| Highlights of Dawn | February 1959 |
Israel in History and Prophecy
IN THE Jewish people we have convincing evidence of the historical accuracy and the divine inspiration of the Bible. Abraham is the father of this historic people, and this patriarch of four thousand years ago and his descendants are the ones recognized and discussed in the Old Testament Scriptures as the people of God. Most of the Old Testament promises of God are directed to this people, while the prophecies of the Old Testament foretold their experiences throughout the centuries, including their present return to the Promised Land of Palestine.
In the Jewish people, or Israelites, we have a monument of antiquity of inestimable value. In God’s promises to them is recorded the final destiny of the entire human race. Their experiences throughout the ages have been related to the gradual outworking of a wonderful purpose in human affairs, in exact conformity with the predictions of their divinely inspired prophets.
While they were the people of God throughout Old Testament times, since the first advent of Christ they have been a scattered, homeless, desolate, and persecuted people. Yet withal, in spirit they have remained a distinct and homogeneous people. They remained united by strong ties of blood relationship, and by a common faith in the wonderful promises of God, although they failed to comprehend the full import of those promises.
The first of these promises was made to their father, Abraham, to whom God said, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3) Later God added to this, saying to Abraham, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.”—Gen. 13:14-16
Later, after Abraham had demonstrated his faithfulness to God by his willingness to offer up his son Isaac in sacrifice, God said to him, “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”—Gen. 22:16-18
These are the promises which relate to and have governed God’s dealings with the descendants of Abraham from the time they were first made until now. The repossession of the land of Palestine, the land promised to Abraham and his seed, as we see it taking place today, is related to this promise. Various of the Old Testament prophets foretold that the Israelites would be driven from their land, scattered among the various nations of the earth, and finally be caused to re-inhabit their land.
But we will fail to comprehend the full purpose of God concerning this historic people unless we take into consideration God’s promises to resurrect the dead. Actually, there are two aspects to the restoration of the Israelites: one is their being returned to the Land of Promise, and the other is their restoration from death to life. Both are necessary in order for God’s purpose in and through Israel to be fully accomplished.
The first Christian martyr, Stephen, in speaking before the Jewish Sanhedrin, referred to God’s promise to Abraham concerning the land, saying that God “gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.” (Acts 7:5) The definite implication here is that since God promised Abraham that he would possess the land of Canaan, he will yet do so. This promise can be fulfilled only by virtue of the fact that Abraham will be raised from the dead.
And the promise of the land was not only to Abraham, but also to his seed, his descendants, of which only a few, comparatively speaking, are alive today, and still fewer in Palestine. There is sound scriptural reason for believing that the promises of God to the children of Abraham pertaining to the land of Palestine have been in course of fulfillment for many years, yet during this time thousands of those who have actually returned to the land have died. How inadequate would be the purpose of God concerning Abraham and his children were it not his plan to restore the dead to life!
Every Christian living today who understands the purpose of God concerning Abraham and his seed rejoices to see what is taking place in Palestine; and they rejoice the more to realize that what is occurring in that ancient land of the Bible is a sure evidence that the accomplishment of the full purpose of God as it relates to Israel and all mankind is near, that we are already living in the great day of biblical promise, the “day of the Lord” which, before it ends, will see the whole human race, now dead through Adam’s sin, restored to life through Christ.
The Messianic “Seed”
Another important aspect of the promise made to Abraham is the statement that through his “seed” all the families of the earth would be blessed. (Gen. 22:18) In the New Testament the Apostle Paul refers to this part of the promise, and explains its true significance. This explanation is found in Galatians 3:8,16,27-29. Verse 8 reads, “The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [or Gentiles] through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Thus does the great Apostle Paul associate the promise of blessing through the “seed” of Abraham with the Gospel of the New Testament. In the 16th verse he further explains, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” From this we see that God’s promise to Abraham concerning a “Seed,” was a promise of the coming Messiah, and that it is through the Messiah, or Christ of the New Testament, that all the families or nations of the earth are to be blessed.
Had Paul given us no further explanation than simply that Christ is the foretold “Seed” of Abraham, it would have left us with many questions unanswered. We would have reasoned, for example, that since Christ came nearly two thousand years ago, all the families of the earth should have been blessed, yet we know that they have not been blessed.
The angel who announced the birth of Jesus acclaimed it to be good tidings of great joy, saying that a “Savior” was born, one who would “save his people from their sins.” (Luke 2:10; Matt. 1:21) But the people of Israel have not been saved from their sins, neither have any of the other families of the earth been blessed in a manner implied by the promise made to Abraham. The Israelites have been a scattered and persecuted people ever since that time, until now. A few centuries after Jesus came the world was plunged into the darkest period of history—the Dark Ages. Wars have continued—ofttimes even in the name of The Prince of Peace. Why is this so?
Paul’s further explanation concerning the “Seed” of promise furnishes the answer to this question: This further explanation is found in verses 27-29, which read: “As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
In verse 16 of this chapter Paul emphasizes that the promised “Seed” of Abraham is “one” seed. But in his further explanation he explains that this oneness includes all those who are baptized into Christ, whether Jew or Gentile—“for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” One of the important considerations here is that Jesus alone does not comprise the complete “Seed” of promise, that it includes those who are called to walk in his steps, and who faithfully lay down their lives with him. Those who thus qualify by their faithfulness in suffering and dying with Jesus are, according to Paul, also a part of the promised “Seed” through which all the families of the earth are to be blessed.
And this, at the same time, explains why it is that all the families of the earth have not yet been blessed. It is because the complete “Seed” of Abraham has not yet been developed. The calling and proving faithful of this class has in reality been the work of an entire age in the plan of God—this Gospel age, which we believe is now drawing rapidly to a close.
But in considering this point we need again to keep in mind God’s promise to resurrect the dead. This larger “faith seed” of Abraham does not consist of the limited number who followed Christ during the days of the Early Church. It includes those whom God selected from the world throughout the Gospel age as well as the thousands in the world today who will prove worthy of association with Jesus as the “Seed” of Abraham.
Today when nations are confronted with unexpected emergencies they find it necessary to initiate what is sometimes referred to as “crash programs” to meet the unexpected. But God needs no “crash programs” to carry out his purposes. This has been a long-range program. Insofar as the faith “Seed” of Abraham is concerned, he has taken a whole age to develop it.
Only God could take so much time to accomplish a purpose of this kind, because only God can raise the dead. When Jesus presented himself to Israel as the chosen of God, the One who had come to fulfill the prophecies given by the prophets of Israel, he was crucified, put to death. But this did not thwart the purpose of God concerning him. On the third day thereafter, God raised him from the dead, and exalted him to his own right hand, giving him all power in heaven and in earth.
One after another of Jesus’ followers throughout the age likewise fell asleep in death, many of them being cruelly persecuted. Paul, when he expected soon to be put to death, wrote, “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (II Tim. 4:8) Yes, “all them” who proved faithful unto death have had a “crown” laid up for them. In the end of the age and the dawning of the kingdom age, these are raised from the dead, united with their Head Christ Jesus, and together become a the channel of blessing for all the families of the earth.—Rom. 8:17,22,19
A Spiritual Seed
A point not revealed clearly in the original promise made to Abraham, nor at any time prior to Jesus’ first advent, was the fact that the completed Christ, the Messiah of promise, would, in the resurrection, be exalted to spiritual life, and as divine, spirit beings would rule and bless the world. Jesus said to his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go … I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”—John 14:1-3
There was a hint of this contained in the original promise to Abraham, in the statement that his seed would be as the “stars of the heaven.” And the promise was also made to him that his seed would be as the “sand which is upon the seashore,” implying that there would be an earthly as well as a spiritual seed. (Gen. 22:17) Other promises of God reveal that when the time comes for the spiritual “Seed” of Abraham to begin the work of blessing all the families of earth, there will be qualified human representatives here on earth who will be the administrators of the promised blessings. The Scriptures reveal that these human representatives of the divine Christ will consist almost entirely of the natural descendants of Abraham; indeed, that Abraham himself will be one of those representatives.
Jesus said that in the kingdom of God the people would come from the east, west, north, and south—world-wide—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets. (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:28,29) Here again we must recognize the necessity for the resurrection of the dead. And in this resurrection program we can recognize the purpose of God throughout the long centuries prior to our Lord’s first advent. It was not merely a case of marking time. Actually, various important aspects of the divine plan were then being accomplished. One of them was the testing and preparation of those who would, when raised from the dead, be the human representatives of the divine “Seed” of blessing.
In the 11th chapter of Hebrews the Apostle Paul presents a beautiful summary of this class, beginning with righteous Abel, and points out their great faith in the promises of God, and their fidelity to him. These all proved faithful under trial. And they endured faithfully in order that, as Paul explains, they might “obtain a better resurrection.”—Heb. 11:35
While these worthy servants of the past did not understand all the details of the divine plan, they did know and believe, that loyalty to God and to his promises, regardless of what the cost might be—and it did often cost them their lives—would lead to a “better resurrection.” Paul explains that they died without having received the fulfillment of the promises made to them, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”—Heb. 11:39,40
As we have seen, the “better thing” provided for “us” of the present age is joint-heirship with Christ and exaltation to the divine nature with him. But with the spiritual “Seed” class completed and exalted to the divine nature will come the resurrection of the ancient worthies, to be made, as David describes them, “princes in all the earth.”—Psa. 45:16
It will make no difference to God that some of these lived and died before the Flood, and that some lived and died in each century thereafter, until the coming of Christ. Regardless of when they lived and faithfully died, God will have them on hand at the exact time he needs them, to serve as the tried, and fully qualified human representatives of the spiritual “Seed” of blessing.
Man, in choosing the personnel for any given project, is limited to those who may be living at the time, but not so with God. That is why he can take time to test and prepare those whom he will use in high positions of authority in the outworking of his design to bless all the families of the earth. That is why it is essential to keep the resurrection in mind if we are to get a true perspective of the divine plan.
All Israel Saved
God’s love and care has kept the natural descendants of Abraham intact as a people throughout all the centuries, and there are many prophecies to show that the generation living in the due time for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom of blessing would have the Land of Promise opened to them so that they could return and be first in line for the blessings of that kingdom, the blessings which eventually will flow to “all the families of the earth.”
Among the many prophecies relating to the return of the Israelites to their land are Jeremiah 16:14-18; 23:5-8; Ezekiel 36:21-35, and Amos 9:14,15. Some claim that these and other prophecies refer to the return of the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon, and have nothing to do with their return to the Promised Land in this end of the age. But this theory does not hold, for in the prophecy of Amos particular assurance is given that when they are restored to their land “they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord:” They were driven out of the land following their return from Babylon.
Others insist that the present returning to the Promised Land is not in fulfillment of prophecy because those going there are largely unbelievers, that few of them have faith in God or in his promises. But here again there is a failure to note all the details of the prophecies, which reveal that they would return in unbelief. God is taking them back there not because of their faith, but in order that they might be the first to have an opportunity to believe and to prove their worthiness of his continued blessing.
Referring to the rank and file of the Israelites, Paul wrote, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:26) “Sion” is the divine, spiritual “Seed of Abraham. It will be through the agencies of this “Seed” that the ungodliness of Israel will be turned away. This is after they return to the land. Thus we see that what is taking place today is quite in keeping with the prophecies.
The Scriptures reveal that the wonderful manner in which God’s blessings will be manifested toward the returned Israelites, including the revealing to them of their Messiah, will attract the attention of the remainder of mankind, and that their example of belief and obedience will encourage others along the same, line. Thus the blessings of the kingdom, beginning with the restored Israelites, will increase and expand until, in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, they reach and include “all the families of the earth.”
Today, the Israelites possess only a small portion of the Land which God promised to Abraham, and only a minority of the Israelites have gone there to live. Nearly all the early settlers who returned to the land when the “set time” came have now fallen asleep in death, even as did their forebears throughout the centuries. But they will all be restored. God’s resurrection plan provides for this. In no case does death interfere with the accomplishment of his purposes.
As the work of that new age gets under way, we will have the first fulfillment of that wonderful text, Revelation 22:17, which reads, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth [the Jew first, and also the Gentiles] say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” What a glorious prospect! Let us continue to pray, “Thy kingdom come.”