Page images
PDF
EPUB

and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Israel." ch. i. 11. The reason why Judah is mentioned among the ten tribes, is, that a great part of Judah went into captivity with them, as it is written: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them." Isaiah xxxvi. 1.

15. * We read in Joshua, " And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: there were more which died with hailstones, than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." x. 11. The same, and a great deal more, will be seen relating to the battle of Gog: "And I will call for a sword against him ; with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him and upon his bands, and upon the mány nations that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Ezekiel xxxviii. 21, 22. This battle will be known throughout the world, for there will be seen wonders in heaven and on earth: * "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke." Joel ii. 30. If all the matters mentioned from page 38 to this place were taken into consideration, it might be asked, where is the boasting of the gentiles? For all these prophecies against all nations must come to pass; and, if God is true, his word also must be true, and as he never changes, even so his word can never change. After that battle, immediately will commence the

16. * RESTORATION of Judah and Benjamin from all the four quarters of the world. We have already given an account why Israel was scattered, and that the main object was, to establish the true worship among the gentiles, that they should have no excuse in the day of judgment: but the prophet foretold that the gentiles would pay no attention to what Israel should tell them, but all of them would remain as they had been before. "For all nations will walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of our God for ever and ever." Micah iv. 5. From this passage we may learn, that the different forms of worship used by the gentiles are to be put away; and next we clearly see, that the only true worshippers in this world will be Israel; and observe the term,

And we will walk in the name of our God for ever and ever. He who will, may see* that the worship of Israel is not to be put away, but to endure for ever and ever. The gentiles know this passage; they can read it, they understand it, they know this is the word of God; and yet they will not believe it!

* But let us see what another says: "The gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely, our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord." Jer. xvi. 19-21. From this prophecy we learn, that at last the gentiles shall be forced to acknowledge their own

guilt, and all of them will lay the charge to their forefathers; but that will be no excuse for them, for the words of the Lord are termed thus: Until now they would not know me, but now I shall cause them to know my hand and my might; hand and might are well known to mean punishment; and then they shall know my name. Further, we observe, that the prophet doth not say that the gentiles shall come because they are called, but they shall come of their own accord; but we ask, what will be the cause of their coming? the answer follows.

17. A promise is given to Israel, that when they shall be restored, and their restoration known throughout the world, signs and wonders will be seen in heaven and earth; as it is written, "According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I shew unto him marvellous things.". Micah vii. 15. In the time of Moses there was no need to shew miracles, except in Egypt; because all Israel was there; but by the restoration * miracles will be shewn in the whole world. The beginning of it is foretold by Isaiah; " All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth the trumpet, ye shall hear. xviii. 3. It is well known when Israel was in Egypt, they could not be all in one place, but were scattered throughout the whole land; yet, by the coming out of Egypt, we find all Israel, men, women, and children, in Rameses; for so it is written, "And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses." Exodus xii. 37. It is also known that Pharoah would not let Israel depart until the

*,

last plague; but, when the first-born began to die, Israel was driven out of the land: and all was done in one night, and the next morning we find all Israel in one place: but this was the hand of the Lord, who brought them all together at one time; and so it will be at the restoration, as it is written: "If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost part of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee." Deut. xxx. 4. And how they will march * is described by the prophet: "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" Isaiah lx. 8.

When Israel came forth out of Egypt, they had no time to provide necessaries, because they were driven out; yet they were in want of nothing; for they had bread from heaven, flesh out of the air, and drink from the rock: even so it will be at the restoration. "They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the vallies: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together." Isaiah xlix. 9, 10. xli. 18, 19. In those days darkness will be over the whole world, but Israel shall have light, for it is written: "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness

the kingdoms: but the Lord shall shine upon thee. and his glory shall be seen upon thee." Isaiah lx. 2.

When Moses came down from mount Sinai, the glory of God shone upon his face, so that even Aaron, his own brother, was afraid to come near him: "And when Aaron, and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him." Exodus xxxiv. 30. Even so it will be in the restoration; the glory of the Lord will shine upon the face of * every true son of Abraham, in such a manner, that the gentiles will be afraid to come near him ;. as mentioned above.

In those days also great troubles will be in the whole world; and great pestilence, so that few people will remain; * as it is written in Isaiah xxiv. *"And it shall come to pass that in the whole earth, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die." Zech. xiii. 8. Next, the words of the prophet will be fulfilled: "The breaker is come up before them, they have broken up and have passed through the gate, and their king (the Messiah) shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them."1 Micah ii. 13.

When the nations shall see the glory of Israel, that the Messiah walks on before them, and the glory of God on the head of them; then they will cry out, *"Who hath believed our report, and

'The word Breaker is in the original Peretz, which was the name of the son of Judah, and here it means the Messiah; and the prophet calls him the Breaker, which this name signifies; and it is a proper name for the Messiah, for he will break down all the kingdoms of this world. King David also says the same: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron." Psalm ii. 9.

« PreviousContinue »