But, perhaps, you say: "I don't believe the Israelites are to be restored to Canaan, and Jerusalem rebuilt."
Dear reader! have you read the declarations of God's word about it? Surely nothing is more plainly stated in the Scriptures. We would that we had space to quote the passages, but we can only give you a portion of the references. We beg of you to read them thoughtfully. Divest yourself of prejudice and preconceived notions, and let the Holy Spirit show you, from His word, the glorious future of God's chosen people, "who are beloved" (Romans 11 :28), and dear unto Him as "the apple of His eye." Zechariah 2 :8.
1st. God calls Abraham. Genesis 12:1.(1)
2nd. God's promise to Abraham. Gen. 12:2-7. " " " Gen. 13:14-17. " " " Gen. 15:18. " " " Gen. 17:8. " " Isaac. Gen. 26:1-5. " " Jacob. Gen. 28:1-15. " " " Gen. 35:10-12.3rd, The land described. Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34; Deut. 11:24; Deut, 34:1-4; Josh. 1:2-6.
4th. The land partially possessed. 1st Kings 4:21.
5th. Punishment prophesied for disobedience. Leviticus 26:14-39; Deut. 4:22; 28:16; 31:16.
6th. Israel's sins. Judges 2:11-19; 1st Samuel 8:6; 2 Kings 21:11; 2 Kings 24:3; Jeremiah 16:4; and many others, ESPECIALLY Matthew 27:26.
7th, The promises to be remembered and restoration assured: Lev. 26:40-45, especially verses 42, 44, 45, Deuteronomy 4:30-31, 30:1-10, 2 Samuel 7:10-11, Joel 2:18-32. Acts 15:13-16,-very important, as it is the apostle's summary of the prophets.
And now, reader, if you have faithfully studied these passages, or if you have even read them, do you wonder that the great mass of Jews, at the present time, have an abiding faith that they are to be returned to Canaan?
All the orthodox Jews tenaciously cling to this hope; and shall we, who have accepted so much greater light, refuse this overwhelming testimony of the Word? God forbid.
It may be that you say, "These prophesies were fulfilled in the return from Babylon."
Not so, that was the FIRST TIME. But there is to be a Second Restoration.
"And It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand AGAIN the SECOND TIME to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the Islands of the sea." Isaiah 11:11.
In the first restoration only those who were MINDED came back from Babylon (Ezra 7:13), while many remained both there, and in Egypt and elsewhere. But in the future, or second restoration, not one will be left.
"If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee." Deuteronomy 30:4.
"Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the ear and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, give up; and to the south, keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; EVEN far, and ONE that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him," Isaiah 43:5-7.
"For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, 1, even 1, will both search my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day; and I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel." Ezek. 34:11-13.
"Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led Into captivity, among the heathen; but I have gathered them unto their own land, and HAVE LEFT NONE OF THEM ANY MORE THERE." Ezekiel 39:28-29.
In the first restoration it was only Jews who returned.
In the second, or future restoration, it will be both Judah
(the two tribes) and Israel (the ten tribes).
"In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an Inheritance unto your fathers." Jeremiah 3:18.
"And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, EVEN ALL OF IT, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded." Ezek. 36:10.
Ezekiel was directed to take two sticks, representing Judah and Joseph, which should be joined and become one stick in his hand, and when the people enquired what it meant, he was directed to- say unto them:
"Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them Into their own land: and I will make them ONE NATION In the land upon the, mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them ALL and they shall be No MORE two nations, neither shall they be divided Into two kingdoms any more at all." Ezek. 37:15-22.
At the first restoration they returned to be
overthrown and driven out again. But in the second, they shall return to
remain, no more to go out. They shall be exalted and dwell safely, and the
Gentile nations shall flow unto them.
Permanent Restoration
"I will plant them upon their land, and they SHALL NO ,MORE BE PULLED UP out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord their God." Amos 9:15.
"And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them: but they shall DWELL SAFELY, and none shall make them afraid." Ezek. 34:28.
"And I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: -yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my, people Israel;-and thou Shalt NO MORE HENCEFORTH BEREAVE THEM OF MEN." Ezek. 36:11-12.
"Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that- no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a Joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." Isaiah 60:15-16.
All Nations Shall now unto Israel. "As I Live saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, a bride doeth.. I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall 'bring thy sons In their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders, and kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet." Isaiah 49:18, 22, 23.
"But In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk In His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Micah 4:1-2.
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; it shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the Inhabitants of many cities And the Inhabitants of one city, shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will also go. Yea, MANY PEOPLE and STRONG NATIONS shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that Is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." Zech. 8:20-29.
"And it shall come to pass, THAT EVERY ONE THAT IS LEFT OF ALL THE NATIONS which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." Zech. 14:16.
In the first Restoration, because of their
blindness, and hard, stony hearts, they rejected and killed Jesus. But in the
future Restoration they shall REPENT of all this, and have CLEAN HEARTS, and
ACCEPT of CHRIST, who will be their King.
Look Upon Me
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have PIERCED, AND THEY SHALT MOURN FOR HIM, AS ONE MOURNETH FOR HIS ONLY SON, AND SHALL BE IN BITTERNESS P014 HIM, AS ONE THAT IS IN BITTERNESS FOR HIS FIRST- BORN. In that day there shall be a great mourning In Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon -In the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the 'family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." Zech. 12:10-14.
"They shall Rome with weeping and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a. straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim Is my first-born. Hear the word of the Lord, 0 ye nations, and declare It In the isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him. and keep him, as a shepherd doth his Bock. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their INWARD I-ARTS, AND WRITE IT IN THEIR HEARTS; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."
"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your Idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you. and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people. and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and will increase It, and lay no famine upon you." Ezek. 36:p4-29.
"Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their Idols nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwellIng places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: . . . and they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children and their children's children, forever: and my servant David shall be their prince, forever, . . . my tabernacle shall also be with them: yea, I will be their God and they shall be ray people." Ezek. 37:23-27
"And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and Increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. Behold, the days ,come, saith the Lord, that I will raise to 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 to his name whereby he shall be called, 'THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. [Jehovah, Tsidkenuj] Jeremiah 23:3-6.
"And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David: he shall feed them, and 'he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.- Ezek. 34:23-24.
Nothing has ever yet been built like the temple
which Ezekiel describes in chapters 40 to 48, and this includes a definite
description of the location of each tribe, as they shall be settled in this
great future restoration. See Ch. 48.
Confusing Israel with the Church
It would seem that such overwhelming testimony would convince every fair-minded reader, that there is a glorious future restoration in store for Israel. And yet, many say, that we must interpret all this Scripture "spiritually," and they fritter away the point and the force of such explicit declarations, in attempting to apply them to the persecuted Church.
This is a very great error, and we believe it has arisen, principally, from a misunderstanding of Paul's arguments in his epistles. He does not confound Israel with the Church when he says, "They are not all Israel which are of Israel." Nor does he confound the Church with Israel when he makes us children of Abraham by faith; but he demonstrates that we all stand by faith alone. In I Cor. 10:32,17 he makes a clear distinction between the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church of God. There are special blessings for the Church, and special blessings for Israel He plainly shows that not all the natural seed are true Israelites. He only is a Jew who has circumcision of heart in the spirit." And though multitudes of Israel have passed away in unbelief, still Paul distinctly declares that there is a remnant WHICH SHALL BE SAVED.10 He so loved them that he could sacrifice himself, and even be separated from Christ for their sakes.20 He saw their future glory, as the natural branches yet to be grafted into their own olive tree, which should be nothing less than life from the dead .21 Jesus said, in Luke 21:24, "And 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." And Paul understood this mystery, that when "the fullness of the Gentiles be come in," "there should come out of Zion the Deliverer, who should turn away ungodliness from Jacob!' Rom. 11:25-26.
And this is fully confirmed by the following: In Amos 8 and 9, we read of the awful calamities which should come upon Israel. And not until- they had been SIFTED AMONG ALL NATIONS 'would the Lord gather -and plant them, and raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen. When the apostles and elders were gathered in the first council at Jerusalem, considering this same question about Israelites and the Church, the Holy Spirit directed the mind of James to this very prophecy in Amos, to show that during this sifting of Israel, God was to TAKE OUT of the Gentiles a people to His name, and AFTER THIS to build again the tabernacle of David. Acts 15:13-17. So we see that these restoration prophecies can not be applied to the Church, which is first to be TAKEN OUT before Israel and Jerusalem are to be restored.
Again, one of the most specific prophecies of
their restoration is addressed, not to the people, but to the MOUNTAINS OF
ISRAEL, which leaves no possible doubt as to the LITERAL MEANING intended.
The Day of Jacob's Trouble
Surely Israel SHALL BE RESTORED; but there is an AWFUL TIME OF TROUBLE awaiting her. Their sins are mountain high. Upon them is the guilt of innocent blood, even the precious-blood of Jesus, Christ. Mat. 27:25.
The faithful prophet saw it when he wrote:
"And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
"For thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
"Ask ye now, and see whether 9. man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his -hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness.
"Alas! for that day is great, so that none Is like It: It is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of It." Jeremiah 30:4-7.
"Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations." Ezek. 36:31.
Yes, they shall repent and loathe themselves. They "shall pass through the sea with affliction." Many shall die,, but the third part shall be saved.
"And I will bring the THIRD PART through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold Is tried; they shall call on my name and I will hear them; I will say, it is my people; and they shall Say,, the Lord Is my God." Zech. 13:9.
All this is intimately connected with the coming of Christ, not at the Rapture, but at the Revelation.
For we read, "When the Lord shall build up Zion, Hz SHALL APPEAR IN His GLORY.'' Psalm 102:16.
It is when He appears with His saints (the Church) in flaming fire to execute judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Jude 14) upon the nations and upon Israel, who are the third party in Mat. 25:36, and who are not to be reckoned among the nations. Numbers 23:9. It is when He sits as a refiner and purifier.
"Behold I will send- my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
"But who may abide the day of His coming? and who, shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap.
"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering In righteousness.
"Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
"And I will come near you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling In his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 3:1-5.
"He shall indeed refine Israel in the furnace of affliction. 1125 And they shall arise and shine, for THEIR LIGHT SHALT COME.26
Arise and shine In youth immortal, Thy light is
come, thy King appears! Beyond the centuries' swinging portal,
Breaks a new dawn-THE THOUSAND YEARS!
We might fill a book with comments upon how Israel shall be restored, but all we have desired to do was to show that it is an incontrovertible fact of prophecy, and that it is intimately connected with our Lord's appearing, and this we trust we have satisfactorily 'accomplished.
The detail of the manner of their restoration, and of their repentance and acceptance of Christ, is not so important to us. For those who are of the Church are to be taken away first, in the Rapture, and escape all these things through which Israel must pass.27
True, many have found the study of this detail a rich blessing, and we give the result which one has reached on pages 187 to 195, and yet we believe that we cannot now discern the order of these things so clearly as Israel will in the great rush of events, after the Church is taken away, and when the Book is more completely unsealed and opened. Dan. 12:4.
It is enough for us to know that it will be in the LATTER DAYS (Isaiah 2:2) that Antichrist is to be revealed and destroyed by Jesus the King of the Jews, who is coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8), and that Israel, His people, "are at hand to come." Ezekiel 36:8.
