Henry Wentworth Monk
Encyclopedia
Henry Wentworth Monk was a Canadian
Christian Zionist
, mystic
, Messianist
, and millenarian. Some have credited him with predicting the formation of the United Nations
and both World Wars, although these claims are of questionable scholarly merit. To this day, Monk remains a very obscure historical figure, something which is unlikely to change.
a tiny and remote agricultural community along the Ottawa River
. He showed an inclination towards reading and writing at a young age, and when he was seven years old, his father scraped together enough funds to send him to Christ's Hospital
in England to be formally educated. Monk found life there unbearable, and would often take refuge in escapist fantasies as a means of coping with reality. After leaving Christ's Hospital, he studied divinity
for a while in London
, but returned to Canada in the 1840s.
It was in London that Monk was first exposed to Zionist thought. An early incident that had tremendous impact on his young mind was when he heard speech by Lord Shafesbury in 1839 or 1840. Shafesbury, at the time, showed great interest in establishing a British protectorate
in Palestine
, and restoring the Jews to their "rightful home." Monk was apparently very moved by the speech and began reading whatever he could find on the subject of proto-Zionism and the Jewish diaspora
. He would later come into contact with Edward Cazalet, a British Jew, who wanted to establish a Jewish state
in Palestine as a safe haven for the oppressed Jews of the world. He was also profoundly affected by the Damascus affair
of 1840, and wrote that the anti-Jewish violence perpetrated there deeply disturbed and saddened him.
Upon returning to Canada, he began corresponding with Christian proto-Zionists in the United States
(mostly mystics and millenarians). A pivotal moment would come, when, in 1852, he decided he had discovered the "correct" interpretation of the Book of Revelation
, after which he took a vow of poverty and left for Palestine as soon as his meager funds would allow. It was during this first stay in Palestine (which lasted just under two years) that he finished his interpretation of Revelation, formed the majority of the ideas he would stand by for the remainder of his life, and formed some friendships that would last that duration as well, most notably with the painter William Holman Hunt
. Hunt painted his portrait, in which he is posed holding a copy of the New Testament and a recent issue of The Times
newspaper, referring to his attempt to link Revelation to recent events. Behind him is an opaque glass window, referring to St. Paul's words that believers can only see the truth "through a glass, darkly". Hunt was also to help secure the funding of Monk's book on Revelation, thanks to a donation from John Ruskin
.
For the next two decades, he split his time between Canada, the United States, Palestine, and Europe
, trying to raise funds and lobbying for his cause. He proposed marriage to a woman from March Settlement named Anna Greene, but was rejected (prompting his second extended trip to Palestine). Eventually, in the 1870s, Monk settled in Ottawa
, where he would become something of a public figure. He would lobby Parliament
, stand for the House of Commons
once (in 1887), produce most of his surviving written works, and launch the Palestine Restoration Fund (in 1875), which he would work on until his death. He died on August 24, 1896. His passing was mentioned in newspapers in Ottawa and Montreal
, and he was eulogized as a philosopher, a moralist, and a crusader for justice. Today, he is almost completely forgotten.
." He also cited Revelation's mention of Michael, the man-child. Michael would supposedly stand alone in the Kingdom of God
for a time, only to be suddenly recognized by the world, which he would then rule with his "rod of iron." Monk was convinced that what Revelation was foretelling was the establishment of Palestine as a sort of global capital, which would serve two functions: firstly, a neutral ground where nations could settle their disputes via a permanent international tribunal, and secondly, a safe haven for the beleaguered Jews of the world. He believed that the "rod of iron" mentioned was the international tribunal, and the "great light" that would "overwhelm Christendom" was the return of the Jews to Palestine, and its establishment as a world capital. He fleshed out this idea with several very disparate philosophies.
Aside from the Christian mysticist and millenarian elements, Monk's beliefs also bear resemblances to Jewish Messianism. He wrote that the Kingdom of God's coming would "immediately have the effect of arousing the millions of poverty-stricken Jews in Russia, and elsewhere, so that they would realize that the time has now arrived at last for the fulfillment of Divinely inspired prophecies in reference to the ultimate restoration of their own country." It would seem that the coming of the Great Redeemer, the Messiah
, was what he had in mind.
, particularly in the fields of transportation and communication (he would later claim that the Bible had predicted the railroad and the telegraph). He viewed the machine as a liberating force, a means with which to end the poverty-stricken and backwards state of so many of the world's people (in particular, Russian Jewry). In The People and the Policy he wrote that it is not enough for Christians to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God as they have always done: to realize the Kingdom, there must be prayer, and concrete steps of action on the part of all of Christendom. This emphasis on action, and by extension the human will, as a necessity of creating a better world is of considered to be of a modern nature.
Monk kept this modernism rooted in religion though. According to his calculations, he claimed, the Books Daniel
and Revelation predicted the "Dark Ages" would last until around 1935. He believed this was an indication that the science of the day would be the shining light of the world, bringing about the "new dawn."
Monk also proposed some extremely idiosyncratic theories of planetary motion in several books written during the 1880s.
to settle a dispute between the United States and Britain over losses of merchant ships during the American Civil War
. During the deliberations, Monk wrote to U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant
, urging that this board be made permanent and set up in Jerusalem.
Monk also thought that a powerful sponsor nation could unilaterally achieve his goals, and he placed his greatest hopes for a such a sponsor nation in Great Britain. He believed that Anglophone
nations were the most advanced in the world, and, as the leading nation of the leading group of nations, Great Britain was best suited to aid in the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth.
He also invoked moral responsibility, suggesting many times that in restoring the Jews to Palestine, the nations of Europe and North America would be atoning for all the injustices they had perpetrated on the Jewish people over the centuries.
Since Monk believed the international tribunal he envisioned would end war and conflict, the moralist element of such an idea hardly needs explanation. Similar to some of his Zionist arguments, he emphasized that the world's leading nations needed to take the responsibility of creating such a body, to save mankind from itself.
.
The closest he came to any sort of practical success was on March 23, 1896, when one George Moffat
, an MP from Dalhousie
, New Brunswick
, put forth a motion (in response to Monk's copious letter to he and his colleagues) in Parliament to discuss Canadian sponsorship of an international tribunal, convened in Jerusalem. Though it was the first time such a proposition had been discussed in a legislative body of the English-speaking world, the motion was sidelined, and Parliament adjourned soon afterward.
Also, none other than Abraham Lincoln
, not long after signing the Emancipation Proclamation
, showed sympathy for Monk's pleas to end the suffering of Russia
n and Turkish
Jews by "restoring" them to Palestine. Lincoln did not pursue the matter any further, and his assassination
soon after made his interest inconsequential.
and large-scale land reclamation if Palestine were to be settled by large numbers of Jews. Both these assertions proved true, and were fulfilled in time.
As previously mentioned, Monk often escaped the miserable life he led at Christ's Hospital through fantasy and daydreams. His second trip to Palestine may have been an adult episode of this, escaping the dejection he felt after Anna Greene declined his offer of marriage.
His stay at Christ's Hospital affected him in other ways too. He was taken from his home at a very young age and placed suddenly amidst the grime and squalor of 1830s and 1840s London. As an old man, he expressed a tremendous amount of resentment at this event in his young life. It seems to have influenced the development of his Zionist ideas, with London being the Babylon
of his youth. This is most evident in a map he drew of his proposed plan for Jewish resettlement in Palestine: it closely resembles the original plan of March Settlement, perhaps the Zion to London's Babylon.
In adult life, Monk demonstrated a general lack of perspective, never really abandoned his rather blind idealism, and, at times, had ideas that bordered on the insane. He once described his interpretation of Revelation as the "most important work of the present time." He sometimes remarked that he himself might be the Michael mentioned in Revelation. Like the proponents of British Israelism
, he believed that European peoples were the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes
of Israel.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Christian Zionist
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...
, mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, Messianist
Messianism
Messianism is the belief in a messiah, a savior or redeemer. Many religions have a messiah concept, including the Jewish Messiah, the Christian Christ, the Muslim Mahdi and Isa , the Buddhist Maitreya, the Hindu Kalki and the Zoroastrian Saoshyant...
, and millenarian. Some have credited him with predicting the formation of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and both World Wars, although these claims are of questionable scholarly merit. To this day, Monk remains a very obscure historical figure, something which is unlikely to change.
Biography
Monk was born on April 6, 1827, in March Township, OntarioMarch Township, Ontario
March Township is a geographic township and former municipality originally part of Carleton County in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is currently part of the City of Ottawa...
a tiny and remote agricultural community along the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
. He showed an inclination towards reading and writing at a young age, and when he was seven years old, his father scraped together enough funds to send him to Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
in England to be formally educated. Monk found life there unbearable, and would often take refuge in escapist fantasies as a means of coping with reality. After leaving Christ's Hospital, he studied divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
for a while in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but returned to Canada in the 1840s.
It was in London that Monk was first exposed to Zionist thought. An early incident that had tremendous impact on his young mind was when he heard speech by Lord Shafesbury in 1839 or 1840. Shafesbury, at the time, showed great interest in establishing a British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, and restoring the Jews to their "rightful home." Monk was apparently very moved by the speech and began reading whatever he could find on the subject of proto-Zionism and the Jewish diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
. He would later come into contact with Edward Cazalet, a British Jew, who wanted to establish a Jewish state
Jewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
in Palestine as a safe haven for the oppressed Jews of the world. He was also profoundly affected by the Damascus affair
Damascus affair
The Damascus affair was an 1840 incident in which the accusation of ritual murder was brought against members of the Jewish community of Damascus. Eight notable Jews of Damascus were falsely accused of murdering a Christian monk, imprisoned and tortured. Several of the imprisoned died of torture,...
of 1840, and wrote that the anti-Jewish violence perpetrated there deeply disturbed and saddened him.
Upon returning to Canada, he began corresponding with Christian proto-Zionists in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(mostly mystics and millenarians). A pivotal moment would come, when, in 1852, he decided he had discovered the "correct" interpretation of the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, after which he took a vow of poverty and left for Palestine as soon as his meager funds would allow. It was during this first stay in Palestine (which lasted just under two years) that he finished his interpretation of Revelation, formed the majority of the ideas he would stand by for the remainder of his life, and formed some friendships that would last that duration as well, most notably with the painter William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:...
. Hunt painted his portrait, in which he is posed holding a copy of the New Testament and a recent issue of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, referring to his attempt to link Revelation to recent events. Behind him is an opaque glass window, referring to St. Paul's words that believers can only see the truth "through a glass, darkly". Hunt was also to help secure the funding of Monk's book on Revelation, thanks to a donation from John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
.
For the next two decades, he split his time between Canada, the United States, Palestine, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, trying to raise funds and lobbying for his cause. He proposed marriage to a woman from March Settlement named Anna Greene, but was rejected (prompting his second extended trip to Palestine). Eventually, in the 1870s, Monk settled in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, where he would become something of a public figure. He would lobby Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
, stand for the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
once (in 1887), produce most of his surviving written works, and launch the Palestine Restoration Fund (in 1875), which he would work on until his death. He died on August 24, 1896. His passing was mentioned in newspapers in Ottawa and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and he was eulogized as a philosopher, a moralist, and a crusader for justice. Today, he is almost completely forgotten.
Thought and work
Monk's solution to the troubles of the world was derived from his interpretation of Revelation. He argued that Revelation predicted that a "great light" would "very . . . suddenly and unexpectedly overwhelm ChristendomChristendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
." He also cited Revelation's mention of Michael, the man-child. Michael would supposedly stand alone in the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
for a time, only to be suddenly recognized by the world, which he would then rule with his "rod of iron." Monk was convinced that what Revelation was foretelling was the establishment of Palestine as a sort of global capital, which would serve two functions: firstly, a neutral ground where nations could settle their disputes via a permanent international tribunal, and secondly, a safe haven for the beleaguered Jews of the world. He believed that the "rod of iron" mentioned was the international tribunal, and the "great light" that would "overwhelm Christendom" was the return of the Jews to Palestine, and its establishment as a world capital. He fleshed out this idea with several very disparate philosophies.
Mystic, Messianic, and millenarian aspects
Monk's rooting in Christian mysticism came at an early age, at Christ's Hospital. As previously mentioned, he would often escape his harsh daily reality with fantasy. At the school, this type of behavior was supposedly not uncommon and, combined with the heavily religious curriculum, it produced many boys that harbored mystic Christian beliefs. Monk was definitely one of them, and it would influence him throughout his life, most prominently in his belief in a divine event that brings an end to global suffering: the coming of the Kingdom of God.Aside from the Christian mysticist and millenarian elements, Monk's beliefs also bear resemblances to Jewish Messianism. He wrote that the Kingdom of God's coming would "immediately have the effect of arousing the millions of poverty-stricken Jews in Russia, and elsewhere, so that they would realize that the time has now arrived at last for the fulfillment of Divinely inspired prophecies in reference to the ultimate restoration of their own country." It would seem that the coming of the Great Redeemer, the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, was what he had in mind.
Industrialist and modernist aspects
During his stay in London, Monk had been greatly impressed with the results of the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, particularly in the fields of transportation and communication (he would later claim that the Bible had predicted the railroad and the telegraph). He viewed the machine as a liberating force, a means with which to end the poverty-stricken and backwards state of so many of the world's people (in particular, Russian Jewry). In The People and the Policy he wrote that it is not enough for Christians to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God as they have always done: to realize the Kingdom, there must be prayer, and concrete steps of action on the part of all of Christendom. This emphasis on action, and by extension the human will, as a necessity of creating a better world is of considered to be of a modern nature.
Monk kept this modernism rooted in religion though. According to his calculations, he claimed, the Books Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
and Revelation predicted the "Dark Ages" would last until around 1935. He believed this was an indication that the science of the day would be the shining light of the world, bringing about the "new dawn."
Monk also proposed some extremely idiosyncratic theories of planetary motion in several books written during the 1880s.
Political aspects
Despite believing that the Kingdom of God, as he envisioned it, was divinely preordained, Monk had few or no reservations about using political will and power to achieve his vision. For example, in 1872, a Board of Arbitration was convened in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to settle a dispute between the United States and Britain over losses of merchant ships during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. During the deliberations, Monk wrote to U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, urging that this board be made permanent and set up in Jerusalem.
Monk also thought that a powerful sponsor nation could unilaterally achieve his goals, and he placed his greatest hopes for a such a sponsor nation in Great Britain. He believed that Anglophone
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
nations were the most advanced in the world, and, as the leading nation of the leading group of nations, Great Britain was best suited to aid in the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Moralist aspects
A good number of the pleas Monk made on behalf of world Jewry were on strictly moral and humanitarian grounds. In some cases, he merely pointed out the poverty so many European Jews lived in, the antisemitism they had to endure on a daily basis, and the general injustices visited upon them in their countries of residence. He came to the conclusion that the only way to alleviate their suffering was to return them to the Holy Land.He also invoked moral responsibility, suggesting many times that in restoring the Jews to Palestine, the nations of Europe and North America would be atoning for all the injustices they had perpetrated on the Jewish people over the centuries.
Since Monk believed the international tribunal he envisioned would end war and conflict, the moralist element of such an idea hardly needs explanation. Similar to some of his Zionist arguments, he emphasized that the world's leading nations needed to take the responsibility of creating such a body, to save mankind from itself.
Notable achievements
Monk was never particularly successful in his life's work. He received scant attention from the politicians he lobbied, and had little impact on the growing Zionist movement in Europe and North America. His writings were not widely distributed, though some were translated into Hebrew and printed in the periodical Hamagid, based in Lyck, in what was then PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
The closest he came to any sort of practical success was on March 23, 1896, when one George Moffat
George Moffat, Jr.
George Moffat was a New Brunswick businessman and political figure. He represented Restigouche in the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative member from 1887 to 1891....
, an MP from Dalhousie
Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Dalhousie is a Canadian town located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.- History :Dalhousie is the shire town of Restigouche County and dates European settlement to 1800. The Town of Dalhousie has been through some very distinct periods between its founding in 1825 and today...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, put forth a motion (in response to Monk's copious letter to he and his colleagues) in Parliament to discuss Canadian sponsorship of an international tribunal, convened in Jerusalem. Though it was the first time such a proposition had been discussed in a legislative body of the English-speaking world, the motion was sidelined, and Parliament adjourned soon afterward.
Also, none other than Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, not long after signing the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
, showed sympathy for Monk's pleas to end the suffering of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Jews by "restoring" them to Palestine. Lincoln did not pursue the matter any further, and his assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
soon after made his interest inconsequential.
Prescience
As early as the 1870s, Monk wrote of the need for a modern port in HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and large-scale land reclamation if Palestine were to be settled by large numbers of Jews. Both these assertions proved true, and were fulfilled in time.
Psychological and emotional factors
It is important to consider Monk's psychological and emotional makeup when looking at his writings.As previously mentioned, Monk often escaped the miserable life he led at Christ's Hospital through fantasy and daydreams. His second trip to Palestine may have been an adult episode of this, escaping the dejection he felt after Anna Greene declined his offer of marriage.
His stay at Christ's Hospital affected him in other ways too. He was taken from his home at a very young age and placed suddenly amidst the grime and squalor of 1830s and 1840s London. As an old man, he expressed a tremendous amount of resentment at this event in his young life. It seems to have influenced the development of his Zionist ideas, with London being the Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
of his youth. This is most evident in a map he drew of his proposed plan for Jewish resettlement in Palestine: it closely resembles the original plan of March Settlement, perhaps the Zion to London's Babylon.
In adult life, Monk demonstrated a general lack of perspective, never really abandoned his rather blind idealism, and, at times, had ideas that bordered on the insane. He once described his interpretation of Revelation as the "most important work of the present time." He sometimes remarked that he himself might be the Michael mentioned in Revelation. Like the proponents of British Israelism
British Israelism
British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
, he believed that European peoples were the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
of Israel.
External links
Books about Henry Wentworth Monk
- For the Time is At Hand: An Account of the Prophecies of Henry Wentworth Monk of Ottawa, Friend of the Jews, and Pioneer of World Peace, by Richard S. Lambert (1947)
Partial list of writings by Henry Wentworth Monk
Monk's writings were mostly short self-published pamphlets or open letters. He also wrote innumerable letters to newspaper editors, Members of Parliament, other politicians, and many different correspondents.- "An Appeal to Sir John: To Support the Universal Peace Arbitration Cause . . ." (From the Ottawa Free Press, October 31, 1890)
- At Hand – What is "At Hand"? The Universal Righteous Government of "The Kingdom of God" Upon Earth is "At Hand" (1894)
- Awake, Awake (1893)
- The Bible challenge--"the number of the beast" (1889)
- Certainties in Religion (1886)
- Christendom's cabinet ministry (1893)
- Earl Derby's Opportunity (1893)
- Great Britain's Opportunity (1889)
- The Great Modern Problem (1896)
- He That Overcometh (1885)
- How I Found Out "The Truth" and What Must Now Happen (1889)
- How to Do It; or, Canada to the Front! That the Foremost Colony of the Foremost Empire in the World May Now Prove Worthy of an Honorable Position Among the Nations of the Earth (1890)
- The Peace of the World and the Welfare of Canada (1887)
- The People and the Policy – Ourselves and What is Expected of Us (1890)
- Proposed Government for the Jewish People (1891)
- Proposed international tribunal (1885)
- "A Royal Proclamation; Asked for on Behalf of Homeless and Destitute Russian Jews" (From the Ottawa Free Press, January 10, 1891)
- A Simple Interpretation of the Revelation (1859)
- Stand Up, O Jerusalem (1896)
- Thy Light Is Come (1893)