Miller’s Works, vol. 1. Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology

II. I SHALL SHOW HOW AND WHEN THESE STICKS WERE UNITED

They are united by Christ, are made one in his hand. John 11:52: “And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad,” evidently meaning Jews and Gentile believers. Again, John 17:22, 23: “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me.” Ezekiel says, verse 28, “And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel.” Again, see 1 Corinthians 12:12: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, (one stick,) whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free.” See Ephesians 2:14-16: “For he (Christ) is our peace, who hath made both (Jew and Gentile believers) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, (Jew and Gentile;) having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain (Jew and Gentile) one new man, (one stick,) so making peace;” that is, “Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim.” MWV1 93.1

In what manner are they made one? I answer, by being all born of one Spirit, having one Father and one mother. See Ephesians 2:18: “For through him we both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” The context says, verse 27, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” John 1:13: “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;” and, “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Galatians 4:26: “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all,” (Jew and Gentile.) Without this birth, we cannot possibly be called the people of God, and are not entitled to an heirship with Jesus Christ: and if we are born from above, then we, whether Jew or Gentile, are not looking for a Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children, but one from above which is free; for here we have no continuing city, but we look for a city whose builder and maker is God. MWV1 93.2

Again, they are to be made one nation, verse 22: “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel.” Was this true in the gospel? you may inquire. Christ says, Matthew 21:43, “Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof.” If it was to be taken from the Jew, and given to another nation, of course, it would take away the promise of the land, as well as the kingdom of God, and the Jew, as a Jew, would have no more inheritance either in land or mountain, which means kingdom; and then being given to a nation bringing forth fruits, they would be, as Peter says, “a holy nation, a peculiar people.” 1 Peter 2:9. MWV1 94.1

Again, they are to have one king: “And one king shall be king to them all,” says Ezekiel. What says Zechariah 14:9? “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one.” Christ taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” etc. Again Christ, when Pilate inquired of him if he was king of the Jews, answered, “Thou sayest.” And at another time, when the multitude spread their garments in the way, and cried, saying, “Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord,” Christ consented, and even gave encouragement thereto, denying not, but confessing he was king of the Jews: not of the literal Jews; for he has told us plainly that the kingdom of God is taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And Ezekiel further says, “And they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” Yet your judaizing teachers tell you that the Jews, as Jews, must be brought back into their own land, have their own old Jewish kingdom restored, their city, temple, temple worship, and David their king restored unto them. Well may we say unto the Jew, you do well to reject Jesus of Nazareth; for it is evident he has given his kingdom to believers in him, and your prophets tell you there shall be no more two kingdoms. So says the Jew, “We will wait for our own kingdom, which will, according to your own showing, be restored unto us;” and, “as there cannot be but one kingdom, your Nazarene must be an impostor; he has promised you Nazarenes a kingdom, which will be given unto us, and which will stand forever, as you yourselves confess and acknowledge. We think, then, we are safest, for we know our prophets to be true, and you own it. We know there can be but one kingdom, and that you give to us, and that kingdom will destroy all others and stand forever. Daniel 2:44: ‘And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.’ ” MWV1 94.2

Again, the subjects of this kingdom are to possess new hearts and be born of the Spirit. See Ezekiel 36:24-28: “For 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 take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a 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. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Here we have the same gathering, the same people, the same land, the same cleansing, the same obedience of the same statutes and judgments, the same promise of his being their God and they being his people, together with the surety of a new heart and his Spirit within them, as we have in the chapter under consideration. Where is the difference between these promises and those given to the Gentile believers? MWV1 95.1

1. Are not Gentile believers promised all these things as much as the Jews?-are they not taken from among the heathen? John says, Revelation 5:9, “And has redeemed us to God out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” MWV1 96.1

2. Are not Gentile believers promised their own land for an inheritance? The apostle says, “They shall inherit all things.” And Christ promises, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” MWV1 96.2

3. Are not Gentile believers promised to be cleansed from idols as well as Jews? 1 Corinthians 12:2: “For ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9: “And how ye turned to God, from idols, to serve the living and true God.” MWV1 96.3

4. Hath not God promised to give a new heart to Gentiles as well as Jews, and put his Spirit in them, write his laws there, be their God, and hath declared that they shall be his people? See Paul’s arguments in the eighth chapter of Hebrews, verse 10: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” MWV1 96.4

5. Hath not God promised to raise up the tabernacle of David for the Gentile as well as the Jew? No, say you. If you will prove this, you will gain the point contended for. See Acts 15:14-17: “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name, (Israel.) And to this agree the prophets,“ says James, (and surely his commentary on the prophecies must, and will, take precedence of all the judaizing commentators of our times;) but hear James further: “As it is written, after this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up.” For what purpose? James answers, “That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name (Israel) is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.” MWV1 96.5

Now let our teachers be silent, and learn the first rule of interpreting the prophecies concerning the building again the ruins of Jerusalem. This that the prophets declare, as James acknowledges, began to be done in the days of the apostles; yet who can pretend that Jerusalem, old literal Jerusalem, began to be builded again in the days of the apostles? And it remains as evident to the unbiased mind, that the prophets allude to the gospel, and to a New Jerusalem, as it is that the sun ever shone. MWV1 97.1

Why is it, say you, that our good, holy, and great men, of the present day, are, as you say, so blinded? Do you set yourself up to be above them? By no means. I am not, nor are they, or you, anything but poor, frail, selfish mortals; but my Master is above all, and his word is true. And to read that word understandingly, we must all have the veil of Judaism taken away; or we shall most assuredly err from the truth. Are we yet to learn that God “takes the weak things of this world to confound the wise and mighty?” MWV1 97.2

And when I see our would-be-great men, boasting like a Goliath, ¹ I think of David, my Master, and the smooth stone, and am content to leave the battle in the hands of him, “the Shepherd, the stone of Israel.” MWV1 97.3

Again, Ezekiel says, “And they all shall have one shepherd.” Who shall all have one shepherd? I answer, the whole house of Israel, the two sticks, and their companions. And now we will let Christ tell us who they are. John 10:15, 16: “I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Does not Christ mean the very same thing as Ezekiel? Christ calls them folds, Ezekiel calls them sticks; Christ unites them into one fold, Ezekiel into one stick; Christ calls them sheep, Ezekiel calls them the whole house of Israel. Christ plainly means Jews and Gentiles; then as plainly do we infer Jews and Gentiles in Ezekiel. Christ will, in process of time, unite all his sheep into the gospel kingdom, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free. Then, as Paul tells us, Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ezekiel says, “My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” See Revelation 21:3-5: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” MWV1 98.1

Lastly. I will show when these things began to be fulfilled, and when they will be finished. They began when the unbelieving Jews were cut off, and the believing Gentiles began to be grafted in. It began when Jesus nailed the ceremonial law to his cross, and commanded the gospel to be preached in all the world. It began when the old covenant vanished away, and the new covenant was established on better promises. Heb., chapters 8, 9. It began when Judah’s rod ended in the Shiloh, and the gospel ensign was unfurled to the Gentiles. MWV1 98.2

When will it be finished? When the great voice from heaven, from him that sat upon the throne, shall say, “IT IS DONE.” Revelation 21:6. Yes, it will be completed when the angel, standing on the sea and on the land, shall lift his hand and swear, that time shall be no longer. Revelation 10:5 and 6. When the last Gentile who ever will be born again has received the Holy Spirit by regeneration, then will the last companion come in, and so all Israel shall be saved. Romans 11:25, 26. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, and send his angels unto the four winds of heaven, and gather his elect home into the new heavens, new earth, and New Jerusalem;-then will heaven and earth, men and angels, Judah and Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, Jew and Gentile, all respond the great Amen, saying, “It is done.” MWV1 99.1

Now let me close with a few remarks. And first, to the Jew, let me say, Repent, believe on the dear Jesus of Nazareth, whom your fathers did crucify, or you will never be united with the stick of Joseph. There is no other way, there is no other name under heaven whereby you can be saved-rend the veil from your faces, the covenant which God made with your fathers, when he took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. You have broken it, yes, in a thousand ways it is broken; you have seen it pass away like the morning cloud, or like the early dew-it is gone, and not a wreck of it is left behind. Where is the sceptre in Judah? Your father Jacob said “it should not depart from Judah until Shiloh come.” You know it has departed, and by the same parity of reasoning you ought to know that the Messiah has come. Rend your veil, my brother, and look into this new covenant which God has made for the house of Judah, and the house of Israel, after those days, i.e. after the Shiloh came. Hear, I pray you, the voice of him that spake from heaven, and is yet speaking, saying, “Repent, and be converted, every one of you; that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” And Ezekiel plainly tells you that you must observe his judgments and statutes and do them, in order to be grafted into the stick of Judah and Joseph united. Then let me entreat you to repent, believe on him who has come, in the time and manner your prophets have specified, and you will find rest to your souls. I am awfully afraid your veil will blind you, your Rabbis will deceive you. Our doctors and great men are flattering, and crying peace and safety when sudden destruction cometh. All, all, are combined to destroy the poor unbelieving Jew. Oh, Christian, awake to this subject! The Jews, that were the means of handing down these glorious promises to us Gentiles, are perishing by thousands, and none to lay it to heart. Ho, all ye that pass by, is this nothing to you? Will the priests pass by on one side, and the Levites on the other, and not one Samaritan to help the wounded, down-trodden Jew? I bless God there is a few, a little despised band of Samaritans, who look upon this subject in its proper light, in my humble opinion, who will do all in their power to give the Jew the midnight cry. Go on, my brethren, in the glorious cause; show the Jews and Gentiles their transgressions and danger. Let the trump give a certain sound-prepare to meet your God, Oh Israel! For he will come, and will not tarry. Then will his tabernacle be with men, then will he sanctify the whole house of Israel, then will he be our God, and we shall be his people, and his sanctuary shall be in the midst of us for evermore. AMEN. MWV1 99.2