The Last Days’ Gathering

“The Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. … But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” —Deuteronomy 4:27,29-31

THE Jewish people, and the unusual experiences through which they have passed during the lifetime of the present generation, constitute one of the greatest living testimonies to the divine inspiration of the Bible. The fact that these natural descendants of Abraham have through the centuries maintained a separateness from the Gentile world, not permitting themselves to become assimilated, but have maintained the purity of their race, and have held on to their religious concepts, is a testimony of God’s keeping power over them.

The Israelites were recognized by God as a people following the death of Jacob, his twelve sons and their families forming the nucleus of the Jewish nation. While God was mindful of his people even in their Egyptian bondage, he did not begin to deal with them particularly until the time of the Exodus: Then he appointed Moses to be their leader, deliverer, and lawgiver.

During the wilderness journey God was displeased with the rebellious attitude of this people, and announced that he proposed to destroy them and build a new nation, with Moses as its head. Moses interceded for the Israelites, relating to the Lord that if he destroyed this people his glory would fade in the eyes of the Egyptians and other heathen nations which knew of the miracles associated with the Exodus, and of those performed in the wilderness.—Num. 14:11-21

God loved Moses, and it does not seem unreasonable to conclude that his prayer for the preservation of the Israelites as a people was not only favorably heard under those immediate circumstances in the wilderness, but in principle has had a fulfillment throughout the many centuries since. Certainly God has been the preserver of his people, and when all the truth concerning his keeping power is known by the nations, it will be one of the contributing factors in filling the earth with his glory.—Num. 14:21

Moses’ prophecy that the Israelites, who were soon to enter the land under the leadership of Joshua, would later be driven from it, has had more than one fulfillment. Prior to what the Jewish people themselves refer to as the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the longest period they were kept out of the Promised Land was during their seventy years captivity in Babylon. Under a decree issued by King Cyrus of Persia they were permitted to return to their land at the close of the seventy years, although they did not regain their national independence.

They were still a subject people when Jesus came and presented himself to them as their Messiah. In A.D. 70-73 Jerusalem was destroyed, and a world-wide scattering of the Israelites began, and not until the days of our generation have these people enjoyed any worthwhile rights in the land which God promised to their fathers as an everlasting possession. Now at least a part of the Promised Land officially belongs to the Israelites, and they have regained their national status as a free nation among nations. We believe that this is in fulfillment of prophecy, and is a definite indication that we are living in the “latter days” mentioned by Moses in our text.

The Prophetic Testimony

ONE of the promises which God made to Abraham was that he and his children should possess the land of Palestine. In Acts 7:4,5 Stephen reminds us of this, and calls our attention to the fact that so far as Abraham personally was concerned he never did actually possess any of the land of promise. While Stephen did not carry this thought to its logical conclusion, it is obvious that if Abraham is ever to enter into the inheritance of the Land of Promise he will have to be raised from the dead. The Scriptures assure us that this will be done when, as one of the faithful “fathers” of Israel, he will be given life through Christ, and made one of the “princes in all the earth.”—Ps. 45:16

The Scriptures also point out that when the due time would approach for Abraham to be raised from the dead, the Lord would restore to the Land of Promise his natural descendants then living, at least a generous representative group of them. We believe that this is the explanation of what has been occurring in Palestine during recent years.

One of the definite promises of God to restore the Israelites to the Promised Land is the one recorded in Jeremiah 16:14-18. Verses 14 and 15 read, “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.”

The next two verses reveal that when the time should come for this restoration of the Israelites to the Land of Promise they would not be ready for it, and would not, at first, willingly and wholeheartedly co-operate. We quote: “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, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.”

It is evident that the Israelites here referred to are not of the class described by Paul in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, those faithful ones who “obtained a good report through faith” and who will be brought forth to perfection of human nature in the “better resurrection.” (Heb. 11:35,39,40) This faithful, elect class of natural Israel will come forth to be made “princes” in the messianic kingdom, while these others are assured merely a restoration to the land, and an opportunity, through belief and obedience, to attain everlasting human life.

The Lord explains, however, that even this could not be done until “first” he recompenses “their iniquity and their sin double,” because, as he explains, “they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things.” (vs. 18) The “double” of punishment here referred to is, we believe, an important time measurement in the divine plan.

This “double” period of punishment upon the wayward Israelites is mentioned in two other places in the prophecies. In Zechariah 9:9-12, the Lord informs us just when this period would begin to count, indicating that it would be at the time of Jesus’ death, identified by Zechariah as the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass offering himself to Israel as king. This was only a few days before the crucifixion. “Today,” the Lord says, “do I declare that I will render double unto thee.” This coincides with Jesus’ declaration to Israel, made within a day or two of his crucifixion, when he said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”—Matt. 23:38

The Prophet Isaiah takes his position at the time when this “double” period of punishment upon Israel is completed. He wrote, ‘”Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare [Hebrew, appointed time] is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”—Isa. 40:1,2

The Hebrew expression, “appointed time,” reveals clearly that this prophetic “double” is a time measurement, indicating that there would be a period of disfavor upon Israel as a people of the same duration as the time God dealt with and blessed them as a nation. This was 1,845 years, from the death of Jacob, when his twelve sons were recognized by God as the nucleus of the Jewish nation, to the death of Jesus. The “double” of this would bring us to A.D. 1878.

It was at this time that the Jewish people began to receive limited rights in Palestine through the Berlin Congress of Nations. Later the Zionist movement was born, under the direction of Theodor Herzl. Since then, and with an ever-increasing volume of interest, the minds of the Jewish people have been directed toward their Land of Promise. Now nearly two million Israelites are living in that land.

The Zionish movement, it seems to us, might well represent in part what the Lord refers to as the “fishers” he would send among his people to induce them to return to their land. But this method did not accomplish the Lord’s full purpose, so, as Jeremiah’s prophecy foretold, he used “hunters” to further accelerate the desirability of their return to the Promised Land. This might refer in part at least to the bitter persecutions upon the Jewish people by the Russians and the Hitler regime, which, while these persecutions resulted in the death of millions of Jews, caused large numbers of those who were not killed to turn their faces toward the homeland of Palestine, which, in the Lord’s providence, simultaneously opened up to them.

“Fear, and Not Peace”

THAT the Israelites would be restored to their land during troublous times is also shown in the 30th chapter of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Verse 3 reads, “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

And then in verse 5 we read, “We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.” The marginal translation reads, “There is fear and not peace.” The fulfillment of this prophecy begins at a time when the whole world is filled with fear, and the Jewish people do not escape this fear. Indeed, because of the hunters which are sent among them, they have actually had more cause for fear than the people of the world generally.

Verse 7 of this prophecy reads, “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.” That there is no day of trouble like the one in which the Israelites have been restored to their land identifies it as a part of that great “time of trouble” foretold by Daniel, which, as he prophesied, would be “such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) But Jacob is to be saved out of this trouble, we are told, “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.”—Jer. 30:8,9

This carries the events forward into the messianic kingdom, when, as the antitypical David, Christ will reign over, or “possess,” the natural descendants of Abraham who did not prove worthy to share the rulership of the kingdom. Yes, they will be the subjects of the great King, and how they will rejoice in the blessings of health and life which will flow to them as a result of the mercy and love of their God.

Continuing we quote verses 10 and 11: “Therefore, fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” This is a remarkable prophecy, and like many others, cannot be fully understood without taking into consideration the resurrection of the dead.

In many instances the term “Jacob” is used in the prophecies to denote the people of Israel, but here both Jacob and his seed are mentioned, which is a strong implication that in this instance Jacob as a person is the one referred to. Many times in the Old Testament the captivity of Israel, as well as the captivity of other nations, refers to their being prisoners in death. In verse 3 the Lord says, “I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers.” Here Israel and Judah are the people who are promised restoration to the land. But in verse 10, Israel and Jacob and their children are mentioned separately, and they are saved from “afar,” which could be the land of death, while at the same time their “seed” are brought back from the land of their captivity. Then “Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.”

Turning to Isaiah, chapter 29, we read, “Thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.”—vss. 22-24

There seems little doubt that here the reference is to Jacob as an individual, raised from the dead in the “better resurrection” to be one of the “princes in all the earth.” He will not then grow old, as suggested by his face not waxing pale. While he will be in the midst of his children, his descendants, it will be those who in the past had “erred in spirit,” and who will now, under the “princes” composing the earthly ruling phase of the kingdom, have an opportunity to “learn doctrine.”

And so in the prophecy of Jeremiah 30:10,11 quoted foregoing, the resurrected Jacob seems also to be the one referred to. If so, this would mean that by then all the Ancient Worthies will have been resurrected, and the earthly ruling phase of the kingdom functioning. And what a wonderful manifestation of God’s favor this will be to the Jewish people who by then will have been restored to the Land of Promise!

Israel Saved

VERSE 11: “For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” This prophecy was written by Jeremiah just prior to Israel’s seventy years’ captivity in Babylon. Indeed, he warns the Israelites of this calamity which was to come upon them. However, like the other prophets God sent to Israel, Jeremiah also foretold events pertaining to the outworking of events relating to the plan of God as a whole, and in the prophecy just quoted we have an example of this.

The Israelites were about to be uprooted from their land and taken captive to Babylon. From this captivity they were to return, but as a subject people, first to Medo-Persia, then to Greece, and then to Rome. The Roman armies were to drive them out of their land again, and scatter them throughout various countries of the earth, but the prophet assures them that they were not to be totally destroyed, even though he would make a full end of the nations which held them captives. The empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece are already destroyed. The same is virtually true of the Roman Empire; but through all this destruction of empires and nations Israel as a people has remained, although outnumbered and severely chastised again and again.

Finally, in “Jacob’s trouble,” it will look as though they are about to be completely destroyed, but the Lord will save them, and they will come under the protective care of the re-established house of David, with Jesus as their King. But they will receive a severe scourging ere they are brought to the point where they will look upon him whom they pierced, and say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23:39) Through the Prophet Zechariah the Lord foretold: “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”—Zech. 14:2,3

Verses 4 to 9 of this chapter present a beautiful symbolic picture of the Lord’s kingdom. In symbol the mount of Olives is seen divided, half toward the north and half toward the south, with Jehovah’s “feet” upon these two halves of the mountain. (vs. 4) Thus we have the two phases of the kingdom illustrated—the spiritual, made up of Christ and his church; and the earthly, composed of the Ancient Worthies, the faithful earthly seed of Abraham brought forth from death in the “better resurrection.”

The “valley” produced by the dividing of the mountain will be one free from shadows, for the sun will stream through it from east to west. This speaks symbolically of the Sun of Righteousness and its full light of divine truth and blessing scattering the shadows of sin, ignorance, superstition, and death, and healing and restoring the willing and obedient of humanity who will flee to this symbolic valley of blessing.

Carrying the picture further, Zechariah says, “It shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” (vss. 6, 7) This is the thousand-year day of Christ’s kingdom. While the light of truth will then be shining brightly, it will require the entire period to scatter all the mists of darkness. One reason for this is that the people of each generation, awakened from the sleep of death, will return holding all their previous superstitions, and afflicted with many tendencies toward sin. But when the work of enlightening all generations is completed, and all mankind restored to perfection, it will be light—fully and gloriously light.

The Prophet Zechariah assures us that during that “day” “living waters” shall flow out from the symbolic Jerusalem. This is the “river of water of life” which the Revelator saw flowing “from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Rev. 22:1,2,17) John saw trees on both sides of this symbolic river, bearing an abundant supply of life-giving fruit, and the “leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Then will go forth that glorious invitation from the “Spirit and the bride,” who will say, “Come.” Joining with them in extending this invitation will be all those who hear and respond. Then, thank God, “whosoever will” shall have the opportunity of partaking of the water of life freely. This “water of life” emanates from the “throne,” the kingdom, symbolized in the Old Testament also by a “mountain.” And we are told that “all nations … and many people” will then say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.”—Isa. 2:2,3

Zechariah further wrote, “The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name One.” (ch. 14:9) This great King, Jehovah, will be represented by the spiritual and earthly phases of the messianic kingdom, and all mankind will have to humbly bow the knee to the authority of this kingdom, and worship the Lord in keeping with its laws and instructions in order to receive the promised blessings which will then be flowing to all the families of the earth.

To use another prominent biblical symbol of the kingdom, it will be the “throne of David,” elevated from its typical to its antitypical status, with the people of Israel under its protective care. Into this government, or kingdom, not only Israel, but the people of all nations will enter; and by partaking of the “water of life” flowing from the throne, will be healed and enabled to enjoy everlasting life.

Then will be fulfilled the prophecy which states that “the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily [margin, or continually] to pray before the Lord, … 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 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. 8:21-23

The people of Israel, regathered to their land, will be the first to receive the blessings of the new kingdom. The rest of the world will take note of the manner in which the people of Israel are being blessed, and will decide that they, too, will fall in line with the new government and with its marvelous “princes” so that they also may receive the Lord’s blessings. What a happy throng it will be!

In verse 13 of this 8th chapter the Lord declares, “As ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing.” Yes, “all Israel shall be saved,” and when they are saved, it will mean that they are observing the Lord’s laws of righteousness and justice, and no longer will be an evil example to the nations, but an example for good. In order that “saved” Israel might be a blessing instead of a curse, verses 16,17 declare, “These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.”

A people thus observing the righteous ways of God would of necessity be a blessing to all who came into contact with them, or who observed and followed their example. And rich will be the blessings accruing to all who follow this example of righteousness, for they also will thus be contributing to the general “increase” of Christ’s kingdom of blessing. Indeed, all will be saying, by word and by example, “We will walk in his paths.”—Isa. 2:2-4

Ezekiel 36:16-38

IN THIS chapter the Lord revealed one of his reasons for restoring the Israelites to their land and to his favor. He told Ezekiel that when they were in their own land they defiled it, and that when they were scattered among the Gentiles they profaned his holy name by their unrighteous ways, because they claimed to be the people of the Lord. In an explanation reminding us of Moses’ plea to the Lord concerning the glory of his name, the Lord said:

“I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their [margin, or, your] eyes. For I will take you from 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 ye 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 an 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.”—vss. 21-28

“Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.” (vs. 32) This is not the manner in which the Apostle Paul wrote concerning those of Israel who in their hearts obtained “a good report through faith.” (Heb. 11) No, these are the nominal house of Israel to whom the Lord shows mercy, and through whom, by restoring them to their land and giving them hearts of flesh by the process of restitution, he magnifies his name in the eyes of all his people.

Ezekiel, Chapter 37

IN THIS chapter the nominal house of Israel is likened to a valley of dry bones. Their restoration to God’s favor and again becoming his people is symbolized by these bones coming together, flesh and skin coming upon them, and their being given life through the Spirit of God. This restoration is likened to a restoration of the dead, although it is not a prophecy of the resurrection per se. The resurrection of the dead is implied in the full restoration of Israel, for the chapter emphasizes the bringing together of those involved many centuries ago in the division of the nation between “Judah” and “Israel.”

In this chapter we are reminded again that the Israelites here referred to as being restored are not the faithful of the nation, but the unfaithful. The faithful are restored to life in the “better resurrection.” Verse 23 reads, “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.”

It is interesting and reassuring to note the many times, as in this text, that the Lord promises to “save” Israel. No wonder Paul wrote that “all Israel shall be saved.” (Rom. 11:26) Their being saved from their defilements is shown to be the reason that they will then be the people of God—“So shall they be my people, and I will be their God.” Because God loves them for his name’s sake and for their fathers’ sake, he speaks of them as his people even before they are purified and restored to perfection. But only when his law is written in their hearts and they are filled with his Spirit will they have entered into the fullness of being his people.

“Moreover,” the Lord continues, “I will make a covenant of peace with them [they will be reconciled to God]; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them [compare Jer. 31:31-34]: and I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (vss. 26,27) And God’s symbolic tabernacle will also eventually be with the people of all nations.—Rev. 21:3

In verse 24 the Lord tells us that his servant David shall be king over the restored Israelites. We know that David, personally, will be one of the “princes in all the earth,” but the reference here seems to be to the antitypical David, who is Jesus. The angel announced to Mary that Jesus would sit upon the throne of David. (Luke 1:32) Isaiah foretold that he would sit “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.”—Isa. 9:7

And when the kingdom is thus established, and the people of Israel being blessed under its righteous laws, the “heathen [Gentiles] shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary [God’s holy spiritual temple] shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (vs. 28) Surely this great display of mercy, love, and power on behalf of the masses of Israel will do much to exalt the name of Jehovah in the eyes of the Gentile world.

And by the same token, those who are then so richly blessed by the Lord will receive the favorable attention of the world in general. This will be an incentive to the people of all nations to “go up to the mountain of the Lord,” that they might likewise be blessed. The Lord said, “At that time will I bring you again, even at the same time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.”—Zeph. 3:20

Ezekiel, Chapters 38 and 39

CHAPTER 38 of Ezekiel prophesies the mounting of an attack against the people of Israel who have been brought back to the land of Palestine, who, when this takes place, will be dwelling in the land in a measure of peace and security. The leader of the aggression is described as Gog, from the land of Magog. At the crucial moment in this attack the Lord fights for his people. These would seem to be essentially the same events as those described in Zechariah 14:1-3.

In this prophecy we are informed that as a result of the Lord’s protection of Israel he will “magnify himself,” and will “be known in the eyes of many nations.” (38:23) The Lord adds, “They shall know that I am the Lord.” We are not informed just what measures the Lord will use to defeat the enemies of Israel, except that symbolically it is said to be with “an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” (vs. 22) These things could be symbolic or literal—it is not important for us to know.

However, since this occurs about the time for the full manifestation of kingdom powers in the earth, it might also well be that the “princes in all the earth,” the “elect” fleshly seed of Abraham who will constitute the visible ruling phase of the kingdom, will receive their “better resurrection at about this time. Should this be so, and those perfect men, under divine guidance, take charge of Israel’s affairs, certainly the Lord’s name would be magnified, and the people would know of a certainty that he is God.

And these same miraculous events will also open the eyes of God’s regathered people in Palestine. This is mentioned in verse 7 of chapter 39, which reads, “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen [Gentiles] shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”

Here, again, we are reminded that the Israel the Lord speaks of in these prophecies is not those who will constitute the ruling earthly phase of the “holy nation” of promise, but nominal Israel which continues to pollute the Lord’s name until he fights for and delivers them in Jacob’s trouble. Thus, again, the great love of God for these people for their fathers’ sake is emphasized. From this we can comprehend more clearly the depth of meaning in Paul’s statement that God has counted them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. (Rom. 11:32) Truly, “Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?”—Rom. 11:34

Verse 22 reads, “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.” Surely the elect fleshly “seed” of Abraham knew that Jehovah was their God. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew this, as did Moses and all the prophets. The seven thousand in Elijah’s day who refused to bow the knee to Baal knew that Jehovah was their God. So did the similarly faithful ones in each and every generation of that period in the divine plan when God was preparing those who were to be of the earthly ruling phase of the messianic kingdom.

But all those who were merely nominal Israelites throughout all that time, and since, did not really know God. Not until he demonstrates his love for them and his power to deliver them out of “Jacob’s trouble” will they truly know him, and then, of course, only if they obey the laws of the messianic kingdom then in force throughout the earth.

Verse 25 reads, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name.” Apparently Paul was very well acquainted with these prophecies in which we are so frequently reminded that the restoration of Israel is a demonstration of God’s mercy.—Rom. 11:32,33

The final verse of the prophecy reads, “Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” (vs. 29) In the sermon which Peter preached on the coming “times of restitution of all things” which would follow the second coming of Christ, he said that “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19-23) In the Greek text this reads, “Out from the face of the Lord.” How refreshing will be the experiences of Israel when the Lord no longer hides his face from them, because, having been cleansed from their defiling unbelief, and filled with his Spirit, they fully become his people, and he becomes their God.

Ezekiel 20:33-38

HERE we have another remarkable prophecy pertaining to the restoration of Israel to the Land of Promise. “As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you. And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, … and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond [margin, or, delivering] of the covenant.”—vss. 33-37

When David and his successors were kings in Israel, they sat upon the throne of the Lord. (I Chron. 29:23) Through these kings God ruled over the nation. But that typical kingdom ceased with the overthrow of their last king, Zedekiah. It was to be no more until “he come whose right it is.” (Ezek. 21:27) So when the Lord foretold that a time would come when he would rule over his people with a stretched out arm, to gather them out of the countries wherein they had been scattered, the reference is to the time of Christ’s second presence, when, as the One “whose right it is,” took unto himself his great power to reign.

And one of the first things to be accomplished is the restoration of the people of Israel to their Land of Promise, there eventually to be happy subjects of the messianic kingdom. To begin with, they are in an attitude of mind and heart similar to their fathers in the wilderness, and it is necessary for the Lord to plead with them, and to cause them to pass under the “rod” of his discipline. This discipline will be necessary before they are brought to the condition wherein the “covenant”—evidently the New Covenant—can be entered into by them. (Jer. 31:31-34) The rebels will be purged out, the Lord declares. (Ezek. 20:38) This is an evident reference to sinners who will be “destroyed from among the people.”—Acts 3:23

Verse 40 sums up the matter very beautifully. We quote, “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, … there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits [margin, or chief] of your oblations, with all your holy things.”

God’s holy mountain is the messianic kingdom. It is in this mountain that the Lord will make a feast of fat things for all people. It is in this mountain that he will swallow up death in victory, and wipe tears from off all faces. (Isa. 25:6-9) It is this mountain that will be established in “the top of the mountains.” (Micah 4:1-4) It is this mountain which, as it continues to increase in its control over the nations, will eventually “fill the whole earth.”—Dan. 2:35

And, as the Lord declares in this prophecy, it is in this mountain, as subjects of the kingdom of their Messiah, that “all the house of Israel, all of them in the land,” will serve the Lord. “There will I accept them,” saith the Lord, and there will he require their offerings, the evidences of their obedience and devotion to him. “I will accept you with your sweet savor [margin, Heb. savor of rest], when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.”—vs. 41

In verse 44 we read, “And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” How wonderfully indeed the Lord’s mercy will be displayed toward Israel and toward the whole world. Let us rejoice in the prospect of God’s rich blessings of life soon to be showered upon them!

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