Home/Chat /Discussion /Links /Search /Resources /Order Form /SHRod /Audio /Contact us/ Espanol
Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 46, 47, 48
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
1
Numbers
46, 47, 48
Copyright,
1953 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
The
Servants Of God In The Gathering Time
Jacob's Time Of Trouble; Judah and Israel Going Home
God's Certification To Resurrect, Purify, and Consolidate Judah and Israel
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
1
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
Founded
Upon A Rock
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," beginning on page
211 --
"The people had been deeply moved by the words of Christ.... His
words had struck at the very root of their former ideas and opinions; to obey
His teaching would require a change in all their habits of thought and action.
It would bring them into collision with their religious
teachers...."
Since the teachings of Christ require a change in thought and action,
we should not be surprised if that is what His message of today would require
of us. Let us conclude today's
reading by turning to page 216.
"...He who, like the Jews in Christ's day, builds on the
foundation of human ideas and opinions, of forms and ceremonies of man's
invention, or on any works that he can do independently of the grace of
Christ, is erecting his structure of character upon the shifting sand.
The fierce tempests of temptation will sweep away the sandy foundation,
and leave his house a wreck on the shores of time."
Let us pray for God to help us make sure that the foundation of our
faith is built upon God's Word, the solid Rock; that we might know that
anything short of it will sooner or later fall; that we let the Lord have His
way in us; that we let Him change our habits and practices from what they are
to what they ought to be.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
2
THE
SERVANTS OF GOD
IN
THE GATHERING TIME
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
JUNE 21, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
We are to study the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter points out the servants of God in the gathering time, their racial lineage, and their need for territorial expansion. We shall begin the study with the first three verses.
Isa.
49:1-3 -- "Listen, O isles, unto Me; and hearken, ye people, from far;
The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He
made mention of my name. And He
hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid
me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me; and said unto
me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
The Spirit of God in the person of Israel, through the prophet Isaiah
declares that Israel was born for no other reason than to be God's servant,
and urges that this fact must now be made known throughout the world, even to
the isles of the sea.
Since Jacob himself was dead long before Isaiah the prophet wrote, the
truth clearly stands out that the Spirit of God in this scripture speaks, not
personally to Jacob himself, but to his descendants, to those to whom this
Truth is made known, and who now bear
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
3
the
responsibility to broadcast It far and wide; plainly, then, the people in whom
the Lord is to be glorified, and who again bring Jacob to Him (Isa. 49:3, 5)
are themselves, too, to be made known internationally.
They are those who finish the gospel work -- the very last.
To them the Lord gives a mouth as sharp as a sword.
These are to be His servants during the gathering of the people, the
day in which the Lord is glorified. Their
being hid, as it were, in His quiver, connotes that their coming into the
limelight is to be a complete surprise to all: For the first time the world is
to learn that these servants of God are the tail end of Jacob's descendants,
His hidden servants, those who are to gather His people even from the isles of
the seas.
Again, it is written -- "In the last solemn work few great men
will be engaged. They are
self-sufficient, independent of God, and he cannot use them.
The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will
be disclosed to view. There are
precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated
blaze upon you. But, it may be
under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine
Christian character will be revealed." -- "Testimonies," Vol.
5, pp. 80, 81.
Isa.
49:4 -- "Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength
for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work
with my God."
At the outset of their labor the results must be such as to bring
almost a complete discouragement.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
4
They
nevertheless know that they are appointed by God, and so they leave their
judgment, their work and success with Him.
Isa.
49:5 -- "And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His
servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall
I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength."
For their encouragement they are told that even though Israel be not
gathered (he will, however, be gathered), yet they shall be glorious in the
eyes of the Lord, and the Lord God shall be their strength.
Since they are now (not at another time but in the day this prophecy is
fulfilled) called to bring Jacob to the Lord again, it shows that Jacob (the
people of God in their Jacobite state) must have departed from the Lord.
Now they must be brought back to Him by a mighty revival and
reformation.
Isa.
49:6 -- "And He said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be
My salvation unto the end of the earth."
This scripture had as its type the time when the Apostles were finally
instructed to preach the gospel to Gentiles as well as to the Jews.
Now to raise up the tribes of Jacob, is first to raise up the first
fruits, 144,000 -- 12,000 out of each tribe of Israel (Rev. 7:3).
Moreover, to be a light and salvation to the ends of the earth, means
that these latter-day servants of God are to finish the gospel work, are to
preach the gospel of the Kingdom in all the world for a witness unto all
nations, and thus bring the end (Matt. 24:14).
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
5
It is our privilege, therefore, not only to bring the light of God to
the Denomination where the "first-fruits" (the 144,000 -- Rev. 14:4)
of the great spiritual harvest are, but even to bring the same light to the
second fruits, to the great multitude that are gathered out of all nations, a
multitude which no man can number (Rev. 7:9).
Those who are thus privileged are, as God Himself testifies, the
descendants of Jacob, "the lost tribes of Israel" who are now coming
to light.
Isa.
49:7 -- "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One,
to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of
rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the
Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose
thee."
The Lord is here seen to speak to a people whom men despise, to them
whom the nation abhors, to servants of rulers -- to laymen, not to
Denominationally recognized ministers. This
servant of the Lord, the Scripture makes clear, is despised and abhorred as
much as was the Lord Himself. The
hate, then, that is heaped upon us by our Laodicean brethren, must not be a
discouragement to us, but rather a great encouragement.
And Why? -- Because the Spirit of the Lord Himself testifies that we
are the servants of God for this time, that He is to bless our work so much so
that even kings shall see our rising and princes also shall come and worship.
Isa.
49:8 -- "Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and
give thee for
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
6
a
covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages."
God has heard us in probationary time, a time in which we can be sealed
and be preserved for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to
inherit the desolate heritages -- to restore all things.
Isa.
49:9 -- "That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that
are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They
shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places."
It matters not where God's people be, nor under what circumstances they
be placed, they shall nevertheless all hear His servants proclaiming the year
of final Jubilee, and all are to be let out free, all are to share this great
ever-increasing spiritual feast.
Isa.
49:10, 11 -- "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.
And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be
exalted."
The Lord here guarantees that now in the gathering time there shall be
no obstruction of any kind, that He is master of the situation.
Isa.
49:12 -- "Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the
north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim."
God's highway shall be filled and exalted, and a multitude, gathered
from the four corners of the earth, shall safely walk therein.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
7
Isa.
49:13 -- "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into
singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have
mercy upon His afflicted."
Not that the Lord will comfort His people, but that He has already
comforted them, He has filled them with Truth.
Isa.
49:14 -- "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath
forgotten me."
Before they are sealed, those who are to be the inhabitants of Zion
(the 144,000) think God has forsaken them.
God's answer to them, though, is this:
Isa.
49:15 -- "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? yea,
they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."
Even though some, rather than praying for the re-establishing of Zion,
are actually praying against it, nevertheless they, too, will soon find out
that God is entirely for it.
Isa.
49:16 -- "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy
walls are continually before Me."
From all natural appearances it seems that God has forgotten Zion, the
place of His earthly throne; that He has left His enemies to abuse His people
and to deface Zion's exalted hill, but the Lord Himself assures that for
Zion's sake and for her people's freedom, was He nailed on the cross.
Isa.
49:17 -- "Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
8
and
they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee."
Zion's children shall be anxious to get to her, but her enemies, the
sinners will be driven away from her.
Isa.
49:18, 19 -- "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these
gather themselves together, and come to thee.
As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all,
as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction,
shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that
swallowed thee up shall be far away."
The word "behold" calls attention to a goodly number of
precious souls already preparing to come.
In them shall God's servants glory.
Moreover, in spite of the great number of unrepentant sinners that are
to be taken away, the land shall even then be too narrow because of the great
incoming multitude.
Isa.
49:20 -- "The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the
other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give
place to me that I may dwell."
From this verse we gather that the children which Zion shall lose, are
those who refuse to be converted. Her
loss, though, is to be replaced with a great number from all nations and thus
shall the land become too narrow. The
verses that follow, reaffirm this view:
Isa.
49:21-23 -- "Then shalt thou say in thine heart,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
9
Who
hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a
captive, and removing to and fro? and
who hath brought up these? Behold,
I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up Mine hand to the
Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons
in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing
mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and
lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they
shall not be ashamed that wait for Me."
Though we may now be either hated or unknown, the day is coming when we
shall be comforted. The great men
of earth shall then, so to speak, "lick up the dust" of our feet.
Isa.
49:24, 25 -- "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful
captive delivered? But thus saith
the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of
the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth
with thee, and I will save thy children."
No power in the world shall any longer be able to hold God's people
down in the dust.
Isa.
49:26 -- "And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;
and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all
flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty
One of Jacob."
Our enemies shall kill one another with as great zeal as if they had
filled themselves with sweet wine.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
10
Then
those that remain shall recognize that the Lord, the mighty one of Jacob, is
our Saviour and Redeemer. Shall
we therefore still sleep on? Or
shall we arise in the righteousness of Christ and get ready to meet the Lord
and to be with Him in His Kingdom? Your
opportunity and the time of your decision is now come and cannot be put off.
You must take a firm and active stand with this laymen's movement, in this the
work of which is first for the church, then for the world.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 46
11
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
God's
Merciful Plea
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," page 217, beginning with the first paragraph--
"But to-day mercy pleads with the sinner.
'As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways; for why will ye die?' The
voice that speaks to the impenitent to-day is the voice of Him who in
heart-anguish exclaimed as He beheld the city of His love: 'O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto
her! How often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under
her wings, and ye would not! Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate!' In
Jerusalem, Jesus beheld a symbol of the world that had rejected and despised
His grace. He was weeping, O
stubborn heart, for you! Even
when Jesus' tears were shed upon the mount, Jerusalem might yet have repented,
and escaped her doom. For a
little space the Gift of heaven still waited her acceptance.
So, O heart, to you Christ is still speaking in accents of love:
'Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.'
'Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.'"
We should pray that we gladly respond to God's merciful plea; that we
realize that His aim is to save us from eternal ruin; that we should respond
now in the day of salvation; that we know He is pleading for us today as He
pled for Jerusalem at the time of His first advent; that the door of our
hearts be never closed to Him.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
12
JACOB'S
TIME OF TROUBLE;
JUDAH
AND ISRAEL GOING HOME
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
JUNE 28, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
We are now to continue the same subject which we have been studying from the book of Isaiah, but today we shall study it from the book of Jeremiah.
To begin with, we shall notice that the first chapters of the book deal
with ancient Judah and Israel, with their sins and stubbornness of heart, and
with their resultant dispersion throughout the Gentile nations.
The thirtieth chapter, however, deals, not with the scattering of
ancient Judah and Israel, but with the gathering of Judah and Israel in our
day.
We shall now begin our study with the first three verses--
Jer.
30:1-3 -- "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus
speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have
spoken unto thee in a book. For,
lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of My
people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to
the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it."
Note that both Judah and Israel together have the promise of returning
to their homeland. As this has
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
13
never
yet been realized, the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled.
Jer.
30:4-6 -- "And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel
and concerning Judah. For thus
saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child?
wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in
travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?"
The cause of the fear here forecast is fundamentally needless and
unnecessary, declares the Lord.
Jer.
30:7 -- "Alas! for that day
is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but
he shall be saved out of it."
The people that have come to this antitypical time of trouble are
returning to the homeland, are comforted.
Apparently it is bad enough to frighten all, but God's encouraging
counsel is, "Fear not."
Plainly, the burden of this chapter is concerning the antitypical
returning to the homeland. Though
terrible the trouble may seem, yet the outcome of it is to be the same as in
the type. Right now we may not
appreciate this study as we ought to, but the time is soon coming in which we
will dig as fast and as hard for it as we would to get out from under an
avalanche. Those who have but
little faith in the Word of God though, the study will not do them much good.
Now is the time to start cultivating the faith we need to have then.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
14
Jacob, our type, well knew that God had directed his return from
Padanaram to the homeland, yet he trembled when he heard that Esau, with four
hundred men were on the way to meet him.
Besides, he was led to wrestle with the angel all night long.
He prevailed only because he would not let the Angel go until He blest
him. The final result was that on
the morrow, Esau, rather than destroying the whole company, very kindly
greeted Jacob with a kiss, and cordially invited him to return home!
So when it all worked itself out, Jacob plainly saw that there was no
need at all to have ever feared. How
encouraging that "all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and
they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come." 1 Cor. 10:11. That
which happened to Jacob is sure to happen to us, and how comforting to know
all this ahead of time. Now, if
never before we should see that where there is a type there is also an
antitype, and that where there is no type, there is no Truth.
Jer.
30:8 -- "For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,
that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and
strangers shall no more serve themselves of him."
This verse plainly says that God is to free His people from the Gentile
yoke, and that strangers [unconverted] shall no more trouble them.
Jer.
30:9 -- "But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king,
whom I will raise up unto them."
No longer shall the followers of Truth serve others, but they shall
serve the Lord, and a king whom God Himself shall provide.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
15
Jer.
30:10 -- "Therefore fear thou not, O My servant Jacob, saith the Lord;
neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy
seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in
rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid."
There is therefore no need of fear, but there is a need for faith in
the promises of God.
Jer.
30:11 -- "For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make
a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet
will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure,
and will not leave thee altogether unpunished."
The punishment dealt to Israel is their being scattered among the
Gentiles as amplified in the verses which follow.
The time of freedom has nevertheless come, and for this we should be
glad and give God the glory.
Jer.
30:12-19 -- "For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy
wound is grievous. There is none
to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing
medicines. All thy lovers have
forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of
an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine
iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
Why criest thou for thine affliction?
thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because
thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine
adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil
thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
For I will restore
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
16
health
unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they
called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of
Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be
builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner
thereof. And out of them shall
proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will
multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they
shall not be small."
After having gone through their captivity, the people shall fully
realize God's mercy and His wisdom to save them.
They shall be happy forevermore, for He will multiply them in the land
of their fathers, and there He will make them great.
Jer.
30:20 -- "Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their
congregation shall be established before Me, and I will punish all that
oppress them."
The Kingdom (the church purified and apart from the world) is to be as
natural and as real as was the kingdom of ancient Israel, but there will be no
sinners in It.
Jer.
30:21-23 -- "And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor
shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and
he shall approach unto Me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach
unto Me? saith the Lord.
And ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.
Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing
whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked."
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
17
Their nobles shall be of themselves; that is, this Kingdom shall be
self-governing under theocracy. The
word "behold" calls attention to something that can be seen and
therefore implies that the Lord's whirlwind is already doing its work.
No wonder, then, that we are now having disturbance of all kinds, and
heavy loss of life and property throughout the earth.
Jer.
30:24 -- "The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have
done it, and until He have performed the intents of His heart: in the latter
days ye shall consider it."
The very fact that these truths are now revealed, and also the fact
that the things foretold by the Scriptures are now taking place, plainly show
that we are now living in the latter days, -- the days in which we must
consider the cause of the evils which envelop the whole world, and make our
calling and election sure.
How thankful we ought to be that the Lord is feeding us with "meat
in due season"! Though
people kill one another by the millions in order to free themselves from the
yoke of some other nation, Moses freed ancient Israel without a casualty.
We should now know that faith removes mountains, while doubt ruins
nations. We should no longer be
fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written (Lu.
24:25) "Believe" was
Jesus' motto, and it should be ours, too.
No doubters will ever enter His Kingdom.
These things are written "that ye might believe...." John
20:31.
There is but one sensible conclusion that you can come to, and that is
to whole-heartedly accept and to comply with all the prophets have written.
Let no one divert your attention from this Truth.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 47
18
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
Build
On A Sure Foundation
I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," page 217,beginning with the second paragraph. Incidentally, this is the last chapter in the book.
"You who are resting your hope on self, are building on the sand.
But it is not yet too late to escape the impending ruin.
Before the tempest breaks, flee to the sure foundation.
'Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation; he that
believeth shall not make haste.' 'Look
unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there
is none else.' 'Fear thou not;
for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness.' 'Ye shall not be
ashamed nor confounded world without end.'"
We are now to pray that we break away from self and wholly rely on God;
that we build, not upon a sandy foundation, but upon the solid Rock, upon a
sure foundation that will not be swept away when the storm comes.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
19
GOD'S
CERTIFICATION TO RESURRECT,
PURIFY,
AND CONSOLIDATE JUDAH AND ISRAEL
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
JULY 5, 1947
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
This afternoon we are to study Jeremiah 31. It contains Inspiration's guarantee for God's people to return to the homeland. This chapter, you will recognize, contains a prophecy for the latter days:
Jer.
31:1 -- "At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the
families of Israel, and they shall be My people."
The phrase, "at the same time," takes our thoughts back to
Jeremiah 30, verse 24, where it explains that the time is the latter days, our
time. Not long hence, therefore,
our God will be the God of all the families of Israel, the God of the whole
church. Saint and sinner during
the Judgment for the Living will no longer be commingled.
Jer.
31:2 -- "Thus saith the
Lord, The people which were left of the sword
found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to
rest."
The people who survive their captivity, are to find grace in the lands
of the Gentiles -- in "the wilderness," away from the vineyard.
(Since the Promised Land is the vineyard -- Isaiah 5 -- then what would
the wilderness be but the lands of the Gentiles?)
God's people
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
20
will
find this grace at the time the Lord causes them to rest from their
"sojourning" -- after the "Judgment in the house of God"
(1 Pet. 4:17) takes place.
Jer.
31:3 -- "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee."
At the fulfillment of this prophecy the people will realize that the
Lord has really loved them, and that He draws them to Himself with loving
kindness.
Jer.
31:4 -- "Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of
Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in
the dances of them that make merry."
The Lord assures His people that though the Gentile nations have torn
down their kingdom, He will restore it to them, and they shall again become a
glorious and joyous nation. These
promises imply that the people are not now adorned and happy.
We may not fully realize this, but God knows better than we do.
Jer.
31:5 -- "Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the
planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things."
Most of the world thinks that as the ten tribes, the Kingdom of Israel,
are lost among the Gentile nations, that their kingdom is forever gone, yet
God Who does according to His good pleasure plainly declares that the
faithful, after their separation from the unfaithful, shall be gathered out
and brought back into the mountains of Samaria; and that they shall plant and
eat the fruit of their planting as a common thing.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
21
Jer.
31:6 -- "For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the Mount
Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our
God."
The future watchmen of Mount Ephraim, rather than separating themselves
from those of Mount Zion as they did anciently, shall gladly lead the laity
back to Zion. No longer shall
arise the question, Why is it that "our fathers worshipped in this
mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to
worship"? John 4:20.
Jer.
31:7 -- "For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout
among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save
Thy people, the remnant of Israel."
The "remnant" are those who survive the "Judgment in the
house of God." God's people
now, while dwelling among the chief of the nations, are urged to proclaim this
good tiding in their midst with singing, gladness, and praise, saying, "O
Lord, save Thy people." This
Truth is now the very present Truth, and It is to be proclaimed and heeded.
To work and pray to this end, is the message of the hour.
Jer.
31:8 -- "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather
them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the
woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company
shall return thither."
We need not fear; our efforts will not be fruitless.
God's sincere people will hear and give heed to the message of this
day, and the Lord will thus gather them from the four corners of the earth.
Be they blind or lame, be they women or children, they shall
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
22
all
return to the vineyard of the Lord.
Jer.
31:9 -- "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead
them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way,
wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My
firstborn."
Ephraim himself, Inspiration says, was to become a "multitude of
nations." Gen. 48:19, 20.
Jer.
31:10 -- "Hear the Word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the
isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep
him, as a shepherd doth his flock."
God is speaking and who dare not take His Word to heart?
Who dare be indifferent and keep silent?
In order for the nations to be able to say, "He that scattered
Israel will gather him, and keep him," they must be nations that believe,
nations that understand these prophecies and promises.
They are to do what we are doing.
But since there is no nation doing this at the present time, and since
we are the only ones that are engaged in this work, the truth becomes evident
that our message is to awaken nations to the fact that we, the last
descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, are called forth to declare this
Truth not only to all our brethren, but even to the nations.
Then the nations are to re-broadcast It to other nations, so declares
the Scriptures. They are to
proclaim that God's people are to be gathered, and kept, too.
We, therefore, must not fail in our trust.
We must prove worthy of our calling.
Jer.
31:11 -- "For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
23
ransomed
him from the hand of him that was stronger than he."
We are not able to redeem ourselves, nor are we able of ourselves to
return to our land. God is to
accomplish all this for us. We
ought therefore to be thankful that our freedom and redemption do not depend
upon ourselves. The
responsibility is God's. He is to
redeem us from him that is stronger than we.
Jer.
31:12-14 -- "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine,
and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul
shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old
together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and
make them rejoice from their sorrow. And
I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be
satisfied with My goodness, saith the Lord."
These verses, I am sure, need no interpretation or elucidation.
Jer.
31:15, 16 -- "Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be
comforted for her children, because they were not.
Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes
from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall
come again from the land of the enemy."
To understand these verses we must first look into the historical
background of them. Rachel, the
wife
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
24
of
Jacob, had but two sons of her own, Joseph and Benjamin.
They were the only sons that were born to Jacob in the Promised Land.
Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin, and so she herself could
not have wept for the loss of her children.
They were both with her when she died.
Hence, the only conclusion one can come to, is that Rachel in this
scripture is figurative.
After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided, the ten tribes
taking the north, and the two tribes taking the south.
The tribe of Joseph was in the one kingdom, and the tribe of Benjamin
in the other. Rachel, therefore,
must be the figurative mother of the children of both kingdoms -- Judah and
Israel.
The incident of Jer. 31:15 Matthew applied to Herod's killing the
children in an attempt to slay the Lord (Matt. 2:18).
A study of this verse along with the entire context of the chapter,
however, will disclose that it has an even more direct application to the
dispersion of both kingdoms, Judah and Israel, and of their return from the
lands of their enemies to the fatherland.
Jer.
31:17, 18 -- "And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy
children shall come again to their own border.
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised
me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn Thou me,
and I shall be turned; for Thou art the Lord my God."
Two distinct thoughts are brought to view in this verse: first, that
the children of the Kingdom will come again to their own border; and second,
that they will have beforehand experienced a great revival
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
25
and
reformation. They will have
realized that God's chastisement was for their own good, and that the Lord is
their God. This reformation,
along with God's mercies, is further seen in the following verses.
Jer.
31:19, 20 -- "Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that
I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
Is Ephraim My dear son? is
he a pleasant child? for since I
spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore My bowels are
troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord."
The next verses contain God's command and counsel to His people:
Jer.
31:21 -- "Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart
toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of
Israel, turn again to these thy cities."
Inspiration here very definitely urges God's faithful people to get
ready for their return to the Promised Land, and continues:
Jer.
31:22 -- "How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?
for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall
compass a man."
As it is not possible for a woman actually to encompass a man, the
woman here spoken of must therefore be symbolical of the church.
And the man whom she is to encompass is, according to Inspiration, the
Lord Himself. The church
therefore is to be made to encompass the Lord and thus enter into her new and
happy experience.
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
26
come,
and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall
be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in
the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me
unto thee. And the Lord shall
inherit Judah his portion in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His
holy habitation." Zech 2:10-13.
Jer.
31:23, 24 -- "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet
they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof,
when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of
justice, and mountain of holiness. And
there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together,
husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks."
Again and again we are told that the Kingdom of the Lord, the church
purified, free of tares, is not something mystical, but that It is absolutely
real.
Jer.
31:25, 26 -- "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished
every sorrowful soul. Upon this I
awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me."
Evidently the prophet's awakening must point to the people's spiritual
awakening. And the sweetness of
his sleep must point to the people's love to continue in their slumber and
sleep, their hesitation to awake to these realities.
Jer.
31:27 -- "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the
house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed
of
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
27
beast."
After this Kingdom is established in the land of promise, It shall grow
with both man and beast just as the symbolism of Daniel's chapter two
explains: "The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth." Dan. 2:35.
"In the days of these kings," not after their days,
"shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, ...and...It [the Kingdom]
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms..." Dan. 2:44.
How will they multiply and fill the earth? -- Let Isaiah the prophet
give the answer:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of
the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall
be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us
of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Isa. 2:2, 3.
Jer.
31:28 -- "And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over
them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and
to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the
Lord."
From these passages of Scripture we see how the Lord will build and
increase the Kingdom, and cause It to fill the earth.
Jer.
31:29, 30 -- "In those days they shall say no more,
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
28
The
fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the
sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."
The ancient kingdom was torn up because of the sins of those who led
and ruled the nations; and so all, good and bad alike, suffered.
One of the good persons who suffered for the sins of the bad, was
Daniel. And thus has it ever
been. But now we are coming to
the day when everyone shall die for his own iniquity.
Michael shall stand up and "everyone that shall be found written
in the book" shall be delivered (Dan. 12:1).
Jer.
31:31-33 -- "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My
covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but
this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After
those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write
it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people."
This new covenant, you see, is to go into effect in the gathering time.
Then shall all God's people know the difference between good and evil.
Thus shall they know what is the Lord's will and way.
And thus shall they be able to perform the good and to shun the evil.
They shall naturally and gladly incline to do good, just as they now
incline to do evil.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was a very great king.
He ruled a great kingdom, and lived in a
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
29
wonderful
palace. But as soon as his human
heart was taken away from him and the heart of a beast put in him, just that
soon his own desires and ways left him and the desires and ways of a beast
entered him. (See Daniel 4:16). So
with God's people: Just as soon as He puts His law in their inward parts, and
writes it in their hearts, just that soon the carnal heart's desire and enmity
against God's law will disappear. No
longer will God's people need to say, When we "want to do good, evil is
present." "O wretched
man that I am! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24.
Jer.
31:34 -- "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Note that the sinners and those who are ignorant of God shall no longer
be among God's people. Certainly
a change is coming. The present
state of affairs will not long continue, the sinners will be put away forever.
And how glad we ought to be that if we now repent, our sins will be
forgiven and forgotten, and that no one will ever remind us of them!
Jer.
31:35, 36 -- "Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,
which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His
name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed
of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever."
Timaly
Greetingsm, Vol. 1, No. 48
30
Here is God's bonafide guarantee against doubt and unbelief.
As certainly as the doubters cannot change the ordinances of the
heavens, just that certainly shall God's people once again become a Theocratic
nation.
Jer.
31:37-40 -- "Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and
the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all
the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to
the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill
Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the
fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the
east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down
any more for ever."
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 48
31