THESE are great days in which we are living. "Many prophets and righteous men" have doubtless desired to see the things which you and I see, but were not granted that privilege. Developments are progressing with kaleidoscopic rapidity. He who does not keep apace with the onward march of present-day events by reading the very best magazines and books, cannot realize the significance of the times in which we are living. During and since the world war, thrones have been cast to the ground; national boundaries have been obliterated, and in many instances changed; old nations long since buried in the historic graves of the past have come forth into new national life; the voice of the great masses of humanity is now reverberating around the world and clamoring to be heard in the great chancelleries and parliaments of the nations; the inventive genius of mankind has been quickened into new life and has, by innumerable startling discoveries and amazing inventions, literally transmuted the civilization of fifty years ago into the realization of a modern Atlantis; the steam engine, the electric locomotive, the high powered automobile and truck have solved the transportation problem and has largely annihilated distance; man is no longer contented with traveling on the ground but increasingly is taking to the air; the spirit of the explorers of the fifteenth century has been revived in the hearts of numbers of fearless men who have braved the dangers of both the frozen Arctic and Antarctic regions, and have made known to us new worlds; the lecturer and orator is no longer contented to speak to a small group in the village school house or the public hall of the city, but his heart longs to deliver his message to the multiplied thousands throughout radio land; the drudgery of former years has passed away from modern life by the coming of innumerable mechanical and electrical devices which have driven the demon of human slavery and toil to the remotest outskirts of civilization; and man, unfettered and liberated from his former circumscribed and limited sphere, stands, as it were, on a high plateau where he breathes the fresh invigorating, energizing atmosphere of liberty and where he may have free choice to enter that field of human endeavor for which his heart longs, and in which he may attain the ideal of his aspirations.

Not only has there been progress in the betterment of our material civilization, and rapid strides forward in the social and intellectual realm, but also a spirit of inquiry and a thirst for spiritual satisfaction is tugging at the hearts of countless thousands today--especially among the ancient people of Israel. Little do the Gentiles realize the great mental awakening and spiritual longing which entered into the very soul of Israel when General Allenby, on that historic and epochal day--December 11, 1917--marched into the Holy City of Jerusalem with uncovered head and with a prayer upon his lips took possession of that ancient city, dear to the heart of both Jew and true Christian, in the name of the allied nations. On November 2 of that year, the Balfour Declaration had been made public which guaranteed Palestine as her homeland to the Jewish nation. Israel throughout the world was thrilled and electrified by the report of General Allenby's success, seeing the realization of her age-long hope of her regathering and reestablishment in the homeland in the near future. With gratitude and praise to God, services were held in the synagogues throughout the world, thanking God for his marvelous deliverance of Jerusalem and the possibility of the realization of Israel's hope in the immediate future. Only a Jew can appreciate this thrill of ecstasy which caused every chord of the soul to vibrate with unbounding joy. The Zionist who had battled against great odds from the days of Theodore Herzl, and who to a certain extent had become discouraged on account of the many reverses, then took new courage, being inspired by the great vision assured by the Balfour Declaration. With the awakening of the national aspirations the deep spiritual nature, characteristic only of the Hebrew, was stirred to its depths and fanned into a flame of longing for God and communion and fellowship with Him. In many instances this flame has died down and become almost extinct, while in many other hearts it has become a consuming fire which is increasing day by day. As evidence of this fact, one has only to note the Jewish movement which was inaugurated in Denver, Colorado, at Passover in April, 1929, and the profound response on the part of many Jews throughout the world to its unparalleled proposal.

This awakening may be designated as "The Sanhedrin Movement." It originated with and is sponsored by some outstanding prominent orthodox Jews of Denver, Colorado, and vicinity. The man who, as I believe, has been raised up of God, as was Joseph and Esther of old for certain specific definite purposes, is a very prominent lawyer and industrial leader in his city. He is a very brilliant man who stood at the head of his class at the university and who was admitted to the Bar of Colorado in 1899. In recent years he has devoted most of his time to commercial pursuits. His professional and commercial life has given him a very wide range of experience and contacts with outstanding men and movements.

According to a personal friend of mine who lived near him for fourteen years, "there is no more righteous, godly and sincere man who desires truth, righteousness and justice in the state of Colorado than he." According to another friend of mine who has been acquainted with him for five years, he is a bold, fearless man who is prompted by the sincerest and holiest motives in his endeavor to bring about the reconvening of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

Recently the French nation reinvestigated the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Upon an impartial thorough investigation of the facts, it was learned that an innocent man had been condemned; thereupon the court pronounced him acquitted. There has been no little discussion in Greek circles concerning a revision of the condemnation of Socrates, the ancient philosopher who was condemned and executed by the supreme court of the Athenians, though he was innocent of the spurious charge that he "corrupted the youths of Athens." The ideal of renouncing the injustices of the past and of taking a positive attitude toward righteousness and justice seems to have taken hold of many nations. This idea struck the heart of this Denver man so very forcefully that he conceived the plan of a reinvestigation of the life, teachings, Messianic claims, and execution of Jesus of Nazareth who was condemned by the supreme court of the Jews and was put to death by the Romans. This man had read a great many statements from outstanding Jewish Rabbis and scholars who spoke of Jesus in the highest terms as a great good man of Israel.

Another contributing factor to his ideal was the positive stand taken by Dr. Joseph Klausner in his book, "Jesus of Nazareth." Dr. Klausner arrayed much evidence and proved the historicity of Jesus, thus shattering the Jewish traditional conception of Jesus--that He was only a myth. Being convinced by Dr. Klausner that Jesus was a real historical character, and being attracted by the utterance of Jewish scholars to the effect that the character of Jesus is unimpeachable, this Denver lawyer was led to the conclusion that possibly an injustice had been committed by the contemporaries of Jesus in their demand for his death.

Another factor contributing to his ideal was a desire to promote good will between Jew and Gentile and to eliminate as far as possible, anti-Semitism--a blight upon the Gentile nations. In certain quarters seminars have been held for the promotion of better understanding between various religious groups of the world. He thought that by an investigation of the real facts much prejudice could thereby be eliminated.

Another weighty consideration added to the fact that the exclusiveness characteristic of the days of the ghetto has passed away. The Jew no longer is segregated to the dark dingy ghetto of the cities of Europe as in mediaeval days. Today he is brushing shoulders with his Gentile and Christian neighbors; he attends the same schools and universities, he engages in the various professional and commercial enterprises with his Gentile friends; and he meets them in social life. The question is constantly brought up as to the attitude present-day Jews are to take toward Jesus of Nazareth. The old conception found in the Old Testament of the solidarity of the Jewish race is still very potent in Jewish philosophy. The great masses of the Hebrew people look to their leaders and representatives for guidance; therefore he conceived the idea that, in justice to all concerned, it would be eminently proper for the Jewish nation to select a representative body to investigate the case of Jesus of Nazareth and to make an official pronouncement relative to Him which should answer the question, "What does Jesus mean to the Hebrew race?"

Jewish children are alert, more than adults realize, to every situation. They constantly are asking "the why and wherefores" concerning all matters. Therefore they are continually asking their parents questions, which are embarrassing to the latter, concerning Jesus. These honest truth-loving parents looking to their leaders for guidance desire that an investigation be made and that an authoritative official pronouncement of the historic facts be made in order that they may instruct their children accurately and truthfully.

The force of the foregoing weighty considerations suggested to his legally trained mind that the best way of obtaining the truth concerning the matter would be to reorganize the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin for the purpose of said investigation. The Sanhedrin dates back to the days of Moses. When the law giver could no longer attend personally to the many questions which confronted him as leader of the nation, God commanded him to "Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone" (Numbers 11:16,17). According to Bishop Ussher's chronology this event took place in 1490 B.C. This court functioned as all other courts do according to the character of the men composing it.

Moses was instructed to choose out from among the people God-fearing men, "whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them." Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses' father-in-law, advised Moses (Exodus 18:21), 'Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness'... In the decision of men of this character, Israel dwelt safely."

This court functioned at Jerusalem until the destruction of the Jewish state in A.D. 70. After that disaster, the headquarters of Judaism was removed to Jamnia and later to Tiberias in Galilee. At the conclusion of the revolt against Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, its dissolution was effected in 135 A.D. Since then it has never been reconvened.

Since it is quite likely that Jewish theologians have naturally been biased in their opinions concerning Jesus, and since the one absorbing thought governing this Denver man, who is the exponent of the Sanhedrin idea, is that injustices should be corrected and righteousness should prevail, he conceived of the plan of sponsoring a movement which shall foster the idea of a reinvestigation of the life, teachings, claims, and trial of Jesus, and which shall eventually call out a truly representative body of outstanding Jews, who shall constitute this judicial representative body. Twenty-three of its members shall be rabbis, twenty-four practical business men, and twentyfour, scholars an professional men. Before any man can be confirmed to this high position of honor, his past record must be investigated and must prove beyond a doubt that he is a man of honor, integrity, impartiality, a lover of truth and righteousness, a man with keen spiritual discriminating powers, and one who is fearless and who will stand for his convictions regardless of consequences.

According to present plans at the proper time, a call will be issued to the seventy-one men who have been selected for this judicial body to proceed immediately to Jerusalem. They will be inducted into their official position by the taking of the most solemn oath in the Jewish ritual. This oath will require that each man weigh in an impartial and honest straightforward manner every particle of evidence that is presented and that he render a righteous and just decision according to said evidence and arguments regardless of the consequences of his decision.

Representative men from all Christian denominations and from the various divisions of Judaism will be invited to appear before this tribunal to present all of the facts, evidence and arguments which they have gathered and which bear upon the question at issue. Only competent scholars who give evidence of their being able to present testimony germane to the discussion will be invited to testify. At present some scholars both in the Jewish and Christian ranks have been asked to make special investigation with the view of presenting evidence when the court convenes. You, dear friend, will pardon me when I state that the leaders of this movement have requested that I investigate this matter and write a book giving the real historical facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth. In preparing this volume I am endeavoring to leave no stone unturned, but am asking information from all sources. May I say with gratitude and praise to God, that He by His special grace has enabled me to obtain certain facts and truths and has given me the opportunity of seeing some truth which I had never heard nor read in any works before. This evidence and testimony will prove of inestimable value in the decisions arrived at, as I believe, since they are germane to the special points involved.

It is my understanding that certain Jewish scholars have been requested to make diligent search to obtain whatever evidence they can find in order that it may be presented at this great trial.

From the facts just stated it is very evident that those who are sponsoring this movement are certainly sincere and earnest in their desire to learn what the facts are concerning Jesus of Nazareth who has touched and transformed the world as no one has done. The exponents of this movement are wanting all of the testimony available to be presented to the Sanhedrin in order that it may weigh all of the facts, evidence and arguments, and arrive at a just, righteous and impartial decision.

The radio is fast becoming the great medium of disseminating every kind of knowledge. It is the idea of those sponsoring this movement to allow all peoples by use of the radio, to hear all of the evidence which is presented just as if they were present in the court room. People who have been indifferent to religion will naturally, under these conditions, become interested and will begin to study their Bibles and weigh the evidence. All the evidence will be flashed over the cable and telegraph wires and printed in every paper of consequence throughout the civilized world. Thus the real facts concerning the historicity of Jesus and the genuineness of the gospel records will be brought to the world as never before.

That this prediction will be fulfilled may be deduced from the fact that, in the trial of John Thomas Scopes, the high school teacher of Dayton, Tenn., who was charged with violation of the anti-evolution law, when Clarence Darrow of Chicago defended him, while William Jennings Bryan prosecuted the case, all the evidence and arguments were published in the papers throughout the country.

When Jesus of Nazareth, the most important personage of all history, is on trial, it goes without saying that every word of the testimony will be published throughout the world. From this fact, one may confidently predict that there will be a worldwide revival of Bible study; but let no one conclude therefrom that there will be a world-wide revival which will result in the conversion of all nations.

No one can foretell what decision any court may render. From all of the facts known to men, it appears to me that the worst decision that the Sanhedrin could render is that Jesus was simply a good man. That position is held by certain modernists in the Christian ranks. When He was here upon the earth, the general opinion was that He was a good man. Some, however, said that He was a teacher, others that He was a prophet, while others, who had special spiritual insight, saw in Him the immaculate Son of God.

Should the Sanhedrin pronounce Him only a good man, what would the reaction be? one may ask. The people who believe the Old and New Testaments to be the word of God, might be surprised. Then again they might not, since the Jews have never recognized Him as the Son of God. Therefore the fundamentalist Christians would take it as a matter of course and let the subject drop. On the other hand, the modernists would be delighted since they agree with that sentiment. In this event, would there be, one anxiously inquires, a renewal of the persecution and pogroms against the Jews? There is nothing that would indicate such an unfortunate situation. I have heard little suggestions that the Jews fear an investigation of the life of Jesus lest anti-Semitism should be accentuated and heightened. Not in civilized countries where reason plays any part. I can see no occasion for the renewal of persecution regardless of the decision.

What would the results be if the Sanhedrin pronounced Him to be the Promised Messiah in the special and unique sense as is set forth in the New Testament? Many Jews and Gentiles would doubtless investigate the question more fully and accept Him as their Saviour. Many, however, would become indifferent to the question and pass it by as they have done throughout the centuries. Should the Sanhedrin arrive at no conclusion at all, what results would follow? The truth-loving people among both Jew and Gentile would continue their investigation, and would arrive at their own conclusion and act accordingly. Many, however, would dismiss the question entirely and continue in the way in which they had formerly lived. The facts and truth about Jesus may be compared to a magnet which is placed above a surface on which steel filings, sawdust, and other small particles are strewn. To the magnetic pull, the steel filings would instantly leap, as if by magic, to the nearest part of the magnet. The other particles would remain where they are lying. The facts and truths about Jesus would be similar to the magnet. The steel filings would represent the honest, conscientious truth lovers, whereas the rest of men would be like the other particles of material--they would be unaffected.

Those Jews who do not accept the truth will become indifferent to the claims and teachings of Jesus, but by the judgments of the great tribulation, they will be brought to a position where they will think most seriously. At the conclusion of this tribulation, they will be brought to the point of saying, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Then Jesus will appear in glory and deliver them. At that time all Israel shall be saved. The nation will be born in a day.