16

3

16

download/literature/watchtower/1919-21.pdf

../literature/watchtower/1919/21/1919-21-3.html

GNAICH TOWER AND HERALD OF CHRISTS PRESENCE Von. XL November 1, 1919 GREEN LEAVES AND BUDDING HOPES “Now learn a parable of the fiy tree: when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer ts nigh.” Matthew 24:32. N THIS parable our Lord was speaking, evidently, vf the Jewish nation and _ its revivescence after a long period of disfavor. This new life in matters Jewish was to be looked upon by the Lord's followers as one of the signs of the oncoming establishment of Messiah's kingdom for the blessing of all the families of the a. earth. Sometime before Jesus gave this little parable he had cursed the fig tree because it was barren, and it had withered so quickly as to astound the disciples who watched it. The Master identihed his little tableau with the Jewish nation when, using another figure of speech well known by ail the Qld Testament prophets, he said: “Verily I say unto vou if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast intc the sea; it shall be done”.—Matthew 21:21. Speaking under the drection of the holy Spirit, those disciples or their successors did subsequently “declare the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), in which was included pronouncements of the utter overthrow of the Jewish polity. If they did nothing else in this connection some of them at least recorded the strong words of our Master respecting the destruction of the temple, the misery which would come upon the populace, and other like utterances. In thus doing they were announcing to the mountain, or kingdom, of Israel its removal and its dissolution in the distressing times which did actually come upon Jerusalem and Judea, terminating, respectively, in the years 70 and 73 A.D. Furthermore, the preaching of the disciples to the effect that the church “must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22), thus become members of the Isaac class, and heirs according to the promise, had the effect of withering the natural hopes of Israel (the fig tree upon which our Lord found leaves of profession and expectation but no fruit worthy of their continuance in divine favor), for they had hoped that the Messiah would bring them worldly glory and material prosperity. THE LAND TO ABRAHAM They were not without basis for these expectations ; fur Jehovah had promised the “land” to Abraham and to his seed after him, and the prophets had held before them the picture of a refreshed and happy earth. Being weak in faith, and hence slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken, they could not see the period of waiting during which the spiritual seed of Abraham was to be gathered out, first from the Jews and then from the Gentiles, which spiritual seed was to be “as the stars of heaven” in brilliancy and height of glory. Since, then, the preaching of sacrifice dampened the earthly hopes of the Jews, as did also the destruction of its capital and national government, it follows logically that the proclamation of the earthly blessing and splendor, together with the restoration of its national capital, would cause the hopes of the fig-tree nation, Jewry, for centuries withered and barren, to spring up anew. The curse which our Lord denounced against the fig tree is rather too strongly stated in our King James version. The Greek text says: “Let no fruit grow on thee to the [termination of the] age”. Now, at the termination of the age, we can see Jewish hopes springing forth like green foliage, and taking the shape of Zionist activities. Only twenty-five years ago the Zionist movement was practically unknown. When it first made its appearance it appealed only to the poor Jews. The rich and prosperous very generally sneered at the movement as impractical, foolish, visionary. Rabbis, editors, and other prominent Hebrews decried the thing, fearing that the burden of disesteem and blame for the actions of their poorer brethren would fall upon them. But gradually Jewish sentiment has veered more and more toward Zionism, until today there are few even of the rich and prominent Jews who find it judicious to speak slightingly of it. The Annual Convention of Zionist Organizations of America was recently held in Chicago and was attended by prominent Jews from all over the country. The Chicago Daily Tribune, of September 13, carried an advance contribution by Judge Hugo Pam, outlining the general situation among the Jews: “The world war has brought to light one after another the great latent social and national problems of the world. Among these is the establishment of Palestine as a homeland for the Jewish people. “After eighteen centuries and a half since Titus took Jerusalem, house by house, and rendered its soil barren and sterile, the Jews and Palestine had been strangers to each other. Sinec that time they have lived in dispersion, but in the hearts ot all Tews, save a few who desired to he known as assimilauonists, there has been a longing for the return of the Jews to Palestine, not merely from either a religious or sentimental standpoint, but from a consciousness of national life which could best be expressed in the land of their fathers. Throughout these centuries the pious Jew has prayed morning and night for the day to come when once more the land of Palestine shall be restored to the Jewish people FORCED BY POGROMS TO MOVE “The year 1882 marked the beginning of serious progroms in the pale, namely, in Russia, Poland, Galicia, and Roumania. As a consequence, the Jews were compelled to leave the pale. The main stream of emigrants turned to the west, attracted by the small, but wealthy and powerful Jewish communities in western Europe, who had enjoyed comparative emancipation. “Thousands settled in England, hundreds of thousands crossed the Atlantic and came to our shores, finding here two sadly needed requirements, a friendly government and a grow ing land. . ; “While this emigration to western Europe and to our 323