IN the previous chapters the reader has been conducted to the crisis that awaits the world at the conclusion of the time of the end. The two great powers of the day-namely, Gogue, the lord of the earth, and the Lion of Tarshish, the king of the sea, have been brought up in battle array in the region of the Dead Sea. This state of things will have been created by the angel of the sixth vial, whose province it is to gather the kings of the earth and of the whole habitable, with their armies, into the land of Israel, which is "the great winepress of the wrath of God (Rev 14:19,20) for a space of 200 miles. This will be brought about upon the same principles as the fulfilment of all other prophecies in ages past-namely, through the policy of "the powers that be," controlled by God. The insurrection of "the earth" in 1848 created a situation, in which the Roman question, the German question, and the Turco-Hungarian question, have become the elements of an inevitable war throughout Europe, which will terminate in the final destruction of the Austrian Empire and the Papacy, and the subjection of the Porte and the toe-kingdoms to the Autocrat.
But without some other element to complicate affairs, things might settle down into a mere substitution of one gigantic despotism for the many lesser ones that now exist. It is necessary, therefore, that some other ingredient be introduced into the mess, in order that the course of events may be directed into an eastern channel, by which the crisis may be transferred from Europe to the Holy Land. This political element is found in the commercial interests of Britain in India; in the importance of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt being in the possession of a friendly people to the preservation of those interests; and in the policy of colonizing Palestine with Jews, and so attaching them to the interests of the country by which they are protected. Thus the ascendancy of the Autocrat in Constantinople and the West, by the jeopardy in which it puts the commerce and dominion of the Lion-power, excites the British Government to the adoption of a policy which, in its application to emergencies as they arise, elaborates the restoration of the Jews, and the resuscitation of the East.
The restoration of Israel is a most important feature in the divine economy. It is indispensable to the setting up of the Kingdom of God; for they are the kingdom, having been constituted such by the covenant of Sinai, as it is written, "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." (Exod. 19:6) The apostles understood this well enough, and so do all who understand the Gospel of the Kingdom. After his resurrection, Jesus conversed with them during forty days, "speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." This was certainly long enough, under the instruction of such a teacher, to enable them to understand the subject well. It took possession of their minds and hearts, and created in them a desire for its immediate establishment. Hence, they put the question to him, saying, "Lord, wilt thou AT THIS TIME restore AGAIN the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:3,6)
It is evident from this, that they regarded Israel as having once possessed the kingdom, and expected the same Israel to possess it again. No other meaning can be put upon their words: for to restore a thing "again" to a party implies that they had once possessed it before. When Israel had the kingdom, they were ruled by Israelites, and not by Gentiles, for a foreigner could hold no office under their law. This was not the case in the days of the apostles, for they were ruled by the Roman Senate, and kings of its appointment. But it will not be so when the kingdom is restored to them again. The horns of the Gentiles will then be cast out of the land, and they will be ruled by "Israelites indeed" who will have become Jews by adoption; for no Jews or Gentiles after the flesh can have any part in the government of Israel and the Israelitish empire, which will embrace all nations, unless their Jewish citizenship is based upon a higher principle than natural birth. The flesh constitutes a Jew a subject of the kingdom, but confers on him no right to sit and rule upon the thrones of the house of David. This is reserved for Christ and his apostles, who "shall sit upon twelve thrones of his glory"; and for all other Jews and Gentiles who shall have become "Jews inwardly," for whom the dorninion under the whole heaven is decreed in the benevolence of God.