the return of the Jews will be facilitated, as well as the development and reconstruction of Jerusalem and the land destined to be made into a great and glorious kingdom, in the world to come. A VOW UNTO THE LORDThe Balfour
Declaration reads as follows: "His Majesty's Government views with favor the
establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their
best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object." This was a
declaration of policy. How far it could be said to be binding upon the government of Great
Britain may be a matter of opinion. But from the standpoint of Biblical prophecy, and in
the light of the great destiny of Israel, a declaration in respect to the Jews and their land
takes on spiritual significance, which, would be lacking in a secular undertaking. A
government making such a declaration should hesitate to break it. A Mandate
over Palestine was assumed by Great Britain in 1920, and the Mandate confirmed by the
League of Nations in 1922. Sir Herbert Samuel was made first High Commissioner. During the
first few years more than 100,000 Jews entered the country. The city of Tel Aviv was
built, and the Zionist organization carried on and extended its work of buying land
and settling the people in rural cooperative communities, nearly one hundred of which have
been established. The work of the Zionists was constructive and energetic, and Palestine
began to emerge from the state of poverty and stagnation which for centuries had
characterized the country under Turkish domination. But the
movement of Jews into the country alarmed the native Arab politicians, and the Moslems
of nearby areas. They began to organize an opposition. There can be no doubt also that
Palestine, situated at a strategic point on the line of British communications to India,
and with its great harbor and oil refineries at Haifa, began to assume a position in
British imperial policy far removed from that visualized at the time the Balfour
Declaration was issued. The undertakings on behalf of the Jews receded as matters of
importance, and Palestine as a center of British power in the Near East became the
dominant objective. After a few
promising years, Jewish prospects in Palestine began to dim. Continued opposition on the
part of the Arabs, accompanied by rioting and bloodshed, led to the calling of an
Arab-Jewish conference in London early in 1939. The conference broke up without reaching
agreement, and on May 17, 1939, the famous White Paper was
issued, which has been the cause of much bitterness and disappointment to Jews
throughout the world. Whatever may
be said of the White Paper as an instrument of British policy in Palestine and in the Near
East, the fact is that it constitutes a frustration of the Balfour Declaration, and if
carried out would effectively prevent the establishment of a Jewish national home in
Palestine. The White
Paper proposes instead that an Arab independent state be set up by 1949, allied to Great
Britain; that the sale of land to Jews be restricted, and that further entry of Jews be
limited to 75,000 over five years, after which it be only as may be later agreed upon. In any
event, the permanent population of Jews be limited to 500,000, which is less than half
of the native population of Arabs. Within four
months of the publication of the White Paper on Palestine, the second World War broke out. It is
written in Deuteronomy 23:21, "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou
shalt not be slack to pay it; for the. Lord thy God will surely require it of
thee; and it would be a sin unto thee. While the
Balfour Declaration may not have been in the nature of a vow, nevertheless it was a clear
declaration of policy on the part of the government of Great Britain, with the United
States assenting. The British victories in Palestine put a seal upon this Declaration and
it should have been carried out. The ensuing
failure to effect the purpose of the Declaration, and the obstructions placed in the way
of the Jews were only a part of the breakdown of purpose and the lack of integrity which
characterized the conduct of nations in the period between the two World Wars. But the
Lord raised up a whirlwind against them, and we may
be sure that the breaking of the promises to the Jews was by no means the least of the
causes of the outbreak of the second World War. THE PRESENT STATUS IN PALESTINEAfter the
defeat of the Churchill government in Great Britain in 1945, the question of Palestine and
the White Paper once more came to the fore. People looked to the new Labor Government of
Mr. Clement Attlee to see what its attitude might be toward the Palestine problem. So far there
has been disappointment. The British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, has reaffirmed the
policy of his predecessor, and announces the intention of the government to carry out
the terms of the White Paper. In the meantime, however, a commission has been appointed,
composed of representatives of both Great Britain and the United States, to inquire into
the Palestine situation in general, and to bring in a report within ninety days. We believe
that the terms of the White Paper will not be carried out; that an independent Arab State
will not be established in Palestine. The prophecies of Scripture indicate that, once
liberated from Turkish domination, Palestine may be expected to pass through troublous
times, but surely into the possession of the Jews, and the dispersed of Israel,
returning as the Lord prepares the way. In the meantime, and as a covering power, Great
Britain will retain possession. There are
indications that a solution to the problems in Palestine will be found in broader
expansion and development, making room for a larger population. One of such proposals is
to take in the extensive area to the east of the Jordan, now known as Trans-Jordan. The
territory is two and a half times as large as Palestine proper, and could support a
population of five million Jews, without displacing the present half-nomad population of
Arabs and. Bedouins. Trans-Jordan
was a part of the land originally allotted to the tribes after the entry under Joshua.
It stretched from the river Arnon in the south 'to Mount Hermon in the north, and included
the rich forest lands of Bashan, and the fertile meadow lands of Gilead, claimed by the
tribe of Reuben as a pasture for cattle. (Numbers 32:1.) The tribe of Gad and a part of
Manasseh also settled there. Trans-Jordan
is said to have been excluded from the area under the Mandate of 1922, owing to the
pressure of big oil companies interested in oil concessions in Arabia. Such an arbitrary
division is now seen to have been a political blunder and there is a possibility that the
lands east of the Jordan may again be included within the bounds of Palestine proper. The
Lowdermilk plan for the reclamation of the Jordan valley offers a practicable solution to
many difficulties of land and population in Palestine. This plan- proposed as a result of
the survey of Dr. Walter C. Lowdermilk, the noted conservationist of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, would erect a Jordan Valley Authority after the model of the
Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States, and to carry on a similar work. The Jordan
Valley Authority would embark upon a long term program for the recovery of the entire
Jordan watershed, including the building of dams and reservoirs at suitable locations, the
development of hydro-electric power, and the irrigation of land ax present unproductive
for lack of water. It is estimated that upwards of 155,000 acres of land could be made
available in this project, suitable for intensive cultivation and the growing of
vegetables and sub-tropical fruits, as well as extensive reforestation, mineral recovery
from the waters of the Dead Sea, and other coordinated restoration projects. Included in
the proposed work of the Jordan Valley Authority would be the reclamation of the Negev,
the extensive region lying south of Jerusalem to Beersheba and beyond. This territory
while still desert is said to have much land suitable for reforestation and grazing
purposes, as well as areas suitable for intensive cultivation. Altogether these
reclamation projects, when carried out, would provide for an increase of 4,000,000 in
population, at the same time improving the condition of the present population of Arabs. Other
possibilities are seen in the proposed reconstruction of the irrigation canals in the
lands of Irak, lying adjacent to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the removal of many
of the Palestine Arabs to that region. The lands
watered by the two rivers, near to the sites of the ancient cities of Nineveh and Babylon,
once supported a population of ten million, and when reclaimed could be one of the richest
agricultural areas in the world. It is estimated that two million acres could be
restored, at a cost of $150,000,000. The present
area of Palestine is only about 10,000 square miles, much of it mountainous and infertile.
But the land originally covenanted to Abraham extends from the river of Egypt (the Nile)
to the Euphrates (Gen. 15:18) and includes over 300,000 square miles. In fulfillment of
the covenant, these large territories are sure to be incorporated in the restored Kingdom
whose beginnings now are to be discerned in the shooting forth of buds upon the ancient
fig tree of Israel. "But
ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my
people, for they are at hand to come. For behold I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply men upon you, and all of the house of Israel, even all of it;
and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded. And I will multiply
unto you man and beast, and they shall increase
and bring forth fruit; and I will settle you after your old estates, and I will do better
unto you than at your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am the Lord." - Ezek.
36:8-11. The vast
scope of the changes now impending in Palestine and the Near East will
require years to get under way. Indeed, the greater part of the reclamation and
restoration will not be done under present governments at all, but will be the work of the
people of a New Age under the authority of Christ. But it is
written that "the Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first." (Zech. 12:7.)
For this and other reasons it must be that the present opposition to Jewish resettlement
in Palestine be overcome. The Lord will surely bring this about. Those powers which oppose
him will be removed, or bent to his purpose; those which help will be blessed and
rewarded according to their works. Step by step, here a little and there a little, the
recovery of the covenant land will surely be accomplished. THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS AWAYIn the
notable prophecy of Luke 21:24 Jesus said, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." We believe
that Jerusalem is not now, and has not been since 1917, trodden down of the Gentiles. The
change and liberation to be effected there have not yet been completed; nevertheless the
pains and difficulties now being experienced are not the pains of a permanent
alien oppression such as in the years of the Turkish, or the Saracen, or Roman
occupations. Palestine is a land in the process of transition; a new order is coming
to birth, and the pains and difficulties are only such as most always accompany so
momentous a change. According to
evidence submitted before the AngloAmerican Committee on Palestine, the ratio of Arabs
to Jews in that country at the close of the first World War was nine to one. Since that
time the migration of Jews has gone on until the ratio is now two to one, and in a few
more years the Arabs and Jews should be about equal in number, at the present rate of
growth. While the
growth of Jewish population may seem slow, yet it continues in spite of all obstruction,
and will continue. The public works, irrigation, and land reclamation necessary to make
room for a larger population will be
undertaken and completed; the opposition will be overcome, and the establishment of a
commonwealth of Israel will surely he brought about in the land promised of old. Jesus spoke
the parable of a fig tree. Evidently he had the Jewish people in mind, they of the
dispersion. He said, "They shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
Then he said, "Behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, ye
see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these
things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand." - Luke 21:29. The
chronology of the prophetic Scriptures indicates that we have come to the end of the
Gentile times, of which Jesus spoke. The swift ejection of the Turkish power from
Palestine, and the beginnings of a Jewish renaissance there, are surely signs of the
fulfillment of the parable, and of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Then said
Jesus, continuing his discourse, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not
pass away, till all be fulfilled." - Luke 21:32. We may ask
ourselves, to whom do these words allude, "This generation shall not pass away ..
."? In Luke 21
Jesus made two prophetic allusions to the Jews and to Jerusalem. In the first of these he
said, "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh." In the second he said, "Jerusalem shall be trodden
down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Compare Luke
21:20 and 24. Although
those prophecies are centuries apart in fulfillment, yet they both come within the scope
of the added words, "This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." By a right
dividing of the word of truth we may see that 'the words of our Lord first
applied to the generation to whom he was speaking, which had not passed away when the
Roman armies under Titus compassed Jerusalem, besieged the city and destroyed it (70 A.
D.) , taking captive and leading away into dispersal the survivors of this dreadful siege. By the
natural sequence of events, the words of the prophecy then apply to the generation living
when the times of the Gentiles come to an end, and the treading down of Jerusalem ceases.
This generation shall not pass away until the Kingdom of God shall have come. The
spreading of -the events of the prophecy over the lifetime of a generation show that the
establishment of the Kingdom of God is not the work of an instant or of a brief space.
The change of the dispensations is compared to the changing of the seasons of the
year, as Jesus said, "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees: when they now shoot
forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand." - Luke
21:29. God will
undoubtedly establish his Kingdom, with its capital and administrative center at
Jerusalem. "And many nations shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem." - Micah 4:2. What is the
length of years of a "generation"? Maybe we do not need to estimate the term of
years. The tree of Israel is already in bud, and beginning to shoot forth; we know of
ourselves that summer is nigh at hand. "And
when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your
redemption draweth nigh." -A. E. Ormandy. The Apostle Paul Discusses the Jewish Problem"What pre-eminence then hath the Jew? Or what profit of circumcision? Much every way. .. ." - Romans 3:1, 2, A. R. V. [Although not
agreeing with all the conclusions of the following article, it has been approved for
publication with the hope that benefit will be derived from considering the subject, and
that it will incite to
further study. - Ed.
Com.] ST. PAUL was
a Jewish lawyer, a Roman citizen and a Christian Apostle. Broadly learned in all three
fields -- Jewish, Roman, and Christian -- he was also a prophet -- a seer -- receiving
superhuman direction of his life and activities, and revelations of God's purposes, past,
present, and future. The first of
the supernatural visions granted him was of the risen Christ in glory, as he was on his
way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there (Acts 9:1-7) and the rebuke and
instructions he received on that occasion made an indelible impression on his mind,
and revolutionized his life. Regarding his immediately subsequent actions, he writes to
the Galatians: "When it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from
my mother's womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son unto me, that I
might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood;
neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were Apostles before me; but I went away into
Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem
to visit Cephas [Peter] and tarried with him fifteen days. But other of the Apostles saw I
none, save James, the Lord's brother. . . . Then after the space of fourteen years I went
up again unto Jerusalem... . And I went up by revelation." - Gal. 1:15-19; 2:1, 2. A REVELATION FROM GOD"By
revelation was made know unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby,
when ye read ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in other
generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his
holy Apostles and Prophets in the spirit; that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and
fellow-members of the Body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through
the Gospel. . . . Unto me . . . was this grace given . . . to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery" -- the respective participation of Jew and Gentile therein. - Eph. 3:1-12. It was
probably sometime in the fourteen years mentioned by the Apostle in his letter to the
Galatians that he had the vision of the third heaven to which he refers in his Second
Letter to the Corinthians. He tells of "a man who was caught away to the third
heaven" -- the heaven of the third world (2 Peter 3:5-7, 10,- 13) the
heaven of Paradise restored; and there heard things spoken which he was not authorized
to relate, but which undoubtedly directed and colored his preaching and letters
thereafter. St. Paul was
not only under the urge of divine instruction to "make all men see" the
relationship of the Jew and Gentile to each other and to God, and their respective
positions under the new dispensation in f the Divine Plan of the Ages: additionally he had
a deep personal interest in the welfare of Israel. He m was a "Hebrew of the
Hebrews" as well as the s Apostle to the Gentiles. So, in his extended treatise e on
what is today called "the Jewish Question," in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh
chapters of his Epistle to the Romans, he brings to bear on the subject not only his magnificent mental equipment as
Jew, Roman, and Christian, but also his numerous visions
and revelations from God, and his own anxiety for Israel. In the most loving and
persuasive form possible he presents his argument, that he might gain all of his Jewish
readers who had not been too completely "incrustated" to hear his message. HE WOULD SACRIFICE HIS HOPESHe begins
his treatise (Rom. 9:1-3) by the solemn declaration and adjuration that he would desire to
be cut off from Christ-to lose all hope of union with him in the first resurrection and
the Kingdom of glory -- if it would bring about the "saving" of his
"kinsmen according to the flesh," from the hardness of heart which prevented
them from accepting Jesus as their Messiah, and made impossible the early inauguration
of the Kingdom under Jewish auspices. Only such a possibility in his mind would seem to
justify in any measure the Apostle's extreme abnegation, in wishing to sacrifice for it
what he valued more than life itself. But, however the sincerity of his desire, he knew
that it was impossible. His brethren were each one choosing for himself whether to accept
or reject their King. This fact prompted the Apostle's impassioned plea, in which he sets
forth in detail their individual position, possibilities, and prospects in a changing age,
under the new dispensation of faith and grace. He first
appeals to Jewish pride by enumerating their natural advantages, "much every
way" as he had said in Romans 3:1: "Who are Israelites: of whom the sonship, and
the glory, and the covenants, and ,the law-giving, and the religious service,
and the promises, of whom the fathers, and from whom the Christ according to the
flesh." These were their priceless heritages, the benefits of which they were
squandering; and the Apostle proceeds to tell them how and why. They were dying when they might live! In this he strikes the
keynote of his appeal. ISRAEL'S COVENANT OF LIFEWith his
usual fine precision, St. Paul refers to "the covenants" in the plural. Israel
possessed two -- but they often are not discriminated. The first was entered into at
Horeb, or Sinai, and was extended to each individual who was under the Law, hence is
called the Law Covenant. As the Apostle states in this Epistle, chapters 10:5 and 7:10,
11, this covenant provided that any Israelite who kept the Law perfectly should continue
to live as long as he did so. (Lev. 18:1-5; Deut. 5:29, 32, 33; Ezek. 20:11.) No Israelite
had thereby gained eternal life, because none could keep the Law, as the Apostle
shows (Romans 7:7, 8), identifying covetousness, at least, as a universal sin, violating
the Tenth Commandment. The 'sole exception to this condemnation was Jesus Christ, who kept
the Law always and perfectly, to demonstrate that it could be done, and thus
"fulfilled the Law"; then sacrificed that perfect life, giving it "for the
life of the world." - Mark 10:45; John 6:51. The other
covenant with Israel was quite different: it is recorded in Deuteronomy 29 and 30. Quoting
therefrom: "These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to
make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he
made with them in Horeb.. . . That he may establish thee today for a people unto
himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee . . . that thou
mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto the fathers, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." --Deut. 29:1, 13; 30:20. It thus will
be seen that the first of these covenants was with the individual Israelite, and promised life
and personal blessing to the obedient; the. second was with the nation as a whole, and
involved possession of the land of Canaan, and set before them "life and good, and
death and evil," as a nation "in the land whither thou goest to possess
it." These two
covenants, though distinctly separate, were necessarily involved with each other, because
individual Israelites made up the nation, and their collective behavior constituted the
national faithfulness or unfaithfulness to their God. But Jehovah was pleased to draw a
distinction between individuals and the nation in the covenants he granted them; and
their terms, as we have seen, are very different. Hence in considering New Testament
Scriptures concerning the changing circumstances of Israel, it is of great importance that
we determine in each case whether the individual or the nation is referred to. EXCLUSIVELY INDIVIDUALIn his
Epistle to the Romans the Apostle is exclusively addressing the individual Israelites,
and referring to the Covenant of Horeb, and the greater opportunity of
obtaining life by faith rather than by works of the Law. He makes no reference to
Israel's national life, nor to the possession of their homeland. "I say
then," asks the Apostle (Romans 11:1) , "Did God cast off his people?" In
reply he offers himself-"an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin," but also a Christian and an Apostle -- as evidence that God has not cast
off all his people -- individually. The opportunity to gain life still exists for
the Jew, on the same terms as It is offered to the Gentiles. "For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all
that call upon him: for, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." "There cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all." - Rom. 10:12,
13; Col. 3:11. There are
apparent inconsistencies in the Authorized Version rendering of the Apostle's statements
in Romans 11:2, 11, and 15, concerning Israel's fall from favor. In the second verse he
declares emphatically that Israel has not been "cast away"; in the
fifteenth verse he speaks of "the 'casting away of them." In the eleventh verse
he asks if they have "stumbled that they should fall," and denies that this is
the case; but in the same verse he is made to say that "through their fall salvation
has come to the Gentiles." With the exception of the statement in Romans 11:15, these
apparent contradictions in the Apostle's treatment of his subject are all due to faulty
translations. The great
Apostle was well aware that his people had "side-slipped" or deviated in their
relationship to God. This is the literal meaning of the second word translated
"fall" in Romans 11:11. A closely cognate word, meaning to fall-from-nearness,
is the original translated "fall" in Romans 11:12. They were not "cast
off" but they were "diminished" during the Gospel Age to the same status as
the Gentiles; not "fallen" but "side-slipped" from their previous
nearness to God, to the same position as that of other unregenerate men. To gloss over
this hard fact the Apostle invents a figure-that of the cultivated olive tree,
representing the divine favor -- the "goodness" or "kindness" or
beneficence of God. (Romans 11:22.) The "natural" Jewish branches had been
broken off-the Gentile wild olive branches had been grafted in. But the Apostle hastens
to assure the Jewish branches that they could be grafted back into favor if they had
faith, and that the wild olive branches would in turn be broken off if they proved
unfaithful-there would be no favoritism shown Jew or Gentile. THE "INCRUSTATION"He twice
mentions the only excuse that -can be offered for Israel-a prophesied
"blindness" (A.V.) or "hardening." (A. R. V.) (Romans 11:7, 8, 25.)
These words are translations of the Greek poroo, literally meaning an
"incrustation" (Diaglott) -- like the lime deposit inside a steam boiler,
or the barnacles on a ship's bottom. An incrustation on the lens of the eye (cataract)
causes blindness; "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches"
(possessed or desired) hardens, incrustates, petrifies the heart in its receptivity to the
"word of the Kingdom." The Apostle further explains his figure in 2 Corinthians
3:13-16: "Their conceptions were incrustated. . . . Until this day, whensoever
Moses is being read, a veil [of pride and self-satisfaction] upon their heart is lying;
howbeit, whensoever it may turn towards the Lord, this veil is to be lifted off."
Pride, their besetting sin, must be consciously laid aside. In humility they must come to
their Messiah, Jesus. He had said: "By your traditions you make void the word of
God." (Matt. 15:2, 3, 6.) This was an incrustation over most Jewish hearts that
completely shut out the message of the spiritual Kingdom. Doubtless the Apostle
remembered, too, the "scales" that had been removed from his own eyes. - Acts
9:17, 18. However, the
"incrustation" is not permanent. There is a Great Physician who is a great
Surgeon. He has promised that "the eyes of the blind shall be opened" even
though it require a surgical operation for the removal of double cataract that obscures
spiritual vision. Or, to use the other figure, he has said: "I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." - Isa. 35:5;
Ezek. 36:26. The Apostle,
as a Jewish Pharisee and doctor of the Law, was thoroughly familiar with these and many
other prophecies of Israel's restoration--restoration, be it noted, to a position of special favor. THE POTTER'S MIXTURESt. Paul, in
this Epistle, had compared God to a Potter, and argued his right to make of his
"mixture" (lump) "from one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto
dishonor" (Romans 9:31, 22) even though the latter vessels were intentionally
"fitted for destruction"; but now (Romans 11:16) he tells us that as a matter of
fact, in the Potter's intention, the whole mixture is holy-that is, set apart
to divine service. Those who accepted the "great salvation" offered them, and
were submissive in the hands of the Potter, became the "first-fruits," the
"vessels unto honor." But having himself formed the "mixture," the
great Potter still has use for the remainder of the clay. In the other figure, the
branches though broken off from the root of divine favor, are still "beloved through
the fathers." All these
are intimations of God's purpose to eventually restore the individuals of Israel to favor as Israelites. During the Gospel Age God has dealt
with men -- Jew and Gentile -- only on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ, and
consecration to walk in his footsteps of self-sacrifice. Eventually, the
Apostle reveals, "all Israel shall be saved." But before this can take place,
two other great events in the Lord's Plan must transpire. First: the
"incrustation" which hinders acceptance of their Messiah, Jesus Christ, will
continue until "the fullness of the Gentiles be
come in." What does this mean? We remember, as no doubt the Apostle did (was it Peter
who told him, during those fifteen days of deep communion in Jerusalem?) our Lord's
parables of the Marriage Feast and -of the Great Supper, and the insistence of the Host in
each allegory that his invitation be pressed until "my house shall be filled." (Matt. 22:10; Luke 14:23.) We have the
confirmation of this teaching in the Apostle John's visions recorded in the Revelation,
long after St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans; which also indicate that a definite number was predetermined in the Plan of God
for the Church. (Revelation 7:4; 14:1.) The Greek word pleroma, which St. Paul uses in Romans 11:12
and 25, translated "fullness," signifies completion or repletion--a full measure
or full number. The Apostle's thought is clear: Israel's restoration to favor cannot take
place until the full number of the Gentiles,
required to fill up the roster of the Church, shall have "come in." This is
further indicated by the following verses (Romans 11:26, 27) in which are quoted
prophecies of the Deliverer who shall "come out of Zion" and shall "take
away ungodliness from Jacob." This is an unmistakable reference to Christ, when he
shall assume the throne of Earth; and the completed Church shall be with him when that
takes place (Col. 3:4; and many other Scriptures) . A third statement of the Apostle
that is in point, is that fleshly Israel is to obtain mercy through the Church. - Romans 11:31. Thus it is
seen that the first great event upon which Israel's restoration to divine favor waits, is
the completion and glorification of the Church. THE RESURRECTION FORETOLDThe second
great event which must precede Israel's restoration, is that mentioned by the Apostle in
Romans 11:12, 15. He says (Diaglott and Strong) "If the side-slip of them be the
wealth of a world (kosmos) , and the diminishing of them be the wealth of Gentiles
(nations); how much more the full measure [of their previously elect-the foreknown] of
them? . . . If the [temporary] casting off of them be a reconciliation of a world, what
the receiving of them if not life out of dead ones?" In making
this positive declaration of such great import, the Apostle undoubtedly had in mind our
Lord's teachings concerning "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets."
He said: "Those that are accounted worthy to attain unto that Age . . . [are], sons
of the resurrection. That the dead are raised even Moses showed . when he called the Lord
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of
the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." (Luke 20:35-38.) Had the Lord
meant that the resurrection of the three Patriarchs had already taken place, he would
not have added the statement, "for all live unto him." The Apostle explains this
in Romans 4:17: "God giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not as
though they were." The Apostle was as well aware of. the two phases of the coming
Kingdom of Jesus Christ-the spiritual phase and the earthly-as we are. He knew that
Abraham and all the other heroes of faith of the old Dispensation, listed in the eleventh
chapter of Hebrews, were sleeping with the Prophet Daniel "in the dust of the
earth," and with him would "stand in their lot at the end of the days"; and
that they had "received not the promise . . . that apart from us they should not be
made perfect." - Dan. 12:2, 13; Heb. 11:40. The
"house" to which Jesus referred was, literally, the temple at Jerusalem, the
center of Jewish worship for a thousand years, and the visible symbol of Israel's
relationship to Jehovah. At the time of his casting out the money-changers from its
precincts, Jesus had said: "It is written, My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it
a den of thieves."
Immediately after declaring his Father's abandonment of the temple, leaving it
"desolate" or solitary, he said of it to his disciples: "Verily I say unto
you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown
down." As a token of God's condemnation and exposure of Jewish hypocrisy, when
Jesus expired on the cross, "the veil of the temple was [miraculously] rent in twain
from the top to the bottom." Upon the fall of Jerusalem before the assault of Titus
the Roman, some thirty seven years later, the temple was burned down, and it has never
been re-erected; nor has the ceremonial worship there offered ever been resumed. Thus its
desolation was complete. "HENCEFORTH . . . DESOLATE"
Jesus also
referred to this Order of Elders in their resurrection office, at the
time of the termination of the Jewish national covenant. At this time he declared:
"I say unto you, that many [Gentiles--see context] shall come from the east and the
west, and the north and the south, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the Kingdom of heaven (of God). And behold, there are
last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last. But ye, the sons of the
Kingdom, shall be cast forth into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the
gnashing of teeth. Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate." - Matt. 8:11; 23:38; Luke 13:28-35; synthesized. The scribes
and Pharisees, to whom Jesus spoke, sat "in Moses' seat" of authority (Matt.
23:2) as leaders, instructors, and religious rulers of Israel. They were the natural
"sons of the Kingdom" -- "to whom the sonship." (Rom. 9:4.) Kingdom
means royalty, or sovereignty, not location. The spiritual phase of the royalty,
Christ and the Church, is "last" in time of selection, but becomes "first
in order or rank; as Jesus said of the last member of the earthly phase: "Verily I
say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John
the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in [the spiritual phase of] the Kingdom of
heaven is greater than he." (Matt. 11:11.) But "ye" scribes and Pharisees,
were to be cast out THE SECOND PRE-REQUISITEThus an
absolute pre-requisite to the restoration of God's sovereignty on earth, in the hands of
"those whom he foreknew," and of "all Israel" to favor, is the
resurrection -- "life out of dead ones" -- not the general resurrection, but
the; "better resurrection"- for the blessing is to come "to all
Israel" through the Ancient Worthies, Abel to John the Baptist, who
were all dead when the Apostle wrote, and are
still. These ancient Princes of faith in turn cannot be resurrected until the Church is
complete-the "full number of the Gentiles be come in" -- for "they apart
from us shall not be made perfect" -- i.e., complete, in the resurrection. - Romans
11:25, 26; Hebrews 11:35, 39, 40; Psalm 45:16. It is seen,
therefore, that the "all Israel" who are to be "saved" does not merely
include the majority of the Jews of St. Paul's generation, who had rejected their Messiah;
nor is it only the remnant -- the tag-end -- that is living today. "All Israel"
is "the whole house of Israel" -- "an exceeding great multitude" -
perhaps one hundred million, perhaps two hundred--seen in the vision of their resurrection
in Ezekiel 37. The "valley of dry bones" in Ezekiel's vision does not represent
alone the hopes and prospects of Israel for restoration to national life--either after the
Babylonian captivity, or after the long scattering and "drying up" among the
nations of the world during the Gospel Age. These periods in Israel's history might well
be represented as national death; but the vision is too specifically a representation of
individuals, and the words of Jehovah's messenger to the Prophet too detailed and
explicit, to permit us to place a limited interpretation on this greatest of prophetic
views of the resurrection. "Son of
man," asked the heavenly messenger, "can these bones live?" "Thou
knowest," answered the Prophet. And when the bones had come together, and the flesh
came upon them, and breath was breathed into their, nostrils, "and they stood upon
their feet, an exceeding great army," the angel interpreted the vision, saying:
"Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. . . . Thus saith the Lord
God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your
graves, and bring you into the land of Israel . and David my
servant shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd." - Ezekiel
37:1-14, 23-25. LIMIT NOT THE HOLY ONEWhy should
we in any degree "limit the holy On of Israel" in our interpretation of this
remarkable passage, which is confirmed so positively by on Lord's words: "As the
Father raiseth the dead an giveth them life, even so the Son giveth life to whom he
will.... Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh in which all that are in the tombs shall
hear his voice, and shall come forth." - John 5:21, 28, 29. The Apostle
Paul, in the three chapters of Romans devoted to the subject of "Jewish Hopes and
Prospects," hammers consistently on the subject of life -- the eternal life
offered in the Horeb Covenant, and constantly sought by Israel (Rom. 11:7) as was
exemplified by the young man who came to Jesus with the question: "Teacher, what good
thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" (Matt. 19:16.) This also was
evidently the burden of the inquiry of the Jewish ruler, Nicodemus, who "came to
Jesus by night" (John 3:1-21), for Jesus' discourse in answer included the, phrases
"have eternal life"-"have everlasting life" -- "not
perish" -- "be saved." The whole burden of Jesus' message was a proffer of
life. The truth he taught he likened to a well of water which would spring up into
"eternal life" in whomsoever drank it. (John 4:6-26.) His teachings he
symbolized in his flesh and blood-which he said would endow with everlasting life all who
would eat and drink of them. - John 7:47-58. Life-life-life!
The sine qua non -- without which, nothing! This is the burden of the Apostle's
message to his brethren in the flesh. By identifying themselves with Christ as the
Apostle besought them to do-"present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God" -- they could share in the eventual blessing of. all
mankind-the blessing that was to go first "to them that are near" and at last to
"them that are far off"; spreading waves of blessing from the death-plunge of
the Redeemer and his associates. First to them "whom he foreknew"-the Ancient
Worthies, through the resurrected and glorified Church (Heb. 11:29, 30); then through the
Ancient Worthies to "all Israel," "beloved through the fathers";
finally to all the Gentile nations (peoples) , as foretold by the Prophet: "Thus
saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take
'hold, out of all the languages of the nations [Gentiles], they shall. take hold of the
skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We wild go, with you, for we have heard that God is
with you." Zech. 8:23. "AS TOUCHING THE RESURRECTION AM I CALLED IN QUESTION"Why do
professing Christians generally "limit the
holy one of Israel" by applying all the
splendid prophecies of Israel's restoration to the handful of living Jews? Is it not
because of their reluctance to accord simple belief to the plain teachings of Scripture
concerning the resurrection of the dead? e (Acts 26:8.) It is easier to
profess belief in human immortality and heaven after death, because that is d flattering,
and mysterious, and far-off, and popular! St. Paul
well understood the national position of Israel during the Gospel, Age. Jesus had voided
their national covenant in the words: "Henceforth is your house left
unto you desolate." A short time later the rulers of Israel, before Pilate, the Roman
governor, confirmed the break, saying: "We have no king but Caesar." When
offered Jesus' life, the mob cried: "Give us Barabbas." When Pilate said:
"I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it; all the people
answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children." - Matt. 27:24, 25. The Apostle
knew that in these events a definite crisis-a turning point-had come in Israel's history.
The Lord's words had marked the end of Israel's favor as a nation, and the beginning of
her "double" of disfavor. (Jer. 16:14, 15, 18; Zech. 9:9, 12; Isa. 40:1-5.)
Hence when St. Paul wrote on the subject of their national covenant (Gal. 4:21-31),
he expounded the allegory or type of Hagar and Sarah, and their sons, Ishmael and Isaac.
He did not handle this subject with gloves, as he did the matter of the other covenant in
Romans, but boldly applies the demand typically made upon Abraham by Sarah, to "the
Jerusalem which now is, and her children." This demand, which represented the
requirements of the Sarah Covenant, God confirmed to Abraham as a command. It was:
"Cast out (exballo -- throw out) the bond-woman and her son; for the son of
the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free." The Apostle leaves no
room for misunderstanding his allegory. He explains: "These women are two
covenants; one from Mount Sinai in Arabia, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar,
and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. But
the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are children of promise." Did Ishmael
never profit by being a son of Abraham? Oh, yes! It is written: "Abraham gave all
that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines [Hagar and Keturah] Abraham
gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son. . . And these are the sons of Ishmael .
. . twelve princes according to their nations. . . . . And Ishmael (lived) an -hundred
and thirty and seven years." It is evident that Abraham's gifts made Ishmael a
wealthy and important man. Accordingly, St. Paul might have extended his allegory, and
pointed out that the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael was not final: in the antitype, no
less than in the type, Ishmael will eventually be restored to a large measure of divine
favor. But "every' man in his own order: the Christ, the first-fruits; afterward they
that are Christ's at his coming." - l Cor. 15:23; James 1:18; Gal. 3:29 "SPEAK YE COMFORTABLY TO JERUSALEM"God's message
to restored Israel is addressed as a command to the Prophet Isaiah. It reads:
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem;
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that
she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins." It is apparent that
only the Ancient Worthies, of whom Isaiah is one, can speak in this connection with
authority and finality; and that this message of comfort can be properly given only after
the double of disfavor is ended. It would be mockery for us to anticipate the time
of this message, and to tell a people that has just suffered a massacre of perhaps
twenty-five per cent of its total number-five or six million lives--through the savage
malignancy of Hitler and his wolves, and thousands of whom are now starving to death, that
they have for many years been enjoying the returning favor of Almighty God! In the
interpretation of end-of-the-age prophecies regarding Israel, it should be kept in mind
that the ends of three separate Scriptural Ages or dispensations are involved, namely,
the Jewish, the Gospel, and the Millennial; and great care must be exercised to apply each prophecy to the end of the
particular Age intended by its divine Author. This is one important application of the
admonition of the Apostle in 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to show thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth." "GOG AND MAGOG"For instance,
the prophecy regarding the attack of Gog and his hosts on regathered Israel, in Ezekiel,
chapters 38 and 39. Great efforts have been made by expositors during the past hundred
years or more to fit the details of the fulfillment of this prophecy to the end of the
Gospel Age, and to identify "Magog," "Rosh," "Meshech," and
"Tubal" with certain existing nations. But these interpreters have overlooked
the fact that the Scriptures contain a positive locating of this prophecy in the end of
the Millennial Age, in Revelation 20:7-10. The descriptive details of Ezekiel's
prophecy are seen to fit the end of this yet future Age, as pictured in other Scriptures,
much better than they do the prophesied and actual conditions in the end of the present
Age. Today mankind is still "beating his plowshares into swords," in harmony
with the prophetic injunction of Joel 3:9-13; but the next Age, which will be the
thousand-year reign of Christ, will be an era" of peace: "They shall beat their
swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Micah 4:1-5.) Thus by
the end of that Age all mankind will nominally be "Israel" - the people of God;
"dwelling securely" in a "land of unwalled villages," with the art of
war quite forgotten by those who have been reconstructed under that righteous regime.
But the fact and the animus of a final rebellion against God and righteousness is forecast
in Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10, to arise in the end of the Thousand Years, under the
leadership of Satan; either personified under the name "Gog" or efficiently
represented by a human agent called "Gog," as he was by one named
"Hitler" in the end of the present Age. By comparing this vision and
explanation of John's with Ezekiel's prophecy, their identity may be established, and the
one seen to supplement the other. As we have
seen, at the end of the Gospel Age, when Israel has "received of the Lord's hand
double for all her sins," her warfare will have been accomplished, and she
will be due for blessings through her resurrected Princes, the Ancient Worthies, rather
than being subject to such an attack by hordes of pillagers as is pictured in the
"Gog and Magog" prophecy. Moreover, Palestine of today has no such great wealth
as to tempt the cupidity of predatory nations on so vast a scale. The value of minerals
and chemicals held in suspension in the Dead Sea has been calculated at trillions of
dollars by speculative expositors with facile pencils; but lacking accounting and
merchandising knowledge, these expositors have overlooked the expense of extracting this
wealth, and the absence of a market for the tremendous quantity of chemicals said to be
contained in the waters of this Sea. The margin of profit at present prices over the cost
of extraction is narrow, and if it were possible to quickly recover all the minerals and
chemicals and throw them in quantity on the markets of the world, they would be literally
and figuratively "drugs on the market" - .of little or no value. What attraction
would it be to "Gog and Magog to fight a war for a mountain of washing powder, or
fertilizer -- enough to last all mankind a thousand years? "THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES"Another
prophecy having a direct bearing on Israel's restoration, is one uttered by our Lord
himself. He said: "They [Israel] shall fall by the edge of the sword,
and shall be led captive into all the nations;' and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." - Luke 21:24. The Jews of
our Lord's day and their predecessors, the Israelites, from the days of their liberation
from Egyptian slavery and settlement in their own land of Canaan, recognized but two
divisions of mankind -- (1) themselves, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and (2)
all other peoples. The latter are called in the Scriptures, "Gentiles,"
"heathen," "nations," and "peoples." These are all
translations of the Hebrew word goy and the Greek ethnos. That this
attitude of Israel was justified in God's arrangements is evident from many statements of
the Scriptures. Jehovah said to Moses at the time of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai: "Thus shalt thou say to the house
of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles'
wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and
keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all
the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy-nation."
About five hundred years later a Psalmist wrote: "He hath not dealt so with any
[Gentile] nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the
Lord!" Then still later by some three hundred years, the Prophet Amos addressed.
Israel in the name of Jehovah: "You only have I known of all the families of the
earth: Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." The deserved
chastisements of God are as much evidence of his favor as his gifts. This should be
remembered just now, by both Jew and Christian. - Exod. 19:3-6; Psalm 147:20; Amos 3:2. Our Lord's
prophecy concerning Judah and Jerusalem, quoted above (Luke 21:24), has been literally
fulfilled. The Jews have been scattered among the nations since the siege and razing of
Jerusalem by the army of Titus the Roman, A. D. 70-71. They have never regained control of
their ancient capital. Today it is "trodden down," which means occupied and
dominated, by an Arab majority and British power; the latter there under the mandate of
the League of Nations to keep the peace. It is impossible to define Britain as anything
but a "Gentile" nation from the standpoint of the Jew -- and Jesus spoke as a
Jew, concerning Jews, from the Jewish point of view. Britain's power is being used just
now principally to keep Palestine from being flooded by Jewish refugees, and to protect
the Arab landowners from being forcibly ousted -- or the Jewish settlers from being
massacred. Neither
Great Britain, nor any other nation including the United States can lawfully dispossess
the Arabs, who have a perfectly good title to the land they hold in Palestine under the
present dispensation of God and laws of nations, and give it to the Jews, however much
they would like to satisfy the contemporary Jewish clamor and wash their hands of the
whole troublesome matter. But all present-day land titles are merely ground leases;
Jehovah is the owner of the earth in "fee simple absolute," and he has
transferred title to his Son, as it is written: "Jehovah (said) .. . all the earth is
mine." "The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. For he
hath founded ... and established it." "I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said
unto me, Thou art my Son. . . . Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Exod. 19:3,
5; Psa. 24:1, 2; 2:7, 8.) Hence only the Son can give Palestine to its future owners. And
when that is done, the present occupants of the land will be compensated with complete
equity. ZIONIST PROMOTIONIllustrating
the Jewish attitude in these United States today, an advertisement recently appearing in a
journal of national circulation contained a violent attack on the British administration
of the Palestine mandate. Foreign Minister Bevin is quoted as stating that he is
"interested in the protection of Jewish rights," and that "the Jews are
needed to help in the rebuilding of a free Europe." In reply to this
"flattering" statement the advertisement continues: "What remains of
European Jewry refuses to build their lives on the graves of their nearest and dearest.
The remnants of European Jewry have one goal-the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in
Palestine. But against them is ranged the evil spirit of Hitler which guides British
anti-Jewish policy. . . Every right-thinking American must dedicate himself to the
complete evacuation of European Jews to Palestine ... (and) to the bolstering of our
heroic underground movement in Palestine." The advertisement concludes with a
strongly-worded appeal for cash contributions to a fund to carry out these
objectives-including the support of the "heroic Jewish resistance in
Palestine." (Our Italics.) The
"heroic Jewish resistance" includes such acts as the murder of Arab and British
policemen, soldiers, and officials, the burning of public buildings, the exploding of
bombs, and general lawlessness, as reported in the daily press. Whether the
general purpose, and language of this public appeal be approved or not, several
conclusions based upon it are obvious: (1) The Jews
view the British occupation of Jerusalem and Palestine not as a protection, but as an
unwelcome Gentile "treading down." (2) Hence,
according to our Lord's prophecy, the "Times of the Gentiles" cannot yet be said
to be ended, for Jerusalem is still trodden down of a Gentile power. (3) The
Jewish leaders and agitators are taking a course that may very conceivably plunge Great
Britain and the United States into war with the Arab world, and possibly provoke a World
War III. (4) The
Zionist appeal is political, not religious. No reference is made to Scripture or prophecy,
or to God's promises of a restoration of Israel. If it were based on faith, they would not
accept Palestine from Britain, the Arabs, or any other source except Jehovah, even as
Abraham would not accept a foot of the land as a gift from the inhabitants, because God
had promised to give it to him, and he rightly expected the Giver to dispossess the
intruders in due time, and give him the promised possession.- Genesis 23; Hebrews
11:9-21. The raising
of money for "charitable purposes is a specialized and profitable business. The
advertisement under consideration is cleverly designed to play on the considerable
American prejudice against Great Britain, and the very natural and proper sympathy for
the Jews. But the Jew is in no position to demand that assistance be rendered in just the
way their Zionist organizations think best. The Gentile world is laboring under vast and
heavy burdens, and cooperation in solving the general problems rather than adding
difficulties should be the earnest endeavor of every section of human society. The old
adage is desperately true for all mankind today: "United we stand; divided we
fall." It should be
remembered that most of the Jewish rabbis of today, particularly of the
"reformed" synagogues, are as "higher critical" and evolutionist in
their beliefs as are the majority of the "Christian" clergy; hence they no
longer believe and preach the ancient prophecies of Israel's restoration -- much less the
Scriptural doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. ESAU vs. JACOB
In view
of the evidence that "the times of the Gentiles" and the "Jewish
Double" of disfavor have not yet ended, and considering the hostility of the
Arabs to the Jews and particularly to the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine,
a prophecy of Ezekiel (Eze. 35) is of particular interest, as its fulfillment seems to be
dated in the near future. The prophecy is addressed to "Mount Seir." This takes
us back to the time when the children of Israel were approaching the land of Canaan, and
were told by Moses; "Jehovah spake unto me ... saying: "Ye are to pass through
the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir. . . . Take ye good
heed unto yourselves therefore; contend not with them ... because I have given
Mount Seir unto Esau for a possession." - Deut. 2:1-5. Esau was the
progenitor of the Arabs. It is probable that in their determination to brush the Arabs
aside to regain Palestine, the Jews will force the several Arab states, which mutual
jealousy and British diplomacy have kept small and separate, into a coalition to protect
what they consider to be their rights in the Near East. The Jewish concentration in
Palestine (which quite probably will be greatly increased through Jewish pressure on the
great powers) will then be in danger of attack by the Arab alliance, particularly if, as
is likely, Britain, the United States and other great powers should be so deeply engaged
with their own affairs as to be unable or unwilling to come to their rescue. That the
Jews will yet suffer severely under such or similar circumstances, is clearly indicated in
this prophecy "against . . . Mount Seir." "Thou hast a perpetual enmity and
hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of
their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an
end" -- or, "In the time of the final punishment for iniquity." Thus the
prophecy identifies the persecuting power, "Mount Seir," as the Arabs, and
fixes the time in the near future -- in the ending time of the punishment of Israel's
iniquity. The prophecy
goes on to foretell the terrible retribution that will be meted out to Mount Seir,
concluding: "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make
thee desolate." THE APOSTLE'S EXAMPLEThe
Christian of today does well to follow the example of the Apostle Paul. To the individual
Jew he would now, as in his own day, nineteen hundred years ago, present Jesus Christ as
Israel's Messiah; he would urge him to submit himself to God through the Son; and to
hold himself in readiness to rally to the standard of the soon-to-be inaugurated King, Jesus,
by the grace of God about to take unto himself his great power and reign, for the
blessing of all the families of the earth in accordance with the Abrahamic promise.
Meanwhile, to the Jew or Gentile who is not conscious of an invitation to the High
Calling of God in-Christ Jesus, he may well point the prophecy of Zephaniah 2:3:
"Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek
righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's
anger." Regarding
the restoration of the nation of Israel Hosea the Prophet, sends a timely message:
"For many days shall the children of Israel abide without a king, and without a
prince, and without a sacrifice, and without a standing image [idol], and without an
ephod and theraphim [the appurtenances of the priesthood]. After that will the children of
Israel return, and seek for the Lord their God and David their king; and fearing they will
hasten to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days." - Hosea 3:4, 5, Leeser. It is to the
high credit of the children of Israel that, in the nineteen -hundred years of their
travail, cut off from their kingdom and priesthood, they nevertheless have worshiped no
"standing image," and that the confession of their faith has been: "Hear, O
Israel: Jehovah thy God is One --Jehovah!" The trend of
current events lends force to the Apostle's strong statement that "GOD hath shut up all ... so that he
might have mercy upon, all." (Rom. 11:32.)
Neither Jewish "incrustation" and disbelief and present clamor, nor British
impotent willingness to grant their demands, nor Arab stubbornness and hostility, nor
officious American interference and advice, can possibly hasten or. hinder the
possession of Palestine by Israel. This matter was decided nearly four thousand years ago,
when Jehovah promised the land to Abraham. God has reserved its fulfillment
entirely to his own power, in order that when it comes there can be no question as to
who has accomplished it. In, due time it will be done. But God's plans cannot be hurried.
First the "full number" of the Church must enter death, and be resurrected in
the spirit world; then the "full number" of foreknown Israel -- the Ancient
Worthies -- must return from death to human life, to receive what God has promised them.
The living Jew will then be the first to benefit by the general blessing. "FOR THE
GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD ARE NOT REPENTED OF. . . FOR OF HIM, AND THROUGH HIM, AND UNTO
HIM, ARE ALL. TO HIM BE THE GLORY UNTO THE AGES. AMEN."
- Rom. 11:29-36,
Literal. -- H. E. Hollister. Two More Questions on the Little FlockQuestion: In
Revelation 18:4 we read: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Are we correct in understanding the
"Present Truth" movement to be in fulfillment of this Scripture? Answer: Yes -- there
is no doubt in our mind that, while this vision may have begun its fulfillment with the Reformers, when they "came out"
of the Roman Catholic Church some four hundred years ago, its complete fulfillment occurs
in our day--the day of Protestantism's decline; when the call of the Lord is heard by
"his people" to come out of her, that is, out of Babylon -- Churchianity. Question: Is it
possible that any of the "little flock" could today make their "calling and
election" sure, while continuing their membership in the various church systems, such
as Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.? Answer: That is a
question which it is not for us to answer. It is, a matter for the individual's own
conscience. As the Apostle exhorts: "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind." - Rom. 14:5. It would be
a violation of our own conscience for us to hold membership in any of the church systems,
but we would not presume to judge others. To his own Master each must stand or fall. In
due time the Lord will render a decision in every case and his judgment will be unerring.
He would have us, we think, very lenient in our attitude towards any with whom we may come
in touch, who, though continuing membership in a church system, manifest a Christian
spirit, and who are disposed to fellowship with us to any extent. As systems, all denominations have been cast off, we
think; the individuals within the systems, however, are considered apart from the
denomination concerned, and only the Lord can read the heart. A great deal will depend,
in each case, upon the degree of light possessed. We, ourselves, have been highly favored;
it is for us to be on guard lest the spirit of sectarianism creep upon us unawares. We
counsel all to stand free, not only from church systems, but from all parties, sects, and
creeds and "confessions of faith," as Brother Russell once put it. As for
others, if in the Lord's providence it seems best to him to permit some to complete their
calling and election without leaving Babylon, or without entirely abandoning all creeds or
confessions of faith ("him
that readeth, let him understand") that would be our will for them.
Generally, however, we would expect, at this late hour in the Gospel Age, that not many
who, failing to perceive Babylon's true condition, or for other reasons, remain in her,
will be amongst those who one day will hear the Master's "Well done." - P. L. Read. Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible InstituteAll lovers of
our Lord Jesus and friends of the truth are welcome to attend the Annual Meeting of the
Institute to be held at 2 p.m. in the office of the Institute at 177 Prospect Place,
Brooklyn 17, N. Y., Saturday, July 6, as announced in our May issue. In addition to,
the primary business of the election of directors, opportunity will be given for
consideration of such other matters as may properly come before the meeting. Members of
the Institute who are not receiving the "Herald" in their own names, or the name
of a member of the immediate family, but who are readers of the "Herald," should
so inform the office at once so that proxy forms may be sent them. In addition
to the present directors the following have been placed as nominees:
Brooklyn and
Detroit Conventions
In order that
the Pastoral Bible Institute may make the experiment of a later date for the benefit of
those whose attendance has been hindered in the past because of these meetings coming
during the school term, the Detroit friends have graciously offered to hold their
convention over the Labor Day vacation period. The Brooklyn convention will be held
the same week-end as the Annual Meeting, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; July 5-7. We trust
that both the Detroit and the Brooklyn conventions will be benefited by the, change and in
each instance it be made possible for more brethren to be on hand to receive and to be
used of the Master in dispensing the blessings he has planned for us. Brooklyn
friends are happy in the thought of another refreshing season of fellowship, and are
arranging a program that we believe will be a blessing to all. Most of the speakers will
be brethren from a distance. As it is a holiday week-end, and as there will be the longer
period, three days, this year instead of the usual day and a half, it is hoped that many
more will find it possible to take advantage of the opportunity to "come apart"
and enjoy together this season of fellowship in the Lord. All sessions
of the convention will be held in the Y. M. C. A., .55 Hanson Place. As it will be
difficult to secure accommodations after arriving in Brooklyn, we urge any desiring
accommodations to write, stating the number of days and whether double or single room is
desired, addressing the Class secretary, Brother J. E. Dawson, 150 Hicks Street, Brooklyn
2, N. Y. Encouraging Messages
Dearly
Beloved in Chist: Having just
finished reading for the third time the articles in the "Herald" entitled
"The Crisis of the Christ and of the World," I feel constrained to write
and,tell you how much more I am able to appreciate the love of God and of Jesus in
the great sacrifice on behalf of the Church and the world. Each time I have read them, my
heart has responded to such love as the writer so clearly shows in his explanation of
those wonderful words of Jesus, that I can only read a few paragraphs, for the tears which
well up from a contrite heart. How it shows us the responsibility. which is ours, when the
crises come to each one of us in our lives, we who have made the vow of full consecration,
to lay down our lives and take up the cross even unto the consummation of our sacrifice. I
am looking forward to the next issue and expect to be fed with more rich food from
Father's table. Every one of the articles in the "Herald" are full of rich meat,
and I feel that all are a means of building us up in this most holy faith. May the Lord
continue to use you in the service of his Church to assist us in making our calling and
election sure. My prayers for all there at the Institute arise daily to the Heavenly
Courts, and I too desire that you remember me because I need them. Yours in the
blessed hope of sharing with you in the Kingdom, Dear
Brethren: We in the
Chicago Class are sending out tracts to the survivors of the deceased as published in the
daily papers. While the results are not great, still there are some responses for more
literature and First Volumes. And so this is one way in which some of us have the
privilege of comforting those who mourn. So please send us 3000 each of the following
tracts: "Why Does God Permit Evil?," "When the Morning Cometh," and
"Where are the Dead?" Also send about 100 each of the other free tracts that you
have. Yours
in Christ, VISIONS IN THE WORDS OF
CHRIST
Every word of
Christ that we ponder deeply opens to us a vision of beauty or excellence --something very
lovely, a fragment of Christ's own image; and we should instantly strive to paint the
vision on our own life, to get the beauty, the excellence, the loveliness into our own
life. Let us learn to be loyal to the word of Christ -- not only to know it and ponder it
and meditate upon it, but to do it, and to allow it thus to shape and mold our whole being
into its own holy beauty. If we hide Christ's words in our hearts, they will transform us
into His likeness. - Green Pastures. |
