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The Evening and The Morning Star/1/9
| ←Number 8 | The Evening and The Morning Star Volume 1, Number 9 |
Number 10→ |
| Source document in Mormon Publications: 19th and 20th Centuries online archive: The Evening and The Morning Star Vol. 1
Note: Some headings and bracketed texts are editorial and not part of the original text. |
| THE EVENING AND THE MORNING STAR | ||
| Vol. 1. | Independence, Mo. February, 1833 | No. 9. |
THE LAST DAYS.
Something singular attaches itself to the phrase, The last days. We can take up the bible, and read what took place in the beginning, without any emotion, and generally without realizing what did happen; but when we read the prophecies touching the last days, the very soul starts to know what shall be.-We can look back to the morning of creation, when God said, Let there be light, and there was light, without ever remembering that his glory covered the heavens and his brightness was before the brightness of the sun; without reflecting that when he made the firmament, and divided the waters under the firmament, from the waters above the firmament, that the great deep, even the upper deep, was, and he laid the beams of his chambers in it; and that the waters beneath were gathered into one place, so that six parts of the earth were dry: yea, we can lightly read these grand scenes of the beginning, without ever thinking that the earth has since been divided, and that the heap of great waters, has been spread over the earth to frustrate some of the wicked designs of ungodly men; but when the last days begin to cast their shadows before, we stop and wonder, with great earnestness, what is about to come to pass. We see nation rising against nation; we hear of the pestilence destroying its thousands in one place, and its tens of thousands in another; the plague consuming all before it, and we witness the terror that reigns in the hearts of the wicked, and we are ready to exclaim, The Lord is certainly about bringing the world to an account of its iniquity. Let us reflect, then, in the last days, that there was to be great tribulation: for the Savior says, nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places; and the prophets have declared that the valleys should rise; that the mountains should be laid low; that a great earthquake should be, in which the sun should become black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon turn into blood; yea, the Eternal God hath declared that the great deep shall roll back into the north countries and that the land of Zion and the land of Jerusalem shall be joined together, as they were before they were divided in the days of Peleg. No wonder the mind starts at the sound of the last days! Great things will come to pass in them: sickness, sorrow, pain and death, will come upon the wicked; the righteous will be gathered from all nations, as well as Israel, to Zion, and the Jews assemble at Jerusalem, to behold the Lord of glory gather all things in one, that there may be on earth, one fold and one Shepherd.
We live in a great time; one of the most eventful periods that has ever been: it is not only the time when the captivity of Jacob's tents will return, but it is the time when the wicked and their works shall be destroyed; when the earth shall be restored to its former beauty and goodness, and shall yield its increase; when plagues shall be sent to humble the haughty, and bring them, if they will, to a knowledge of God: yea, it is a time when the wicked can not expect to see the next generation; yea, it is that great time, when none shall live in the second generation unless they are pure in heart.
Esdras, or Ezra the High Priest, we suppose, seems to have had a great view of the last days, and for all that has ever appeared to the contrary, by the wisdom of man, he spake by the Spirit of God, and says:-"And I opened my mouth and began to talk before the Most High and said, O Lord, thou that shewest [showest] thyself unto us, thou wast shewed [showed] unto our fathers in the wilderness, in a place where no man treadeth, in a barren place, when they came out of Egypt. And thou spakest, saying, Hear me, O Israel; and mark my words, thou seed of Jacob.-For behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring forth fruit in you, and ye shall be honored in it forever. But our fathers, which received the law, kept it not, and observed not thine ordinances: & though the fruit of thy law did not perish, neither could it for it was thine; yet they that received it perished, because they kept not the thing that was sown in them.
And lo, it is a custom, when the ground hath received seed, or the sea a ship, or any vessel meat or drink, that, that being perished wherein it was sown or cast into, that thing also which was sown, or cast therein, or received, doth perish, and remaineth not with us: but with us it hath not happened so.
For we that have received the law perish by sin, and our heart also which receiveth it. Notwithstanding, the law perisheth not, but remaineth in his force.-And when I spake these things in my heart, I looked back with mine eyes, and upon the right side I saw a woman, and behold, she mourned and wept with a loud voice and was much grieved in heart, and her clothes were rent, and she had ashes upon her head.
Then let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me unto her, and said unto her, Wherefore weepest thou? why art thou so grieved in thy mind? and she said unto me, Sir, let me alone, that I may bewail myself, and add unto my sorrow, for I am sore vexed in my mind, and brought very low. And I said unto her, What aileth thee? tell me.
She said unto me, I thy handmaid have been barren, and had no child, though I had a husband thirty years. And those thirty years I did nothing else day and night, and every hour, but make my prayer to the Highest. After thirty years God heard me, thy handmaid, looked upon my misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son: and I was very glad of him, so was my husband also, and all my neighbors: and we gave great honor unto the Almighty.
And I nourished him with great travail. So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have a wife, I made a feast. And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down and died. Then we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbors rose up to comfort me: so I took my rest unto the second day at night.
And it came to pass, when they had left off to comfort me, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night, and fled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest. And I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to stay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and to fast until I die.
Then left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her in anger, saying:-Thou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our mourning, and what happeneth unto us? how that Zion our mother is full of all heaviness, & much humbled, mourning very sore? and now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in heaviness, art thou grieved for one son? for ask the earth, and she shall tell thee, that it is she that ought to mourn for the fall of so many that grow upon her.-For out of her came all at the first, and out of her shall all others come, and behold, they walk almost all into destruction, and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out.
Who then should make more mourning than she that hath lost so great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one? but if thou sayest unto me, My lamentation is not like the earth's, because I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth with pains, and bare with sorrows; but the earth for the multitude present in it, according to the course of the earth, is gone, as it came.
Then say I unto thee, like as thou hast brought forth with labor; even so the earth also hath given her fruit namely, man, ever since the beginning unto him that made her.
Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that which hath befallen thee. For if thou shalt acknowledge the determination of God to be just, thou shalt both receive thy son in time, and shalt be commended among women. Go thy way then into the city to thy husband. And she said unto me that will I not do: I will not go into the city but here will I die. So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said, Do not so, but be counselled [counseled] by me: for how many are the adversities of Zion? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
For thou seest that our sanctuaries are laid waste, our alter broken down, our temple destroyed; our psaltry [psaltery] is laid on the ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is spoiled, our holy things are defiled, and the name that is called upon us, almost profaned: our children are put to shame, our priests are burnt, our Levites are gone into captivity, our virgins are defiled, and our wives ravished; our righteous men carried away, our little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage, and our strong men are become weak; and, which is the greatest of all, the seal of Zion hath now lost her honor; for she is delivered into the hands of them that hate us.
And therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and put away the multitude of sorrows, that the mighty may be merciful unto thee again, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy labor.
And it came to pass, while I was talking with her, behold, her face upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistened, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be. And behold, suddenly she made a great cry, very fearful: so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman.
And I looked, and behold, the woman appeared unto me no more, but there was a city builded, and a large place shewed [showed] itself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Where is Uriel the angel, who came unto me at the first? for he hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is turned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke. And as I was speaking these words, behold, he came unto me, and looked upon me.
And lo, I lay as one that had been dead, and mine understanding was taken from me; and he took me by the right hand, and comforted me, and set me upon my feet, and said unto me, What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is thy understanding troubled, and the thoughts of thy heart? and I said, Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I did according to thy words, and I went into the field, and lo, I have seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express.-And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise thee.
Then said I, speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me not, lest I die frustrate of my hope. For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know. Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream? now therefore, I beseech thee, that thou wilt shew [show] thy servant of this vision.
He answered me then, and said, Hear me, and I shall inform thee, and tell thee wherefore thou art afraid: for the Highest will reveal many secret things unto thee. He hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou sorrowest continually for thy people, and makest great lamentation for Zion.
This therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou lately sawest: thou sawest a woman mourning, and thou begannest to comfort her: but now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but there appeared unto thee a city builded. And whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is the solution: this woman, whom thou sawest, is Zion: and whereas she said unto thee, even she whom
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thou seest as a city builded, whereas she said unto thee, that she hath been thirty years barren: those are the thirty years wherein there was no offering made in her. But after thirty years Solomon builded the city, and offered offerings; and then bare the barren a son.
And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labor: that was the dwelling in Jerusalem. But whereas she said unto thee, "That my son coming into his marriage chamber happened to have a fall and died:" this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem.
And behold, thou sawest her likeness, and because she mourned for her son, thou begannest to comfort her: and of these things which have chanced, these are to be opened unto thee.
For now the Most High seeth that thou art grieved unfeignedly, and sufferest from thy whole heart for her, so hath he shewed [showed] thee the brightness of her glory, and the comeliness of her beauty: and therefore I bade thee remain in the field where no house was builded: for I knew that the Highest would shew [show] this unto thee.
Therefore I commanded thee to go into the field, where no foundation of any building was. For in the place where the Highest beginneth to shew [show] his city, there can no man's building be able to stand. And therefore fear not, let not thy heart be affrighted, but go thy way in, and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as thine eyes be able to see: and then shalt thou hear as much as thy heart may comprehend.
For thou art blessed above many other, and art called with the Highest; and so are but few. But to-morrow at night thou shalt remain here; and so shall the Highest shew [show] thee visions of the high things, which the Most High will do unto them that dwell upon earth IN THE LAST DAYS. So I slept that night and another, like as he commanded me.
And it came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by night: and lo, there arose wind from the sea, that it moved all the waves thereof. And I beheld and lo, that man waxed strong with the thousands of heaven: and when he turned his countenance to look, all the things trembled that were seen under him. And whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they burned that heard his voice, like as the earth faileth when it feeleth the fire.
And after this I beheld, and lo, there was gathered together a multitude of men, out of number, from the four winds of the heavens, to subdue the man that came out of the sea.
But I beheld, and lo, he had graven himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it. But I would have seen the region or place whereout the hill was graven, and I could not.
And after this I beheld, and lo, all they which were gathered together to subdue him were sore afraid, and yet durst fight. And lo, as he saw the violence of the multitude that came, he neither lifted up his hand, nor held sword, nor any instrument of war: but only I saw that he sent out of his mouth as it had been a blast of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of his tongue he cast out sparks and tempest.
And they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the flaming breath, and the great tempest; and fell with violence upon the multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them up every one, so that upon a sudden of an innumerable multitude nothing was to be perceived, but only dust and smell of smoke: when I saw this I was afraid. Afterward I saw the same man come down from the mountain and called unto him another peaceable multitude. And there came much people unto him, whereof some were glad, some were sorry, some of them were bound, and other some brought of them that were offered: then was I sick through great fear, and I awaked, and said, thou hast shewed [showed] thy servant these wonders from the beginning, and hast counted me worthy that thou shouldest receive my prayer: shew [show] me now yet the interpretation of this dream.
For as I conceived in mine understanding, wo unto them that shall be left in those days! and much more wo unto them that are not left behind! for they that were not left were in heaviness.
Now understand I the things that are laid up in the latter days, which shall happen unto them, and to those that are left behind. Therefore are they come into great perils and many necessities, like as these dreams declare.
Yet is it easier for him that is in danger to come into these things, than to pass away as a cloud out of the world, and not to see the things that happen in the last days. And he answered unto me, and said, The interpretation of the vision shall I shew [show] thee and I will open unto thee the thing that thou hast required.
Whereas thou hast spoken of them that are left behind, this is the interpretation: he that shall endure the peril in that time hath kept himself: they that be fallen into danger are such as have not works & faith toward the Almighty. Know this therefore, that they which be left behind are more blessed than they that be dead. This is the meaning of the vision: whereas thou sawest a man coming up from the midst of the sea: the same is he whom God the Highest hath kept a great season, which by his own self shall deliver his creature: and he shall order them that are left behind.
And whereas thou sawest, that out of his mouth there came as a blast of wind, and fire, and storm: and that he held neither sword, nor any instrument of war, but that the rushing in of him destroyed the whole multitude that came to subdue him; this is the interpretation: Behold, the days come, when the Most High will begin to deliver them that are upon the earth. And he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell on the earth.
And one shall undertake to fight against another, one city against another, one place against another, one people against another, and one realm against another. And the time shall be when these things shall come to pass, and the signs shall happen which I shewed [showed] thee before, and then shall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending. And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in their own land leave the battle they have one against another. And an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as thou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by fighting.
But he shall stand upon the top of mount Zion. And Zion shall come, and shall be shewed [showed] to all men, being prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew of a surety what should come to pass in the last days. Jacob gathered his sons around him, when he was about to fall asleep in God, and told them what should befall them in the last days. As there are many references to the last days, we use the terms last days, latter days, latter times, &c., as synonymous.
Balaam, when the Lord put words in his mouth exclaimed who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
No wonder his heart leaped for joy; he saw the glory of the last days, or, to use his own words, What this people [Israel] shall do to thy people [Balak's] in the latter days. His prophecy is great. We have it thus in Numbers.-And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon him.
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are opened hath said: he hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling but having his eyes open: how goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the rivers' side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters.
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.-God brought him forth out of Egypt: he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee to great honor; but lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor.
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the cammandment [commandment] of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak? and now, behold, I go unto my people: come I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: he hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be that he perish forever.
And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless, the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! and ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
Ezekiel said:-After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land, brought back from the sword, gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.-Isaiah and Micah said: It shall come to pass in the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Our Savior, who knew all things that should come to pass in the last days, even when he come in his glory to reign on earth with his saints, said before the end should come, there should be great tribulations, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever should be.
Paul, who had the privilege of seeing his Lord and master in the flesh, and who knew a man that was caught up into the third heaven, while on this all-important subject, thus wrote:-This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
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traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Peter, possessing the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom, wrote to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, said in his second epistle, Beloved, I now write unto you; in which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as from the beginning of the creation.
Having such a cloud of witnesses to prove what should come to pass when the earth is ripe, or when the days of vengeance had commenced, we have double confidence to warn the world, of what shall shortly be. In the language of Jude, we can say, Remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jeremiah said O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord: and would to God that the earth would hear, before it is everlastingly too late: That instead of ridiculing the words and works of God, its inhabitants would look for themselves, and behold the great and marvelous events which are happening around them, preparatory to the end.
The bible and common history, are full of the transactions and events which have been; and the hearts of thousands quake with fear for what shall be: now let us reason from the past, for the benefit of the future. Sacred writ, shows that the Lord has always been merciful, and mindful of the children of men, and has given the inhabitants of the earth timely notice, that he was displeased with their ungodly conduct, that they may repent, and be saved, rather than be destroyed by judgments. He gave one hundred and twenty years' notice of the flood; he warned the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, before they were consumed; he did marvelous things in the sight of Pharaoh, before he and his host were swallowed up in the Read Sea, and the Lord has ever warned men before destruction: yea, from Adam, the language of the Lord has been, Repent, repent! And when men repented, the Lord forgave them; and will he be less mindful of the workmanship of his hands now? No; God will hear, if men do pray in faith.
We have an earnest desire that men should escape the calamities, that will soon be poured out upon the earth, to scourge the inhabitants. Those that will not hear, as has been the case in all ages, pass on and are punished. The inhabitants before the flood, rejected the preaching of Noah, and were drowned. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah repented not of their sins, and died in their wickedness.-Pharaoh, after seeing the mighty works of the Lord, died for his folly. But the Lord is merciful, the Lord is just, and, as in ancient days, so now, even in these last days, he warns, that men may repent and live. So much for the world. To the church, a word fitly spoken is like the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing life forever more. Beloved brethren, you know these are the last days, for the Lord hath said so. You, then, have not to look across the ocean for testimony, for you have it in your hearts.-You have not to send to heaven for proof, for the judgments of God are already sent forth unto victory as evidence that the end is nigh.
You are independent above all the creatures under the celestial kingdom, if you are faithful; even to the obtaining of eternal life. Walk holy before the Lord.-He has sent his everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world and to be a standard for his people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it: and to be a messenger before his face to prepare the way before him. And he will reason with them that come, as with men in days of old, and show unto them his strong reason. Wherefore, while he is revealing unto you the great things that will shortly come to pass, learn wisdom, and rejoice for the day, even the day of righteousness that will soon come; yea, that day that was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth; but obtained a promise that they should find it, and see it in their flesh, and so will you, if you continue faithful. Are you sensible of the blessings and privileges you enjoy? you can look upon the world and upon them that profess to worship their God, and see the course of evil, and shun it, because the Lord has shown you the right way. You can see some for gold; some for fame; some for blood; some for persecution; some for fun; some for pleasure; some for vanity; some for lying; some for this, and some for that, and you can pray to God to keep you from such follies, and he will do so, if your hearts are pure.
What blessings! you can shun the dreadful distress of nations, if you are humble and honest in all things before the Lord: you can overcome the world and enter into his rest, where trouble will cease. You ought to rejoice, with joy unspeakable; for while the nations are crumbling to pieces, and men are filling up the tombs without repentance, you know your redemption is nigh, and you believe that Israel will soon be gathered home to meet his God, when he comes in his glory.
Men without the Spirit of God to guide them into sacred truth have long labored six times as much for the perishable things of this world, as for the one thing needful: brethren, you have better knowledge, act accordingly, for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness [fullness] thereof. Counsel not the Lord but walk by faith, showing good works, that your examples may be worthy of imitation.
The love of money fills the hearts of the wicked; but what profit would it be to you, with all your knowledge, of what must shortly come to pass, if you could gain the whole world for thirty or forty years, and then loose your inheritance, and eternal life? This is a solemn question, and when the faithful enter into the joys of their Lord, they will be more apt to say: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of men to conceive, what the Lord has prepared for them that love him. The Lord will hear when saints do pray.
Among the great men of the earth, many have declared, with thousands to second them, that every man has his price:-but beloved, the saint has not; he is above bribery, and come life or come death, it is all the same; in the morning of the resurrection, he rises above corruption and lives with God; and his last days will be his best days: "And it shall come to pass afterward, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."
THE JEWS:-AGAIN.
The great day is hastening on when the whole house of Israel will be gathered home from their long dispersion, to Zion and Jerusalem. The United States is a witness to the gathering at mount Zion, if her population will look at things as they are; and the old world in the east, may soon bear record, also, of the gathering at Jerusalem: for the Lord will set a sign among them, and will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard his fame, neither have seen his glory; and they shall declare his glory among the Gentiles.-And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
So Judah will be gathered: and when the Lord shows himself to them, with the wounds he received of them, more than eighteen hundred years before, they will know him, and rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The Spirit of God moves upon the face of the earth, and will continue to do so, till every saint that is left alive, worships God. In the Weekly Courier and New-York Enquirer, is the following
NEWS FROM JERUSALEM.
We beg leave to invite the attention of the benevolent to the following statement of the distressed situation of the Jews in Jerusalem and their appeal for aid. We indulge a hope that the aid they seek will not be withheld, and as the Society established in this country for the convertion [conversion] of the Jews, have a large fund without any ostensible mode of appropriating it to a good purpose, it is presumed that they will transmit it to Jerusalem with as little delay as possible.
[From the Christian Intelligencer.]
THE RABBI FROM THE HOLY CITY.
Dr. Westbrook: The following is a literal version of the letter which the Rabbi Enoch Zundil, now in our city, brought from the Jews of Jerusalem. On Monday evening last, this learned Jew met a party of our Clergymen, and other friends in Dr. Brownlee's study. Mr. Roy, an eminent Hebrew scholar, presented this version which he had made together with the original document, written in beautiful Hebrew letter, without points. It was examined by the learned gentlemen present. The evening was spent in hearing the Rabbi, who is a truly polite and accomplished man, detail many interesting things relative to Jerusalem, the holy city; and the condition of the Jews there.
He spoke of the famous Mosque, which stands on the site of Solomon's Temple: and stated that it was the custom of his afflicted and bowed down people, especially the priests, to go to the west wall of the mosque, where once stood the west wall of the temple, and kneeling down, to offer up prayers to Jehovah the Almighty God in behalf of their nation. This explains a singular expression in the beginning of the following letter.
He admitted that his people had more than once attempted, in olden times, to rebuild the temple, but that infallible proofs of God's displeasure had always prevented it. This tradition may refer to the attempts in the Emperor Julian's time.
He gave replies to many difficult questions proposed to him on various passages of the Hebrew bible. His views of the nahash, the serpent who tempted our first parent, exhibit fully as much originality as those of Dr. Adam Clark. The latter decides this shrewd being to have been the Ourang outang [orang-utang]:-Our Rabbi makes it a singular kind of beast, having a kind of soul; and appointed to God to be a waiter, a body attendant on our first parents. Into this creature the devil entered, and made him an instrument of the temptation. This, however, he gave out of the Cabbals and Targum.
He gave some original views on the giants of the days of Noah: showing them to be different (as in the Hebrew expression, they are strikingly distinguished) from the Goliaths and the Anakin. They were giants in wickedness, the wicked children of profligate great men, and nobles!
The Rabbi who is a thorough going Jew, felt some difficulty when requested to explain how the Jews are to determine the evidence of their coming Messiah, proceeding in lineal descent from the tribe of Judah, and house of David. For he admitted that the lists of the genealogy had utterly perished. When requested by
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Dr. Knox to explain the views of Daniel's seventy weeks the Rabbi shrugged up his shoulders, and declined the task. He is fully in the belief of the Jews being recalled to their own land. And by the calculation he makes, this recall is at the very door. It is to commence in the year 1841-only nine years hence. He believes that the present movements of the victorious Egyptians are now working out their deliverance. The Jews consider the Mahometans as the head of their oppressors; and the Court of Constantinople as the head of the Mahometan power. That being laid low, and he supposes by the Pacha of Egypt, who is the avowed friend of the Jews, their deliverance will then be speedily hastened.
The Rabbi's people at Jerusalem had heard of the exceeding benevolence and charity of the Americans. These are his own words. "You did much for the Greeks: and will you not admit, even as christians, lovers of the old testament patriarchs and prophets, that you owe, at least as much, nay, much more, TO US THE JEWS?" "Yes, said a gentleman present; "we love your people for the love of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." "Yes," said another, "we should love and aid them for the sake of Joseph and Mary!" "And above all," said a third, "for the sake of the SON OF MARY: our Redeemer, according to the flesh, was a JEW!"
And as this is the first appeal made to us as christians, by the Jews, direct from Jerusalem, we should, by responding to the voice of suffering humanity, give them an evidence that we are, as christians, their true and sincere friends.
The Rabbi begs leave to refer those who may feel disposed to aid the poor suffering Jews at Jerusalem, to the following gentlemen who have kindly undertaken to receive any funds which benevolent christians may condescend to give:-viz.
The Rev. Mr. Schroeder,
The Rev. Jacob Broadhead, D. D.,
The Rev. W. W. Phillips, D. D.,
The Rev. W. C. Brownlee, D. D.
HEBREW LETTER.
[TRANSLATED FROM THE HEBREW BY MISTER ROY, OF NEW YORK.]
"From the city of the Great King, peace and blessing to the great and good gentlemen who is disposed to be benevolent to all, friends and foes. Mordicai Noah, we have written to you from the holy land, and from the city of Jerusalem, we pray always by the west wall of the temple and by all the holy places for all the nations of the earth who remember us in our low estate. The voice of Zion speaks weeping and lamenting, for the wretched state of her children: for their faces are black with hunger: all the people of foreign nations here are very poor; and unable to give us any relief. The learned men and Rabbis, widows and orphan children that were supported by Russia, Poland, and Germany, are cut off from their former supplies: and receive no compensation from those nations.-We are so poor, and in such distress, that we cannot represent our situation in writing. We are hungry, thirsty, and naked. Our children ask bread and we have none to give them. And in addition to this, the Turks have laid us under a contribution of fifty thousand dollars, which if not paid will be the ruin of all the Jews here. Dear Sir, we did not know how to help ourselves: and we heard of your great and benevolent feelings and have sent on the Rabbi Enoch Zundil, of Jerusalem, son of the great Rabbi Hersh, one of the most learned men in the world. He will fully explain to you our afflictions. We therefore pray you to help him by any way or means in your power, by obtaining donations, and forming societies among all denominations. And we will pray for you in all the holy places and from the sepulchers of the holy prophets; and we hope with all the scattered tribes, and the Messiah at their head, to meet you soon in the holy city, the desire of all nations."
(Signed|top}}
RABBI A TOBIAS SOLLOMAN, the High Priest of Jerusalem.
NATHAN MINELES, 2d High Priest.
NATHAN SADDIUS, 3d High Priest.
[L. S.] HARMAN COHEN, High Priest of Japheth.
ISRAEL SUMMERVILLE 2d High Priest.
ZALMAN COHEN 3d High Priest.
SUFFERINGS OF THE JEWS IN PALESTINE.
There prevails at the present time of general distress, great wretchedness and want among the Jewish people, in the very land of their forefathers. In the midst of their Mahomedan oppressors, and burdened with the most unrighteous and exorbitant and exactions, they are represented to be in want of the necessaries of life.
Accounts of American benevolence had reached them. They have sent hither one of their most pious and learned men, Rabbi ENOCH ZUNDIL. He is now in our city, and he brings with him the united testimonials of both the congregations in Jerusalem-the German and the Portuguese. His documents and letters have been duly examined by his brethren here, and they approve and encourage his afflicting mission of benevolence.
An article in our paper of the 26th instant, has already called public attention to this subject. But as the article was not examined by Rabbi Zundil before its publication, and has led to some misapprehension, he has requested us to state as follows:
"He is alleged, in the article published, to have given some original interpretations of scripture; but he wishes it to be distinctly understood, that, in the cases mentioned, he makes no pretention [pretension] to originality." He is said to have "shrugged up his shoulders," and to have "declined the task" of explaining a certain prophecy by Daniel; but he would not have it infered [inferred] from this, that he is unable or unwilling to give, at a proper time and place, the views of Jewish learned men, on this or any other subject in the old Testament."
"The letter of introduction, appended to the article in our paper, and purporting to be a translation from the Hebrew, is a letter from certain pious and learned Jews at Jerusalem to Mr. Noah of this city. The letter asks for donations from individuals or societies,-but is an appeal to the Jews and not to "all denominations." It is signed by persons who are not "High Priests, but CHIEF RABBINS."
Yet as suffering humanity ever utters a cry, that should touch the heart of all, Rabbi Zundil will be cheered by the thought, if he can carry with him the contributions, not only of his charitable Jewish brethren, but of the benevolent christians."
"He is to be seen at Number 36 Maiden lane. And he refers to the above named gentleman, who will receive and hand to him, or forward to the chief Rabbi Hirschal at London, any offerings of those who have hearts to pity and aid the suffering Jews of Palastine [Palestine]."