Frankfort Pilgrim College - Pilgrim Yearbook (Frankfort, IN)

Page 109 text:

3 Elite 6512211115 Q The Budding Cf The Fig Tree OME one has very fittingly said:, You have the rose as an emblem of England, the thistle, of Scotland, the shamrock, of Ireland, the lcek, of Wales, and the pomegranate, of Spain. So is the fig tree the emblem of Israel. Jesus said: Now learn a parable of the Fig tree: When its branch is yet tender and putteth Iorth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things coming to pass, know that it fthe end of the agei is near, even at the door. Again: Luke 21:24-t'Jerusalem shalt be trodden down by the Gentiles until the 'Times of the Gentiles', be fulfilled. The Times of the Gentiles according to eminent students of prophesy, began with the captivity of the Jaws in 606 B. C. According to the above quo- tation from Luke, it shall last until Jerusalem ceases to be trodden down by the Gentiles. Vtle know that because of disobedience to God, the Jewish nation has been dispersed and scattered abroad since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Na- tionally, they are lost. Yet God has declared that a remnant shall be saved and brought back into His favor. Through this remnant, He will yet glorify Himself and set up the kingdom. In Ezekiel's valley of Dry Bones, we have a perfect picture of lsrael's condition for centuries. Yet God says, I will bring you up out of your graves and put my Spirit within you and ye shall live and I shall place you in your own land. Without doubt, Graves here symbolizes the nations out of which shall be gathered the remnant. Again He says: UI will take the children of Israel out from among the heathen whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land. Some one has said- If you want to know Godls time-'Look at the Jew' . Another when asked- What are your strongest reasons for believ- ing in the inspiration of the Bible A? answered, Hthe Jew . Throughout the centuries of Israel's dispersion Orthodox Jews have not ceased to pray with faces toward Jerusalem, for deliverance and for the ful- iillment of prophesy concerning their return to Jerusalem. How significant is the fact that the home of an Orthodox Jew is always left unfinished to bear testimony to the fact that he is only a sojourner looking forward to a time he may build a permanent home in the land of promise. The remarkable capture of Jerusalem by General Allenby in 1917 is in- deed profoundly significant. In the first place, captured exactly as prophesied, without the shedding of blood. It is said that the name Allenby to the Turk meant Alloh-hey or The prophet of God . When the Turks heard the name of him, who was marching an army against them, they were seized with the terrible conviction that God was against them, and immediately fled. How remarkable that God, in His wisdom, prepared this christian leader with just the right name to bring deliverance to His people and prepare the way for the consumation of the Jewish anticipation of centuries. Yea even more it is the fulfillment of' prophecy and the winding up of the church age. The Zionist movement born in 1896, in the heart of that pious Jew-Dr. Herzl, with for its motto, t'Palestine and nowhere else for the Jews , had done much to prepare Jews everywhere for the events of 1917. God always does Xi' -105-f

Page 108 text:

3 mhz 651231115 Q ' f 2 D R, ,WA 5 fr , ...f-sift' 1 ' ' A STUDENTS ROOM THE CHANGING OF THE AG-E, OR AT THE END OF THE WORLD CContinued from Page 21.5 The optimism of men along the lines of business prosperity and control have bee11 shattered by the fearful break and panic 111 the stock markets. The President with his eommissions have been unable to save the people. It is now evident also that the revolt against religion has passed through its early and most violent stage Hlld that the sentiment is settling down to a human religion and the establishment of illl11l2llllSi churches. The intelligent modernism will, no doubt, meet the argument of the fundamentalist by going on establishing this new religion, which has nothing superhuman or divine, is without a miracle and without a Christ, entirely abnegates the person of the Holy Ghost and turns from God to a professional religion and to atheism. It is determined by tl1e spirit of the ti111es to place spiritual and ethical values on a new basis. The thought of the masses 1l0YV is to try to find a religion which will satisfy them ill their present attitudes. Ill the light of these changes a11d others, what ean be ahead but tl1e conditions that tl1e prophets, the Christ, and the church have spoken of, a condition that will require the coming of the Lo1'd to make right. It is ti111e that the Lordts people were awake to these changing conditions, what they are, what they IHGHII, what will follow them, and how to present the truth of God to meet. the needs of H1011 u11der these co11ditio11s. While the ti111es are terrible illld conditions are elucive and deceptive yet, thank God, He has made possible a11d wants to make plain tl1e remedy for the evil, the glory for the virtuous, and to show us how to escape the snares coming upon the earth. That remedy is in the person illld presence of the Holy Ghost ill the hearts and activities of every believer. This is our hope a11d our safety and this is the message for the hour. Awake thou church, arm thyself with the mind of Christ, panoply thyself with the power and presence of the Holy Ghost, draw the sword, and let Jesus find us with a elear vision of the times and wisdom to prosecute the work at this, the changing of the ages, -104-

Page 110 text:

His work on time and it is remarkable that He had this great movement pre- pared and on its feet, ready to lead His chosen ones at the right time, into their own land. The real beginning of the return of the Jews to the land of promise began in 1921. The Zionist movement had already decided to collect twenty-five mil- lion dollars for the purpose of reconstruction work in Palestine. The latest information states that they have already collected much more than this amount. The increase in imigration is progressing year by year. The Zion- ists expected to admit not less than sixty-tive thousand Jews during the year of 1929. Fifty years ago, there were only four thousand Jews in Palestine. Now out of a population of ninety thousand, sixty thousand are Jews. For the tirst time in three thousand years, the flag of Judah floats over the ocean. A regular Jewish shipping line has been arranged between New York and Haifa. How literally are God's words, UI will gather you out of all nations , being fulfilled. Already they have been gathered from sixty-four nations. According' to Jeremiah 30: 3 they are gathering' there to possess the land. At present they are not entirely freed from Gentile control. But how fast they are coming into their own! A Jewish University is already under construction on the Mount of Olives. Millions of dollars are being spent on Libraries, Public Schools and in Literary achievement. In 1920, there were in Palestine sixty Jewish colonies: in 1928, there were one hundred twenty. Many hospitals and clinics, including the Straus health center have been established. Roads are being built all over the country. Swamps are being drained. The valley of Jezreel has become a fruitful garden. Two fever swamps have become the site of flourishing colonies. Between the years of 1920 and 1928, over four and one-half mil- lions of trees were planted. Fruit production is on the increase. The early and latter rains, which for centuries had been withheld, began to fall when the Jews began to colonize so that in some parts of Palestine three crops per year have been raised. Isaiah 35 speaks of a time when the desert shall blossom as a rose. While this scripture cannot be completely fulfilled until the millenial age surely many things are now happening which are signs of its partial fulfillment. Old springs are being discovered and opened up, causing streams to break forth as from a desert. Work towards the rebuilding of the Temple is already begun and it is said that many parts of it are already prepared. Who can in the face of the above facts deny that Israel is coming into her own: that Jerusalem is now, instead of being trodden down, fast becoming the center of a revived Jewish Nation? When these things begin to come to pass saith the gospel by St. Luke, Look up and rejoice for your redemption draw- eth nigh . Redemption! Oh, glorious the thought! Satan and satanic power shall be put down by Him who shall come with power and in great glory to redeem all His creation. J ' ' Even so, come Lord Jesus! -1106-