PROMISES TO ISRAEL by J. H. Waggoner

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 19, 1860

PROMISES TO ISRAEL.

By J. H. Waggoner

BY J. H. WAGGONER.

God chose the children of Israel, and separated them to himself, and made them the depositaries of his truth. Our relation to the truth committed to them involves the whole question of our duty to God; and their relation to the truth and promises given to them determines their future destiny. No subject in the Bible can be of more importance than this, as on a correct understanding of it depends an understanding of the purposes of God in both covenants; and there is no subject on which a greater misunderstanding exists. Where a diversity of views exists there must be some error, and according to our introductory remarks, we believe there is a means of determining where the truth is on this subject. An examination of two points is necessary to settle this controversy.

1. The conditional nature of the promises made to the Jews.

2. Under which of the two covenants the special blessings to them were to be conferred.

On the first I would remark that all of God's purposes of grace to man, are conditional. To deny this, is to advocate Universalism, and deny free agency. True, he chose them for the love that he had to their fathers, but their fathers obtained the blessings by faithful obedience, and to the children the continuance of these favors was contingent on their obedience. This is so evident that it needs no proof. When God required Pharaoh to let them go, it was, not only that he might bless them, but that they might serve him. Ex. x, 3. And he said to them, "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me," &c. Ex. xix. See Lev. xxvi.

As the blessings set before them were conditional, they could claim them only on the fulfillment of the conditions. But the Scriptures abundantly prove that they were "a disobedient and gainsaying people." Therefore it must be admitted that they can receive nothing in the future for any consideration in the past. And therefore if any promise is fulfilled in their behalf in the future, it must be on the performance on their part of the conditions on which it is based. But if they fail to fulfill the condition, the blessing is of course forfeited, and the promise cannot be fulfilled.

On the second point the conclusion is equally evident. The first covenant has passed away, and nothing can be claimed or granted under an abolished system. Of course, all future blessings must be granted under the new covenant, subject to its conditions and restrictions. So we are now shut up to one single point of inquiry; to wit, Do the Scriptures teach that the natural descendants of Jacob are entitled to any special privileges or blessings under the new covenant? We affirm that they do not, and appeal to the testimony of God's word.

It will be borne in mind that we have presented evidence that the first covenant has passed away and the second been established in its stead. See pages 47 and onward. An additional testimony may be in place here, as it stands intimately connected with the promises to Israel.

Christ is the "Mediator of the new covenant," Heb. ix, 15; xii, 24. The Scriptures invariably speak of him as being a Mediator at the present time. See Heb. viii, 6; 1 Tim. ii, 5; 1 John ii, 1; Heb. ix, 24; Rom. viii, 34. And they never speak of him as a priest, mediator, or intercessor in a future dispensation.

Again, the blood of Christ is "the blood of the covenant." Matt. xxvi, 28. As "the life is in the blood," and man by transgression has forfeited his life, blood is given to make an atonement. Lev. xvii, 11. Hence, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission." When Paul declares in Heb. ix, 15, that "he is the Mediator of the new testament," he gives a reason that the most strenuous advocate of the Age to Come will scarcely deny. He says, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Heb. ix. If Christ is not the testator here referred to, then another must die to ratify the covenant; but this will not be claimed. Thus it is proved beyond the possibility of contradiction that the new testament or covenant was ratified, or "of force," when Christ died.

Many of the advocates of the Age to Come, perhaps a large majority, contend that the offerings (or commandments contained in ordinances), will be re-instituted in that age. But according to the testimony of Paul they make themselves transgressors against the gospel and make the gospel a system of transgression against the divine economy, by setting aside that which must be re-instituted. They pervert and confound the testimony of the word, having the first covenant done away to stablish the second; the second not yet made; but when it is made it will be by the re-establishment of all the peculiarities of the first!

If all would consider the proofs that the New Covenant has been made, and the relation it sustains to the promises of God, this confusion would be avoided. But the promises are read without considering their connection with the qualifying declarations of the New Testament. This is the same manner in which the temporal millennium and other fallacies are advocated. Yet it is considered by some that the New Testament, especially Paul's letter to the Romans, sustains the Age to Come by maintaining the future fulfillment of special promises to the Jews. This we must examine. If a few expressions only are considered, a construction may be placed upon them altogether at variance with the tenor of the whole. This should be avoided. The eleventh chapter is especially called upon to prove that the Jews will be restored, nationally, to a pre-eminence in the purpose of God's grace; but the previous chapters positively forbid that such a construction be put upon it, and a careful examination of that chapter itself will show the unsoundness of their conclusions.

In the first chapter, after expressing his confidence in the saving power of the gospel, and laying the sure foundation of justification by faith, the apostle described the world in its sinful condition. This description has been, by some, applied to parts of the world, or to the heathen. But the Apostle makes his own application. He says, "Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." Chap. ii, 1. From this application it is vain to appeal. The Apostle then goes on to show that Jews and Gentiles are alike subject to the wrath of God for disobedience, and are alike the recipients of his grace through patient continuance in well-doing, "for there is no respect of persons with God." That obedience, and not merely profession, name, or birth, is pleasing to God, is clearly shown in the latter part of chap. ii, where the Jew is told that if he is a transgressor of the law, his circumcision is made uncircumcision; but if the Gentile keep the law his uncircumcision is counted for circumcision.

The real advantage which the Jew possessed is stated in chap. iii, 1, 2, but in verses 9, 10, he says: "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles that they were all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." After thus proving the whole world guilty, justification by faith (the only hope of the guilty) is again introduced, and again it is declared that "there is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" [verses 22, 23]; of course, boasting is excluded [verse 27]; and well may the Apostle exclaim: "Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith." Verses 29, 30.

Let those who claim a special blessing for Abraham's natural descendants carefully examine the statements in chap. iv. It begins with an inquiry as to what "Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh hath found." This is an important query; for surely none of his children according to the flesh, can claim more than he, their father, obtained in that manner. But the argument of the Apostle makes it evident that he received nothing at all for such a consideration. If he received any thing as it respects the flesh, it was, of course, received as his own right, and then he would have cause to glory, though not before God [verse 2], but Paul says boasting is excluded by the law of faith, and Abraham's blessing or justification was of faith, by believing on Him that justifieth; therefore, the children of Abraham can claim nothing by reason of their birth, but must seek it, like Abraham, by faith. And the blessing of Abraham (justification by faith), comes upon all believers, whether Jew or Gentiles; and Abraham himself received the blessing in uncircumcision, "and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might

be imputed to them also." Verse 2.

As all are sinners, all are under the condemnation of the law, and there can be no justification by the law. The children of Israel promised to keep it, but they did not; and the covenant under which they received the law could not, therefore, confer the blessing. If that covenant could have secured the blessing they would have stood independent of Abraham, and thus have set aside justification by faith, and destroyed the claim of all believers; as it is said in verse 14, "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect, and in Gal. iii, 18: 'For if the inheritance be of the law it is not of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.'" I hope all who are affected with Judaising notions will carefully consider these points.

In the succeeding chapters are enforced the declarations respecting the law and justification by faith, and the subject of Abraham's children is again brought up in chap. ix. Some of the expressions in this chapter have been considered; and although Paul was by birth a Jew, and had a feeling for his "kinsmen according to the flesh," he could not deny himself and destroy the facts set forth in the previous chapters, but cuts off the claim of the unfaithful to the name of Israel, or Abraham's children. And it is of those—the unbelieving descendants of Jacob—that he speaks in his comparison of the vessels of the potter; God had endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Verse 22. He has certainly endured much of that rebellious people, considering the privileges conferred upon them; and the application is evident from this connection, and from chap. x. 21. "But to Israel he saith, all day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." The believers in Christ, "not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles," are "vessels of mercy" prepared unto glory; and the prophecies as well as the promise to Abraham are brought in to attest this truth. Hosea says: "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."

These promises refer to, and are fulfilled in, the new covenant. And we hence learn that where God spoke of his beloved and his people in the past dispensation, he referred to the descendants of Jacob; but the same terms when used in prophecies reaching beyond that dispensation refer as well to the Gentiles, who are "fellow-heirs, and of the same body," and partakers of the same promises.

I come now to an examination of chap. xi, which has been termed (incorrectly, I think), the stronghold of Judaism. The expressions in previous chapters, also in the letter to the Ephesians, are plain and positive, and clearly prove that God has no special regard for the literal descendants of Jacob; and that his purposes and promises will all be fulfilled without again building up the middle wall that Christ in his gospel has broken down. And if Paul has here shown that in the purposes of God's grace there is a difference, he has certainly contradicted what he has said in other scriptures, especially in Romans ii and ix, and in his letter to the Ephesians. One fact is stated upon as favoring that view, viz.: that a difference is admitted between Israel and the believing Gentiles; and a supposition has obtained that Paul also teaches that all Israel will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. These two points we will now consider.

1. We admit that there is a difference, nationally, but this admission does not favor their view of this question. To maintain their view they must not only show a difference of birth, but they must also show that they are not fellow-heirs and partakers of the same promises. Many are ready to admit that "in Christ" they are "one body," and partakers of the same promises "in the gospel," and not otherwise. But to this we reply that all of God's gracious purposes are "in Christ;" for, as the first covenant made with Israel at Sinai has passed away, we necessarily turn back to the original promise or Abrahamic covenant, which is identical with the gospel; all the promises to him being fulfilled in his seed, which is Christ. Beyond this we claim that Israel is used in two senses, of which we shall speak hereafter.

2. It is claimed that Paul teaches that all Israel will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. To maintain this they say that blindness has happened to them only in part. Rom. xi, 25. True, God hath not cast them away in the sense of utterly rejecting them but still calls on them to be reconciled to him, and receive the blessing of Abraham through faith in Christ. And blindness has happened to them only in part. This is expressive of extent only; for the duration of this blindness, see verses 9, 10; and Isa. vi, 9-11. If blindness had happened to them wholly, not even a remnant could be saved; and all Israel to whom the promises are made is only a remnant. There are others that are "of Israel," but the remnant alone are Israel. Will any claim salvation for more of them than the remnant? If so, where is the promise? Paul makes the promise of God fulfilled in the remnant [chap. ix, 27, 28], and says, "And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed [a very small remnant, Isa. i, 9], we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha." Verse 29. He claims no more than this in Rom. xi, and certainly no scripture presents a more favorable appearance for Judaism. And as the promise only refers to the remnant, and they all have equal privileges with the Gentiles there is no need of a change of dispensation, or that they receive special privileges in order to its fulfillment. But they claim that the fullness of the Gentiles must come in first. There is the great mistake. The text does not say, And then, nor after that time, shall all Israel be saved; but it says, "And SO shall all Israel be saved." Verse 26. The definition of so, is thus, or in like manner, and by examining the whole context we find that it refers to the act of grafting into the good olive tree through faith. Of the word so, Webster says it is followed by as. Walker says, it answers to as, either preceding or following; and there is no antecedent to which it can refer but this: that as the fullness of the Gentiles shall be brought in through their faith, and ingrafted into the good olive tree, (which is Christ), so (in like manner), shall all Israel (the remnant) be saved; for, "they also, if they continue not in unbelief, shall be grafted in again." Thus it is seen that the 25th verse refers to manner and not to time, and the fulfillment is only in Christ. But the question of time is clearly settled in the first part of the chapter. Having previously settled the point that the remnant only have a promise, he says: Even so then AT THIS PRESENT TIME also there is a remnant according to the election of grace." Verse 5. Josiah Litch, on verses 26, 27, says:

"And so all Israel, the holy seed, as above, who shall return, as the substance of the sacred oak, 'shall be saved,' in the kingdom of God, and unto eternal life. 'As it is written,' in Isa. lix, 20, 'There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.' This is nearly a literal rendering of the Septuagint version, while the reading of our translation of the passage is a literal rendering of the Hebrew, as follows: 'And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob.'"

The promises to Israel may be embraced in the three subjects of the land, the kingdom, and a gathering or return.

All of our views of the Old Testament promises and prophecies must bow to the expositions in the New Testament. Having examined the more general declarations concerning the hope of Israel, we will now consider the particular points or subject of promises, to show the perfect harmony of the word of God in the several lights in which it may be viewed.

§ 1. THE LAND.

The only question that can possibly arise in regard to the promise of the land to Israel is this:—Will these promises be fulfilled in the gospel, or not of it—under the new covenant, or the old? If it can be shown that they will be fulfilled out of the gospel, or under the old covenant, then they may also be local and exclusive. But if they are in the gospel, or under the New Covenant, then they are general, and the Gentiles may be fellow-heirs. We think this question is easily settled; indeed, a word of proof on this subject should not be required by any Bible student.

They cannot be fulfilled under the old covenant, for, (1.) They forfeited all claims under that by transgression. (2.) That has passed away and been superseded by the new. (3.) It is an offense against the new, or the gospel, to revive or "build again" the old; as some claim will be done, Gal. ii. 18. (4.) The priests or mediators of that covenant could not take away their sins [Heb. x, 1-4], so they could not recover what they lost by transgression.

To confirm these facts observe that the Lord gave as a reason for making a new covenant with them, that they had broken his covenant which he made with them at Sinai; and although he had promised to be their God, and that they should be a peculiar treasure to him above all people, yet when it was broken by them he could not consistently perform his promise, and so he "regarded them not;" they were on a level with other sinful nations. Rom. iii, 9-19. This should for ever settle the question, that they could acquire no title to an inheritance under that covenant. And if they had any claim under it, it could not have been abolished without an infringement on their rights. It seems very plain indeed that they can only possess the land by complying with the conditions of the new covenant, which is the only one that ever could convey any title to an inheritance. The question yet to be considered is, What inheritance or land is promised under the new covenant?

As the original promise was made to Abraham and confirmed in Christ, we must look both ways for an answer to the question: for Christ is mediator and first heir, and it can be received only through him and under the covenant of which he is the mediator.

Abraham was promised a land for an everlasting possession, and circumcision was instituted as a token of this covenant. Now our opponents assume that a certain part of the earth in its present form must be conferred on his descendants to meet the promise. It is claimed that the promise to Abraham embraced only the land that he saw; but he did not see all of the present earth, nor any of the new earth. Hence they conclude that what he saw would fulfill the promise. What he saw will doubtless be given to him, but not that only, nor in the condition in which he saw it. Paul places the subject in its proper light. He says: "For the promise that he should be the HEIR OF THE WORLD, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. iv. 13. Then Abraham is heir of the world. "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country," as other faithful ones, who, with him, "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims ON THE EARTH." Heb. xi, 9, 13.

Again, Christ is the seed to whom the promises were made [Gal. iii, 16]; he is the heir of the world, and the Father promised to give him "the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession." Ps. ii, 8. As he is the heir, so the saints are made "joint-heirs" with him; and by reason of this joint-heirship, "the meek shall inherit the earth." To inherit is to receive by heirship; but there is no promise or heirship by which we can receive the earth except that to Abraham; Christ is heir as Abraham's seed: hence, the Abrahamic covenant embraced the world, even to

its uttermost parts. The land which the children of Israel possessed under Joshua, is clearly shown in Hebrews, chap. iii and iv, to be typical of the rest which remains to the people of God.

We next consider the token of this covenant. This was an outward ordinance; and no one pretends that it is now necessary to observe circumcision as it was first observed in order to be constituted an heir, because the New Testament teaches otherwise. That is not circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter. Analogy would teach us that the promise of the land be as much enlarged in the New Testament, as the seed of Abraham, which is made to extend to the Gentiles; or the token—circumcision—which is no more external, but internal and spiritual.

In Rom. iv, 11, this token is entitled a sign and seal. In Eph. i, 13, 14, the Apostle says: "Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." We here learn that the inheritance, already purchased, is yet to be redeemed, and we receive the token, earnest, or assurance thereof until its redemption. The sign reaches no farther than to the thing signified: we have the earnest or assurance reaching to the point of realization, but it would convey no assurance beyond that point; therefore our inheritance cannot be fully realized, till the purchased possession is redeemed. This proves conclusively that the earth renewed, or the new earth, is the subject of the promise of the Abrahamic covenant. Jesus, the mediator and heir, is now ministering for those of both dispensations, or for transgressions under both covenants, "that they which are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance." Heb. ix, 15. All who lived under the first covenant were transgressors; of course they forfeited the blessings placed before them. Jesus secures to the faithful among them an eternal inheritance—not a temporal possession; not under the curse as it is at this time, but redeemed: so that the hope of all now rests on "an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." 1 Pet. i, 4. As before said, to inherit, is to possess by heirship; and if we receive an inheritance redeemed, incorruptible, and undefiled, these conditions must necessarily be attached to the possession named in the will by which we are constituted heirs. This will is the Abrahamic covenant: the only source of any blessing since its ratification by the death of Jesus.

§ 2. THE KINGDOM.

A few thoughts will only be demanded on this point in addition to those previously given on the reign of Christ over the true Israel. But it will be borne in mind that the promises of the kingdom to the descendants of Jacob were conditional, all of which were forfeited under the old covenant; and they can only be regained by obtaining an interest in Jesus, now the prince, soon to be crowned King. The first promise of a kingdom to that people is found in the covenant made at Horeb, recorded in Ex. xix, the condition of which was that they were to obey God's voice and keep his covenant, or the ten commandments. Deut. iv, 12, 13. Again, a conditional promise is stated in Ps. lxxxix. But the fact of its being forfeited by them is shown in many scriptures: most clearly in our Saviour's words to them in Matt. xx1. After condemning them out of their own mouths, he adds: "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Verse 43. And an Apostle declared that the poor of this world, rich in faith, are heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him. Jas. ii, 5. See also remarks on Rom. ix, and Eph. ii and iii.

§ 3. THE RETURN OF ISRAEL.

"The return of the Jews" is a stereotyped theological phrase, but the views entertained on it are vague and indefinite. Our faith on this point is easily expressed. We believe in the gathering of Israel to their own land; but we must apply the same New Testament rules here that we have to other classes of promises, to wit: that the true Israel are of faith, and the Gentiles by faith are made partakers of the promises. There are two classes of Old Testament prophecies on this subject, one harmonizing or agreeing with New Testament declarations on the same subject, to be fulfilled in the future, the other agreeing with the history of the past. It will be impossible to notice these to a great extent, yet a few examples will be necessary to show it in its true light.

Those who advocate the return of the Jews in the Age to Come, do it on the assumption that there has never been a gathering of Israel since the Babylonian captivity. But that this is a mere assumption, and an error, can be shown by both sacred and profane history. There is some disagreement amongst chronologists as to the precise date of some of the prophetic writings; but in this they all agree that all the prophets except Malachi wrote before the return of the Jews from Babylon. They may be given about as follows: Isaiah, 758 B. C.; Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah, 588; Daniel, 534; Hosea, 725; Joel, 761; Amos, 787; Jonah, 800; Micah, 758; Nahum, 720; Habakkuk, 605; Zephaniah, 608; Haggai and Zechariah, 518; Malachi, 400. These will include the latest periods of their prophecies, and the decree for the return was in 457. Hence, quotations from their writings to sustain the theory in question have the full weight of chronology against their being so applied. And we shall see that the texts themselves, do not favor that view.

Isaiah xliii, has been quoted with confidence. This was written before the captivity, and the reference to its fulfillment in the connection is so plain that no mistake can arise respecting it, if it is read with any care and attention.

"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, 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 every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him: yea, I have made him." Verses 1-7.

Also in chap. xliv, 26, the Lord declares himself as their redeemer "that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof" (margin—wastes). In verse 28 the instrumentality used in the fulfillment is shown:—"That saith to Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."

By turning to the record we find that the decree for the return of the children of Israel was a very liberal one, giving full permission to all who would to return. No more liberal decree could be given, unless it were one of compulsion, requiring them to return whether they would or not. But no prophecy contemplates this.

"Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his realm, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." Ezra i, 1-4. Again, in the decree of Artaxerxes, chap. vii, 13:—"I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee." Jeremiah, speaking of the return of Israel from all the nations and from all the places whither they had been driven, introduces the same condition that Artaxerxes does in his decree:—they shall go up voluntarily. "For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." Jer. xxix, 10-14. He also places this general gathering after the seventy years' captivity.

These plain declarations are sufficient to cut off the assumption of our opponents, that only two tribes returned, while the ten remained scattered. *There is no evidence that all of any tribe returned, while we have evidence that some of each tribe returned, even all that were willing.

Josephus proves conclusively that twelve tribes were restored after this captivity. He says that Ptolemy Philadelphus sent a request to the Jews to "send six of the elders out of every tribe," for the purpose of translating the law into the Greek. When they were sent, word was returned to Ptolemy thus: "We have chosen six men out of every tribe, whom we have sent and the law with them." Josephus says they sent seventy-two; thus the twelve tribes were represented. See Josephus Ant. B. 12, ch. 2, sec. 4-7.

This testimony is corroborated by Scripture. That the tribe of Levi was represented in the return is evident, for the priests were all of that tribe. But Ezra says further, "So the priests and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinites, dwelt in their cities, and ALL ISRAEL in their cities." Ezra ii, 70. "And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem." Chap. iii, 1; Neh. vii, 73.

When the temple was built, it was dedicated as related by Ezra. "And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, and offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, TWELVE he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel." Ezra vi, 16, 17; viii, 35. If ten tribes were lacking it would be truly singular, that it should not be mentioned in such a connection as this.

There is another gathering of Israel spoken of in both Testaments, which we will briefly notice. Isa. xxvii evidently refers to it. Note in verse 11 the expression parallel to Rom. xi. "When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women come and set them on fire, for it is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favor. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river into the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria; and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." Verses 11-13. This we think is easily identified as the gathering of the New Testament. When the Saviour comes, "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. xxiv, 31.

That this is the gathering of Israel referred to in the prophets is proved by reference to Eze. xxxvii. After relating the vision and the revivifying of the dry bones, the Lord said, "Son of man, these bones are THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL; behold they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. * And 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." Verses 11, 12, 21. Comp. vs. 20-28, and Rev. xxi.

This gathering is coincident with that of Matt. xxiv, above referred to, as the graves of the house of Israel will be opened when the Lord sends his angels with a sound of a trumpet to gather his elect. The various points referred to in Isa. xxvii, Eze. xxxvii, and Matt. xxiv, are united in 1 Thess. iv, 16, 17. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."

In 2 Thess. ii, the subject is also introduced of "the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him." This we firmly believe is the only gathering of Israel that remains to fulfill the prophecies.

THE CITY AND SANCTUARY OF EZE. XL—XLVIII.

It has been urged that the city described in the vision of Ezekiel is the same as the New Jerusalem of Revelation, and the sacrifices there spoken of signify the restoration of the sacrificial system of Leviticus, and of course the restoration of the Jewish people. We consider that this was a conditional prophecy, the promises of which have been forfeited. Notice chap. xliii, 9-11. "Now let them put away their lewdness, and the carcasses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever." Comp. Jer. xvii, 19-27. "Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all which they have done, show them the form of the house, and the structure thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the entrances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof," &c.—Bernard's Bible.

Though there are points of similarity between the visions of Ezekiel and John, yet similarity does not prove identity. In this case there are also points of dissimilarity, which of course forbid identity.

It is claimed that Christ is now preparing a people out of all nations to be priests in the future age. But the priests of Ezekiel's vision were all Levites. Chap. xliii, 19; xliv, 15.

It is admitted that those prepared for a place in that are immortalized at the second advent; after which they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Luke xx, 34, 35. But there marriages of the priests are spoken of. Eze. xliv, 22, 23.

These cannot die any more, but there they could, for the priest was allowed to marry "a widow that had a priest before."—Ibid.

It is claimed that "David 2d, Christ," is the ruling Prince spoken of by Ezekiel. But the prince in that city was to offer a sin-offering for himself; and to refer this to Christ is not only absurd but blasphemous. Chap. xlv, 22.

Christ will have the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession; but the prince there was forbidden to oppress the people, or take their possessions for his sons, but should give his sons inheritance of his own possession. Chap. xlvi, 18.

The revival of the types here spoken of is impossible. The types were shadows of things to come. No sin was remitted by means of the blood offered by the Levitical priesthood, as it only pointed to a future fact: that fact being reached by faith, and realized when all the righteous, with Daniel, stand in their lot in the person of their Advocate when he makes atonement. But such an order of things cannot exist after the priesthood of Christ closes, and we have shown that his ministration is in heaven, and closes previous to his coming. The fact cannot go before the figure or type, or the thing signified before the sign thereof; so it would be absurd to make an atonement in figure, or typically, for a sin which had already been atoned for in fact. In the gospel, repentance and confession must precede remission [Mark i, 4; Acts ii, 38; 1 John i, 9]; therefore a revival of the Levitical system is impossible, as it would require a new system to admit an atonement by type or in figure after the sin was committed, when, in the ministration of Christ, the atonement had been made in fact, and remission granted, before it was committed!

These reasons are quite sufficient to show that their view of Ezekiel cannot be correct.