1534. National Israel and the Two Comings

National Israel and the Two Comings

"For Zion's sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory" (Isa_62:1-2).

1. In the First Coming of Christ, national Israel was made the tail of the nations. Jesus Christ said of Israel, "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luk_21:24).

The history of national Israel is that of a people scattered among the nations, wandering "without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim" (Hos_3:4).

Poor Ephraim, thou wast joined to thine idols and God let thee alone; thou didst become desolate in the day of thy rebuke; thou art oppressed and broken in judgment.

Poor Ephraim, thy goodness was as a morning cloud; thou didst mix thyself among the people, thou wast a cake not turned, and a silly dove without heart. Therefore thou art smitten. Thy root is dried up; thou dost bear no fruit; thou feedest upon the wind; thy sufferings are untold; thou art the tail of the nations.

2. In the Second Coming of Christ national Israel will become the head of the nations. In the day of the Lord's Return, He shall remember His people. The twelve tribes, under one king, and restored unto their own land, shall become the joy of the whole earth. The Prophet thus describes Israel's national supremacy: "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Isa_60:3).

"The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee."

"The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee."

"Thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish." (Quotations from Isaiah 60.)

God will not rest, nor hold His peace, until the righteousness of Jerusalem shall go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: * * Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate" (Isa_62:2, Isa_62:4).

Let us rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, for God hath said of her, "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees" (Isa_66:12).

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR