Prophetic Lights

THE DOMINION RESTORED

The glories of the eternal inheritance of Israel cannot be imagined, although the pen of inspiration has described them as well as could be done with our feeble language. We read that immediately after the desolation of the earth,— PROLI 176.2

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.... And the ransomed of the Lord 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.” Isaiah 35. “They shall obtain joy and gladness,” because “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.” Revelation 21:4. PROLI 176.3

Again the prophet says of “Jerusalem which is above,” and is free, which is the mother of us all (compare Galatians 4:26, 27 and Isaiah 54:1): “For thy Maker is thine husband; The Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Isaiah 54:5. Jerusalem is represented as now mourning as a widow, desolate and bereaved of her children, — those whom she would have had if sin had not deprived her of them. But when the kingdom is given to Christ, “the everlasting Father,” the city is represented as being married to him (Revelation 21:1, 9, 10), and all the faithful are the children. So the Lord comforts Zion, saying:— PROLI 177.1

“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.” Isaiah 54:11, 12. PROLI 177.2

With the above read the following description of the New Jerusalem by a New Testament writer:— PROLI 177.3

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.... And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” Revelation 21:10-21. PROLI 177.4

Who cannot see that the two prophets, Isaiah and John, are describing the same thing? the place to which the Israel of God are to be gathered, and where the twelve apostles shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. But the prophet Isaiah continues:— PROLI 177.5

“And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” Isaiah 54:13, 14. PROLI 178.1

Thus will be fulfilled the promise to David, in 2 Samuel 7:10. PROLI 178.2

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper [see Revelation 20:9, 10]; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17. PROLI 178.3

And a glorious heritage it will be. Delightful indeed it is to read these descriptions of it; “but what must it be to be there?” PROLI 178.4

But there are a few more prophecies that we must notice, out of the many upon this subject. We read:— PROLI 178.5

“And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isaiah 59:20, 21; 60:1-3. “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces [wealth] of the Gentiles [nations], and that their kings may be brought.... 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. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:11-20. PROLI 178.6

Read this carefully, and then compare it with the following:— PROLI 178.7

“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.” Revelation 21:23-26. PROLI 178.8

Once more we read:— PROLI 179.1

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. [Compare Revelation 21:4, 5.] But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.... And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.... They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent’s meat; they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 65:17-25. (See also Isaiah 11:1-9.) PROLI 179.2

What! lions and wolves in the new earth, the saints’ eternal inheritance? Yes, most certainly, for when the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem, “the first dominion” shall be restored; and the first dominion was over “all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” Psalm 8:6-8; Genesis 1:26-28. The kingdom and dominion which God will give to his people will be very real, — as real as was the original kingdom of David, and infinitely more glorious and blessed, for it will be Eden restored. PROLI 179.3

“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.... And I will bring again the captivity of my people of 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 which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.” Amos 9:11-15. Read also once more with this, 2 Samuel 7:10. PROLI 179.4

As surely as the waters of Noah once covered the earth; as surely as God’s throne is in the heavens, founded upon justice and judgment, PROLI 179.5

PICTURE AND TEXT
so surely will this be the heritage of the saints, the true Israel. And so,—

“Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.” Isaiah 45:17-19. PROLI 180.1

And “many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 8:11. PROLI 180.2

PICTURE
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.