One of Mr. Mauro's chief arguments that the Kingdom of God or Heaven is fulfilled now, in this present Christian era, lies in his pressing the meaning of the oft-repeated expression "at hand." He gives us fifteen instances, out of more than fifty in the Gospels and Acts, where the expression is rendered in different ways, such as "at hand," "near," "nigh," to prove his point. He then asks the following questions: "What kingdom then was it that the Lord Himself thus proclaimed as 'at hand,' and which He called the Kingdom of Heaven,' or the Kingdom of God?' Did the Lord from heaven come personally to proclaim with His own lips a Kingdom 'at hand' which was not at hand? Did He call upon those who heard Him to 'believe' what was not true? And did those who did believe Him have to learn later on that they had been deceived, and that the Kingdom which He positively declared was at hand was postponed? They who hold with the editor of the 'Scofield' Bible would have to say 'Yes' to these questions. For though there was a Kingdom then at hand, and though its divinely given name is 'the Kingdom of God' (Acts 8:1212But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12); Rom. 14:1717For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17), etc.), these modern teachers tell us that the Kingdom of God, which was at hand is not the Kingdom of God which the Lord, Who knoweth all things and Who cannot lie, said to be at hand; but that the Kingdom of God which He positively declared as at hand, was some other 'Kingdom of God' which was not at hand at all. Is it possible, I ask in all seriousness, to do greater violence than this to the statements of the Lord?" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 110).
This is but throwing dust in the eyes of his readers, for Mr. Mauro makes implications that are not true, and charges the Scofield Bible Editor with stating things he never did.
Mr. Mauro teaches, wrongly, we believe, that the Kingdom of Heaven is synonomous with Christianity. It is true that the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church are running on together in this dispensation, and that the true believers are in both, but beside true believers there are mere professors in the Kingdom of Heaven as well. This Mr. Mauro refuses, for he emphasizes again and again that ONLY true believers can be in the Kingdom of Heaven. He arrives at this conclusion by failing to see that whilst the Kingdom of God is sometimes spoken of as real, the product of the Holy Spirit's work, it is likewise presented as the sphere of profession in the world. This can be clearly proved from Scripture. Not only so, but the Lord Himself anticipated that His rejection by the Jews would lead to the postponement of the Kingdom. This is seen practically in every one of His statements of the Kingdom.
Take the Sermon on the Mount. Our Lord there speaks of the condition that would obtain in the Kingdom of Heaven. Why should those in that Kingdom be blessed when they mourn, if the Kingdom had come in the normal way? It clearly contemplates a kingdom
without a visible King, a Kingdom not in manifest power. That much is plain. If the Kingdom is present, as it is, there is something not normal, if the King is not in manifestation and power. Why should the true members of the Kingdom thirst and hunger after righteousness, if everything is as it should be? Why should we read so much about the Kingdom and no allusion to the King? There must be a King if there is a Kingdom. Why should the true members of this Kingdom be persecuted, reviled, and falsely accused if the Kingdom was in outward power and manifestation? The days have not yet come when, "A King shall reign in righteousness" (Isa. 32:11Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1)). "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His Name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. 23:5, 65Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:5‑6)).
We ask Mr. Mauro, Has this been fulfilled yet? Does this not give the King to be King over Judah and Israel? Is this not a Jewish setting? Is He not going to execute judgment and justice in the earth? How then is it that those in the Kingdom of Heaven as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount, suffer persecution and revilement?
Dr. Scofield in his Bible teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven exists now, and that all who are born again are true members of it, and that through Satan's instrumentality there are many professors in it, though not of it. He teaches that the day will come when Jer. 23:5, 65Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:5‑6), will be fulfilled, when our Lord shall reign in righteousness. The conditions of the Kingdom as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount, i.e., the Kingdom in mystery, will then have passed away, and the Kingdom will be in manifestation, and the King present in all His glory.
It is very extraordinary that in this volume of 258 pages, entitled The Gospel of the Kingdom, apparently only one paragraph of about ten lines is devoted to Matt. 13, that great Chapter explaining the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven by our Lord Himself. Why is this? It is hard to understand. Is it because it would be difficult, nay, impossible, to prove that all in the Kingdom of Heaven are real, that the very opposite is staked? Remember, professors are in the Kingdom though not vitally of it.
It is true that the Lord only sows good seed. This is ever true. But the first parable speaks of the enemy sowing tares among the wheat, indicating false professors among the real. Another, that the birds of the air lodge in the branches of the great tree, another presentation of the fact that evil professors and false greatness will mark the Kingdom, thus corrupted by man. Yet again, we read about the drag-net, which when full was brought to shore, and the fishermen sorted out the fish, putting the good into vessels and casting the bad away, teaching the same lesson yet again, the good representing the true members of the Kingdom, the bad representing mere evil professors.
If none but true members are in the Kingdom, how is it that we read the following?: "The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41, 4241The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41‑42)). And why does Mr. Mauro in his big book not attempt to explain this? Is it because it flatly contradicts what he so confidently affirms, that only true believers are in the Kingdom? It is very clear that those offending ones, workers of iniquity, who are cast out of the Kingdom, are consigned to eternal punishment, and by no stretch of imagination can be real believers at all. They must have been in the Kingdom, to be cast out of it.
Then again, what about the man without the wedding-garment, who was bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? What about the foolish virgins in Matt. 25? Are they not emblematical of mere professors, who will find themselves shut out of the Kingdom when the King comes? What about the unprofitable servant of Matt. 25:24-3024Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:24‑30), who is cast into outer darkness? What about the goats on the left of the throne in the parable of Matt. 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46), who go into everlasting punishment? All this is said by our Lord as being what the Kingdom of God is like. Mr. Mauro seems to refuse all this.
To return to the question of "at hand." Is it not possible for something to be "at hand," and yet not materialize, but pass away? One can imagine a threatening thunderstorm, and some one saying a great storm is "at hand." A change of wind comes, and the storm blows over, and never materializes. Even if Dr. Scofield's exposition is correct, there is no necessity to charge God with deception.
Here is one instance where "at hand" does not mean something that is to be expected within measurable distance, as Mr. Mauro presses must be the meaning of the expression. The Apostle Peter writes somewhere about A. D. 60, "The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:77But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7)).
We have arrived at the 20th century since then, and the end has not yet come. Evidently the phrase here means that the development in the future will be when the present course of things is brought to a finish. What becomes of Mr. Mauro's contention in the face of this? Does it not support Dr. Scofield's exegesis? Why does Mr. Mauro not quote this passage among his proof passages in support of his view? I suppose it would be too awkward and unexplainable.
He explains away Rom. 13:1212The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12), where it says: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." His comment on this verse is as follows: "It is assumed, of course, that this statement refers to the second coming of Christ. But it seems quite clear that the day' to which Paul refers is the day that had dawned then, i. e., at the first coming of Christ. For he says it is 'now high time to awake out of sleep'; and because the day has dawned he exhorts us to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 114).
One cannot understand a lawyer, writing critically, giving himself away like this. The verse says, "the night is far spent." But if it is "far spent," it is still night, though near to the end. The verse says, "the day is at hand," that means it has not yet arrived. Mr. Mauro says that the passage states that "the day has dawned." It says nothing of the sort. It says it is "at hand," not yet arrived. That is as clear as can be.
In Phil. 2:3030Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. (Philippians 2:30) we read that: "Because for the work of Christ he [Epaphroditus I was nigh unto death." This expression, "nigh unto death" is the same word in the Greek that is generally translated "at hand." According to Mr. Mauro's reasoning Epaphroditus ought to have died; instead of which he recovered, just as in the illustration of the threatening storm that passed away, his sickness passed away.
The Hebrew believers were exhorted not to forsake the assembling of themselves together in view of the "day approaching." The word "approaching" is the same word as "at hand" in the original. This was written in the first century. We are now in the twentieth, and the day has not come yet.
James 5:88Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:8) tells us that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, "nigh" being the same word as "at hand," yet that day has not yet arrived.
These instances will show how the arbitrary meaning that Mr. Mauro puts upon "at hand" is not justified. In certain passages the context clearly shows that the expression does mean that which is about to happen, or that which is near in locality; but, in the passages we have just quoted, we are reminded that with the Lord a thousand years is as one day, and some events "at hand" when the Bible was written, have not arrived yet.
We read: "THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matt. 24:3434Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (Matthew 24:34)). Mr. Mauro argues that "this generation" must be taken literally, as referring to the actual generation that existed when Matthew's Gospel was written. In conjunction with this expression he links up our Lord's word that there should be some standing in His presence that should not taste of death till they had seen the Kingdom of God come in power.
First let us ask the question, Does the word "generation" always stand for the generation living at the time written about? Prov. 30:11-1411There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 13There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. 14There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. (Proverbs 30:11‑14) throws light upon the usage of the word. There we are told there is a generation that curseth their father, and does not bless their mother; that are pure in their own eyes and yet filthy; whose teeth are as swords and their jaws like knives, etc. Now this generation cannot be confined to the time when the Proverbs was written, but continues to this present time.
Similarly, this is the only real explanation of Matt. 24:3434Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (Matthew 24:34). If Mr. Mauro presses, as he does, that the prophecy in question was fulfilled in the time of that generation, we would like to know when the verse was fulfilled which says: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from one end of heaven to the other.... Verily, I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 24:30, 31, 3530And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30‑31)
35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)).
How, then, does Mr. Mauro explain, "The Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory?" He tells us that he had had much deliberation on the subject. He must find a happening that occurred in the lifetime of the generation of that day. He thinks of two events: and of the Jewish nation by the Romans in A. D. 70. Each of these events may be regarded, without straining at all the meaning of the words, as a coming of the Kingdom of God. And each, moreover, may be regarded, in the light of Scripture, as a coming of that Kingdom with attendant circumstances that answer to the phrase 'with power'; circumstances such as were absent during Christ's earthly ministry" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, pp. 192, 193).
To begin with, Mr. Mauro states that the Lord's earthly ministry was not with attendant circumstances answering to the phrase "with power." And yet we read in Peter's address to Cornelius and his friends: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost AND WITH POWER: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him" (Acts 10:3838How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)). "His word was WITH POWER" (Luke 4:3232And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. (Luke 4:32)).
Does the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost answer to what we read in Matt. 24? Was the Kingdom of God in power then in the world? Indeed, the presence of the Holy Spirit reproved the world of sin, because they believed not on Christ; of righteousness, because He was with the Father, and was seen by the world no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. But it does not look like the Kingdom coming in power, when the King is rejected and cast out, His followers on earth put in prison, beaten, reviled, persecuted. That does not look like the Kingdom being in power. It is said that everyone of the apostles was martyred. We know that James and John, and Peter and Paul were. This does not look like the Kingdom of God coming with power and great glory.
It is strange that whilst Mr. Mauro fastens on the expression "with power," and seeks to use it to prove what he is putting forward, he says nothing about "the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven." Why does he not comment on this? It surely did not take place on the Day of Pentecost, nor did it take place when Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus. It seems as if Mr. Mauro endeavors to make every Scripture fit in with an idea which in our judgment is not scriptural.
We have noticed that when the right idea is before the student of Scripture every passage bearing upon it falls easily into the scheme; but when the wrong idea is before the mind Scripture has to be manipulated to fit in. In the one case every step confirms; in the other, it confuses, and every step makes confusion worse confounded.
Mr. Mauro has had much deliberation over this matter. He says: "After much deliberation upon the matter, my conclusion is that, if choice must be made between those two events, it is the one later in date-that is, the annihilation of the Jewish nation, that being the manifest taking from them of the Kingdom of God (according to the word of Christ recorded in Matt. 21:4343Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (Matthew 21:43))-that our Lord had in view when He uttered the prophecy we are considering" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 194).
If, as Mr. Mauro urges, the Kingdom is only the portion of those who are born again, and really disciples of our Lord, how can it be connected with a nation as a nation that had rejected and crucified their King? All Jews who accepted the Lord disassociated themselves by baptism and practice from the guilty nation? And this had been going on for forty years. How could the Kingdom of Heaven be taken from the Jews at that time?
Then he tells us that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was a most evident and impressive coming of the Son of Man in power. We positively cannot understand anyone writing this down in black and white, or any person of reasonable intelligence accepting such a statement. The Son of Man has not come with clouds yet. He is in Heaven. He is rejected still. He is not reigning in power. Indeed Luke tells us, not that the Son of Man was then coming in power and glory, but that: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:2424And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)).
Mr. Mauro says that not a hint is given by our Lord concerning what will happen to Jerusalem after the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. We should have thought there was a very obvious hint, indeed more than a hint. If Jerusalem is to be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled, it is evident, that when those times are fulfilled, Jerusalem shall be no longer trodden under foot by the Gentiles.
Mr. Mauro says: "It is certain therefore that when `the times of the Gentiles' are ended, there will be no Jewish people left on earth" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 205).
In our reading of Scripture it is certain that there will be a Jewish nation on earth when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Jerusalem will no longer be trodden under foot.
One would have thought the perusal of Rom. 11 would have kept Mr. Mauro from making such a dogmatic statement. There we read that blindness in part is happened to Israel until "the fullness of the Gentiles" be come in. It is most evident in that important Chapter that "the fullness of the Gentiles" refers to the blessing of God passing from the Jews as a nation, and going out to the Gentiles. "The fullness of the Gentiles" will be consummated when the Church is raptured to glory at the second coming of Christ. "The times of the Gentiles" is a political term, indicating that history will circle round Gentile nations rather than round the Jewish nation, as it did in the ways of God in the Old Testament times.
But Rom. 11 tells us plainly that Israel is to be restored to a place of blessing again as a nation. We read: "If the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles [that is answering to 'the fullness of the Gentiles']; how much more their fullness?" [that is, instead of there being no Jewish people on the earth, they will be the greatest people on earth BECAUSE of their King, the Lord Jesus Christ]. "If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" (Rom. 11:12, 1512Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? (Romans 11:12)
15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)).
Then to further his arguments Mr. Mauro completely misinterprets a passage of Scripture from the same Chapter. He says, (1) "God's true 'Israel,' the nation concerning which it is said, 'And so all Israel shall be saved,' is the whole body of the redeemed of the Lord: and (2) that, that body is composed of the believing 'remnant' of the natural Israel (the 'remnant according to the election of grace'; Chapter 11:5), with the addition thereto of believing Gentiles. These two elements, so diverse and antagonistic by nature, are incorporated into a spiritual unity, 'the unity of the Spirit' (Eph. 2:12-18; 4:312That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:12‑18)
3Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3))" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 245).
If you will kindly turn to Rom. 11 you will see that Mr. Mauro interprets this passage to suit his own theory. The expression, "the fullness of the Gentiles," is found in verse 25. In verse 26, immediately following, we find the words: "And so all Israel shall be saved." Israel here stands in distinct contrast to the Gentiles. The rest of the verse confirms this for it says: "There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from JACOB." Then running on to verse 28 we are told that the Israel that is to be saved are NOW enemies, and how true this is, alas! "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your [Gentile believers] sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes" [referring doubtless to promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob]. This clearly points to Israel, and not to the Church, composed of Jew and Gentile. Mr. Mauro may spiritualize "Sion," and "Israel," but Jacob always stands for Jacob himself, or the children of Israel as his descendants, as the context easily decides. Besides, "ungodliness from Jacob" proves that this is not "the Israel of God," but a nation delivered from ungodliness.
Mr. Mauro never seems to lose a chance of pouring scorn upon the dispensational teaching that he is opposing. For instance, he says of the Millennium: "And finally let the reader notice the atrociously false doctrine that myriads of people-whole nations, both Jews and Gentiles-that have not obeyed the gospel of Christ, instead of being 'punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,' are to be blessed with every carnal satisfaction and delight for a thousand years, including a religion suited to men in the flesh, being composed of forms and ceremonies and sacrifices, those `weak and beggarly elements,' in which, even when they served temporarily a typical purpose, God declared He 'had no pleasure' (Heb. 10:66In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. (Hebrews 10:6))" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 218).
This is most unfair. Where has any dispensational teacher taught that in the Millennium "every CARNAL satisfaction and delight" would be ministered to those who obey not the gospel? A CARNAL paradise was offered by Mahomet to his deluded followers, but what right has Mr. Mauro to pen such a sentence in regard to sound dispensational teaching, which never advanced such a monstrous doctrine?
Dr. Scofield and others teach that, "A King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth" (Jer. 23:55Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)). "The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed" (Isa. 65:2020There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. (Isaiah 65:20)). "He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgment" (Psa. 72:22He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. (Psalm 72:2)). This is a very different picture to what Mr. Mauro paints "of every carnal satisfaction and delight for a thousand years." It is the very opposite picture to what Mr. Mauro depicts. His sentence is a caricature and a libel on what dispensational teachers put forth as Scriptural teaching concerning the Millennium.
Finally, Mr. Mauro charges dispensationalist writers and speakers with painting wonderful word-pictures portraying multitudes of Jews said to be flocking to their ancient homeland; the miraculously renewed fertility of the soil; the return of the early and latter rain, etc. He says: "But the sober facts are that Zionism, has been a pitiable failure almost from the beginning; and that in the period of its greatest success the volume of immigrants constituted but a trickling stream, and they were of the most undesirable sort. The movement reached its peak in 1926; and from that time to the present Zionism has been palpably a dying enterprise. A reliable magazine, Current History (April, 1927) gave from 'a recent official report on trade conditions,' an estimate of the population of Palestine for April 30, 1926; by which it appears that, after all the efforts of Zionism and the influence of the Balfour Declaration for ten years, and the help of other contributing causes (e. g., Russian persecutions) the total number of Jews in all Palestine was only 139,645; and they were outnumbered by Moslems more than three to one" (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 239).
He winds up by telling us that the state of the Jews in Palestine is wretched in the extreme, and that the attitude of the great mass of the Jews is one of complete apathy and indifference.
When Mr. Mauro can so distort current history in the interests of his reversed views as to dispensational truth, we begin to lose confidence in anything that he says. For the facts as to the Jews and Palestine are just the opposite of what he tells us. If he accuses dispensationalists of painting wonderful word-pictures and throws a slight on their strict truthfulness, what shall we say of his picture of such gloomy tints?
Mr. Mauro describes as "wonderful word-painting" what has been said and written by dispensationalist writers and speakers concerning the early and latter rain. What are the facts of the case? We know that God threatened to punish His people if they turned their backs upon Him and did not honor His laws, and turned aside to worship strange gods. We read: "And then shall the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you" (Deut. 11:1717And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. (Deuteronomy 11:17)).
This threat has undoubtedly been carried out. The country for centuries was reduced to sterility. A flourishing agriculture was out of the question. Thorns and briers overran the land.
But for quite a few years now the rainfall has become persistently more abundant. In 1869-70 the rainfall was 12.5 inches. In 1877-8 it was 42.95 inches, an astonishing increase, as if God would draw attention to it. These were, however, exceptional years, but the average rainfall is 26.0629 inches,which is higher than that of London and Berlin. So much for Mr. Mauro's remark about "wonderful word-painting."
He speaks also with disparagement of "the miraculously renewed fertility of the soil." He quotes the magazine, Current History (April, 1927), so to begin with we had better give him some facts prior to that date.
In 1878 the agricultural colony of Petah-Tikvah (meaning, The Door of Hope) was founded by Russian Jews. It covers 8,000 acres. In 1914 it supported a colony of 3,000 souls. In 1883 the agricultural colony of Rishon-le-Zion (meaning, The beginning of Zion) was founded. It had the support of Baron Edmond de Rothschild. It covers 3,180 acres. It planted 400,000 fruit-trees, and 3,000,000 vine-slips, imported from Spain. Up to 1914 some 14,000,000 fruit-trees and vine-slips were imported from foreign countries. Land worth in 1890 £3.12.0 ($17) an acre commanded the price of £36 ($180) an acre in 1914, the year when the war broke out, and that when the land was still groaning under the misrule of the Turk. Some forty colonies were begun up to the time when the war broke out. These facts speak for themselves. What becomes of Mr. Mauro's statement about the volume of immigrants constituting "a trickling stream?"
What about the population? He sees nothing remarkable in what he tells us that it had risen to 139,645 Jews in Palestine in 1926. When the return of the Jews to their land took place in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah scarcely 50,000 returned. Yet that was a significant number! The Jews were dispersed, consequent on the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The country, under the misrule of the Turk and the scarcity of the rainfall, had been reduced to great barrenness. A century ago the number of Jews in the land was a pitiful thousand or two in abject poverty. Is not Mr. Mauro impressed by the fulfillment of Scripture when he tells us that 139,645 Jews were in the land in 1927? He tells us that the return of the Jews to their own land reached its highest point in numbers in 1926, and from that date Zionism has been a dying concern. We are afraid he spoke too soon.
Let us tell him the story of Tel Aviv. In 1909 some sixty families living in Jaffa decided to build a small residential suburb on the clean sand dunes fronting the Mediterranean. By 1914 the population rose to 2,000; in 1922 it had risen to 15,185; in 1931 to 46,101; recently it had risen to 100,000; and today it has risen to about the number that Mr. Mauro tells us were the total number of Jews in Palestine in 1926, viz., 139,645. And this is in one city alone. This is not like "a trickling stream," but an inflow of torrential proportions. True, Tel Aviv has developed very quickly, but Jerusalem, Haifa and other towns are growing rapidly and the agricultural colonies have risen to number 150 or more.
A century ago there was not an orange grove in Palestine. In 1901 there were 900; in 1922 there were 11,000; in 1927 there were 18,000; in 1929 there were 45,000. The exportable crop that year was the amazing number of 5,500,000 cases of 70 lbs. each, and this is increasing by leaps and bounds. This is no "trickling stream." Much more could be written of how this "valley of dry bones" has sprung into pulsating life and abundant fertility.