Damaging Doctrine

Perhaps no erroneous doctrine has been more detrimental to the souls of God's children than that those who compose the church of God will have to pass through "the great tribulation." Such a statement subverts God's revelation of the church as the body and bride of Christ, reduces the heavenly people to Jewish associations, and robs them of the watching and waiting attitude for Christ to come at any time. Such, more or less, merge into a political view of the Lord's coming by looking for events instead of Himself, in short, for antichrist instead of Christ. Thus the affections, conscience, and hope of the soul become seriously damaged by it.
Nothing can be clearer in the Lord's farewell address to His disciples before going to the Father, than that He left them by giving them the blessed expectation of soon seeing Him again. Between the coming of the Holy Ghost, and His return from heaven, He did not put a series of events to be fulfilled, so that we are told that the early Christians waited for God's Son from heaven.
The part of scripture that has been perverted to give a color to the doctrine is Matt. 24. But a brief glance at it will suffice to show that the "coming" referred to by the disciples, in their questions to the Lord, was not His coming for us, but His coming to Jerusalem when we come with Him, and every eye shall see Him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (See Matt. 23:39; 24:3.) That those mentioned there who will go through the tribulation are "His elect," is true enough, and is a term applied by Isaiah to the blest remnant of the Jews. But the reference to "the Sabbath day," "Judea," "fleeing to the mountains," "flesh" saved, "the abomination spoken of by Daniel the prophet," the "great tribulation such as was not.... no, nor ever shall be," also spoken of by the same prophet, its being preceded by the preaching of "the gospel of the kingdom of God," not of the grace of God as now preached, and other points, clearly mark it out as the time of "Jacob's trouble," that he will have to pass through and be brought out of. It is "the hour of temptation," coming upon all the world, from which the Lord promises to save us. "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from [or out of] the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Rev. 3:10.
It is interesting to observe that when our Lord referred to His rejection by the Jews—Judah and Benjamin—He said, "I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name [the antichrist], him ye will receive." John 5:43. This we know from other scriptures is how the unparalleled tribulation will be brought about, and in retributive justice, the very tribes which rejected the Messiah will go through it. The ten tribes will not be gathered together till after this, when the Lord actually comes out of heaven. (Matt. 24:31.) C.H. Mackintosh
Editorial
Knowing something of the keen interest Christians have concerning Israel today, we think it good and very timely to consider what certain scriptures tell us about Israel's return to their land. The land, of course, belongs to Jehovah and the people also belong to Him but are not now publicly owned by Him because they have disowned Jehovah in turning to idols. And even more, they rejected Him when He came in grace to the remnant of Judah and was presented to them as their Messiah. They cast Him out and crucified Him.
Still, the promises of God remain and all will be fulfilled. "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Rom. 11:29.
Many scriptures tell about the return of both Judah and Israel to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The particular scripture we refer to now has been explained over one hundred years ago by J.N. Darby who could expound the truth much better, so we quote from his ministry.
“Isa. 18 Whatever critical difficulties exist in this chapter, its great object is too evident to be obscured by any rendering whatever. The rivers of Cush are the Nile and Euphrates. The enemies of Israel, in the biblical part of their history, were situated on these two rivers. There is, in this prophecy, a call made to a country which is beyond them to a distant land which had never, at the time of the prophecy, come into association with Israel. The prophet has then in his view some country which would later come upon the scene. God bids all the inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth to take cognizance. (v. 3.) The nations are to have their eyes upon Israel; they are summoned by God to pay attention to what was taking place as to Jerusalem; they are all interested in her fate. The world is invited to watch the judgments about to take place. In the meanwhile (v. 4), God takes His rest, and lets the nations act of themselves; Israel has returned into her land (vv. 5, 6).
“It is a description of Israel's returning into Judea by the help of some nation at a distance from the scene itself, which is neither Babylon nor Egypt, nor other nations who meddled in their affairs of old. We do not say that it is France, Russia, or England. The Israelites return to their land, but God takes no notice of them. Israel is abandoned to the nations, and when everything would appear as if it were going to bear fruit anew (v. 5), behold the sprigs and branches are cut down, and left to the fowls of the air to summer on, and to the beasts of the field to winter on (which terms are designations of the Gentiles). Nevertheless, at that time a present of this people shall be brought to the Lord of hosts, and from this people 'to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.' v. 7.
“Psa. 126:4: 'Turn again our captivity, O Lord.' Zion and Judah will be first brought back. The captives of Zion were already brought back when this prayer was presented to God (v. 1); they are only the earnest of what God will do in the restoration of all Israel.
“But it is fitting here to touch on the manner of God's dealing with the houses of Judah and Israel in their judgment and dispersion. The first to be gathered are those who rejected Jesus, those who were guilty of His death. The ten tribes, as such, were not guilty of this crime. The ten tribes were dispersed before the introduction of the four monarchies into the rule of the world. It was the Assyrians who led captive the ten tribes before Babylon had existence as an empire.
“It is evident that those who rejected the Christ will be subjected to the antichrist; they will make a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell (Isa. 28:15), but their covenant will destroy all their hopes. Having united themselves to antichrist, they will undergo the consequence of this alliance and at last will be destroyed. Two thirds of the inhabitants will be cut off in the country of Israel itself after their return (Zech. 13:8, 9).
“With the ten tribes the occurrences are different, as we know from Ezek. 20:32-39. Instead of two parts cut off in the land, the rebels—that is, the disobedient and rebellious ones among them will not enter at all into Canaan. God does with them, as He did with Israel upon their rebellion after their coming out from Egypt; He destroys them without their even seeing it.
1. “Thus there are two classes, so to speak, of Jews in this return. First, there is the Jewish nation, namely Judah, and those allied with her in the rejection of the true Christ. They will be in connection with the antichrist, and of them two thirds will be cut off in the land.
2. “Secondly, there are those of the ten tribes coming up, of whom some will be cut off in the wilderness on their way into the land.
3. “Besides these two classes of Israelites who will return by providential agency (but still of their own free accord), the Lord after His appearance will gather together from among the Gentiles the elect of the Jewish nation. They will be yet among the nations, and this return will be accompanied with great blessing. (See Matt. 24:31; Isa. 27:12, 13; 11:10, 12.)”
It is very instructive and helpful to see that there are three distinct parts to the return. These are first, a remnant of the two tribes called Judah or the Jews, second, Israel (the ten tribes), and third, the rest of Judah who return and own Christ as Messiah. Ed.