Show FROM THE ORIENT in a previous communication I 1 have already mentioned the fact that there is much talk here of a railway scheme to connect jaffa jerusalem haifa and damascus everything concerning the matter is however kept very secret and turkey is not blessed with an amerlean american press or with interviewers who like those in america know not only things present but also things th 8 past and future together with th proba probabilities bili ties and possibilities ad I 1 infinitum hence it happens that what is intended to be private remains so until the proper person turns the key to the sanctum and lets the public in nevertheless it appears that the scheme in question is a jewish undertaking and that a capital of twenty five millions of franks has been de deposited sited for its realization aliza tion the 1190 firman X an granting grantin 9 the concession for the building of the road or roads is in the hands of a well known rich jew a resident of constantinople and this confirms the supposition that the jews themselves are at the head of this important movement that the jews therefore really are preparing to gather in the land of their fathers is no doubtful assertion but a matter of fact apparent to any thoughtful observer it is likewise very instructive to observe how things move on in this direction thousands of jews are already here gradually they make themselves masters of every trade and branch of industry and they succeed where others fall it seems as though the blessings ot of gol god attended all their undertakings here in so high a degree that the european settlers even now fear the consequences on all hands the complaint is heard the jews spoil everything every thing and a few european settlers already contemplate going to australia or some other continent despairing of a successful competition with the jews all this is natural to those who believe in the gathering of the ancient people of god in the land of their fathers those who believe bellev ethis this blessed truth can only rejoice in the pt prosperity y 0 of J jacob a c 0 b some 1 abe believers 1 ae v e r s 1 1 there are who can hardly credit their own eyes when they see all this they believe that israel must be gathered but at a time yet far distant god they say never does anything in a hurry burry and it will necessarily take some time yet for the development of the events which must precede the gathering they look for a conversion of the jews to christianity before the gathering and as there are hardly any signs of such a conversion en masse they conclude that this gathering appertains to a distant future to these objections the following is a sufficient reply 1 it is true that god never does anything in a hurry except when great judgments are poured out like I 1 floods upon nations for such judgments judgment always come as the lightning out of a thundercloud thunder cloud the clouds may have been slow in gathering and long threatening to break outs out but the outbreak esaud is sudden laflash a flash a roar of thunder a moment and the work is done so shall also the expected visitation of the son of man be As AB the lightning is his own simile and who can say that the cloud has not been preparing for centuries already it has everything is ready this is one of the plainest lessons of the events of these last fifty years itis it is so clearly written that he who runs may read 2 we must always remember that gods chronology is not ours nor ours his if to goda thousand na years are as a day and a day as a thousand years then it is manifest that god can in one day perform what we thought might require a thousand years and he can also delay for a thousand years what we supposed might have been effected in a day when therefore we conclude that a predicted redic ted event m must take such an and y such a t time me for its I 1 development we are generally a long way off we judge from our limited point of view instead of simply believing the predictions and observing the signs of the times for our guidance 3 the idea that the jews must be converted to christianity before their gathering gatherl has hag no DO support whatever in holy writ on the contrary the conversion of the jews to the reli religious ous philosophy now known as christianity will never take place except in the ewe case of a few converts here and there it is impossible to think of any reason why a conversion of that kind should occur to imagine that the jews would first have to become edans or buddhists ori or say socialists or anarchists ests before they could gather would to my mind be just as reasonable as to sul suppose that they would have to embrace this so called christianity presuming for one moment that the condition of their return home would be the embracing of christianity what branch atit would be theirs catholicism would they have to learn how to worship the virgin mary and other saints that is become idolaters idol idola aters tors of a very low order as a condition of their redemption perish the thought fo forever reverl could they become protestants if so 80 what branch lutherans Luth erans hardly lutheranism today is nothing more than a caricature of the gospel romanism in its second edition changed so as to suit the taste of the times the jews will never become lutherans Luth erans nor will they become calvinists nor will they return to their own land with a church of england prayer book under their armor arm or in their pockets nor will they join any of the protestant sects who swarm around the larger churches like flies files around a horses head on a hot summer day the thing is simply inconceivable the jews will be gathered through the power of god alone and their settlements will be guidea guided b by those servants of god upon whom rests the spirit of revelation and truth just as it was anciently god will plant among them those olive trees from which the light giving element flows but betit it is well known that the christian world today unanimously denies the necessity of continuous revelation from god what therefore can god do with those christians of what use are they in his great work of none whatever they shut themselves out of any part of this work which will have to be accomplished accomplished accomplish ea by the aid of revelation thus the facts stand and exclude every thought of a conversion of the jews to this oft mentioned christianity the christian world has preferred to leave god and his word and to paddle their own canoe independently of god when cods god Is time for carrying out his great purposes upon this earth has come he must of necessity do it without consulting those large denominations they have left god and they will be left As he who comes from edom in his bloodstained garments see isaiah 63 declares 1 I have trodden the wine press alone and none of tb the e nations was with me the day of my vengeance was come and the year of my redeemed ones I 1 looked around but there was no b helper I 1 the facts so far as I 1 understand the prophecies are these the jews will be gathered as a nation with their present religious views heze heie in palestine they will have to suffer a great deal when the powers of europe meet to solve the oriental question and drown the intricacies in streams of blood being brought to the very utmost point of despair and being all but annihilated by famine slaughter and pestilence to the remnant of the jews their once rejected messiah will appear then he will prove his identity with power and they will accept him when this takes place he will rule and guide them and through the house of israel after these events shall a message of salvation again be sent to the nations of the world who shall accept it and be happy during millennial the reign of jesus christ if these views are correct the very thing we now must look for is a gathering of the jews to palestine this takes place we know that the winding up of the scenes scene is near at hand but who is prepared J M S HAIFA palestine april 1899 |