?                                                                            London, November i, 1931.

Judge Rutherford Answers Mr. Henry Morgenthau’s Attack on Zionism

ZIONISM NOT A STUPENDOUS FALLACY

MR. HENRY MORGENTHAU, in an , article recently contributed to World’s Work, says : "Zionism is the most stupendous fallacy in Jewish history. I assert that it is wrong in principle, and impossible of realization ; that it is unsound in its economics, fantastical in its politics, and sterile in its spiritual ideals.”

These statements are rather sweeping and extravagant. The real question at issue is, Shall we accept Mr. Morgenthau as final authority ? or shall we accept the inspired testimony of the prophets of Jehovah who spoke with authority ? Probably Mr. Morgenthau is wiser than those prophets. I sincerely doubt it, however.

Many persons for a time will be influenced by Mr. Morgenthau’s apparently strong argument ; but the evidence dispassionately examined will prove that Mr. Morgenthau is wrong, his argument unsound, and that he is without faith in the promises made to his forefathers. That his readers might be impressed with his competency and the value of his testimony, Mr. Morgenthau opens his statement by emphasizing the fact that he is an American of fifty-five years’ residence, a director of the Educational Alliance and of Mount Sinai Hospital, president of the Bronx House and the Free Syna-gug'-ifc,'uaS ViaVCilcLx oil VjfiviaiiAg . 0 ul .■ throughout America and Canada, is thoroughly familiar with the American Jews, was American ambassador to Turkey, came officially in contact with Jews from all parts of the Near East, was head of President Wilson's commission sent to investigate the pogroms in Poland, etc. ; and then says : “I speak as a Jew.”

The Literary Digest for July 30, 1921, reproduces a photograph of Mr. Morgenthau and Dr, Alter, described as “the wonder rabbi” and the "most distinguished J ewish leader in Poland,” who agrees with Mr. Morgenthau that there is no hope in Zionism.

Of course a rabbi who does not believe his own Scriptures is indeed a wonder. But the student of divine prophecy, in view of the extravagant statements of such wise men, cannot avoid recalling the words of God’s holy prophet written concerning this very time : “The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.— Isaiah 29 : 14.

I will not take issue with Mr. Morgenthau as to his distinguished service as an American citizen ; but I am compelled to call in question his assertion that he is a J ew, in the true sense of the word.

Not every man is a Jew because he is one outwardly—born of Jewish parentage. Abraham was the father of the Jews, the father of the faithful. A man to be a Jew must have the faith of Abraham. He must have an abiding confidence and faith in the promises that God made to Abraham and to his offspring. If ever Mr. Morgenthau was a Jew, he shows he has ceased to be one.

Quoting him : “They [Jews] may continue, if they will, a practice of our common faith which invites martyrdom, and which makes the continuance of oppression a certainty. I have found a better way (and when I say I, it is to speak collectively as one of a great body of American Jews of like mind). . . . We have fought our way through to liberty, equality, and fraternity. We have found rest for our souls.” In other words, having become weary of Jehovah’s programme for the ultimate blessing of the Jews as a people, Mr. Morgenthau has withdrawn from God’s way and accepted another and to him a better way. Upon his own statement, therefore, he is disqualified to speak with, authority far

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Below are set forth some pertinent statements which Jehovah made through His inspired prophets concerning the, regathering and rebuilding of the Jews in Palestine. Let the reader judge ftjr himself whether he desires to accept the wisdom of those men who spoke the mouthpieces of God, or whether he desires to be guided by the superior (?) wisdom of Mr. Morgenthau and "tjie wonder rabbi.” Probably these modern “wise men” possess a superior vision to Jehovah’s prophets ; and, if so, it is a pity they had not lived in the early days of the Jewish people and thus saved that people a great deal of Unnecessary inconvenience and suffering.

Jehovah’s Promises

God’s original statement to Abraham (Abram) was : “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee ; and I will make oi thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”—Genesis 12 : 1, 2.

Abraham journeyed to the land of Canaan (Palestine) ; and while there, Jehovah said to him : “Lift up now thine ^es, and look from the place ward, and eastward, and westward ; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth ; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it ; for I will give it unto thee.”—Genesis 13 : 14-17.

Again Jehovah said to Abraham ; "I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God.”—Genesis 17:8.

It will be observed that these promises relate to the land of Palestine. Nothing is said about establishing Jehovah’s kingdom in the “soul of man,” as Mr. Morgenthau would have us construe these statements. While it is true that Abraham dwelt for a time in the land of Canaan, the land was held by other people and he did not own a foot of it, except that which he bought near Hebron in which to bury his dead.

Not only did Jehovah make the promise, but He bound it with His oath. (Genesis 22 : 16-18) If we have faith in God, then we must believe that this promise will be carried out, for through the prophet He says : “I am the Lord ; I change not” ; and again : “My word that goeth forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Malachi 3:6; Isaiah 55 : 11.

Jehovah renewed these promises from time to time to Abraham’s descendants ; viz., Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, and their offspring. He organized Israel into a nation and dealt with that nation for centuries, to the exclusion of all other nations. While God at all times had some true and faithful prophets and witnesses in the earth, there arose in Israel many false prophets and “wise men,” who led the people in the wrong way. Jehovah sent to them Jeremiah His prophet, who said unto the Israelites, speaking as for Jehovah: “I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies ? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart • vhinh think tn cause mv people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.” (Jeremiah 23 : 25-27) Some of the modern “wise men” would make the Jews now believe that they have found their ideals in the various nations of the earth—■ those nations which even a blind man can see are tottering on their last legs.

Because the Jews as a nation at times followed after false teachers and turned away from Jehovah, God through His prophet Amos said to them : “Hear this word that the Lord hath Spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of earth ; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”— Amos 3:1,2.

Jehovah has manifested his favour to the Jews who reposed confidence in His promises ; and it may be expected that He will continue to do so. Such have looked forward to a time when they should be established as a people and a nation under a wise and just Ruler, their Messiah, who would deliver them, and through them bring blessings to others.

Wicked rulers of Israel having predominated, a climax was reached fhn                  tip whom

Jehovah said : "And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God : Remove the diadem, and take off the crown ; this shall not be the same, Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is ; and I will give it [to] him.” (Ezekiel 21 : 25-27) Here is a positive statement that God would no longer permit them to have an organized nation in the earth as His special people until a time future, at which time He would raise up one whose right it is to rule, and who will rule and bless the people. From then until now the faithful Jews have been looking forward to the coming of that mighty One of whom Moses wrote : "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto him ye shall hearken.”—Deuteronomy 18 : 15.

At the same time J ehovah permitted the gentile nations of earth to establish a universal kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar ; and through the Prophet Daniel Jehovah outlined the history of the world—the rise and fall of empires—until the "time of the end” of those kingdoms. The gentile dominion was to continue for a period of 2,520 years (Leviticus 26 : 18, 21, 24, 28 ; Daniel 4 : 16, 23, 25, 32) ; and having begun in 606 b.c., it would necessarily end in a.d. 1914, which date marks the beginning of the World War and the beginning of the disintegration of gentile kingdoms of earth.

Prophecy is history written in advance. God through His Prophet Daniel foreshadowed the history of the gentile nations down to the end of gentile rule and to the time for the beginning of the return of His favour to the Jews. The statement is unequivocal, that the overthrow of the Jews as a nation and the permission of gentile governments to hold sway would be only until God’s purposes were fulfilled at the "time of the end” of gentile dominion. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people ; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time ; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Daniel r? • U The pentila nations have reached the superlative degree of selfishness and wrong-doing ; hence we might expect God’s promise to be fulfilled at approximately the present time.

God’s further declaration by the Prophet Daniel was that He will set up His kingdom and assume authority again, and that such will take place "in the days of these kings,” at which time gentile kingdoms shall be dashed to pieces, saying : "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2 : 44) Here is a positive statement that God’s kingdom shall not be left to other people, but that His kingdom shall dash in pieces the others and shall stand for ever.

It must be admitted that these prophecies have not as yet been completely fulfilled ; and if we are to believe the words of Jehovah, we must believe that He purposes to set up a kingdom and to restore His people, and through them to bless all the fan ilies of the earth. Not mar#) howeve-, will manifest real faith in the promises of God. It will be only those who possess full faith and confidence in the words of Jehovah that will be the special recipients of God’s blessing.

The period oi gen cue '"          '

having legally ended in 1914, according to the prophecies, exactly on time we saw the nations beginning to be broken to pieces. Austria is broken up ; the Balkans are broken ; Germany and Russia as kingdoms are gone ; and other nations are in a state of rapid disintegration. All these things synchronize with the return of the Jews to Palestine and the beginning of the rebuilding of that country as their homeland, exactly as foretold by the prophets.

Israel’s "Double”

God positively stated through the mouth of several of His prophets that the period of Israel’s suffering would be exactly the same length of time as the period during which He bestowed His special favour upon that nation. That the Jews had Jehovah’s special favour for a long period of time, every one will admit who knows anything about the facts. That the Jews have been mercilessly persecuted for many centuries past, all will admit. It is interesting to compare the facts with the following prophecies showing the outworking of this "double.”

Through the Prophet Jeremiah Jehovah said to Israel : “Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and -worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law ; and ye have done worse than yout fathers ; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me : Therefore will 1 cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers ; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not show you favour. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them : and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways : they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first ¹ recompense their iniquity and their sin double ; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.”— Jeremiah 16 : 11-18.

The word “double” here, as every Hebrew scholar knows, means a duplication in time ; i.e., if the Jews had God’s favour for a specific number of years, they would have His disfavour for a like number of years, at the end of which latter period there would be a return of God’s favour indicated in some way.

Every Jewish historian without an exception agrees that on the fifteenth day of Nisan, a.d. 73, the last stronghold of Palestine fell and the J ews were completely expelled from that land. It is also agreed that this trouble, culminating in a.d. 73, began exactly forty years before. In other phrase, the period of disfavour upon Israel began forty years before a.d. 73 to wit, a.d. 33. Counting back, then, from a.d. 33 to the date of the organization of that nation at the death of Jacob, a period of exactly 1,845 years is spanned, which 1,845 years mark the duration of God’s favour towards Israel. This period, according to the prophet, must be doubled.

A.D. 33, the beginning of the trouble upon the Jewish nation, plus 1,845 years, brings us to a.d. 1878, the year during which there should be found something to mark the beginning of the return of God’s favour to Israel. It was in that very year that the Berlin Congress, convened, being called by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lord Beaconsfield, a Jew who presided over the gathering and dictated its conclusions. As a result of that conference, a treaty was arranged whereby guarantee was given by the Turkish Government that certain civil and religious liberties would be accorded the Jews in Palestine which they had not enjoyed from the time they were driven out. I quote from the Jewish Encyclopaedia, a recognized authority :

“Russia, at war with Turkey, was successful, and by the treaty of San Sr^5TfxrK5~"practicaIly effaced Turkey from Europe. Lord Beaconsfield, a Jew, came into power in 1874. As Premier of Great Britain, Beaconsfield sent the English fleet into the Dardanelles and brought Indian troops to Malta and made a demonstration against Russia. She yielded and agreed to a discussion of the whole affair at Berlin. Accordingly, from June 13 to July 13, 1878, the Berlin Congress was held. Beaconsfield compelled Russia to greatly modify her treaty. Turkey was enfranchised and made independent, but upon condition that civil and religious rights be granted to the Jews. This had an important bearing on the history of the Jews.”

Zionism

In 1897 Zionism was organized, and continued to gather strength. Since the first indication of the return of God’s favour to the Jew was in 1878, according to the “double” we must add forty years to 1^78, which brings us to the year 1918, at which time it might be expected that some climax would be reached in the return of divine favour to the Jew. And so we do find it.

In the spring of 1918, acting under authority from the British Empire, Dr. Chaim Weizmann and his colleagues arrived in Jerusalem and opened the Zionist office and began the work of establishing a homeland in Palestine for the Jews. It marked a time of rejoicing for the real Jews throughout the world. Note now how appropriate to this time are the prophet’s words : "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare [appointed time] is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”—Isaiah 40 : 1, 2.

It was about this same time in the beginning of 1918 that the leading nations of the earth, including the British Empire, the United States, and others, expressed a willingness for the Jews to establish a homeland in Palestine ; and since 1918 the construction has been progressing. From 1918 forward the Jews who have faith in the prophecies have increased in zeal for the rebuilding of Palestine. Those who claim to be Jews and have an interest in Zionism, and yet have not faith in God’s promises through the prophets, and who for that reason are not real Jews, have been slacking their hand ; and their zeal and ardour for Zionism has been cooling off since 1918. The division between the two classes had to come. It has come.

Mr. Morgenthau says : “The Jews of France have found France to be their Zion. The Jews of England have found England to be their Zion. We Jews of America have found America to be our Zion.” In other words, these gentile kingdoms, now in process of disintegration, have a plan superior to Jehovah’s plan, which gentile plan Mr. Morgenthau and his sympathizers have adopted—another proof that he and they are no longer Jews.

In the same chapter in which God speaks through His prophet to comfort Israel, He says concer ing the insignificance of ‘ the gentile nations : “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance : behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. . . . All nations before him are as nothing ; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God ? or what likeness will ye compare unto him ? ”—Isaiah 40 : 15, 17, 18.

Truly Israel’s “double” has ended ; and the day of her comfort is at hand. From this time forward all Jews who manifest faith in Jehovah’s promises made through the prophets will be the recipients of His favour. Jews will do well to put their faith in God, and not to be misled by the seductive speech of men who extol the virtues of the nations of earth that are now going to pieces.

Prophecy’s Fulfilment beginning

When in 1897 Mr. Theodor Herzl, with a handful of delegates at Basle, Switzerland, organized Zionism, he announced the purpose as follows : “Zionism aims to create a publicly secured, legally assured home for the Jewish people in Palestine.”

Is this a pipe dream ? Is this a will-o’-the-wisp, as Mr. Morgenthau states ? Or was Jehovah mistaken when JJe spoke concerning the regathering of the Jews to Palestine ? saying: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind, and the lame, the woman with child and her that travail-eth with child together ; a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them : I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble : for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd : and their soul shall be as a watered garden ; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.”—Jeremiah 31 : 8-12.

In due time God raised up Theodor Herzl to begin to stir up in the minds of Jews a desire to return to Palestine ; and gradually, from 1897, Zionism has been growing. The Jews who have come to stay and rebuild Palestine, as the prophet said they would, have come from the “north country,” which is Russia, the country lying north of Palestine. Russia has been the domicile of the Orthodox Jews for centuries, and there they have been oppressed ; and from that country the greatest number will return and rebuild Palestine. It is not to be expected that many of the natural descendants of Abraham will go from America, Great Britain, France, and Italy to Palestine; for the majority have become satisfied with their selfish pursuits in the lands where they reside, and have lost sight of the promises made to Abraham and to the nation of Israel through the prophets. Just as Jehovah’s prophets foretold, He has permitted the Jews in Russia and thereabouts to be persecuted and driven out, that they might seek the land of Palestine as their home.

Zionism, like all other movements among men„ has had among its. active members some politicians, who have desired to use it in so far as possible to get favour amongst men. The politicians will have to disappear, and soon will disappear from Zionism. Its success will depend entirely upon an adherence to the prophecies of God ; for it is not man’s plan, but God’s programme to re-establish the [ews in Palestine. Let the Jews once make up their minds that Jehovah will rebuild Palestine, let them believe what He says, and follow His advice ; and they will receive a blessing. Some, however, may wish to follow and will follow the wisdom of present-day “wise men” and “wonder rabbis,” who speak as though they were Jews. But these will not be the ones who will rebuild the Holy Land. They will not be the ones to receive God’s favour.

Mr. Morgenthau says these promises have no reference to the land of Palestine. Let those who have faith’ in the promises of God determine whether they will follow his wisdom or the words of Jehovah through his prophet : “I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land ; and I will build them, and not pull them down ; and I will plant them, and not p uck them up. And 1 will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord ; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God ; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”—Jeremiah 24 : 6, 7.

To those who return to the Lord with their whole heart is the promise that they shall be planted firmly in Palestine and not plucked up. Through His Prophet Amos the Lord Jehovah said to Israel : "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof ; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old : and I will bring back the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof ; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”—Amos 9 : 11, 14, 15-

Anyone who has visited Palestine in recent years knows that this prophecy is now actually in course of fulfilment. In 1920 I visited a number of Jewish colonies, where they are improving the waste lands, planting vineyards, making great quantities of wine, planting gardens, and otherwise improving the country.

That God intends that the Jews shall again inhabit this land and build their homes there, He plainly states through His prophet, saying : "They shall build houses, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat ; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and the work of their hands shall not my elect wear out. They shall not toil in vain, nor bring forth unto an early death ; for the seed of the blessed of the Lord are they, and their offspring with them.”—Isaiah 65 : 21-23, 'Leeser.

It is a fact well known to those who have visited Palestine recently, that in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and many other parts of the country, the Jews are building houses of stone, cement blocks, with tile roofs—good, permanent dwelling-places. This is being done in fulfilment of prophecy.

While in Palestine, I learned from Dr. Arthur Ruppin and Dr. I. Levy, two distinguished and faithful Zionists working to rebuild Palestine, that during 1920 hundreds of thousands of olive and eucalyptus trees were planted in that land in the afforestation scheme; and that in 1921 a far greater programme of planting has progressed. —Isaiah 41 : 19, 20.

Again through His prophet Jehovah said : “Go through, go through the gates ; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, Cast up the highway ; gather out the stones.” (Isaiah 62 : 10) No one will attempt to dispute the fact that the Jews are building a system of highways throughout Palestine, by gathering out the stones, crushing them, rolling them with steam-rollers, and thus preparing splendid roads for travel throughout the land.

Will the Land support a Large Population ?

Mr. Morgenthau answers in the negatiw,            • "Tit has? a lean and niggard soil, . . . The streams are few and small, entirely insufficient for the great irrigation systems that would be necessary for the general cultivation of the land.” Again Mr. Morgenthau shows his lack of faith in Jehovah. He who was able to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness, and who caused Moses to smote the rock and bring forth an abundance of water for them, is able to make the land of Palestine habitable for His people when He wants them regathered there. Through Elis prophet He has said : “I will open on the naked mountain-peaks rivers, and in the midst of valleys fountains ; I will change the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into springs of water.”—Isaiah 41 : 18, Leeser.

Again the prophet of God announces that the desert land will be made to produce abundantly. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall oe glad for them : and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing : the glory of Levanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the tliirsty land springs of water ; in the habitations of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”—Isa. 35 : 1, 2, 7.

Much of the land of Palestine is already fertile and productive, and needs only to be properly cultivated. Particularly is this true of the plains of Sharon, the region of Galilee, the valley of the Jordan, and the vicinity of Hebron. But the Lord has even promised to make the desert blossom as the rose, and that the desolate shall become inhabited, saying : "The desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden, of Eden ; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that 1 the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate : I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.”—Ezekiel 36 : 34-36.

Some may be inclined to think *h~.t Jehovah’s prophets were wrong when they wrote these words, and that Mr. Morgenthau and the "wonder rabbis” are right. But those who have the faith of Abraham will prefer to take heed to the words of Abraham’s God.

God’s dealing with Israel for centuries was designed to establish their faith and confidence in Him. He performed many miracles just as wonderful as making the land of Palestine fertile and productive ; and He is abundantly able to perform these and even greater miracles in Elis own good time. As a matter of fact, the pulverized limestone of Palestine would make an excellent fertilizer, which would enrich much of the soil that is not now tillable. True Jews have not forgotten the fertility of the soil of Palestine when Caleb and others went to spy out the land. God’s expressed purpose is that Palestine shall again be a land flowing with milk and honey, as it was in the days of old. dhe strength of the Lord will be manifested in behalf of those who trust implicitly in Him, and who trust not in men or man-made power.—Psalm 33 : 13-19 ; Proverbs 21 : 31.

If, as Mr. Morgenthau says, these prophecies are symbolic expressions and intended to lead men to find their ideals in gentile governments,* then Jehovah has selected a very imperfect class of people through which to make manifest His ideals. Nations that have just engaged in the slaughter of millions of men, and who even now are studying every conceivable means of destroying the population by wholesale, are not the ones who are manifesting the spirit of God, nor among whom His kingdom is established.

The Balfour Declaration

Mr. Morgenthau speaks of the Balfour Declaration as "a shrewd and cunning delusion.” I heartily concur that the English Government has had no idea of giving the Jew exclusive control of Palestine. It is in keeping with the policy of the British Empire to state one thing, and mean another. Her diplomats are past masters of that art. The truth is, the British Empire is responsible for the formation of the League of Nations, and caused that [ eague tn grant to her a mandate over Palestine, and this for her own selfish interests. The British Empire maintains an army in Palestine, not for the benefit of the Jew or the Mohammedan, but for British protection of the Suez Canal and Egypt.

Mr. Morgenthau states that Britain will never consent to exclusively Jewish control of Palestine ; and that is conceded. But he fails to reckon that the British will have to deal with the Eord Jehovah and not with the Jews alone. The British Empire is tottering now at every comer, and her existence is only a matter of a few years at most. When the Lord is ready to establish Uis kingdom in Palestine it will be fully established ; and the Jews will be the chief ones in it, the British notwithstanding.

Furthermore, Mr. Morgenthau speaks of the Protestants and Catholics— Roman and Greek—Mohammedans, and others, who will insist on having a portion of Palestine and who will never consent to the Jews holding it. And to this 1 also agree. But, in spite of them, the Lord’s kingdom will be established there, and the Jews will dwell permanently there.

Conspiracy Against the Jews

I charge that there is now a conspiracy amongst religionists, Catholics and Protestants and Mohammedans, to crush the Jew in Palestine. While being entertained in the home of a wealthy Syrian in Palestine last year, he said to me : “1 wish to tell you that we have an organization in which the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches, the Church of England, and the Mohammedans have united in a solemn compact, and in due time will act together to drive the Jew out of Palestine.” A short time thereafter a series of articles appeared in the Morning Post of London, strongly corroborating the above statement.

Furthermore, the British Empire is cognizant of this conspiracy, and looks upon it with silent approval, hoping it may serve as a pretext to oust the Jew when the time seems opportune for exclusive British occupancy of Palestine. God foreknew and foretold just such a conspiracy. Jehovah fought the battles of Israel in times of old— fur instance, directing Captain Joshua in his great victories. Ue has promised that l ie will again manifest His power in behalf of those who put their trust in Him. The professional politicians, the bid financiers, and the apostate religionists, who form this conspiracy and who are really the kings or ruling factors of the earth, have taken counsel together for the purpose of controlling the earth according to their own ideas. And how does Jehovah regard this conspiracy ? Elis prophet answers : “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in liis sore displeasure.”—Psalm 2 : 2-5.

Jehovah will permit this conspiracy to progress until every Zionist and every Jew whose faith is weak will become discouraged. But those who continue steadfastly trusting Jehovah and His promises made through His holy prophets will in due season see the manifestation of God’s power and be the recipients of His favour. Nations, peoples, religionists, and others, will gather together to drive the Jews out of Palestine, and will attempt to do it. And "then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle.”— Zechariah 14 : 1-3.

Again Mr. Morgenthau says : “What hope is there for Palestine, as an industrial nation, in competition with America, Great Britain, and Germany ? ” Palestine will not be in competition with these nations. Palestine will be ruled by the Lord through His own chosen ones.

Of the increase of that promised government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9 : 6, 7) Then ‘‘out of Zion shall go forth the law’, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Isaiah 2 : 3, 4.

Palestine will not be much of an agricultural and manufacturing country. It w’ill be more particularly the country of administration of the affairs of the world. The gentile times have ended. The kings of earth have had their day. The remaining kingdoms are going to pieces. Shortly God’s kingdom will be established, His favour return to the Jews regathered in Palestine, and the Lord lliinself, through His chosen ones, will rule the earth.

It is true that the British Government is now playing double with the Zionists. I concur with Mr. Morgenthau that the British Government is now ‘‘coddling the aspirations of the Jew’.” But keep this in mind, that God has promised to establish His kingdom again in Palestine as of old ; and in His sight the British Empire is no more than a drop in a bucket, as He states through His prophet.—Isaiah 40 : 15.

Summary

Summing up the whole situation, then, no real Jew, i.e., one who believes in the promises made to the fathers in Israel and to Israel through the prophets, can oppose the rebuilding of Palestine by the Jew’s now. God’s promise to Abraham positively is that he and his seed after him shall have the land. The granting clause in the promise made by Jehovah concerning the land is : “1 will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” Genesis 17:8) I submit that this granting clause vests in the descendants of Abraham the fee simple title to the land of Palestine ; and, God having made this promise, it must be fulfilled. His word cannot return unto Him void. (Isaiah 55 : 11) When His due time comes to fulfil it, the Jews will have Palestine, regardless of all the opposition of gentiles—Catholics, Protestants, Mohammedans, and whosoever may attempt to oppose.

Isreal s "double” has been fulfilled. The time has come for the Jews to return to Palestine, and they are., returning, and fulfilling prophecy—all of which proves that Zionism, or the securing of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, is not “a stupendous fallacy,” but a mighty reality. There is no reason to suppose that God has reversed His plan, has repudiated His ancient prophets, and has given Mr. Morgenthau authority to speak in His name. Does the fact that Mr. Morgenthau is a successful speculator in Bronx real estate, or that he was the equally successful publicity manager for Woodrow Wilson in the 1916 campaign, qualify him to speak in the name of Almighty God ?

However little basis of fact there may be in Mr. Morgenthau’s article, and none at all to support it in the Scriptures, as we have proven, yet the article has literary merit, and Mr. Morgenthau deserves credit for wisdom in the selection of a writer having fine command of English.

I am not a Jew. I am a Christian. I champion the cause of the Jews because the Scriptures and the extraneous facts show that God’s favour is returning to them ; and whom the Lord favours, I gladly support.

All Christians would do well to watch the providences of the Lord and follow where He leads. The real Jews of the world who have money could not now put it to better use than to help to rebuild Palestine—not that Jehovah needs assistance, but by thus dding they will manifest a faith in Him and in His promises which will result in blessing to those who have such faith. Faith in Him and a humble submission to His will is what is pleasing to Jehovah. Those who put their trust in man-made power, whose god is gold, and who rely on the power of a selfish, nation, are not the happy ones of earth. ‘‘Happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for himself as a heritage.”— Psalm 33 : 12.

It will require some real miracles to open the eyes of understanding of some of the ‘‘wise men” of the world who have turned away from God’s promises ; but it is to be hoped that, with the complete establishment of Jehovah's rule through His chosen people, many who ha vs wandered away w’ill return to the faith of their fathers and receive'a rich blessing at the hand of the Lord.

Whether Dr. Weizman and his colleagues know it or not, the Lord seems to be using them in the further fulfilment of prophecy, and to keep the minds of the Jews turned toward the Holy Land until His due time to exercise His power and demonstrate to all mankind that His favour has fully returned to the Jew, and that His kingdom is now to be established.

Let no Jew be discouraged. Remember the words of the Prophet David, who said : "Trust in the Lbrd, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

IN these go-ahead days the Bible is reckoned to be not of much account. Indeed, all institutions, no matter how respectable in age, are held in but little esteem. Before the World War there was a general tendency to discard almost everything which had held the field in human thought or action. Even old age was to be reckoned to a man when he had turned forty years. But since the war there has been so much of a breakup of things that either every institution is threatened or its utility is questioned, and not least amongst the things which have held sway in the world, and which are being discarded, is the Bible. It is supposed to belong to and to support the old order, and ■with them must be relegated to the past as a thing better fitted for the glass case of a museum than to be received into that which affects the daily life of the people. Yet, after all, it is from the Bible that we get our illumination respecting all things earthly and heavenly that our Maker wishes us to know. No advancement in human research has thrown any light whatever upon human history in relation to that which wc call "eternity.” Apart from the Bible there is nothing that can tell us our place in the scheme of things. But rightly understood and rightly received the Bible is like a sun —it gives light and warmth to the human mind and heart.

Without specially stating so, there is no question that the Bible intends us to understand that the earth is of next importance to that place which is the throne of God. There are several reasons for this conclusion, the chief one being that it was for something done here and for the human family that. Jesus was raised to the right hand of God and exalted to the divine glory. This is stated very distinctly by Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians. He says that Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to the death of the cross. “ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9). Further, God says, ‘‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66 : 1) ; and he adds, "I will make the place of my feet glorious.”—Isaiah 60 : 13.

A very interesting feature of the Bible is that in which it points out. that one portion of the earth is God’s in a very special sense. When Moses was leading Istael from Egypt into Canaan he told the people that long ago, even before they were a people, God had arranged that Canaan should be theirs. (Deuteronomy 32 : 8) And in this fact a very interesting light is thrown on human history in what is often thought to be an uninteresting part of the Bible. After the disaster of the Flood, when the human family began to increase they looked about for places for themselves. They went hither and thither, north, east, west and south. They thought they were going according to their own will, but divine providences were controlling their movements. God had his own purpose in mind, his own plan to work out.

Immediately connected with this is 3. corresponding feature of the divine revelation which shows that God has a special people chosen for himself—that part of the family of Abraham which descended through his grandson Jacob, the people who even to-day are known as “the chosen people.” All this shows that God has a special people chosen Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him ; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psa. 37 : 3-5) It has been the faith of the Jew in the promises of Jehovah that has caused him to remain a Jew and not become absorbed by other peoples and nationalities. The day of his deliverance is at hand. The time for the fulfilment of the words of the prophets has come. Therefore let the Jews look up and. take courage. To them the prophet now says : “Arise, give light, for thy light is come ; and the glory of the Lord is shining forth over thee.”—Isaiah 60 : 1, Leeser.

from out the human family, and a special portion of land which he called his own, and which he reserves for his own people.—Deuteronomy 11 : n, 12.

At first sight this looks as if there were undue favouritism ; and, indeed, it only when the plan of God as a whole is discerned that God’s way is found acceptable. Our gracious Creator is not averse to giving a reason for his actions even to his erring children. He says : “Come now and 1st us reason together.” (Isaiah 1:18); also, “If ye will inquire, inquire ye.”—Isaiah 21 : 12.

Our reverent inquiry as to why God chose a people is abundantly answered by the Scriptures. They were chosen in order that they might be God’s means of conveying his many blessings to those of his ’offspring who in this sense are non-elect, but his nevertheless. Restoration is the message of the prophets, as the Apostle Peter declares. (Acts 3: 19-21). When, after being the working agent in the most notable miracle of healing a man crippled from birth, he said that the miracle was only a foreshowing of the mighty power which will be used in the “times of restitution” ; which times, he says, are spoken of by “all the holy prophets.”                           _t

Now it is the case that the land which God set apart for his people is the centre of the land surface of the world, and by reason of this splendid geographical position it is best fitted to be the governmental centre of the earth. To the nations it is not a very pleasant thought that the Jew, the despised and rejected of the nations, is, after all, to be God’s channel of blessing for the world ; but this is the Bible’s story, and present events prove that the Jew is the great miracle amongst the nations.

The Apostle Paul, discussing the question of God’s purpose in election, declares that he has the right of the potter over the clay, to make vessels such as please him. He shows that God has chosen some to be his very specially : the true Christian Church, God’s special elect ; and the Jews as a people. In this connection the Apostle says : “If the first fruits be holy, the lump is also holy.”—Romans 9 : 20, 21 ; 11 : 16.

But this is also applicable to the earth itself. If one portion be taken for God, to be called his, the other portions are not to be cursed. If one little nation is his, that does not mean that all the others are cursed. In both cases, whether of land or of people, that which is not specially chosen is also to be blessed. The plan of God begins to emerge out of apparent chaos. From its vantage point a clear view’ is discerned of God's purpose for the w’orld. He purposes the earth shall be the home of man, and that his human sons shall inherit a Golden Age of divine blessing.—Isaiah 45 : 18.

But if this is really the case, we ask, why has God not yet gotten his inheritance ? For nearly 2,000 years his people, the Jews, have been out of the land w’hich they call theirs, and which we declare is his choice for his own people. Why is this ? We can thank Clod we are living in the day when the light of his coming kingdom is casting its rays upon the dark path of humanity and upon the w’ays of God.

We now see there are several reasons given in the Scriptures why God is not presently enjoying his own chosen inheritance, the land of Palestine, and therefore why bis people are not in that land enjoying its blessings under his gracious care.

One reason is this : God has made the Jews to be a sort of panoramic picture of his purpose to all men. He has been working out a great picturedrama. The Jews, after being separated from the peoples of the world, by the mighty power of God and by their lawcovenant made with him, were blessed by him in their own land. They failed to keep the covenant, and thus incurred the curses which they had acknowledged were properly to come upon them if they did not keep this covenant.

God had great mercy upon them ; but when finally he sent his own Son amongst them to give them their last and greatest opportunity, they crucified him. It would seem as if they had gone beyond any possible hope of ever again getting into favor with God. Their sin was grievous, as all admit. Their punishment was that they were turned out of their land and were to remain out.

Not forever, however, "for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance" (Romans n : 29), and God promised that in his own due time he would send from heaven the second time the One who was his minister of salvation to his people. When he comes again he comes not with vengeance. They have already felt the vengeance of God (1 Thessalonians 2 : 16), but with such blessings for them as will melt their hearts. Humility will open the way for God’s blessings to be poured upon them through their accepted Messiah, with the result that as a people they will readily give themselves to the God of their fathers.—• Isaiah 25 : 9.

That the Jews now living are not the only ones to benefit by this gracious arrangement is clear from the prophecies, especially from Ezekiel’s prophecy. (Chapter 37) Their dead who are neither in heaven, nor in a place of eternal torment, are to come forth and dwell "in the land of their fathers."

What God does with Israel he intends to do with all ; they are a sample of his gracious dealings. They had more light than other nations : God gave his favor to them only (Psalm 147 : 20), and thus their sin was more grievous than that of the Gentiles. But this mercy of God them is to show the exceeding riches of his grace towards all. This miniature drama inside God’s great Drama of Creation enables us to see the greater {jicture. We can thank God that the ight of his truth is now open for those Bible students who diligently seek him and his way.

It is only now that we can see that creation is not a tragedy, but a great drama. The moral is about to be disclosed. The permission of evil with all the villainous work that has happened during the exhibition of this drama will give place to the rule of God through Christ, resulting in the blessedness and happiness of the everlasting Golden Age which is to be the immediate result of the lessons of the permission of evil. Conduct, not wealth, will rule and be esteemed ; and filial homage to the great Creator will keep the heart, the mainspring of life, in right motion.

True it is that only those who are “awake” sed the light and enter by anticipation into the joys of the day to come. But it is also true that very many discern that there is some movement of heaven in these strange things now happening in human affairs. We aie living in a time when we can, in that light ot the kingdom not only look forward but backward over the work of God and see the end from the beginning. We can see the completion of the will of God in that restored earth which Paul and John saw : when sin and death shall be conquered, and when God will dwell with men ; when he will have restored his banished again to himself.

Now we begin to see more clearly why God’s people the Jews, are not in his land, Palestine, and why for so long a period God has permitted these people to be either oppressed in their own land, 01 scattered out of it, and the land under control of evil earthly powers such as the Turks.

But the answer to this question takes us into the secret things of God, into those purposes of his plan which were "hidden from ages and generations” (Colossians 1 : 26), and which even now are hidden from the majority of Christians, and of which even the best of clerical expositors seem ignorant. The mystery of the divine purposes, which seems so unfathomable to Christian interpreters, should be no mystery at all : it ought to have been realized, as the Apostle Paul said, that by him the mystery of God was then made known to the saints. The mystery of godliness is the Christian Church and its place in the divine plan, and the secret which neither the majority of Jews nor Christians have seen is that from the time the Jews were cast off for rejecting Christ, God began the selection of a spiritual Israel.

Unlike the sons of Jacob, these are not related according to the flesh. The tie which binds them as one family is that each is begotten of the holy spirit of God. These are gathered out from many nations and many creeds ; but while not adhering to a particular denominational church, their true relationship has been to the church of the firstborns, whose names are written in heaven. (Hebrews 12 : 23) No earthly power has introduced them into this special calling of being spiritual Israelites; for they are of God’s choice. These also are called God’s inheritance (Ephesians 1 : 18), and they are his in the very special sense of being spiritual sons.

Unlike earthly Israel no part of the earth’s surface is reserved for them : they are to find their eternal home and rest in heaven with God, being begotten according to the spirit. It is through lack of keeping distinct this special salvation of spiritual Israel that so much confusion has been brought into Bible interpretation. That which is spoken of them has been taken as if it applied to all men.

But the Bible always makes it very clear that only those who are of this special inheritance in Christ have any hope, or really can have any expectation of finding heaven their eternal dwelling place. The earth is given to the children of men ; the heavenly salvation of the church is special to it. All the indications, whether from the Word of God or the providences of God, are that this little company of devoted followers wholly consecrated to God and to Christ is now nearly completed. As soon as the number is filled the time will have come for God’s earthly inheritance to be put in order.

In beautiful harmony with this is the fact that the Jews are now like ti e fig tree putting forth its leaves. It is one of the marvels of human history that these people, God’s people, so long without any light from him, without prophet, priest or king, are now putting forth national hopes. Even the nations, following out what seems to be the best policy for themselves, are making an endeavor to settle these people in their God-given land. Thus prophecy is being unconsciously fulfilled both by Zionists and by the nations of the earth.

Surely God is moving amongst men ; and as salvation is to the Jew first, and afterwards to the Gentile, it is evident that the affairs of the world are moving in God’s order for the restoration of the children of Adam to their long-lost inheritance, as well as to restore Israel to his.

But just here we see another interesting phase of the purposes of God. The Bible is very careful in speaking of the Holy Land and the house of Israel as God’s inheritance, also in showing that spiritual Israelites are his special inheritance, but it does not speak of any others as being related to God in this special way. It does, however, show that all other peoples and the other parts of the earth have a relationship to heaven. When Jesus was praying to his Father in his last words upon earth, he said : "Father, I pray not for the world but for those whom thou hast given me,” these chosen disciples.

It seems strange, and to the ordinary view inexplicable, that Jesus should not pray for the world for whom he came to die. The explanation is that it was not yet time to pray for the world. A work needed to be done : spiritual Israel needed to be gathered, as we have seen. But when this Israel has been gathered the time will have come when the Son of God will pray for the world, and when, in the words of the second Psalm the Father will say to him : “Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” So then, all the rest of the nations and all the remainder of the world become an inheritance and a possession for Christ.

What will Christ do with his inheritance ? A false theology said that he would set it on fire and burn it up, while all who had not known him or would not acknowledge him would be turned into a fire which would always torture but which would never consume. Here comes in the glory of the Bible’s revelation, and that which assures us of a real Golden Age. Christ who thus comes into his inheritance, is the one who died for all men. He comes back to deliver his purchased possession, and with power to make the wilderness blossom as a rose, to cause waters to spring forth in the desert, to heal the sicknesses of mankind, to deliver from the bondage of death so that even the grave shall give up the dead. He will lead men in the way of righteousness and bring mankind back into harmony with God.

Here is a glorious picture indeed. God’s arrangement has not been a selfish one, choosing some merely for his pleasure. It is ideal. He blesses some ahead of others, puts them into places of power, gives these, who have nothing to boast of in themselves, and who have tasted the bitterest woes of men, but who are then the recipients of his favor, the chance of showing the goodness of God. In this arrangement there is the grandest hope that the human family could possibly have set before them.

When the lessons of the past have been learned, when Christ has become a real Prophet to men, when they are instructed in the way of righteousness, when Jew and Gentile are at one and all in harmony with their Creator as Adam was in the days of innocency, then man will enjoy his Creator’s blessing in a heaven-given golden age—"the desire of all nations.”

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