(Continued-Chapter XII-The Atonement)

Thus, after our Lord--having been put to death in the flesh and energized in the Spirit--went and made the announcement to the evil spirits in prison, He returned and shortly ascended to glory, entering into the sanctuary not made with hands. He took His blood and cleansed the heavenly things therewith. This He did nineteen hundred years ago, but he has never, like the high priest, reappeared to Israel. Will He do this? If so, when?

2. Israel's National Confession

When Israel sees the mistake made by the fathers nineteen hundred years ago in rejecting King Messiah, and when she in genuine repentance and absolute faith in Him confesses her national sin, He will reappear, coming out of the heavenly sanctuary just as the high priest did after he had made the atonement for Israel on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. As obvious proof that the remnant will make this national confession, let us turn to Leviticus 26:40-42:

40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary unto me. 41 I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

In these verses Moses foretold that the remnant of the last generation of Israel scattered among the nations shall confess its iniquity and the iniquity of the fathers. This iniquitous act was in the form of a trespass in which they (the fathers of Israel) trespassed against God. When did they commit this sin? When they were in the Land, for God through Moses declared that as "they walked contrary unto me [Jehovah], I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies." From the facts, as they are presented in the prophecy, it is clear that the fathers of Israel commit a sin or trespass against God while they are in the Land. Because they do this, the Lord casts them out and scatters them among all the nations of the world (as they have been for centuries). Finally, those that remain of them (Lev. 26:39,40) confess the iniquitous act which the fathers committed and also their share in that national crime: "And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers ..." When they do so in genuine repentance, God will remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and will also remember the Land, restoring it to Israel. Never will she come into undisputed possession of the heritage of the fathers in fulfillment of the promise until she makes this national confession.

In what sense are those of the last generation of Israel scattered among the nations--those making the confession--guilty of the sin committed by their foreparents? The answer is that they assume the same attitude and have the same spirit in regard to this matter as those who actually committed the crime. When this passage is read in the light of related scriptures, it becomes evident that the trespass committed by the fathers of Israel while in the land, on account of which sin they are cast forth and scattered among the nations, is the rejection and execution of their Messiah.

Hosea the prophet likewise foresaw the time when Israel would sin against Jehovah upon His appearance in her midst. When she thus sins, He leaves her and returns to His place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly" (Hosea 5:15).

The great national confession of Israel is set forth in the most forceful terms in Isaiah 53:1-9:

53 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty what we should desire him 3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Let us remember that in the year 1943-(+) (I do not know the time; hence I attach the plus sign to the current year) the nation of Israel will have learned the fact that her rejection of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, her Messiah, and the crucifixion of Him--the Lord of Glory, the incarnate Son of God--constitute the national sin committed by the fathers when they were still in the Land, on account of which tragedy¹ God cast them out of their country and scattered them among the peoples of earth. When they thus, having learned the facts concerning that tragedy, turn in genuine repentance to God, confessing their share in that sin and pleading for His return, He will remember His promise to the fathers--but never until then.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself made a similar announcement to the Jewish Sanhedrin:

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 for I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matt. 23:37-39).

In this quotation we see that the Lord was speaking to the rulers of Israel, the Sanhedrin, in whose hands the power of condemnation lay. It was at their command that the prophets, those sent unto Jerusalem, were killed. To this group our Lord said that He would go away and they should not see His face "henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." According to this prediction the leaders of Israel will see the mistake of over nineteen hundred years' standing, will repudiate it, and plead for the Lord to come. When they do, He will return.

3. The Reappearance of Messiah

27 And in as much as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment; 28 so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation (Heb. 9:27,28)

The man Christ Jesus died to make atonement for the sins of the world: "... so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation." In this connection let us remember that there were two goats which constituted the one sin offering. One was slain and with its blood atonement was made for the sins of the nation; the other bore these canceled sins away to Azazel, who typified Satan, the great enemy of Israel. Both the slain goat and the live one symbolized the one person, the Lord Jesus Christ: the slain one foreshadowing Him as dying; the live one representing Him as alive after making the atonement by dying and going into the realms of Satan to proclaim the cancellation of Israel's sins. Let us also remember that after the sending of the goat into the wilderness to Azazel, the high priest returned to the sanctuary and having bathed himself, changed his clothing, robing himself with his garments of beauty and holiness. Later he reappeared to the waiting congregation. In fulfillment of this ritualism, Jesus went into heaven after He completed that portion of the atonement that had to be carried out upon earth. He entered the sanctuary in glory. He has not yet come forth out of it in fulfillment of the remaining portion of the ritualism of the Day of Atonement.

As stated in the preceding section, when the Jews, having been given the truth of the gospel, repudiate the national sin and plead for the Lord Jesus to return, He will come forth out of the celestial sanctuary and will reappear in His garments of glory to those of Israel who will be waiting for Him. When He came the first time, He appeared as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; but when He reappears--emerging from the heavenly sanctuary--He will come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels, apart from sin and sacrifice, to the waiting remnant of Israel as her Deliverer and King.

The statement that He will come to them that wait for Him shows that Israel will have been taught the truth relative to His atonement and to His returning in fulfillment of the ritualism of the Day of Atonement--Yom Kippur. That Israel will be given the message of the gospel in preparation for Messiah's return, as we saw in Chapter I, is shown in various portions of the Scriptures. For instance, in Isaiah, chapter 40, God commands those whom He calls His people to give the message to His people Israel. Hear Him: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people [Israel], saith your [believers in the Messiah] God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem [the Jews who claim that they are of the Holy City]" (Isa. 40:1,2). One should study the first eleven verses of this chapter to get the full import of this injunction. Again, in Isaiah 62:11 the Lord is said to have sent a proclamation to believers (ye that are Jehovah's remembrancers, vs. 6) throughout the earth, commanding them to evangelize Israel: "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah: and thou shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken" (Isa. 62:11,12). Other passages show the same teaching. If we who read these commands refuse to be obedient to the heavenly voice, God will raise up others who will give heed to His charge.

One reason for laxness in giving the gospel to Israel is a misunderstanding of Zechariah 12:10, which reads in the King James Version: "… and they [the Jews] shall look upon me [Messiah] whom they have pierced …" This language is generally understood to teach that Israel will be converted by looking visibly upon the Lord Jesus when He returns at the end of the Tribulation. Those taking this position believe that the Jews as a nation will be won to Christ in this way and in no other manner. If this position is true, there is no necessity for our trying now to bring the light of the truth to them as a nation. Upon this hypothesis those of us who are attempting to give the truth to all Israel now are trying to do what they claim God said would be done by the personal appearance of the Lord Jesus himself. We are therefore, according to this view, not in line with the divine plan and will.

But is this interpretation correct? A glance at the American Standard Version will aid us in arriving at the truth on this point. It renders the words in question as follows: "… and they shall look unto me [Messiah] whom they have pierced …" This rendering is the correct translation and accurately represents the Hebrew text, whereas the reading of the King James Version does not. As stated above, the Common Version renders the preposition in question by upon, whereas the Revised Version translates it accurately by unto. The same preposition is used and correctly rendered in the following quotation: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else (Isa. 45:22). It is evident that in this passage the preposition is correctly rendered unto, for the call in this verse is to the Gentiles to turn and in faith look unto God for salvation. In the same manner Zechariah used this preposition foretelling the conversion of Israel at the end of the Tribulation. Having been evangelized, the convicted remnant of the Chosen People will turn and by faith look unto "me [Messiah] whom they have pierced …" They will then pray such a petition as is set forth in passages like Psalm 80. A careful study of this passage reveals the fact that those who thus pray will know the essential facts regarding the "Shepherd of Israel" who has been guiding the nation like a flock (verse 1) and who is "the man of thy [God's ] right hand" verse 17. They will know that this man is enthroned above the cherubim and that He alone can save them. Hence they will plead for His return. This entire prayer therefore assumes that the facts regarding the "man Christ Jesus" will have been given to Israel and that she will believe and earnestly beseech Him to return and save her.

According to certain definite predictions the leaders of Israel will first learn and understand the facts regarding Messiah and will accept Him. This is shown in the following prophecy: "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner; This is Jehovah's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes" (Ps. 118:22,23). When this prophecy is studied in the light of its context and related passages, it becomes apparent that the leaders of the Jews will learn about the stone (King Messiah) which was rejected by the great men of Israel nineteen hundred years ago, will see their mistake, and will point the nation to Him (Hosea 5:15-6:3). When they do that, all Israel living at that time will accept Him and will be saved. The Deliverer will then come to Zion and turn ungodliness from Jacob (Isa. 59:20f; Rom. 11:25-27). Then will dawn the perfect day of which we read in II Samuel 23:1-7 and proverbs 4:18.

The coming to them who wait for Him unto salvation is what is known as the second coming of our Lord, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation. This appearance must not be confounded with the rapture of the church, an event which takes place before the Tribulation--"the time of Jacob's trouble."

May you and I, dear Christian friends, do all that we can, in love, to bring this message to Israel so that the remnant may learn the facts and call upon Him to return and await His doing so in fulfillment of His prediction.

When He does reappear at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel, which we have already studied, He will introduce that glorious Kingdom Era which is described in the following passage:

24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon the holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy (Dan. 9:24).

Then transgression will have been removed, sin will be practically unknown, the things typified by the ritualism of the Day of Atonement will be an accomplished fact, everlasting righteousness--God's standard of ethics, morals, and righteousness--will be established throughout the world. There will be no need of vision and prophecy because prediction will have materialized into fruition. The Temple at Jerusalem will be rebuilt on a most glorious scale and will be the house of prayer for all nations. To it all peoples will flow in a constant stream to worship Jehovah of hosts and to be taught of Him. Great and indescribable joys thus await the faithful people of God (Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-8).

To my Jewish friends, whom I love with all my heart and who are still beloved for the father's sake (Rom. 11:28), I appeal, requesting that they give the message in this chapter especially thorough and conscientious consideration. Of course they must, like David (Ps. 119:18), ask God to open their eyes that they might see the truth of His Word. If they will do this, the Lord will meet every honest person and will enable him to see what is His will. Seeing the truth as revealed in the Scriptures discussed in this chapter, I ask each reader, regardless of all circumstances, to take his stand upon the eternal truth of God's Word, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Messiah, the God-man, and be saved and blessed for both time and eternity.



Footnote:

¹ That the leaders of Israel together with the Roman authorities of Palestine did not know what they were doing when they executed Jesus of Nazareth is evident from the following quotation: "…but we [the inspired ministers of the Word] speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory …" (I Cor. 2:7,8).