THE HOLY
LAND OF THE FUTURE
The size of Palestine is about 12,000 square miles. But the size of the land promised to Israel
(Gen. 15: 18) is 200,000 square miles. The size of England (alone) is 50,000 square
miles. In this 50,000 square miles there
is a population of about 40 million.* The land promised to Israel is four
times as large, and therefore could sustain a population of at least 160
million people. Dr. G. T. B. Davis, who has investigated on the spot, is our
authority for saying that in the early days of Jewish colonization sixty acres
of land were necessary to support a Jewish family. Now, however, only five are necessary. In a short time three will be sufficient. Then when Ezekiel
36: 33-35 is fulfilled and, The land that was
desolate is become like the garden of Eden - it will be more fruitful
than England
at the present time and thus able to support a larger comparative population. Ezekiel 48
makes it clear that the whole of the Promised Land will be populated. According to the above figures if a Jewish
family consisted of five persons then 200 million could be supported. In the world to-day there are about 16 million
Jews. Therefore the Promised Land could
hold ten times as many Jews as there are in the world to-day. ‑The
Religious Digest.
[* Note. This,
and what follows, was written in October, 1937.]
* * *
There is to be a competition for
space in Palestine.
The boundaries of the new State will
probably be defined after the lines of the Bible. We do not anticipate a return of the whole
Jewish people from the outside world, but it is already known that the
territory which the new State will possess between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates River will hold 20,000,000 souls. - DR.
MAX NORDAU.
The orthodox Jews of Tangier
interpret Gods promise for Israels
restoration to include all Arabia for the Land
of Promise, covering one hundred times
the area of Palestine. - DR. S. M. ZWEMER.
* * *
What about Jerusalem
and Palestine,
now? Here is a striking thing. When I was in Jerusalem,
I spoke to a Government engineer who was there at the time Lord Allenby conquered Jerusalem.
He told me that Palestine needed a harbour as trade had
increased, and there was great congestion, since such a great number of Jews
had come into the land. Where they used
to export about 25,000 boxes of oranges, they now export nearly 25 million
boxes a year. The British Government, in
order to solve the great export problem, tried to sink a harbour, but had
difficulty in finding a suitable place. Gaza was tried, but the
ground would not give; they then tried Joppa, but it was too dangerous a spot. At last they were able to sink a harbour at Haifa, and it is now in
existence, and sufficiently large to accommodate the biggest ships of the
world. A Jewish writer in a Hebrew paper
in Jerusalem
gave a hearty invitation to the Queen Mary to stay in the Jewish Harbour! When this godly Government official told me
that it was at the foot of Mount Carmel, in the Bay
of Haifa, in the Mediterranean
where they built it, it was an eye-opener to me. I said to this official:- Do you know as I read my Bible, I find God chose the place
for that harbour 3,600 years ago? Where? I should like to see the passage? said
the officer. So I took him to Gen. 49, where Jacob is seen as a prophet. Before he died he called his sons and he
blessed them, and gave to each son a portion. He blessed Zebulun and said: Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven
of ships (v. 13). The Hebrew word haven of the sea is Chaifa, and that is the
name of the harbour, Haifa.
Is that not wonderful? There was no harbour until the last few years
in Zebulun, but now that land has that marvellous harbour! His border shall be
unto Zidon. MARK KAGAN.
* * *
Just after the disastrous
earthquake in Palestine of July, 1927, many were
interested to note a statement made by Professor
Bailey Willis, the seismological expert of Standford University (U.S.A.)
before the British Association at Leeds,
England. He said that the Holy Land may expect to
suffer from earthquakes, that the area around Jerusalem
is a region of potential earthquake danger, and that a fault
line along which earth slippage may occur passes directly under the Mount of Olives. It is impressive to set this statement
alongside the inspired Word written by Zechariah
(14: 4) five centuries before our Lords
first earthly ministry.
* * *
On the banks of the rivers of Babylon our forefathers, exiled from Zion
- virtually another name for Jerusalem and also
a synonym for Palestine - solemnly swore: If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its cunning. With what tenacity have we clung to that oath
throughout centuries of exile. In joy
and sorrow, in the house of the mourner, at the wedding feast, under the
nuptial canopy, at the burial service, we have never ceased to remember Jerusalem. In our prayers, private, public, thrice daily,
and in the Grace after meals, we pray for Jerusalem.
The inspiring service of the Passover,
held in every Jewish home throughout the world, and the solemnest service of
the Synagogue on the Day of Atonement, both conclude with the exclamation, Next year in Jerusalem. It is impossible to overstate the spiritual
significance of Jerusalem
to the Jews. The Jewish mind is focussed
on that magic name Yerushalayim, which never
fails to stir the Jewish heart to the uttermost. An Englishman could perhaps think of England without London,
an Irishman of Ireland without Dublin, even a
Greek of Greece without Athens, but to the Jews Eretz Israel,
the land of Israel,
without Jerusalem
is unthinkable. - DR. ISAAC HERTZOG,
Chief Rabbi of Palestine.
* * *
Lo, these shall come from far: and these from the land of Sinim
[China]
(Isa. 49: 12).
A colony of people descended
from some Israelitish settlers came to the Western Borderland of China several
hundreds of years before the time of Christ. The writer* for many years laboured as a
missionary in West China. In the course of his travels and explorations
among various races living in the mountainous region between China proper and Tibet he found this interesting
people. To-day they are mostly known
under the general name of Chiang-Min, though once known, at least in one
region, as the Baelan-Min. It was their
Jewish-like appearance combined with their characteristic Old Testament
religion that drew his attention markedly to them. Who indeed were they?
he asked. As their habits were studied,
their traditions learned, their religious observances interpreted to him from
one and another over a wide area, and as finally Christian converts came forward
to corroborate what he discovered, their identity became undeniably
established. Charge was given him by an eminent Chiang Christian to tell
the Western Churches of their presence in far West China.
This man fell a martyr to his faith in
the summer of 1935. To his help in
securing introductions to Chiang leaders and priests of note, in our quest for
independent information, much of this work is due. This man was won by the reading of the
Pentateuch. At once he claimed its five
books as the title-deeds of the immemorial religion of his people. The resemblances of their ritual to the
observances of the Tabernacle were too many and too intimate to be mistaken. Besides, the religious conceptions in both
were identical. The sweet reasonableness
of the Gospel in consummating the substance of the Messianic promise set forth
in both, convinced him straightway of the truth of Christianity.
* China's First Missionaries: Ancient
Israelites, by Rev. T. Torrance, F.R.G.S. Thynne & Co., Ltd., Whitefriars
Street, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4. Price 3/6.
‑The Bible League Quarterly.
* * *
Is it not a grand fulfilment of
prophecy to see to-day how the Holy Land is
being prepared for their occupation! In Isaiah 17: 10, we
read that the land will be set with strange slips, so Israelite colonists have
sent to America for 500,000 slips of vine with which to plant the land, and in The Morning Star for December 18th,
1894, we may read, It is reported that these strange
slips do far better than the Native slips. If we are to accept what Dr. K. Kellog says, it would appear that some of the descendants of
the ten tribes can be found in Afghanistan, the Ameer of which said, in 1882, O my tribesmen, it is known to you that you are a noble
race, and that your pedigree is traced from Jacob the prophet, and then
followed a resume of their history from the Exodus to their last defeat by
British arms. There is also reason to
believe that in Arabia are to be found
remnants of the ten tribes. Mr. Poole quotes the traveller Wolff, who had a conversation with a
man named Moussa, of an Israelite
tribe near Mecca. I asked him,
he said, Whose descendant are you? Moussa
answered, Come and I will show you, and read
from an Arabic Bible Jeremiah 35: 12-14. He then went on, Come,
and you will find us 60,000 in number. You
see the words of the prophet are fulfilled? - LT. COL. G. F. POYNDER.
* * *
The British
Academy sends its most cordial good
wishes on the great occasion of the opening of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem - an event fraught with happiest augury for the progress of human
knowledge, and with historic significance as acclaiming the Holy City
among the seats of modern learning and research.
The Fellows of the British Academy are proud that their illustrious
President, the Earl of Balfour, is
taking so privileged a part in inaugurating the University, and through him
they desire to convey to the authorities their sincerest congratulations on the
successful consummation of the efforts for its foundation. They devoutly trust that before long the
University may embrace within its activities the whole range of studies,
scientific and humane.
May the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem add new lustre to the enduring fame and immemorial glory of the Sacred City
inestimably endeared to mankind! Fostered
by a succession of gifted teachers, may learning and arts of peace grow from
strength to strength and flourish in the University - a Foundation of Peace in
the City of Peace.
In fraternal comradeship with
scholars and scientists throughout the world, may the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem advance the welfare of the human race, and above all, through
Knowledge, help forward the realization of the Psalmists praise of
all-transcending Wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom. - Address of the British
Academy on the opening of the University of Jerusalem, April 1, 1925.
The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, inaugurated by Lord Balfour
in 1925, now has over 100 academic members on the staff, 100 technical and
administrative assistants and nearly 700 undergraduate students.
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