THE Israelites, also called Jews, have a great affection for the land of Palestine. For many centuries it was the land of their fathers. Their desire is to have the land fully restored to them. Are the Jews the rightful owners and justly entitled to the full and uninterrupted possession of the land of Palestine? 7ill the Jews be restored to the possession of the land of Palestine, build there their permanent home, and then dwell in peace?
If the evidence now available furnishes proof satisfactorily answering these questions in the affirmative, such answer should bring comfort to the heart of every real Jew. Not only that, but proof should stimulate Jews to greater zeal and activity in possessing and rebuilding Palestine. Not only Jews, but Gentiles, should have a keen interest in the question of the rebuilding of Palestine; because, if the time has come for this to be done, it means the great transformation period in the affairs of the world. Candid and unbiased consideration of the evidence herein submitted is invited.
LAND
The land herein considered is that portion of the earth's surface known as the Holy Land. It is called the Holy Land, because it is the
land chosen by Jehovah God as the theatre of the most momentous events in the history of man. When Jehovah, through Moses, gave the law to Israel he said therein concerning the land: "The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine." (Lev. 25: 23) That which is specially set aside by Jehovah for his purposes is holy; hence it is properly called the Holy Land. — Zech. 2:12.
Canaan is the name originally given to that land. It is the land which God promised to give to Abraham. Dr. Isaac Leeser, in his translation of the Pentateuch, makes first mention of the land of Palestine, using that word in Exodus 15:14. This reference is to that portion of the land then inhabited by the Philistines. In several places in the Holy Scriptures the word Palestine is used in reference to this land, but in each instance it is from the Hebrew word properly rendered Philistia.
Originally, the land of Philistia meant that long strip of land lying along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Through this strip of land was the road or highway between Egypt and Phoenicia and other northern countries. The name Palestine was gradually extended to the country farther inland until it became the name applied to all the land of the Jews, both west and east of the River Jordan. By common usage the word Palestine is now applied to all that portion of the earth's surface known as the Holy Land. During the period of the reigns of David
and Solomon, Palestine, or the Holy Land, embraced all that land bounded by the river of Egypt and the wilderness on the south, Lebanon and the great River Euphrates on the north and east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. It embraces an area of upward of 100,000 square miles. Before the desolation this land must have been very rich and productive, because it furnished support and maintenance for millions of people. That land, though made desolate, is capable of being brought again to so high a state of productivity that it can support many millions of people.
PEOPLE
It is the Jews who lay claim to the land of Palestine and who desire to rebuild their homes there. The question then arises, Who is a Jew?
Jacob was a grandson of Abraham, the latter known as the "father of the faithful". Jacob became the possessor of the birthright which descended from Abraham, according to the promise which God made unto Abraham. On a certain occasion the Lord caused the name of Jacob to be changed to that of Israel. (Gen. 32: 28) When Jacob (then Israel) was old and about to die, he called before him his sons that he might prophesy and tell them what should take place in the future. At this time began the nation of Israel. "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one accord-
ing to his blessing he blessed them." —Gen. 49: 28.
Judah was the name of one of the sons of Jacob, and he became the head of the tribe of Judah. All the descendants of Jacob (now Israel) were from that time forward properly called Israelites; but not all the descendants of Israel can be properly called Jews. All the religious hopes of the descendants of Israel (Jacob), from the time of his death, rested in the tribe of Judah, because of the specific prophecy uttered by Jacob on his death-bed concerning the tribe of Judah, to wit: "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." — Gen. 49: 8-10.
Here is the clear and positive statement that the one to whom the people shall be gathered, and the one who shall be their lawgiver, must be a descendant of the tribe of Judah. Jacob was a holy man of God, because he believed God and obeyed him. It was the power of God that moved Jacob to speak the words of this prophecy; therefore the words must be taken as the words of Jehovah God. No one can please God unless he believes in the existence of Jehovah,
and that he, Jehovah God, is the true and only God and is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Therefore a Jew is one who is the natural descendant of Jacob (Israel), and who has faith in the words uttered by Jacob concerning Judah. Such a one will have faith in all the promises that God has made to the Israelites through his prophets, who were holy men of old.
One may be a natural descendant of Israel, and even of the tribe of Judah, and yet not be a Jew. If he repudiates the promise God made concerning the gathering of the people unto the descendant of Judah, he is as one who has renounced his allegiance to his native land and ceased to be a citizen thereof. If a citizen of England emigrates to the United States, renounces his allegiance to the king of England, and becomes a citizen of the United States, he is no longer an Englishman. For the same reason, if a descendant of Jacob, and even a direct descendant of Judah, renounces faith in the promises of God, he thereby ceases to be a Jew. There are many natural descendants of Israel who have no faith in God and no faith in his Word. Such are not Jews within the meaning of the scripture.
There is a clergy class amongst the Israelites, even as there is such a class amongst the Gentiles. Few, if any, of those of the clergy class have real faith in the Word of God, because they have become wise in their own conceits,
feeding themselves and not feeding the people, and have repudiated the Word of the Lord, even as the Prophet Ezekiel foretold that they would do. (Ezek. 34:1-10) There is a class of natural descendants from Israel, or Jacob, who believe that Jehovah is the only true and living God, and that Moses and others of the holy prophets wrote the Holy Scriptures under the direction of the Almighty God. These are properly called Orthodox Jews. A statement of their faith follows:
I believe with a true and perfect faith (1) that God is the creator, governor, and maker of all creatures, and that he hath wrought all things; (2) that the Creator is one, and that he alone hath been our God, is, and for ever shall be; (3) that the Creator is not corporeal, not to be comprehended with any bodily properties, and that there is no bodily essence that can be likened unto him; (4) that nothing was before him, and that he shall abide for ever; (5) that he is to be worshiped, and none else; (6) that all the words of the prophets are true; (7) that the prophecies of Moses are true; that he was chief of all wise men that lived before him or ever shall live after him; (8) that all the law which at this day is found in our hands was delivered by our God himself to our master, Moses; (9) that the same law is never to be changed, nor any other to be given us by God; (10) that God understandeth all the thoughts and works of men, as it is written in the prophets: "He fashioneth their hearts alike, he understandeth all their works"; (11) that God will recompense good to them that keep his commandments, and will punish them who transgress
them; (12) that the Messiah is yet to come; and, although he retard his coming, yet "I will wait for him till he come"; (13) that the dead shall be restored to life when it shall seem fit unto God, the Creator, whose name be blessed and memory celebrated without end. Amen.
That class of natural descendants of Jacob who have such faith in God and in his Word, as above stated, really are Jews; and they will receive comfort by now giving a careful consideration to the prophecies of God's Word.
Prophecy means the foretelling of events that are to transpire, before they do take place. Prophecy can be understood and properly interpreted after its fulfilment, or when in course of fulfilment. Prophecy contained in the Word of God was written by holy men of old as they were moved upon by the invisible power of Jehovah. Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and like men, were used by the Almighty God to prophesy and make record thereof for the benefit of the people who might be on earth at the time of the fulfilment of these prophetic utterances. When prophecy is fulfilled, we describe the facts of its fulfilment as physical facts.
As an illustration, Daniel prophesied that in the last days there would be great running to and fro and a great increase of knowledge. (Dan. 12:4) Now we see the numerous means of rapid transit and the great increase of knowledge made manifest in modern inventions, and
these are physical facts showing the fulfilment of prophecy.
The proof herein submitted, in support of the conclusions that shall be stated, is based upon prophecy written by holy men of old, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and upon the physical facts in fulfilment.
After the death of Solomon there was a rebellion of ten tribes of Israel, who formed the kingdom in the north part of Palestine, with Jeroboam as their king. These were called Israelites, while those remaining loyal to Solomon's son, Rehoboam, were called the house of Judah. The northern kingdom was the first to fall into the hands of the Assyrians, and later the house of Judah was carried away captive to Babylon. At the end of the period of seventy years, Cyrus, the king of Persia, under the direction of Jehovah, issued a proclamation in which it is stated: "The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem." — Ezra 1:2,3, 5.
Thus it is shown that all the natural descendants of Jacob who had faith in God and in his promises exercised that faith by returning to Jerusalem. They were thereafter recognized under the general name of Israelites. Many of those who returned were from the various tribes, but the major portion of them were from the tribe of Judah. Therefore all were properly called Jews, because of their faith in God's promises prophetically uttered concerning the tribe of Judah.
Some erroneously contend that the Anglo-Saxon people, those who make up the population of Great Britain and the United States, are the offspring of the ten tribes of Israel who did not return; and that these are the favored ones of God. Such a contention is not supported by any scripture nor by any reasonable facts. Those who did not return under the decree of Cyrus automatically severed themselves from God's people because of their lack of faith. The Anglo-Saxons do not have faith in the promises of God, particularly that promise made concerning the regathering of the people under Shiloh. Even though it should be found that the major portion of the ten tribes go to make up the population of the Anglo-Saxon countries, they could not be the chosen people of God because of severing their allegiance from his people and because of their lack of faith in his Word. All of the ten tribes who forsook the promise of God automatically made themselves Gentiles.
The house of Israel became the national name of the ten tribes collectively. This name was later applied to all those who returned from captivity. The house of Judah is applied to all those who are the natural descendants of Judah and who have faith in the promise made concerning his tribe. Since the blessings are to come to the entire house of Israel through the seed of the tribe of Judah, all Israelites who have faith in God's promise made concerning the Deliverer are properly called Jews.
It will be found that the Scriptures definitely teach that salvation is of the Jews, because it is from the tribe of Judah that Shiloh the Messiah comes, he who shall be the Savior and Deliverer of mankind, first of the Jews, and thereafter of the Gentiles. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith in Jehovah and in his Word no one will ever receive a blessing at his hand.
PROMISED
God is the Creator of the earth. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." (Ps. 24:1) God promised to restore Palestine to the Jews. The rebuilding of Palestine is now beginning and is well under way. This is being done clearly in fulfilment of prophecy uttered as promises from Jehovah. This alone should command not only the respectful attention but the profoundest interest of every one who believes that Jehovah is God. It was the great Jehovah, speak-
ing through men who had faith in him, that foretold what we now see transpiring concerning Palestine. The privilege of living on earth at the time of the fulfilment of these prophecies can not be overestimated. At once the Jew comes into prominence, and the history of the Jewish people becomes more thrilling than any book of fiction ever written.
Because the promises of God are not always fulfilled at the time when men think they should be fulfilled, many lose faith in his promises made. Let each one settle it in his mind for all time that when God Almighty makes a promise that promise is absolutely certain of fulfilment in God's due time. Speaking through his prophet the Lord God says:
"I am the Lord, I change not. . . . Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 3: 6,7) "For I am God, . . . and there is none like me. . . . My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. . . . I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass." (Isa. 46: 9-11) "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it 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." — Isa. 55:11.
Of all the peoples of the world the Jews have the greatest reason for faith in Jehovah God and his Word. No other people were ever favored as were the Jews. God gave them an opportunity to magnify his name. All who magni-
fy and honor the name of Jehovah God, he honors. God will now make a name for himself in the earth. Let all the peoples, particularly the Jews, take heed.
There dwelt in the land of Ur of the Chaldees a man by the name of Terah, with his son Abram. Terah took his son and his daughter-in-law and journeyed to Haran. When Abram was seventy-five years old, and while residing in Mesopotamia, God said unto him:
"Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." — Gen. 12:1-3.
Not many generations had passed from the time of the creation of man. Moses afterward recorded that God created Adam, the first man, perfect, and gave him authority to multiply and fill the earth. Abram must have learned from his forefathers that Adam was made a perfect man and that for the disobedience of God's law he was justly sentenced to death. He would understand that the children of Adam were begotten after this sentence and therefore, in harmony with David's statement, were born in sin and shapen in iniquity. Abram knew that men had been dying and that the death of his forefathers was due to the sin of Adam. He must
have understood the promise that God made unto him to mean that at some time and in some way God would provide a means for redeeming man from death and for the restoration to perfection of all who would obey the Lord's righteous laws. Abram must have understood that in some manner he would be connected with this blessing of the people, because God promised as much. Abram had faith in God's promise, and that pleased the Lord. Later God promised Abram to give him the land and make him the father of many nations. Moses records this promise in these words:
"And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, 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." — Gen. 13:14-17.
At the time God made this promise Abram had no heir. Then, as is recorded by Moses, God appeared unto Abram in a vision and told him that he would have one:
"And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." — Gen. 15: 5, 6.
Here is given proof that it was the faith of Abram that pleased God. It follows, therefore, that every Jew who is pleasing to God must have faith in the Lord. Those who have hope of receiving blessings from the Lord God must believe that his Word is true. Then, in order to further furnish Abram a basis for his faith, the Lord made a covenant with him. It is written:
"And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward
shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." — Gen. 15:7-18.
Subsequent evidence shows that here the Lord foretold that the descendants of Abram would spend a long time in Egypt and be oppressed there, and that then they would come out with great substance, and that his offspring should come again into the land of Canaan. These very things did happen. Abram must have understood from this statement of the Lord that he (Abram) must die, and that later God would raise him up out of death and make good to him his promise. Here also is the clear and definite statement as to the boundaries of the land that God promised to give Abram.
Fifteen years later God changed the name of Abram to that of Abraham, the latter meaning "father of nations". On that occasion the Lord God said unto him:
"As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And 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. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised." — Gen. 17:4-10.
When these promises were made by Jehovah to Abraham he had no children, yet he believed that the Lord would give him an heir. After God had thus tested the faith of Abraham for twenty-five years, and when Abraham was one hundred years old, Isaac was born. From time to time the Lord rewarded Abraham's faith. This should be a lesson to every Jew; namely, that it is faith in the Lord and faithfulness to him that bring reward and blessings.
Faith means to have a knowledge of God's Word and purposes, and then to confidently rely upon the promises of God and to deport one-
self accordingly. It follows then that it is necessary for every one to have a knowledge of the Word of God before he can have faith. It becomes necessary for every Jew who is to have a blessing and who is now living on the earth to obtain a knowledge of Jehovah's plan and, knowing this, to rely upon it. This is faith.
Twenty-five years more passed, and the Lord put Abraham to a severe test. Of course Abraham loved his son Isaac and had reason to expect that the promised blessings of the people would come through Isaac. To test Abraham's faith God directed him to take his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and there offer him as a burnt sacrifice. Abraham did not hesitate to obey, because of his complete confidence and faith in God. He journeyed to the appointed place and there built an altar, bound Isaac and laid him upon the altar, and took his knife to slay his only son.
What a test of faith to Abraham! And he bravely met the test. God rewarded his faith then and there, as is recorded:
"And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and
Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice." — Gen. 22: 11-18.
Here not only did the Lord tell Abraham what he was about to do, but he bound his promise with his oath that he would multiply the seed of Abraham as the stars of heaven and as the sands upon the sea shore, and that in the seed of Abraham all nations of the earth shall be blessed; and he said he did this because of Abraham's obedience.
When Abraham was 175 years old he died. God had promised him the land and had bound the promise with his oath; but Abraham never possessed a foot of it as his own. Does that mean that God's promises are not true? It does not. The time had not come for Abraham to enter into his inheritance. God's promises are sure;
therefore we must understand that it is the purpose of the Lord at some future time to raise Abraham out of death and give to him, and to his offspring who have the faith of Abraham, all the land that he promised him. That time is at hand, as subsequent facts will show. Hence every Jew should take comfort therefrom.
Isaac begat Jacob, who, by divine provision and by contract, rightfully succeeded to the promise or birthright which God had made unto Abraham. (Gen. 25: 23, 31-33) Jacob was the father of the twelve patriarchs, or heads of the twelve tribes. The Lord God renewed the Abrahamic promise to Jacob, as it is written:
"And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." — Gen. 28:13-15.
Jacob's beloved son Joseph was sold into Egypt and there became a great ruler. Later Jacob and his sons went to reside in Egypt.
Jacob drew near unto death. This time marked the beginning of the nation of Israel, because Jacob's name was now Israel by order of the Lord. At that time, under the direction of the Lord, Jacob called his sons to him and prophesied unto them. Here it was that the Abrahamic promise took on a more definite form. Here the Lord showed that his intention is that the blessing should come particularly through the seed of Judah; hence the truth of the statement that "salvation is of the Jews". By this is meant that those who have the faith of Abraham and who have full faith in the promises of God shall be blessed and be instruments of blessing. It was at this time that God said concerning Judah: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." — Gen. 49:10.
"Shiloh" means tranquil; that is, secure, happy and prosperous. It is one of the names denoting the Messiah, the one clothed with power and authority as God's representative to carry out his purposes concerning man.
This prophecy clearly proves that the blessings which God promised to come through the seed of Abraham will be realized only when Messiah shall come, that the Messiah constitutes the seed of Abraham according to the promise, and that this seed comes particularly through the line of Judah. But before these promised blessings could come, the Jews must pass
through a long line of trying experiences, and these experiences will ultimately work out good for the Jews and for the other peoples of earth who observe them and who are properly exercised thereby.
With all their fiery experiences through the centuries past, it is remarkable how the Jews have kept themselves separate and distinct from other peoples. Let each Jew take courage now and know that the promises that the Lord God made to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to the Israelites through the prophets, are absolutely certain of fulfilment. The time draws near when the Jews shall appreciate the fact that the fiery trials through which they have passed will work out to their good, and not to their good only, but to that of all other peoples on earth who exercise the faith of Abraham.
