The Present Truth, vol. 6
May 22, 1890
“The Gathering of Israel” The Present Truth 6, 11.
E. J. Waggoner
We can now pass rapidly to the close of our subject, with a view of the gathering of Israel, and of their establishment in their own land. We turn first to the prophecy of Ezekiel, and must necessarily quote a large portion of the thirty-seventh chapter. The prophecy was uttered soon after the Jews were carried away to Babylon. And here we would remark incidentally, that the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, are the only prophesies that were not spoken either before or during the captivity, and that Haggai and Zechariah were written before the complete restoration after the captivity. Therefore whatever portion of the prophesies refers to the restoration of literal Israel, was fulfilled by the decrees of the kings of Persia. As we shall see, however, the greater portion of the prophecies refers to the final gathering of the true Israel of God. Now for Ezekiel’s prophecy:- PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.1
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live; and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Ezekiel 37:1-10. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.2
It is useless to spend time conjecturing what this may mean, when we have the Lord’s explanation given in connection with it, so we quote further:- PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.3
“Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.” Verses 11-14. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.4
This is nothing less than a prophecy of the resurrection of the righteous at the second coming of Christ. But the Lord continues the interpretation thus:- PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.5
“Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.” Verse 21. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.6
No one can deny that the gathering of Israel of which Ezekiel speaks, is the same gathering that is spoken of by the other prophets. It is evident that the words, “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land,” is the same promise that the Lord made to David, through the prophet Nathan, when he said (2 Samuel 7:10), “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.” And this gathering of the children of Israel into their own land is accomplished only by opening their graves and bringing them up out of their grapes. In this prophecy of Ezekiel, therefore, we have the most positive assurance that the promises to Israel never contemplated anything else but an eternal inheritance; their own land is the earth made new. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 169.7
With Ezekiel’s statement that the gathering of Israel shall follow the general resurrection, compare the following:- PTUK May 22, 1890, page 170.1
“And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:30, 31. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 170.2
When this gathering of the people of God takes place, “the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. And this is what Paul calls “our gathering together unto Him.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1. PTUK May 22, 1890, page 170.3
E. J. W.