Part 2 (1/2)

”But,” says the inquirer, ”what need have we of the renewal of a covenant which has never been broken? If the Lord made a covenant in the days of the Apostles, called a new covenant, why should that covenant still be renewed again, seeing it is in full force, until it is broken by one party or the other?” This is an important inquiry, involving the fate of all Christendom in its decision; we must therefore be very careful to make the decision perfectly plain, and the proof easy to be understood. That there was a covenant made between G.o.d and the people in the days of Christ and His Apostles, none will attempt to deny, and if that covenant never has been broken, it must be of force to the present day, and consequently there is no need of a new one. It therefore remains for us to prove that that covenant has been broken, completely broken, so that it is not in force, either among Jews or Gentiles, having lost its offices, authorities, powers, and blessings, insomuch that they are nowhere to be found among men. In order to do this, we must examine what were its offices, authorities, powers, and blessings, and then see whether they are still known among men.

We read that its offices consisted of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers, all inspired and set in the Church, by the Lord Himself, for the edifying of the saints, for the work of the ministry, etc. And they were to continue in the Church, wherever it was found, until they all came to the unity of the faith, and unto the measure of the stature of a man in Christ.

Secondly, the gifts of the Spirit, which some call supernatural, were the powers and blessings which pertained to that covenant, wherever it existed, among the Jews or the Gentiles, so long as the covenant was of force. Now, I would ask the world of Christendom, or either of its sects or parties, if they have Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers inspired from on high, together with all the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit, which pertained to the Gospel covenant? If not, then the offices and powers of that covenant have been lost. And it must be through the breaking of that covenant that they were lost, for in this way the Jews lost these privileges, when they were handed to the Gentiles. And Paul told the Gentiles, in his eleventh chapter to the Romans, that if they did not abide in the goodness of G.o.d, they would fall, as the Jews had done before them.

But in order to prove, by further demonstration, that the Gospel covenant has been broken, by Jew and Gentile, and all people, so as to be no longer in force, I shall quote Isaiah, xxiv, 1-6: ”Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; BECAUSE THEY HAVE TRANSGRESSED THE LAWS, CHANGED THE ORDINANCE, BROKEN THE EVERLASTING COVENANT. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” In these few verses, we discover a like calamity awaiting priests and people, rich and poor, bond and free, insomuch that they are all to be burned up but a few; and the complaint is that the earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant. Now this could not be speaking of any other than the covenant, ordinance, and laws of the Gospel, made with the people in the days of the Apostles; because, however any former covenant may have been broken, yet the inhabitants of the earth have never been destroyed by fire, all but a few, for having broken any previous covenant. But this destruction is to come by fire, as literally as the flood in the days of Noah; and it will consume both priests and people from the earth, and that, too, for having broken the covenant of the Gospel, with its laws and its ordinances; or else we must get a new edition of the Bible, leaving out the twenty-fourth of Isaiah.

Now, having settled this question, I trust the reader will see the need of a new covenant, in order to save the few that are not to be burned. We will therefore drop this subject for the present, and turn again to the subject of the gathering of Israel. You will please turn and read the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel. In the thirty-sixth chapter you will discover a promise that Israel are to return from all the nations whither they have been scattered, and to be brought again to the land which G.o.d gave to their fathers; Jerusalem is to be filled with flocks of men, and all the desolate cities of Judea are to be rebuilt, fenced and inhabited; the land is to be fenced, tilled and sown, insomuch that they shall say: ”This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden.” ”I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it; and the heathen shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate.” ”So shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” In the thirty-seventh chapter you will find, after the vision of the resurrection of the dead, the Prophet goes on to speak of the two nations becoming one nation upon the mountains of Israel, and one king being king to them all; and when this takes place, they are no more to be divided into two kingdoms. Moreover, the Lord's tabernacle is to be with them, and His sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. He will forever be their G.o.d, and they shall be His people. ”And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.” Now, it is a fact well known, that Judah and the ten tribes have never been one nation, upon the mountains of Israel, since the day they were first divided into two nations.

But, when this does take place, even the very heathen are to know it, and are to be convinced of the true G.o.d, as was Cyrus. Now if the missionaries should convert the world, before the Lord does this great work, then it will save the Lord the trouble of doing it in His own way, and it will save the trouble of fulfilling the Prophets, and the word of the Lord will fail, and all the world lay hold of infidelity.

Well did the Lord say: ”My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts as your thoughts.” Chapters x.x.xviii and x.x.xix present us with a view of many nations united under one great head, whom the Lord is pleased to call Gog; and being mounted on horseback, and armed with all sorts of armor, they come up against the mountains of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; their object is to take a prey, to take away silver and gold, and cattle, and goods in great abundance.

This is an event which is to transpire after the return of the Jews, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem; while the towns and the land of Judea are without walls, having neither bars nor gates. But while they are at the point to swallow up the Jews, and lay waste their country, behold the Lord's fury comes up in His face, a mighty earthquake is the result, insomuch that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all the creeping things, and all men upon the face of the earth, shall shake at His presence, and every wall shall fall to the ground, and every man's sword shall be turned against his neighbor in this army, and the Lord shall rain upon Gog, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone. And thus He will magnify Himself, and sanctify Himself, in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that He is the Lord; thus they shall fall upon the open field, upon the mountains of Israel, even Gog and all his army, horses and hors.e.m.e.n; and the Jews shall go forth and gather the weapons of war, such as handstaves, spears, s.h.i.+elds, bows and arrows; and these weapons shall last the cities of Israel seven years for fuel, so that they shall cut no wood out of the forest, for they shall burn the weapons with the fire; and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, and they shall gather gold and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

At this time the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field shall have a great feast; yea, they are to eat fat until they be full, and drink blood until they be drunken. They are to eat the flesh of captains, and kings, and mighty men, and all men of war. But the Jews will have a very serious duty to perform, which will take no less than seven months; namely, the burying of their enemies. They will select a place on the east side of the sea, called the Valley of the Pa.s.sengers, and there shall they bury Gog and all his mult.i.tude, and they shall call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. And the scent shall go forth, insomuch that it shall stop the noses of the pa.s.sengers; thus shall they cleanse the land. ”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 G.o.d from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespa.s.sed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness, and according to their transgressions, have I done unto them, and hid myself from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d, 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: after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespa.s.ses whereby they have trespa.s.sed against me, when they dwelt safely in their own land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemy's lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their G.o.d, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen; but I have gathered them into their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 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 G.o.d.”

In the foregoing, we discover that the heathen are to know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, and are gathered again by the hand of G.o.d, after having borne their shame for all their trespa.s.ses: and the house of Israel will know that it was the Lord their G.o.d who caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen, and that He it was that gathered and defended them, and He will hide His face no more from them, but will pour out His Spirit upon them.

O ye blind, ye stiffnecked, ye hardhearted generation, with the Bible circulated among all nations, will whole nations be so blind as to fulfil this prophecy, and not know it until it brings destruction upon their own heads? Why all this blindness? Alas! it is because of false teachers, who will tell them the Bible must be spiritualized. Others declare that these prophecies can never be understood until they are fulfilled. If this be the case, then we can never escape the judgments predicted in them, but must continue the children of darkness, until they come upon us unawares and sweep us from the earth. Then, where will be the consolation of looking back and seeing them fulfilled? But blessed be G.o.d, He has told us by the mouth of Daniel that many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, and that the wise shall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand. And now, I would ask, who are more wicked than the wilfully blind leaders of the blind, who tell us we cannot understand the Scriptures?

Zachariah, in his fourteenth chapter, has told us much concerning the great battle and overthrow of the nations who fight against Jerusalem; and he has said, in plain words, that the Lord shall come at the very time of the overthrow of that army; yes, in fact, even while they are in the act of taking Jerusalem, and have already succeeded in taking one half the city, and spoiling their houses, and ravis.h.i.+ng their women. Then, behold their long expected Messiah, suddenly appearing, shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, a little east of Jerusalem, to fight against those nations and deliver the Jews. Zachariah says, The Mount of Olives shall cleave in twain, from east to west, and one half of the mountain shall remove to the north, while the other half falls off to the south, suddenly forming a very great valley, into which the Jews shall flee for protection from their enemies, as they fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah; while the Lord cometh and all the saints with him. Then will the Jews behold that long, long expected Messiah, coming in power to their deliverance, as they always looked for Him. He will destroy their enemies, and deliver them from trouble at the very time they are in the utmost consternation, and about to be swallowed up by their enemies.

But what will be their astonishment, when they are about to fall at the feet of their Deliverer, and acknowledge him their Messiah! They discover the wounds which were once made in his hands, feet, and side; and, on inquiry, at once recognize Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews, the man so long rejected. Well did the Prophet say, they should mourn and weep, every family apart, and their wives apart. But, thank heaven, there will be an end to their mourning; for He will forgive their iniquities, and cleanse them from all uncleanness. Jerusalem shall be a holy city from that time forth, and all the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon, and she shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place, and men shall dwell there, and there shall be no more utter destruction of Jerusalem; ”and in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one, and He shall be King over all the earth.”

John, in his eleventh chapter of Revelations, gives us many more particulars concerning this same event. He informs us that, after the city and temple are rebuilt by the Jews, the Gentiles will tread it underfoot forty and two months, during which time there will be two Prophets continually prophesying and working mighty miracles. And it seems that the Gentile army shall be hindered from utterly destroying and overthrowing the city, while these two Prophets continue. But, after a struggle of three years and a half, they at length succeed in destroying these two Prophets, and then overrunning much of the city; they send gifts to each other because of the death of the two Prophets, and in the mean time will not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves, but suffer them to lie in the streets of Jerusalem three days and a half; during which the armies of the Gentiles, consisting of many kindreds, tongues, and nations, pa.s.sing through the city, plundering the Jews, see their dead bodies lying in the street.

But, after three days and a half, on a sudden, the spirit of life from G.o.d enters them, and they will arise and stand upon their feet, and great fear will fall upon them that see them. And then they shall hear a voice from heaven, saying, ”Come up hither,” and they will ascend up to heaven in a cloud, their enemies beholding them. And, having described all these things, then come the shaking, spoken of by Ezekiel, and the rending of the Mount of Olives, spoken of by Zachariah. John says: ”The same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.” And then one of the next scenes that follow is the sound of voices, saying: ”The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”

Now, having summed up the description of these great events spoken of by these Prophets, I would just remark, there is no difficulty in understanding them all to be perfectly plain and literal in their fulfilment.

Suffice it to say, the Jews gather home, and rebuild Jerusalem. The nations gather against them to battle. Their armies encompa.s.s the city, and have more or less power over it for three years and a half.

A couple of Jewish Prophets, by their mighty miracles, keep them from utterly overcoming the Jews; until at length they are slain, and the city is left in a great measure to the mercy of their enemies for three days and a half; the two Prophets rise from the dead and ascend up into heaven. The Messiah comes, convulses the earth, overthrows the army of the Gentiles, delivers the Jews, cleanses Jerusalem, cuts off all wickedness from the earth, raises the saints from the dead, brings them with Him, and commences His reign for a thousand years; during which time His Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh; men and beasts, birds and serpents, will be perfectly harmless, and peace and the knowledge and glory of G.o.d shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea; and the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the Most High.

During this thousand years, Satan will be bound, and have no power to tempt the children of men. And the earth itself will be delivered from the curse, which came by reason of the Fall. The rough places will become smooth, the barren deserts fruitful; the mountains leveled; the valleys exalted; the thorn and thistle shall no more be found, but all the earth shall yield her increase in abundance to the saints of G.o.d.

But, after the thousand years are ended, then shall Satan be loosed, and shall go out to deceive the nations which dwell in the four quarters of the earth, to gather them to battle, and to bring them up to battle against the camp of the saints. Then the great and last struggle shall take place between G.o.d and Satan, for the empire of the earth. Satan and his army shall be overthrown. And after these great things, come the end of the earth, the resurrection of the wicked, and the last judgment. And there shall be a new earth and a new heaven, for the former earth and the former heaven shall have pa.s.sed away, that is, they will be changed from temporal to eternal, and made fit for the abode of immortals. Then cometh Jerusalem down from G.o.d, out of heaven, having been renewed as well as the heavens and the earth.

”For,” says He, ”behold, I make all things new.”

This new city, placed upon the new earth, with the Lord G.o.d and the Lamb in the midst, seems to be man's eternal abode, insomuch that, after all our longings for a place beyond the bounds of time and s.p.a.ce, as saith the poet, we are at last brought to our proper senses, and given to understand that man is destined forever to inherit this selfsame planet, upon which he was first created, which shall be redeemed, sanctified, renewed, purified, and prepared as an eternal inheritance for immortality and eternal life; with the holy city for its capital, the throne of G.o.d in the midst, for its seat of government; and watered with a stream, clear as crystal, called the Waters of Life, issuing from the throne of Jehovah; while either side is adorned with trees of never fading beauty. ”Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” By this time we begin to understand the words of the Savior: ”Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And also the song which John heard in heaven, which ended thus: ”We shall reign on the EARTH.”

Reader, do not be startled; suppose you were to be caught up into heaven, there to stand with the redeemed of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and join them in singing, and to your astonishment, all heaven is filled with joy, while they tune the immortal lyre, in joyful antic.i.p.ation of one day reigning on the earth--a planet now under the dominion of Satan, the abode of wretchedness and misery, from which your glad spirit had taken its flight, and, as you supposed, an everlasting farewell. You might perhaps be startled for a moment, and inquire within yourself: ”Why have I never heard this theme sung among the churches on earth?” Well, my friend, the answer would be--”Because you lived in a day when people did not understand the Scriptures.”

Abraham would tell you, you should have read the promise of G.o.d to him, Gen. xvii, 8, where G.o.d not only promised the land of Canaan to his seed for an everlasting possession, but also to him. Then you should have read the testimony of Stephen, Acts, vii, 5, by which you would have ascertained that Abraham never had inherited the things promised, but was still expecting to rise from the dead and be brought into the land of Canaan, to inherit them. ”Yes,” says Ezekiel, ”if you had read the thirty-seventh chapter of my prophecies, you would have found a positive promise, that G.o.d would open the graves of the whole house of Israel, who were dead, and gather up their dry bones, and put them together, each to its own proper place, and even clothe them again with flesh, sinews, and skin, and put His Spirit in them, and they should live; and then, instead of being caught up to heaven, they should be brought into the land of Canaan, which the Lord gave them, and they should inherit it.”

But, still astonished, you might turn to Job; and he, surprised to find one unacquainted with so plain a subject, would exclaim: ”Did you never read my nineteenth chapter, from the twenty-third to the twenty-seventh verses, where I declare, I wish my words were written in a book, saying, that my Redeemer would stand on the earth in the latter-day; and that I should see Him in the flesh, for myself, and not another; though worms should destroy this body?” Even David, the sweet singer of Israel, would call to your mind the thirty-seventh Psalm, where he repeatedly declares that the meek shall inherit the earth forever, after the wicked are cut off from the face thereof.

And last of all, to set the matter forever at rest, the voice of the Savior would mildly fall upon your ear, in his sermon on the mount, declaring emphatically: ”Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” To these things you would answer: ”I have read these pa.s.sages, to be sure, but was always taught to believe that they did not mean so, therefore, I never understood them until now. Let me go and tell the people what wonders have opened to my view, since my arrival in heaven, merely from having heard one short song. It is true, I have heard much of the glories of heaven described, while on earth, but never once thought of their rejoicing in antic.i.p.ation of returning to the earth.” Says the Savior: ”They have Moses and the Prophets; if they will not believe them, neither would they believe although one should rise from the dead.”

We will now return to the subject of the coming of Messiah, and the ushering in of that glorious day, called the Millennium, or rest of a thousand years. We gather from the field of prophecy, through which we have pa.s.sed: first, that that glorious day will be ushered in by the personal coming of Christ, and the resurrection of all the saints; second, that all the wicked will be destroyed from the earth, by overwhelming judgments of G.o.d, and by fire, at the time of His coming, insomuch that the earth will be cleansed by fire from its wicked inhabitants, as it once was by water; and this burning will include priests as well as people: all but a few shall be burned. This burning more especially applies to the fallen church, rather than to the heathen or Jews, whom they are now trying to convert. Woe unto you, Gentiles, who call yourselves the people of the Lord, but have made void the law of G.o.d by your traditions; for in vain do you call Lord, Lord, and do not the things which Jesus commands; in vain do ye wors.h.i.+p Him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Behold, the sword of vengeance hangs over you, and except you repent, it will soon fall upon you; and it will be more tolerable in that day for the Jews and heathen than for you. Behold, ye flatter yourselves that the glorious day spoken of by the Prophets will be ushered in by your modern inventions and moneyed plans, which are got up in order to convert the Jews and heathen to the various sectarian principles now existing among yourselves; and you expect, when this is done, to behold a millennium after your own heart. But the Jews and heathen never will be converted, as a people, to any other plan than that laid down in the Bible for the great restoration of Israel. And _you yourselves_ are laboring under a broken covenant, and ripening for the fire as fast as possible. But do not count me your enemy because I tell you the truth, for G.o.d is my witness that I love your souls too well to keep back any truth from you, however severe it may seem. The wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. Now, concerning the signs of the times, the inquiry often arises: ”When shall these things be, and what signs shall there be when these things shall come to pa.s.s?” I am often asked the question, whether it is near at hand; I will therefore tell you all, whereby you may know for yourselves when it is nigh, even at the doors, and not be dependent on the knowledge of others.