PURPOSE OF ZIONISM

The first Zionist congress, convened at the instance of the much beloved Theodor Herzl, made a clear declaration as to its purpose and that program has never been altered. The purpose is thus stated:

"Zionism aims to create a publicly secured, legally assured home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

"In order to attain this object, the Congress adopts the following means:

"(1) The promotion of the settlement in Palestine of Jewish agriculturists, handicraftsmen, industrialists, and men following professions.

'(2) The federation and association of entire Jewry by means of local and general institutions in conformity with the local laws.

"(3) The strengthening of Jewish sentiment and national consciousness.

"(4) The procuring of such government sanctions as are necessary for achieving the objects of Zionism."

JEWS REBUILDING PALESTINE

The Jews are not only laying a foundation of a state in Palestine, but they are putting in operation great schemes for improving the country by means of rapid transit systems, systems of irrigation, the building of houses, establishing of schools, and a great university at Jerusalem,

and many other things. We cite a few of these events that have appeared in the public press:

Special Bulletin No. 469, issued by the Zionist Organization of New York City, states that the average rainfall in Palestine is twenty-six inches, and that this water stored up in Palestine would be sufficient to support a population of 15,000,000 people. The present population is 600,000. It further states that from the spring sixteen miles south of Jerusalem great quantities of water are flowing into the city. The public press announces gigantic irrigation schemes which, if carried out, will supply all Palestine with an abundance of water for irrigation and other purposes.

The Zionist Bulletin, under date of February 25, 1929, says:

"One million seven hundred thousand eucalyptus and other kinds of forest trees are to be planted on an area of 21,125 dunams.

"In Merchavia 20,000 eucalyptus trees are to be planted, in connection with the sanitation of the settlement, on 200 dunams.

"In Kinereth and Daganiah 42,000 eucalyptus and other kinds of forest trees are to be planted on 175 dunams on the slopes of the mountain, the farm of Kinereth, the banks of the Jordan and the shores of Lake Kinereth.

"In Benschemen about 70,000 trees are to be planted on 230 dunams.

"In Hulda 425,000 trees are to be planted on 140 dunams.

"In Ber-Tobiah (Kastinie) 27,000 trees are to be

planted on 380 dunams, apart from those already mentioned above.

"In the surrounding of the colony of Chederah 50,000 trees in all, mostly eucalyptus trees, are to be planted on 1,000 dunams."

A special bulletin dated March 1, 1920, says:

"Three thousand school children of Jerusalem, celebrating the Jewish Arbor Day recently, planted 500 trees in the suburbs of the Holy City, inaugurating the afforestation program of the Zionists to plant one million trees this year in Palestine, according to a report from the Zionist Commission in Jerusalem.

"During 1919, 369,000 trees were planted in the effort to restore Palestine's forests, wantonly destroyed by Turkish misrule and by the war. The afforestation of Palestine, because of its importance in the agricultural rejuvenation of the country and in providing lumber for construction work of the future, is considered one of the biggest reconstruction projects that the Zionists are attempting in the Holy Land."

Another special bulletin, under date of March 26, 1920, says:

"For ten years this struggle was kept up, entirely by Jewish labor. Today this once barren soil is covered with forests of olive and almond trees, 150,000 olive and 10,000 almond trees. Last year 100,000 pounds of almonds were sold, which together with the proceeds obtained from the sale of hides and wool from the extensive raising of cattle and sheep, produced a net profit of 15 par cent, on the original investment."

It is of the keenest interest to all thoughtful persons to note that these activities of the Zionists were foretold by God's prophet more than 2,500 years ago, who wrote: "I will open on

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. I will place in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine and the box-tree together; in order that they may see, and know and take (it to heart), and comprehend together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it."—Isaiah 41:18-20, Leeser.

"THEY SHALL BUILD HOUSES"

At the Zionist Executive Council held February 16, 1920, at London, Dr. Ruppin in the debate proposed the founding of a large society which should begin to build houses for workers as rapidly as possible. And even now in parts of Palestine houses are rapidly undergoing construction for the benefit of the constant flow of Jewish population returning to the land. Again we find that this is clearly in fulfillment of prophecy written long ago for the purpose of encouraging the Jews to have faith in the promises of the Lord. The houses now built are not in the interest of profiteers, nor will the owners be permitted to oppress those who live in them; but the owners shell live in them as their own homes, as the prophet of the Lord foretold: "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shell 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 mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them."—Isaiah 65:21-23.

Thus the testimony definitely establishes the fact that God's favor has returned to the Jew; that the parallel is fulfilled; that the fig tree is putting forth its leaves, according to the promise —all of which Jesus said would take place at the end of the world.

EVENTS OF NOAH'S DAY

Jesus did not leave us to make a decision upon the happening of one event, but he enumerated several things that would transpire during the period when the world is ending. He stated that as it was in Noah's day, so would it be at the end of the world. "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flod they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood carne, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."—Matthew 24:37-39.

The first world ended with the flood. One hundred and twenty years before the flood God instructed Noah to prepare for it, that he might

save himself, and to preach to the people concerning the approaching end. In Noah's day the people pursued their usual and customary course of action and were wholly indifferent and oblivious to the fact that the old order of things was about to pass away in a great flood. So likewise today the mass of humanity, pursuing its usual way, is wholly oblivious to and entirely ignorant of the great transition period we are now in.

In Noah's day while he was preaching to the people concerning the coming end of the world many scoffed at him, jeered him and mocked him, and thereby testified to their ignorance concerning the events that were about to occur.

Mark the parallel in events now transpiring. Shortly after the capture of Palestine by the Allied armies a number of good ministers of the gospel met in London and issued the following manifesto, as appears from a London press report:

"The following manifesto was recently issued by a number of England's most noted ministers:

"'First—That the present crisis points toward the close of the times of the Gentiles.

"'Second—That the revelation of the Lord may ha expected at any moment, when he will be manifested as evidently as to his disciples on the evening of his resurrection.

"'Third—That the completed church will be translated, to be "forever with the Lord".

"'Fourth—That Israel will be restored to its own

land in unbelief, and he afterward converted by the appearance of Christ on its behalf.

"'Fifth—That all human schemes of reconstruction must be subsidiary to the second coming of our Lord, because all nations will be subject to his rule.

"'Sixth—That under the reign of Christ there will be a further great effusion of the Holy Spirit on all flesh.

"'Seventh—That the truths embodied in this statement are of the utmost practical value in determining Christian character and action with reference to the pressing problems of the hour.

"'This remarkable statement was signed by A. C. Dixon and F. B. Mayer, Baptists; George Campbell Morgan and Alfred Byrd, Congregationalists; William Fuller Gouch, Presbyterian; H. Webb Peploe, J. Stuart Holden, Episcopahians; Dinsdale T. Young, Methodist.

"'These are well-known names, and are among the worlds greatest preachers. That these eminent men, of different denominations, should feel called upon to issue such a statement is of itself exceedingly significant.

It is to be regretted that the ministers above mentioned do not represent the sentiment of the majority of clergymen in the world. To all people who think, it is apparent that there are two classes of ministers in the world: the good and the bad, the honest and the dishonest, the faithful and the unfaithful. This same rule applies to almost any profession. But amongst all the professions of the world, the man who occupies the position of a minister of the gospel is honored above all others from the divine standpoint, because he is supposed to deal with things pertaining to the Word of God. A faithful fulfillment

of his commission, then, puts him in the honorable roll from God's viewpoint. On the other hand, a man who assumes the title of a minister of the gospel and who yields to the flattery of the world and for this reason disregards the plain teachings of the Bible and leads the people into error is himself a dishonor to the ministry and a menace to the welfare of humanity. No honest minister will take issue with me upon this point. Any one who insists that this is not true at once puts himself in the category of the bad class. Let each one, then, apply the measuring rod to himself and see which class he is in. And if he sees he is in the wrong one, he will if he is honest get into the right class as quickly as possible.

An enterprising newspaper man presented a copy of the foregoing manifesto to all the leading clergymen of one of the metropolitan cities of America; and their action is an illustration of how the majority have regarded the matter. Invariably they scoffed at the thoughts therein expressed; and many of them answered, "It is nonsense to talk about the world coming to an end. That event will not happen for 50,000 years or more. This war is like any other war and these troubles upon earth signify nothing."

For more than forty years Pastor Russell, a faithful, consecrated Christian, proclaimed to the people by word of mouth, through the public press and through his books, that 1914 would mark the end of the Gentile times; that the

world would begin to end at that time, and that Messiah's kingdom would shortly follow. A few ministers here and there joined with him in the proclamation, but the majority of them scoffed at him and said all manner of evil against him because of his faithful proclamation of the message. The inspired witness of the Lord corroborated his statement that there would be scoffers at this time who would oppose the testimony divinely provided, saying: "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts [selfish desires], and saying, Where is the promise   [proof] of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God ...the heavens [invisible ruling powers] and the earth [social order of things], which are now, ...are kept in store, reserved unto fire [destructive trouble] against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."—2 Peter 3:3-7.

The clear fulfillment of the above prophetic statement ought to be sufficient to convince any reasonable and thoughtful mind that we are now passing through the transition period from the old to the new order of things.

Concerning this same subject, the great Master further said: "The sun [shall] be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken". (Matthew 24:29)

These dark sayings or symbolic words of Jesus, as shown in the light of other Scriptures, mean this: The Sun represents the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified, the philosophy of the great ransom sacrifice. The moon pictures or symbolizes the Mosaic law covenant arrangement, which foreshadowed the development of God's plan in both the Gospel and Millennial ages. And the stars symbolize exalted ones, teachers of the divine Word.

In fulfillment of this prophecy of the Lord everybody has witnessed during the past decade a great falling away of clergymen from the plain gospel of Christ Jesus and him crucified. In November, 1917, there assembled in Carnegie Hall, New York, ministers of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic faiths, to discuss a common basis for action. In all that meeting the name of Jesus as the great Redeemer was not mentioned. There was a decided tendency to unite upon questions relating to civil or political affairs, but the great doctrines of the truth taught by the apostles and prophets became darkened and were ignored. One speaker at that convention said: "Here are three steps which we may take: (1) the preparation of a book of selections from the Bible by an interdenominational commission appointed by the legislature or by the Board of Regents for use in the schools; (2) the formulation of a plan for non-proselyting cooperation between the schools and the various denominations, to the end that every child may have its

democratical and its religious instruction; (3) the granting of Regents' credits for serious work and Bible study outside of the schools."

This plan was enthusiastically adopted. Another speaker, Dr. Finley, at that convention said, as appeared in the public press: "The time is come for Protestants, Catholics, Jew and Gentile, to cooperate to the end that every child may have an intimation at least of his moral and religious inheritance".

As further evidence, the Interchurch World Movement has united in action but absolutely ignored the doctrines of the truth. Their statement, which appeared in a bulletin issued in January, 1920, says: "We believe the time is fully ripe for such unity of action on the part of united Protestantism that, without attempting to solve the problems arising from divergent and conscientiously held points of view on matters of doctrine and policy, the churches are ready for a common program of activity".

In other words, they are ignoring the great fundamental truths of Christianity foreshadowed by the typical sacrifices and made certain by the one great sacrifice of Jesus, the selection of the church and through the church the restoration of the world during the reign of Christ -clearly in fulfillment of the Master's words.

The stars, here representing the teachers of spiritual things, are pictured as falling; therefore representing that men who have claimed to teach the divine Word have fallen to the common

level of ordinary world politics. As to the character of the Interchurch World Movement and showing that the purpose is not in harmony with the divine plan and that it is ignoring the plain purpose of Jesus and the apostles, we quote language recently uttered by some of the leading figures in it. Dr. J. Carnpbehl White, Associate General Secretary of the Movernent, according to the public press recently said: "To carry out the new program of the cooperative churches it will require 100,000 new employed leaders during the next five years. They must be college graduates. An outlay of from $250,000,000 to $300,000,000 will be required to finance this program during 1920, and it is proposed to raise it during the week of April 25 to May 2; one-third of the money to be devoted to education, another third to Americanization and a third to reaching the billion persons in the non-Christian world. The world will be ruled by the forces of Christianity in twenty years."

This Interchurch World Movement is what its name really implies, to wit, the world moving the churches, or the churches moving in the way of the world. The movement is really organized in the interest of big business and political forces. As evidence of this we cite the following from the Interchurch Bulletin of recent date:

"George W. Wickersham, formerly United States attorney general, says in an interview that there is nothing incompatible between Christianity and modern business methods. A leading lay official of the Episcopal Church

declares that what the churches need more than anything else is a strong injection of business methods into their management.

"To the missionary China owes her expertness in printing, as well as cotton and fruit agriculture.

"Siam has become proficient in tanning leather through the scientific aid of missionaries.

"Brazil and India have increased the food production of their soils through the guidance of men of the missions.

"Japan is richer through the introduction of American fruit trees by the advance of agents of Christianity and progress.

"Natives of South Africa, formerly unemployed, now earn wages in sugar plantations and in the cultivation of cocoa beans, introduced by missionaries."

The Reverend David Carnegie in the Toronto Globe says:

"The Church, on this side of the Atlantic, at any rate, has taken sides with the employing and governing classes because of self-interest. She has been disloyal and faithless to the charge committed to her, but, in spite of all, she remains the one great avenue through which all that Christianity stands for is expressed. She alone has the spiritual message for the regeneration of industry.

"How can the Church discover and use the secret of her power? She has to discover that society and industry are inseparably linked together, that underlying both are fundamental principles of which she is the exponent."

Why do men who claim to be ministers of the divine Word so dishonor the profession and link hands with big business and politics? The

real reason is that they have lost their faith in God and in his Word, the Bible. They are seeking prestige and power from human sources and not divine approval. As evidence of this we quote from the Chicago Herald and Examiner of recent date:

"Methodist ministers were told yesterday that the theological schools of America are drifting away from the teachings of Christ, and that the Bible is no longer regarded by many preachers as the standard of faith.

"Dr. Henry Paul Sloan of the New Jersey annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church spoke at the ministers' meeting held at First Church, Clark and Washington streets, on the course of study required by the church for every minister. He said twenty-five annual conferences had sent a petition to the coming general conference to he held at Des Moines next May, demanding the course be revised.

" 'Many Methodist ministers disbelieve some of the fundamental conceptions of Christianity and teach the higher criticism, which is destructive of the foundations of evangelical belief,' said the speaker."

Occasionally we find a minister of the gospel who has the courage to tell some of his brethren of the ministry the truth concerning the present condition. We quote the Reverend William Allan, as reported by the New York American:

"'One reason why there is so much cause for complaint about poor attendance at most churches is because the Lord is not among us. In too many cases Christ is on the outside seeking to get in, while we are proud of the large sums of money we are able to raise by our

great mass movements, acting all the time as if silver and gold could take the place of spiritual power and the grace of God, both of which only come when the Lord is among us. When he is among us "it will be noised abroad that he is in the house" and the world will once more flock to the place where Jesus is.

"'Oh, for a return of the old days, with the Lord in the midst of the assembly of his people, directing and dominating the manifold activities of the church!'"

It is gratifying to see now and then some Chrístian paper courageously telling the truth. In an article concerning the Interchurch World Movement, the Christian Leader of Cincinnati editorially says:

"Any effort to secure apparent unity in sentiment and organization apart from the doctrine of Christ ís wholly unworthy of the indorsement of any one who professes to acknowledge the sovereignty of our Lord and Savior. Neither the unity for which he so fervently prayed, nor the organization which meets his approval, nor the spirit of his life, can be obtained by rejecting the doctrine of Christ. The spirit and life of the Christ can not be manifest in the individual or in the organization of individuals unless there first be the doctrine of Christ. All talk therefore about accomplishing a union in spirit and organization without appealing to all to obey the gospel of Christ, is a cheat, a fraud, a deception, a device of Satan to deceive the unwary. It is a conglomerate farcical union for the purpose, chiefly, to bring the church of Christ into a compromising position and thus break the force of the distinctive gospel which she preaches, or to make her so odius in the sight of all denominationalists for not uniting in the Movement that all will shun her."