1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

The Sinaitic Covenant

In the constitution of the twelve-tribe nation of Israel under the old covenant, we possess the best illustration extant of what it will be to see Israel placed under the new covenant code of constitution. The fact that the latter institution will far exceed the other in the glory and surpassing benignity of its character, does not destroy the literal correspondences that will exist between the one and the other in a number of historic, constitutional, and geographical particulars: to wit, all Israel brought again

"into the bond of the covenant" (Ezek. 20:34–38),

subsequent to the exodus of her sons out of all nations (Isa. 11.), and in connection with similar experiences in "the wilderness of the people" (Ezek. 20:35–36), to those which their fathers had, introductory to their re-settlement (Ezek. 36:11) in the re-divided land of promise (Ezek. 47.; 48.), under the prophet like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15–18); the "priest after the order of Melchizedeck" (Heb. 7.; Ps. 110.); the Saviour like unto Joseph and Joshua (Jesus being the Greek form of Joshua (Heb. 4:8); the king like unto David (Ezek. 27:24, 25; Jer. 23:5, 6), and Solomon (Ps. 72.); and the temple-builder like unto Zerubbabel (Zech. 4.; 6.).

The Tabernacle.—The apocalyptic "tabernacle of God with men" (Rev. 21.) will finally take the place of the shadowy institution to which Israel stood related under the law. This has been superseded already, in Christ, who in the days of his flesh was the glory-filled tabernacle of the Father's presence; and in whom now dwells all the fulness of the God-head bodily; but who when he has (following his return), reigned till he has put all enemies under his feet, will then deliver up the twice-conquered world and its kingdoms to the Father, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:23–28), and that coincident with his finally unveiled presence, worship in the beauty of holiness, and tearless, painless, sorrowless, and deathless existence, may take the place of "sorrow and sighing" for evermore.

Holy Garments.—The garments for "glory and beauty" with which Aaron was to be clothed in the execution of his priestly office, speak to us of the "beauty for ashes" (Isa. 61:3), and the "change to spirit-light," of which the destined "kings and priests to God" of Messiah's Aion are to be the subject (Zech. 3:1–5; 1 Cor. 15:52), in the day when "the king in his beauty" shall "bear the glory;" and sit as king and priest on Salem's throne, surrounded by the glorious galaxy of morning stars (1 Cor. 15:40–43; Dan. 12:3), that will constitute the heavenly bodies in the "new heavens and earth" of the "world to come."

The Jubilee.—The Mosaic Jubilee is one of the "shadows of good things to come." What it prefigured with regard to Christ's first century work is before us in the jubilee proclamation, wherewith he inaugurated his public mission, saying,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me—

To preach the gospel to the poor,

To heal the broken-hearted,

To preach deliverance to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

And what it signified with regard to the riches of grace and kindness that will characterise the "ages to come" (Eph. 2:7), presented to us in the full chapter of jubilee blessings from which Christ quoted so much as suited the more initial form of God's favour (Isa. 61.; Luke 4:18, 19). Looking at that in its completeness, we see Israel restored to their former estates, the old wastes re-built, the desolations of many generations raised up, and the waste cities repaired, and the whole scene filled with the joy of returned exiles, more abundantly blessed in their basket and their store, and in riches, and glory, and greatness, and liberty and rejoicing institutions than ever before in all their history.

This will be no one year in fifty demonstration, but a thousand years' joyful possession of inalienable rights and privileges in a country that will then be "the glory of all lands" and a city that will be

"beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth."

The Land Sabbaths.—The land of Israel is now [1889] enjoying its Sabbaths, which the Jews would not allow it to have when they were in its occupation (Lev. 26:34, 35, 43). In the coming restoration of Jewish institutions it will, as it were, be all Sabbath. The curse being removed "the earth will yield her increase" (Ps. 67:6) with the utmost conceivable profusion, and the very desert blossom as the rose (Isa. 35:2; Hos. 2:21, 22; Jer. 31:12; Exek. 34:26, 27; Amos 9:13; Joel 3:18).

Rest, worship and sweetness will then take the place of grinding toil. To dress the earth and keep it, will then be angel-work compared to what it is now. It will be rest without rust—pleasant and healthful occupation for mind and body, with a perfect paradise of results in every department of life and land—at once the sabbath of a land, the sabbath of a nation, and the sabbath of the whole creation (Rom. 8:19–23), eclipsed only by the resplendent dawn of the post-millennial finale.

Cities of Refuge.—The "cities of refuge," under the law, point us to the hope set before us in the gospel, whereunto we are invited to flee (Heb. 6:18) as it were from the avenger of blood. One institution now takes the place of the six under Moses—the institution by which we enter into Christ, who is "the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth." "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his refuge, whose hope is in the Lord his God."

Bro Shuttleworth

The Christadelphian, Jul 1889

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your Elohim will come with vengeance, even Elohim with a recompence; he [Messiah and the saints] will come and save you.

Some of us may be liable to fear too much. It is safe to fear; but it is impossible to fear too much. God Himself stoops to us from heaven in this matter.

"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong; fear not: Behold your God will come . . . and save you."

"He will save all the meek of the earth."

You feel distressed at your shortcomings. This is right, but don't let it go the length of despair. Remember that Paul felt thoroughly out of love with himself on account of the evil that was present with him.

"The things that I would not, I do . . . O, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me?"

Remember that "there is forgiveness in God" for them that humble themselves before Him in love and thanksgiving and obedience.

"As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards them that fear Him."

It is the express voice of the Spirit that says to us:

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

This has no reference, of course, to the indifferent or the negligent, or the disobedient. God will not look to such. He tells us to whom He will look.

"To this man will I look, to the humble and the contrite and the broken in spirit."

To this class He will look, and this is the class that is sometimes liable to fear too much. We are commanded to be perfect; we are commanded to sin not; yet it is not in human nature to be perfect, and "there liveth not a man that sinneth not." What then?

"If any (such) man sin, we have an advocate with the Father," "who ever liveth to make intercession for us according to the will of God."

Seasons 2.68

9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

Nature and Machinery of the Kingdom

The Feast of Tabernacles having been adopted as the means of attraction, and all nations being politically gathered together to Jerusalem as the centre of dominion, the kingdom of the Son of Man, will have been established upon earth, and the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled-

"Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a Man shall be as a hiding place from the wind; as a covert from the tempest;" "as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

After the descent of the Lord upon the Mount of Olives, it is evident that the kingdom of Christ will not be immediately set up, for "Judah shall fight at Jerusalem," and the sons of Zion shall be raised up against the sons of Greece.-Zech. 9:14. A period of war shall immediately precede the second appearing.

...In the course of this war-period Messiah will appear, and call into operation the military qualities of his people.

The Feast of Trumpets being accomplished, the Lord Jesus will begin to reign as King of Israel, and occupy the hereditary throne of David. The mock inscription affixed to the cross shall then be realized and made good. When Pilate answered the remonstrances of the Chief Priests by saying,

"What I have written I have written,"

he little imagined that he had spoken a divine truth; that the immutability of his purpose was a symbol of the immutability of the inscription, and that the whole creation in the heavens and the earth, should for ages bow before that title-

"The King of the Jews!"

As king of Israel, He will reëstablish Jerusalem, and divide the land among the twelve tribes-Ezekiel. Having completely reëstablished them, He will then extend their kingdom from the Nile to the Euphrates, fulfilling at last the promise made to Abraham so many years before; and in doing this, he will necessarily subdue all those lawless tribes, the sons of Ishmael, Ammon, and Edom, who now under various names, occupy the Syrian deserts.

He will also divide the Mount of Olives by an earthquake, and from the hidden springs within the recesses of the mountain, he will produce a fountain of "living water," which shall flow east and west across the land of Israel, fertilizing the districts through which it flows, and changing the bituminous waves of the Dead Sea to life and freshness. He will also revive and purify the surrounding climates and the barren soil, and thus the promised land will become more fertile and beautiful than any other district of the world; and the promise in Isaiah shall be fulfilled-

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon."-Isai. 35.; Ezek.; Gen. 15.

The land of Israel having been from the earliest ages, the hereditary kingdom of Messiah, will at all times be the principal object of his care. During the reign of the Age to Come, it will become, as it were, the Garden of Eden (that is, Paradise-Editor) in the midst of the earth-perfect in its soil, its aspect, and its climate, and all but perfect in its occupants.

"Thy people shall be all righteous,"

is the promise-made to Jerusalem, when the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Millennial Reign:

"Violence shall no more be heard in thy land; wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise."

That remarkable description of earthly felicity, which is given in the latter part of Isai. 65., undoubtedly refers to the land, and the people of Israel; and it is highly improbable that it has any reference to the world at large during the Age to Come, as some writers suppose.

It seems to be confined to Israel alone, as being the hereditary people of the Messiah; and therefore the objects of his especial care. Thus Jerusalem will become the capital city, and the land of Israel the garden of the world.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Aug 1856

10 And the ransomed [of v 8 righteous mortal Israel] who of Yahweh shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And the Peduyei Hashem (ransomed ones of Hashem) shall return, and come to Tziyon with songs and simchat olam (everlasting joy) upon their heads; they shall obtain sasson (joy) and simchah (gladness), and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

When the day of Christ's power arrives the Israelitish nation will be willing and glad to receive it even from the Nazarine they now so cordially despise. Many other nations will also receive it; and rejoice with Israel in its blessing. This is the testimony of Moses as well as of all the prophets and apostles.

But they do not, and will not, accept it in the absence of Jesus from the earth. They will therefore be subjects not rulers, mortals not immortals, people not princes, in the Age to Come.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Jan 1858

...they will re-enter the land of Israel west of the Jordan, at the same point their ancestors did under Joshua, that is, north of Jericho, not far from Gilgal. The recovery of the Valley of Achor becomes to them the earnest of inheriting the whole land, the object of their hope. Hence it is styled, "a door of hope," as well as on account of its being the place through which they enter the land.

It is unnecessary for us now to trace their progress further. After arriving at the door under Elijah's administration, we may be sure they will not be denied admission to the presence of Judah's King. It will be a day of happy reunion for all the tribes. For they will sing in the Valley of Achor as in the days of their nation's youth. Judah and Ephraim will be reconciled: for

"the jealousy of Ephraim shall cease, and the enmity of Judah shall be no more; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not be at enmity with Ephraim."

Mystery of the Covenant of the Holy Land Explained

Again,

"the poor and needy seek water, but find none; their tongue is parched with thirst: I, Yahweh, will attend to them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open in the high places rivers, and in the midst of the valleys, fountains; I will make the desert a water-pool, and the dry land springs of water. In the wilderness I will make the cedar to grow, the acacia, the myrtle, and the wild olive: I will plant in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box together: that they may see, and may know, and consider, and understand at once that the hand of the Lord hath done this. And the Holy One of Israel hath created it."

"Yahweh shall go forth as a mighty man; like a warrior shall he stir up his zeal; he shall cry aloud, yea, he shall shout; he shall exert his strength against his foes. I have a long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself. I will now cry out like a woman in travail, I will breathe short, and draw in my breath at once. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and burn up all the grass upon them; I will also make the rivers dry deserts, and I will dry up the water pools. I will bring the blind by a way they knew not, and in paths they knew not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and the rugged ways shall be a smooth plain. These things will I do for them (Israel), and not forsake them."

Referring to the overthrow of Pharoah's host in the Red Sea as compared with what is yet to happen in Israel's history, Yahweh says,

"Remember no more the former things, and things of ancient times regard not: Behold, I am about to do a new thing; now it shall spring forth, will ye not regard it? Yea, I will make in the wilderness a way; in the desert send forth streams of water. The wild beasts of the field shall glorify me; the dragons and daughters of the ostrich; because I have given waters in the desert, and streams of water in the wilderness, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise."

While the Ten Tribes were living in their land, Yahweh gave them the name of Lo-ruhamah, or no mercy, and gave as a reason

"I will not have mercy on the House of Israel; but will utterly take them away."

After that, he gave them another name, as Lo-Ammi, or not my people; importing their rejection during their dispersion among the nations, and, in giving the reason for thus naming them, follows it up with a promise of their restoration to his favour. Thus it is written,

"Call his name Lo-Ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place, where it was said to them (so said of them by God while in the land), "Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and shall appoint to themselves One Head, and they shall come up out of the country: for great shall be the day of Jezreel."

In the next chapter of the same book the House of Israel is spoken of as the harlot mother of Ruhamah, Ammi, and Jezreel. She is arraigned, sentenced, and punished. Though she went after other lovers, and forgot Yahweh, he says concerning her,

"Notwithstanding this, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And from thence will I give to her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, saith Yahweh, that thou (House of Israel) shalt call me Ishi (my Husband), and shall call me no more Baali (my Lord). …

And in that day will I make for them a covenant with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air, and with the reptiles of the ground; and the bow, and the sword, and war, will I destroy out of the land; and I will make them to lie down safely, and I will betroth thee, O Israel, unto me forever."

This last is a highly important testimony. It shows that the tribes will be allured into the wilderness of the peoples, doubtless by the inducements set before them in the proclamation sounded forth when the great trumpet is blown. It shows, too, that Israel will return to their vineyards from the wilderness, and not direct from the country of the enemy without passing through it.