"The Prophets and Our Times" by Fr. Culleton

[Elizabeth]

CHAPTER III

THE LATTER DAY JEWS

     It has been foretold very definitely that the Jews are destined to return to Palestine toward the end of the world. According to Scripture, God did not cast the Jews off forever. nor was their dispersal intended by God to be everlasting. He promised them that in the latter times of the world's history the children of Israel. scattered throughout the world, would return to Palestine, that the temple would be rebuilt, and that God would make a new and everlasting covenant with His people.
     As early as 1860 the Universal Israelite Alliance was formed for the purpose of promoting the emancipation of the Jews, their mental and moral improvement, and especially to encourage the Jewish colonization of Palestine. Following 1878, the year of the Russo-Turkish war, the trek of the Jews to Palestine really began, and after the establishment of the British Protectorate in 1917 they flocked there in considerable numbers. In 1920 the flag of Judah once more flew from the Tower of David, a symbol. as it were, of the prophet's words.
     In the days in which these prophecies were to be fulfilled, the land of Israel was destined to become once more fertile so that the number of the Jewish inhabitants would increase and multiply. For ages the scarcity of rain in Palestine had made it impossible to raise crops in their former fullness, but between the years 1860 and 1900 the rainfall in Palestine increased over fifty percent, so that the land which had been arid for centuries is now much more fertile.
     The Jewish population throughout the world is rapidly increasing. In the past two hundred years their numbers have grown from around three million to approximately twenty-four million. They have a high birth and very low death rate.
     According to prophecies, the migration of the Jewish people to Palestine was to be brought about through their being persecuted at the hands of the Gentiles, while their final return to God will be effected directly through the chastisements of God. Throughout all the centuries following their unfaithfulness to God, thy have been reviled, persecuted, exiled, and dispersed, yet God has miraculously preserved them as a race for a purpose worthy of Himself. They were His chosen people originally, yet because of their sins, salvation came to the Gentiles-they became enemies of God. as it were. for the sake of the Gentiles. However, because of the fidelity of their forefathers, they remain dear to God, and it was promised them that "in fullness of the times of the Gentiles" their blindness would be taken
from them and that God's curse would be lifted.
     The partial fulfillment of this prophecy has been in evidence for the past one hundred years or more during which ti.me the Jews have been steadily rising out of the depths of debasement and subjection in which they had lain for centuries. One of the most remarkable occurrences in the history of our age is the civil emancipation of the Jews. However, the complete bursting of the bonds of the Gentiles will not occur until the final overthrow of the Turks. After this, the Jews will return to godliness in the last days because of their fear of the Lord. They shall once more become a nation after they have repented and sought the mercy of God, and only then shall they attain peace.
     It is at that time that the Tabernacle, the Ark, and the Altar of Incense, shall be found, which have remained hidden since Jeremias placed them in a hollow cave. Jeremias had told the people that they would remain hidden until God should gather together a congregation of the people and bring it to mercy.
     The present war is causing great misery to the Jewish people. Its eventual effect upon Jewish aspirations in the Holy Land cannot well be forecast, but if its outcome opens up to them their ancient heritage, and we see at long last a Jewish state there, it means that interesting events in the history of the world are probably not too distant. The prophets do not necessarily forecast a Jewish Palestine.1

    
1 Hilaire Belloc: The Jews (3rd Edition. 1937) will be found the most valuable book extant on the modern situation of Jewry. The Introductory Chapter treats the Zionist movement.
     David Goldstein: The Jewish Panorama (1941) is also of interest, especially from the American point of view.