| Highlights of Dawn | August 1962 |
One of God’s Time Clocks
THOUGHTFUL students of the Bible have referred to Israel as God’s great time clock. This is because there are many experiences of this people which are readily aligned with important prophecies. And these prophecies, in many instances, become time-markers in God’s great plan of the ages.
For instance, their complete expulsion from the land of Palestine a short time after Jesus’ crucifixion was clearly foretold in the Bible. It marked in the divine plan a distinct turning point in the affairs of both them and the Gentiles. In this regard note the interesting prophecy of Micah 5:1-3.
Verse one foretold their harsh rejection of Jesus—“They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” Verse two is a parenthetical assertion that the Messiah was to come out of Bethlehem—“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah [or fruitful], though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.”
When we connect verse one with three there is a definite continuity of thought identifying experiences which were to come to Israel because of Jesus’ rejection. “They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. … Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.”
Israel’s experience here was like a great time clock. Indeed God gave “them up,” or cast them from favor, and it becomes a simple matter to check history to verify the fact. But when this occurred to Israel the prophecy stated that their disfavor would continue until “she which travaileth had brought forth.”
This phrase, “until … she which travaileth had brought forth,” refers to the Gospel-Age development of the church class, or bride of Christ, under the covenant of grace or sacrifice. This illustration of the covenant as a mother travailing to bring forth her child is related to the picture God used of Sarah (Abraham’s wife) bringing forth her son Isaac. (Gal. 4:22-27) In this picture Isaac represented Jesus and his church. Note Paul’s words in regard to this as found in Galatians 4:28: “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”
It is quite possible that this very prophecy of Micah 5:1-3 was the basis for the Apostle Paul’s statement in Romans 11:25,26—“Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”
The suggestion in both Micah’s prophecy and Paul’s statement in Romans 11:25,26 that after the church is selected God will again favor Israel is of special interest. This is because their return to favor would mean God’s great time clock had struck to signal the establishment in earth of his kingdom of peace and righteousness. Because of this, students of God’s word have closely watched Israel’s experiences in these “latter days,” and their hearts have been cheered to see the evidence of God’s leading in their affairs.—Dan. 10:14
Special among the prophecies which mark Israel’s experiences is one found in Jeremiah 16:10-18. This is outstanding because of the numerous events covered and also because of a time feature which has had a precise fulfillment. This was written about 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and the prophecy spans over 2,500 years. In it we are told that Israel (1) was to be scattered into lands north of Palestine, (2) but that they would be returned through the overruling power of God; (3) the procedures that would be used to effect their release, and (4) in addition it informs us of the precise year God’s time clock was to strike signaling the beginning of their return to favor.
A detailed study of this prophecy greatly enriches one’s faith, because it is so apparent that only the Eternal One could in such manner see through the mist of centuries yet unborn. Then, too, it becomes so evident that only God’s illimitable power and wisdom could so precisely shape the times and seasons of nations and peoples. Also it stirs our hearts to realize afresh the nearness of God’s long-promised kingdom. How wonderful to realize that in the not far-distant future “God shall wipe away all tears from … eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”—Rev. 21:4
The unique prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 16, was uttered by the prophet at a time when Israel was idolatrous and disobedient to God. Verse ten foretold Israel’s deep concern when they would be told of the woes to come. “And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?”
Verse eleven instructs Jeremiah to answer in these words, “Then thou shalt say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.”
Then are outlined the dire experiences which were to befall them. Verse thirteen reads, “Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not show you favor.”
This definitely shows they were to be driven out of their homeland. However, upon closer scrutiny it reveals much more. The fact it stated that neither they nor their fathers would know this land makes it clear that they would travel a great distance from the place they then occupied. In previous national travels they had known Assyria, Babylon, Syria, Egypt, hence this expulsion yet to come would reach beyond these points.
Also the statement that while in this faraway land or lands God would “not show them favor” was indeed a heart-chilling thought. In Amos 3:2 Israel had been told that “you only have I known of all the families of the earth.” Even during their previous captivities they recognized the experiences as a chastisement because the Lord continued to “know” or “favor” them. And history has shown that the scattering of Israel after Jesus’ death brought them desperate and strangely different conditions. They were forced for centuries to wander homeless in strange lands, impoverished and reviled, or to be herded into ghettos and heaped with indignities and abuse. How literally was fulfilled the solemn pronouncement of God, “There shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not show you favor”!
Although the prophecy promised dark years of sorrow it also promised a later return to God’s favor. It was indicated that their return to God’s favor and their homeland would come in such an outstanding way that it would overshadow, in their estimation, the deliverance from Egypt. This is brought out in verses 14 and 15 where the prophet states, “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.”
Notice how these verses bring out that, in the main, they were to be driven into lands north of Palestine. And such is the recorded fact. Israel was driven into the area of the Balkan countries, Germany and Russia, although some were, as the prophecy implies, driven into other lands as well.
Verses 16 and 17 present in a novel, pictorial way how they were to be released and returned to their homeland. These verses read: “Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” The “fishing” and “hunting” which has effectively produced their return can be clearly identified. However, before considering these points note that prior to these “fishing” and “hunting” experiences something specific was to occur.
Verse 18 is explicit in stating that “first,” or before the “return experiences” commence, God would “recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things.” In language which at first seems obscure or “veiled” God tells precisely how long they shall experience this favorless condition, and from the prophecy we can calculate the exact year when God’s favor to Israel did again begin to manifest itself.
The key to the time prophecy is in the word “double.” This English word is translated from the Hebrew word, “misneh,” which literally translated means “a like portion.” The English word “double” is sometimes used in this same sense. For instance, one might say in describing a twin, he is his brother’s “double.” This would mean, of course, that one appeared to be a duplicate of the other, or “a like portion.”
With this understanding of the word it becomes clear that God here states that the period during which he “would not show them favor” would be “a like portion” in time equal to a period during which he treated them otherwise, or showed them favor. That this is the correct understanding of the time prophecy becomes crystal clear in the light of other scriptures, and also in the actual outworking of the periods of time in relation to these events.
First we must determine exactly how long was the period of Israel’s favor. When this has been done it becomes a simple matter of measuring from the end of the favor period a like measurement of time for the disfavor period, and then check to see if God’s time clock did strike on time.
Of course Israel’s favor began when the nation itself began. This beginning nationally was at the time of Jacob’s death. Prior to this point God had been dealing only with the head of each family. This practice had begun with Abraham, then passed to his son Isaac, and from him to Jacob. However, when Jacob died God began dealing with his twelve sons and from this small beginning came the nation of Israel. Although their fortunes under God ebbed and flowed in relation to their faithfulness, they were constantly in his favor, and them only did he know among “all the families of the earth.”
But the time did come when their favor ended, and this point is unmistakenly marked in God’s Word. It was at the time of our Lord’s ministry when he personally spoke the pronouncement of doom. The instance is recorded in Matthew 23:37, 38, where we read, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
However, we are not left to theorize that this event does indeed mark this important point. In the Old Testament there is a prophecy which concerns this time when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem just a few days prior to his death. In the prophecy a certain statement is attributed to Jesus. However, the record indicates he used other words, but the actual utterance has the same import as the language of the prophecy.
The prophecy to which we refer is well known, and is found in Zechariah 9:9 and 12. It reads, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” The 12th verse is the prophetic statement Jesus was to make at this momentous time. It reads, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee.”
Here, through divine provision, is used the very same word, “misneh,” or double, that is found in the prophecy of Jeremiah (16:18) which we are considering. Because of this prophecy, and also the statement of Jesus that from that point their house would be left unto them desolate, we find the exact time in history (A.D. 33) which marked their end of favor and beginning of disfavor.
Of course nothing drastic happened to them nationally at the very instant or year that Jesus was crucified. Nevertheless God’s time clock had struck, and events began to transpire which led to their destruction as a nation by A.D. 73. In other words, forty years from the point disfavor began they had lost their national standing. It was during the years A.D. 69-73 that the Roman General Titus laid siege to and conquered Jerusalem. Then began their literal expulsion from their land into many other lands. But in the words noted in Jeremiah’s prophecy, in the main, they were driven and drifted into the land north of Palestine.
For over eighteen centuries the Jews sifted through various nations of the world. In a few instances the “wandering Jew,” as they were called, took “root” in some of the lands to which they drifted. But as they would attempt to become identified with a nation, often persecutions would arise which either forced them to travel on, or experience a herding into ghettos to be reviled and humiliated.
However, because God so exactly marked the date their favor ended we can accurately measure this period. Israel’s favor as a nation began when the nation was born (at the death of Jacob, when his blessing was conferred upon all twelve of his sons), and continued 1,845 years until A.D. 33, when Jesus said unto them, “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.”
Their period of disfavor was to be a “misneh,” or “like portion,” of time. Hence 1,845 years from the date A.D. 33, which would be 1878 A.D., should mark the return of God’s favor to this people so long removed from their homeland. Again God’s great time clock struck, and precisely on time something happened which signaled a beginning of the return to favor for the Jew.
In 1878 A.D. there was an international situation that was similar in some respects to the present. Then the nations of Western Europe were concerned with the aspirations of Imperialistic Russia. They had reason to suspect that Russia was considering the conquest of Turkey and some of her provinces. Of course such an acquisition would have greatly strengthened Russia, and would have been a serious threat to England and other countries of Europe.
To thwart such a move there was a meeting of the Western Powers which was called the Berlin Congress of Nations. History indicates the meeting was dominated by the renowned Prime Minister of England, Lord Beaconsfield, who is better known by the name Disraeli. How interesting that Disraeli (this name means “of Israel”) was the only Jewish Prime Minister England has ever had!
Among the conclusions reached at this meeting to deter Russia was one to the effect that England was to have a general protectorate over Turkey’s Asiatic provinces. Of course this gave warning to Russia that a thrust in the direction of Turkey would bring upon her the combined armies of Western Europe spear-headed by the then mighty nation of England. Also at that conference of nations Turkey was persuaded to amend their laws regarding aliens.
Prior to this point, certain aliens, namely Jews, were not permitted entry to Palestine except for a short visit. But God’s time clock had struck, and precisely in the year indicated in Jeremiah’s prophecy (A.D. 1878) there was an abrupt change in Israel’s affairs. For the first time in about eighteen centuries a Jew could own land in Palestine. And it is recorded that the first colony of rehabilitation, called “Petah Tikvaw,” was established that very year. The hand of God, which fashioned suns and moons, and flung them wide in orbits steadfastly fixed, and perfect in time and movement, also causes peoples and nations unwittingly to obey his will at an appointed time.
True, the favor which returned to Israel in 1878 was slight, but slight also was the evidence of disfavor which began in A.D. 33 at the time when Jesus said to Israel, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” But in these two points there is an interesting parallel. Favor was taken from Israel in A.D. 33, and forty years later, in A.D. 73, they lost their national standing. And so, when favor was returned in 1878, it was forty years later in 1918 when they received a national standing.
The circumstances surrounding this event are most unusual, and those who have faith can unmistakably see the hand of God. The facts quoted below concerning these circumstances are from the book by John Gunther, “Inside Asia,” in the chapter, “Dr. Chaim Weizmann.” This man later was to become the first president of Israeli.
There was a point during World War I which was dark for England and her allies because of a shortage of a much needed chemical, acetone. “Disaster loomed. Synthetic acetone—and much else”—was an imperative necessity. Premier Lloyd George of England called a conference, and asked the advice of C.P. Scott, the editor of the Manchester Guardian. Scott said to Lloyd George, “I know a remarkable professor of chemistry at Manchester University. … I will ask him if he will place himself at the disposal of the state.” To this Weizmann agreed.
“Within some weeks Weizmann had discovered a method of synthesizing acetone. He studied the composition of cereals, and found a method of isolating organisms which permitted him to make acetone out of horse chestnuts. The method was developed on a large scale. … Lloyd George called for Weizmann again. He said in effect, ‘Dr. Weizmann, you have rendered a great service to the state. I will recommend you to His Majesty for any honors you may wish.’
“‘There is nothing I want for myself,’ Weizmann said.
“Lloyd George hinted at a viscountcy, a monetary grant.
“Weizmann shook his head. ‘There is only one thing I want,’ he said, ‘and that is a national home for my people.’
“A few months later came the Balfour Declaration, which—in theory—provided it. Zionism—it seemed then—was won. Of course, other factors contributed to the announcement of the Declaration, as we have seen. But Lloyd George himself says that the acetone incident led him to support the Zionist thesis, and that he brought Weizmann into contact with his old friend, Balfour, in order to open negotiations.”
On November 2, 1917 was issued the Balfour Declaration, which became a reality because of the Allied victory in November 1918. We quote this historic document:
“His majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish People, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish Communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
This object became a reality because of the Allied victory in 1918. Hence, forty years after the return of Israel’s favor in 1878 marks 1918, the date when Israel received national recognition.
We recall that Jeremiah’s prophecy indicated with unique, pictorial language the method God would use to effect their return to Palestine. It reads, “Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face.”—Jer. 16:16,17
No better figurative language could be used than “fishing” and “hunting” to describe how the Jews were returned to their homeland. When one fishes, a bait or lure is used to attract. And so there was dangled world-wide, before the eyes of Jewry, the promise of a homeland. Shortly after 1878 the stirring of hope among the Jews found expression in the movement to become known as Zionism. In 1897, under the guidance of Theodor Hertzl, this organization was formed, and from that time until now it has been a potent force among the Jews.
However, it is quite likely Zionism’s dedicated proponents were initially disappointed with the lack of response among most of the Jews. Many gave lip service to it, and even opened their purses freely in support. But most were reluctant to leave the countries where they had taken root in custom and in business. Nevertheless, Zionism did “fish” from the countries those whose desire burned bright for a homeland. And the rugged, parched hills of Palestine required such dedicated pioneers as a vanguard of the nation. This stubborn, lonely land needed those who would sacrifice comfort and convenience, and who would toil long and arduously with but scant material reward for their efforts.
The bleak barrenness of that lonely land which faced the early vanguard “fished” out of the nations is vividly portrayed in a book, “Days of Our Years,” by Pierre van Passen. In it he reports something written by Vicomte de Chateaubriand in his diary a little over 100 years ago, when he looked upon the dreadful solitude of the Judean hills and noted the following: “This desert is mute with terror since the voice of God has reverberated through the waste places. … These valleys have been turned into an arid, barren plain. … Here the wilderness has conquered. … Never will this land lift its voice again!”
He reports also of “the country where Mark Twain saw nothing but sackcloth and ashes, and where in 1907 the Prime Minister of Holland, Dr. Abraham Kuyper, wept over the poverty and godforsaken loneliness of the landscape.”
Mr. Pierre van Passen sharply points up the sacrifice required of the early pioneers—those who responded to the “fishing” because of vision and intense desire for a homeland.
“For with that rare selfless devotion to which man has risen in great moments of history, bands of Jewish boys and girls from the squalid ghettos of eastern Europe have redeemed for coming generations of their people what had been lost for centuries. … No immediate prospect of well-being spurred the efforts of the Chalutzim [pioneers]. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of the unfamiliar work, no pay day in the offing, no restful comfort at the conclusion of the day’s hard toil. They had nothing but the bare earth beneath them and a pitiless sun above their heads. … But in response to their call the land did lift its voice again.”
Jeremiah’s prophecy indicated that “hunting” would be the next phase of Israel’s return. It reads (Jer. 16:16): “… And after [the fishing] will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” It seems so evident that the hunting which flushed them from their hiding places was the fierce and cruel persecution that arose against the Jews in various countries, such as that which occurred in Russia, Poland, and Germany.
In the Bible’s picture language “mountains” and “hills” represent kingdoms and nations. For instance, in Daniel 2:35 and 44 the kingdom of God is described as “a great mountain [which] filled the whole earth.” The language of the prophecy to the effect that they would be hunted suggests a reluctance to leave their adopted countries to go to their homeland. This is further emphasized by the thought that they would be in the “holes” or hiding places of the mountains.
And this agrees with the facts. Prior to World War II, and especially in Germany, the Jews were divided into two general groups called “assimilists,” and “non-assimilists.” As the name suggests, the “assimilists” were Jews imbued with the concept that they were an integral part of the nation in which they lived; and, of course, the “non-assimilists” had the opposite view.
To implement the view that indeed they were of the nation in which they resided, attempts were made to hide in the “holes of the rocks [in the mountains].” That is, they would take leading parts in political life, become highly respected professional men, and in instances even changed their names. But then the hunters or persecutors of the Jews arose. Bestial men like Hitler sought them out with a demoniacal fury. Family genealogies were traced by this madman to ascertain whether even a trace of Jewish blood could be found. They were branded, herded into concentration camps, and slaughtered by the millions. A dark hour had come for Israel and humanity.
But he who would destroy was himself destroyed. And then the remnant of European Jewry, the halt, the lame, the tortured who were left, began their arduous journey home. In droves they went to Palestine, swelling its numbers beyond what was practical, but being welcomed warmly by those who had preceded them. They had been hunted out 0f the mountains and hills and the holes of the rocks, but there was a haven in the land of their fathers.
Now there is an established nation of Israel. In May of 1948 all foreign occupational power was removed from within their small borders, and Israel became a sovereign nation and took its place among the family of nations.
But the Israelis as a whole seem to be quite oblivious to the fact that God has maneuvered their return and establishment in the land. And this fact, too, is according to prophecy. Of course, one may occasionally hear an Israeli give credit to God for their present situation. But this is much in the same sense that the average person who believes in a Supreme Being attributes all his good fortune to God.
To this point the Jews as a whole are confused as to why they have so long suffered and have been driven through many lands. But their day of enlightenment is to come in the not too distant future. Hear the Word of God concerning this:
“And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore I hid my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.”—Ezek. 39:21-23
We notice how explicitly stated is the time of enlightenment—“from that day forward.” From what day forward, we might ask? A review of the preceding verses beginning at Ezekiel 38:1 makes clear the events which will come before this point of enlightenment. This prophecy indicates that some powerful nations north of Palestine “shalt think an evil thought: and … shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely [margin, or confidently] … to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.”—Ezek. 38:10-12
Without doubt this refers to the trouble which comes after Israel has returned home. Notice how the prophet confirms this when he refers to “desolate places that are now inhabited” and “people that are gathered out of the nations.” God’s time clock struck in 1878 when, because of the Berlin Congress of Nations, a Jew could again own land in Palestine. It sounded forth again in 1918 and 1948 when the Jews received national recognition and finally statehood.
Because we see these things we realize the stage is set for another scheduled sounding of God’s time clock. But when this occurs it will mark the welcome end of this evil order, and the ushering in of God’s kingdom of righteousness, peace, and life. It will make clear to all people for all time that God is in his heaven and all the earth must be silent before him.
Ezekiel 38:16 reveals that God permits this thrust against Israel, and that his consequent defense of them is to reveal himself to the heathen and, of course, to his people. We quote:
“I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” Verses 22,23 prophesy the complete rout of this enemy: “And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
Then shall be brought to pass the beautiful “afterwards” of God’s kingdom. For centuries the world has longed for rest and peace, health, and life. They have sought it in so many fruitless ways. They have tried in vain every kind of government in their quest for Utopia. They have arduously searched for the fountain of youth and the elixir of health and life, but sickness and death continue to plague them. But when God finally intervenes on Israel’s behalf then shall be established the kingdom for which Jesus urged us to pray.
Then Jesus, whose death makes this new order possible, shall rule from “sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” (Ps. 72:8) Then, also, shall be brought to pass the saying, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”—Rev. 21:4