From Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth by Clarence Larkin Chapter 3 Jew and Gentile
THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS
1. As to the FACT.
"And I will bring again the captivity of my people `Israel' and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land." Am 9:14-15.
But you say this prophecy was fulfilled in the restoration from the "Babylonian Captivity." Not so, for they were driven out of the land after that, and this promise is, that they shall no more be pulled up out of their land, and must refer to some future restoration. The return from the "Babylonian Captivity" was the First restoration, and the Scriptures speak of a Second.
"And it shall come to pass in "That Day" (Millennial Day) that the Lord shall set his hand again the SECOND TIME to recover the remnant of His People, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the Sea." Isa 11:11.
The Jews have never been restored but ONCE, and that was from Babylon. The march from Egypt to Canaan was not a restoration. You cannot have anything restored to you unless it has been in your possession before, and Palestine was never in possession of the Children of Israel until after its conquest by Joshua.
Again the Jews are to come this time, not from the "East," as when they returned from the "Babylonish Captivity," but from the "North," and from "All Countries."
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the Children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel from the land of the NORTH and from ALL THE LANDS whither He had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers." Jer 16:14-15. Also Isa 43:5-7.
2. As to the TIME.
When the "TIMES OF THE GENTILES" Have Been Fulfilled.
"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." Lu 21:24.
3. As to the MANNER
a. Gathered Back UNCONVERTED.
"I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. THEN will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A New Heart also will I give you, and a New Spirit will I put within you; and I will give you an Heart of Flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes; and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Eze 36:24-27.
b. Before Conversion They Are To Be JUDGED.
"I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. . . . And I will cause you to `Pass Under The Rod,' and I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the Land of Israel." Eze 20:34-38.
Then God will cast them into His "Melting Pot."
"Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury and I will leave you there, and MELT YOU. Yea I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out My fury upon you." Eze 22:19-22.
"Behold, I will send My messenger (Elijah-- Mal 4:5-6), and he shall prepare the way before Me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His Temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a Refiner's Fire, and like Fuller's Soap: and He shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver: and He shall Purify the Sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Mal 3:1-3.
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name and I will hear them: I will say, it is My people; and they shall say, the Lord is my God." Zec 13:9.
The Jews have never as yet had such an experience as this. It is spoken of in Jer. 30:4-7, and Dan. 12: 1, as the "Time of `Jacob's Trouble,'" and Christ called it "THE GREAT TRIBULATION," and He and Zechariah the Prophet associate it with the Return of the Lord. Mt 24:21-31; Zec 14:1-11.
The result of these terrible judgments will be that the Jews will call in their misery upon the Lord.
"And I will pour upon the `House of David' and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem The Spirit of Grace and of Supplications." Zec 12:10.
Then Christ will come back to Jerusalem-- "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east." Zec 14:4.
"And they shall look upon ME Whom They Have Pierced." Zec 12:10.
And a nation, the Jewish Nation, shall be born (converted) IN A DAY.
"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a Nation Be Born at Once? for as soon as Zion Travailed, She Brought Forth Her Children." Isa 66:8.
As the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt took with them of the "Riches of the Egyptians," (Ex 12:35-36), so when they return to their own land they will take with them the "Riches of the Gentiles." Isa 60:9; 61:6.
When they return to their own land it will be to possess and occupy all that was promised to Abraham. "The Royal Grant" given by the Almighty to Abraham extended from the "River of Egypt" unto the "Great River," the River Euphrates (Ge 15:18); and according to Ezekiel (Eze 48:1-29), from Hamath, north-east of Damascus, to Kadesh on the south. The Temple will be rebuilt. The Glory of the Lord will return. Sacrifices will again be offered. The Government shall be reestablished, and the nations of the earth will be blessed through Israel. Zec 8:20-23.
