by Arnold Kennedy

Before I start on this important subject, I have something to ask. I ask that the reader consider what I say without resorting to objections to the use of grammar and word meanings. Derek Prince once wrote an article heading, “Mysteries Unfolded in Grammar”. He was referring to Hebrew and Greek grammar. Now I am not an expert grammarian, but I am going to use just a little grammar, as it has been given to me to understand it. I hope some mysteries will be unfolded! There are those in the USA who think that the USA will become a new site for Zion, and it has been written to me, “I find it a bit disconcerting that you have to resort to finding grammatical re-constructions using the KJV only, as in my mind, such detailed word-smithing appears to obfuscate and distort the clear text”. At least the word “appears” is used showing that the writer was uncertain! In making such quotations, I am using them as illustrations and am not picking on any one particular person.

We are told by the Messiah, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field”, and being hidden (=concealed) it is not found laying on the surface. The use of right grammar could never be “word-smithing” (in a bad sense). It would rather “unfold mysteries”. Wrong grammar and wrong word-meanings are never “clear text”!

Just because writers such as Howard Rand, Sheldon Emry, Robert Record and E. Raymond Capt agreed on some points, the attitude in some groups often is “everyone believes this”, inferring that I should too. There was once a similar view held by the folk in Ephesus. Acts 19:35, “Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?”

Then the town clerk said, “Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against…etc”. Those who hold to the USA–Zion doctrine often argue from such a position. After all, everyone knew that Diana fell from Jupiter, so anyone who thought differently just had to be wrong. We can admire Paul who was willing to stand against what everyone else there believed. I am making such a stand. But I do not want to do this in any spirit of strife, being conscious of Paul’s advice to Timothy, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men apt to teach, patient”, and I approach this paper from a teaching (and learning) point of view.

A look at the Biblical use of words like “place” and “house” will force a review of what has been read into 2 Samuel 7:10 from contemporary English. Because of the long-held tradition, I respectfully ask that all recipients of this paper take the time to read it right through. I seek to prove my points and word-meanings from Biblical usages, and not from the popular use of ancillary evidence, such as geography and history, to prove points.

(1) Does the word “place” refer to a country, or to the geographical location in which the Temple was constructed?”

(2) Does “place” refer to where YEHOVAH God dwells?

(3) Does the word “place” refer to a localized area within a larger area such as a country?

(5) Does the word “house” always refer to David’s House as a dynasty, or palace, and in this passage does it refer to the Temple that Solomon built?

(6) Does Israel’s gathering follow “Jacob’s Trouble”, or is it the terminus of a Westward migration?

The Meaning of the Word “Place”.

“The Temple would now play in all future interpretations of the Promise to David. This shift of focus would require reinterpretation of the 'place' (maqom) that is mentioned in 2 Samuel 7:10. At first glance, it would seem to refer to the land that YHWH was giving Israel. However, this runs counter to a central Deuteronomic theological issue. In Deuteronomic theology, the idea of a place is always associated specifically with the 'place' that YHWH would choose for his temple (e.g., Deut. 12:5; 1 Kings 8:16; 2 Kings 21:7)”.

It has long been held that the word “place” refers to a new country for Israelites to live in, and this has become a tradition, albeit a wrong one. We will look at this particular word for “place” which is part of Strong's H4725 maqom, and will find that even in Strong's it does NOT mean a country or countries, in the way this is claimed. Out of 402 occurrences, the word is translated as “country” only once in the KJV!

We can start to look at the Biblical use from the second book of Samuel that uses the word “place” as being a setting; the setting here being where the “Ark of the LORD” was.

(NOTE: There are derivatives in the Hebrew form of the word “place” = “maqom”, that change the meaning from a common home or household to Bethel, Bethlehem (as the House of YEHOVAH God), or to a palace).

The word is used of a specific area within a given larger area, as in the verse above. The word is much used in the sense of being a specific place of worship, e.g., “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest” -- (Deuteronomy 12:13). That is, there is this connection between “place” and worship, in Biblical usage.

The words “place” and “house” are often used in conjunction:

Thus the word “place” does NOT mean a country, but rather it is the setting where the “house” or “dwelling place” is. Let us look a little further and confirm this.

From the many usages of the word “place” = “topon”, (OT -- Greek LXX), we can see it is used for something that is found within something else, such as a temple being found within a country. The word "dwell" is also often used in terms of a sanctuary that is within another larger area.

The use of the word "maqom" (H4725) in the Hebrew for “place” is used in contrast to a "land" or "country", as in Genesis 30:25, "And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country". The words “place” and “country” have different meanings. If any care to tab through the references on a computer, they will find that the particular word for “place” in both the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Old Testament are used of a particular place within a country, such as a place of worship, rather than to that country as a whole.

For the word, “place” here, Strong's G5117 says, “Topos”, Apparently a primary word; a spot (generally in space, but limited by occupancy; whereas G5561 is a larger but particular locality)”.

Here again in the Greek of the New Testament we have a similar use of a “place” being a particular locality within a something larger, such as a country. But the “place” is NOT the country.

We can pick up the context in the previous chapter, where we find King David bringing the “Ark of God” to the house of Obededom the Gittite, and then of King David bringing it to the City of David. David then set it up in a tent he had made. We will see that the “Ark of God” as the place of YEHOVAH’s presence was the “house” and that the “tent” or “tabernacle” (at that time) was the setting (or “place”). This is seen in the next two verses.

In both we see the word “house”, one referring to where David dwelt and the other to a place for YEHOVAH God to dwell. From the Greek Septuagint, (LXX), David’s house is a genitive noun whereas YEHOVAH’s house is a dative noun. Through this chapter we do not find the genitive form again until the 19th verse where this is about David’s house. So it appears that all the references in-between these verses relate to YEHOVAH’s house or, as it was to become, Solomon’s Temple.

The word “house” occurs 14 times in this one chapter. It is also found 14 times in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles chapter 17. We find this matter of the “house” (= temple = dwelling place for YEHOVAH God) both before and after the tenth verse. Those who claim that there is absolutely no reference to, or even inference about, a Temple or dwelling place for YEHOVAH God, have not looked at this and noted the different applications of the word “house”.

2 Samuel 7:13: “He shall build an house for My Name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever."

The “house” is a settled building built upon a foundation, in contrast to a “tent” or a “tabernacle”. The word “house” is used of the place where a Ruler lives, or of a special area or setting within another larger area. If any do not think that the word "house" refers to the Temple Solomon built, they should read 1 Kings 5:5 and what follows:

We know that Solomon did indeed build that temple = "house". Solomon was not building a house as David’s palace!

In the sixth chapter of 1st Samuel we saw the connection between the word “place” and the “Ark of the LORD”. In the Seventh chapter, we see the connection between the “house” and a “place”, as a Temple, for YEHOVAH God to dwell in amongst His people. The language usage of the word “place” and the context of the word “house” agree perfectly.

Let us now consider the context where the 2 Samuel 7:10 is found. As was said, we find the matter of the temple (as “house”) both before and after that verse. The word “house” (in four different word-forms) occurs 14 times in this one chapter. It is also found 14 times in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles chapter 17, as already mentioned.

2 Samuel 7:13: "He shall build an “house” for My Name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever."

It is popular to say that the “house” in verse 11 and verse 13 is about establishing the House of David, and that this would, “absorb the promises made to Judah, and now transferred....to this House!”, but this strains the whole context. The immediate context of the chapter starts with:

2 Samuel 7:6: ”Go and tell My servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build Me an house for Me to dwell in?"

This is in the form of a question, because Solomon and not David was to build the “house” = Temple. It is not about YEHOVAH dwelling in David’s house or palace!

Right in the middle of the last two verses we find we find the 10th verse. There is no change in context. It would be unreasonable to suggest that one verse in an overall context would be of a totally different context. What YEHOVAH God is appointing is a “place” for this “house” (= the one for YEHOVAH God to dwell in), and it is “for My people”.

The 27th verse again confirms this all is about YEHOVAH’s House, not David’s house, in “For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house”. There is no change of focus in the 10th verse as is usually claimed when trying to support a view that “place” is about a relocation, or for Israel to go to a new “place”.

It has been said to me, “Then God shifts to advising him that the future of Israel would be different, that since Judges ruled Israel, that Israel would be at rest...for a time”. By this I take it to mean that the future of Israel would be a change of location. Then, to cover a traditional view, the assumption is made that the promises to Judah were transferred to the House of David. This is NOT VALID because the end-time blessings upon Judah (Genesis 49:9-12, Deuteronomy 33:7) have never been changed as they are for “the last days”.

To say that verse 10 is “a change of focus” is an assumption, and no evidence is offered here too. I believe that there is a change of focus at a different point in the chapter. My view is based upon grammar, and in this I am no expert, but I have associates who are. I have already pointed out from the Greek Septuagint, (LXX) David’s house is a genitive noun-form whereas the references to YEHOVAH’s house are all either in the dative or accusative noun-forms. We start with the genitive noun form for “house” in verse two with the house David was dwelling in. Then in verse five we find the accusative noun form with a statement about a house for YEHOVAH God to dwell in. Right through this chapter we do not find the genitive form again until the 19th and 25th verse where again the subject is David’s “house”.

The 12th and 13th verses are about YEHOVAH’s house, as are all those from the 5th verse. The 10th verse falls within these passages. There are those who think that the 10th verse is an interpolation because it appears to start with the word, “moreover”. This is a translator’s addition. It does not appear in the Masoretic or the Septuagint texts either. The verse just starts with a conjunction. Young’s Literal Translation starts with the conjunction “and”. The translators “made a mess” of this chapter in their translation. We will come to see that their added words suggest that they translated according to their doctrine, rather that what is actually written in the autographs.

Ignoring for the moment the right tense of, “I will appoint” in the 10th verse, what YEHOVAH God is appointing is a “place”. We have already seen that a “place” is about where the Ark of the Covenant was as YEHOVAH God’s abode with His people. We also read of Solomon, “he shall build an “house” unto My Name". What YEHOVAH told Nathan to tell King David that he would appoint a “place” (for YEHOVAH God to dwell in amongst His people) for His people Israel. He was told that Solomon was to build this Temple. This particular “place” is where YEHOVAH God was to dwell amongst His people. This is the “place”! IT IS NOT A NEW GEOGRAPHICAL LAND ON EARTH FOR ISRAELITES TO LIVE IN!!

If my evaluation is right, this means that writers such as Howard Rand, Sheldon Emry, Robert Record, E. Raymond Capt and British-Israel writers and teachers had a wrong basis for their doctrine. They made a grave error of judgment because they ignored the context and word usage. More than that, they failed to produce what is necessary, i.e. the “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established”. The majority of their whole case is based upon one duplicated passage, and they have never presented confirmation from the Psalms, the Law and The Prophets. They have not found it in the New Testament pages. Instead ancillary evidence is used to build up their case. Thus the tradition that suggests a country for a people to live in as a “new place" (such as the USA or Canada) being a land “terminus”, is not only meaningless; it is utterly wrong.

Having pointed this out, we can look at the popular or traditional view, which wrongly takes “place” as meaning a country for people to live in.

There is a school of people, particularly in the USA, who believe that the God of Israel has finished with the land promised to Abraham for all time, and that from now on “Zion” will be eventually be established in the United States of America, or as some claim, in Canada. The foundations of this belief come mainly from:

(B) An interpretation that Jerusalem as a city will be broken as a Potter’s vessel, “that cannot be made whole again” -- Jeremiah 19:1-12.

(C) The book by the late Sheldon Emry entitled, The Old Jerusalem is not the New Jerusalem.

(D) That the gathering of Israel and Judah will be in the West, i.e. the USA, from, “But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the West" -- Isaiah 11:12-14.

The conclusions of these beliefs is that the USA is the terminus of Israel’s Westward migration. We will examine these items one by one, because they are in direct contradiction to many other passages in the Bible. Let us do this, and if traditions are demolished, so be it.

Here the prophet Nathan is speaking to King David about the building of a “house” for YEHOVAH God to dwell in:

The 1898 Young’s Literal Translation reads this way, for this verse:

"And I have appointed* a place for My people, for Israel, and have planted it*, and it hath tabernacled* in its place, and it is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness do not add to afflict it any more, as in the beginning”.

In these English translations, we can see two or three tense variations. The variation between the “I will” and the “I have” in the two translations above is significant. If we take the “I will” version, it sounds as if the “place” is a new place in the future, whereas if we take the “I have” version, it sounds as if the “place” is a place that already existed. The word “new” as a “new place” does NOT appear. Certain Identity and British-Israel luminaries made their case from the “I will” perspective, and then speak of a “new” place. Because they think in terms of a “new” place, they then talk about this as if it were a “terminus” for Israel in Israel’s Diaspora. From this, they have concluded that the United States of America is that terminus. (Some say Canada or the United Kingdom).

At first glance, from the words as translated, “I will”, this appears to be something in the future that is going to happen sometime from that point onwards. Sheldon Emry took this as his interpretation in his booklet, The Old Jerusalem is not the New Jerusalem. This also is the long-held view held by the British Israelites and fellow travelers. To determine whether this is right, we can look into the Hebrew grammar, word-meanings, and other translations.

From grammar, the “I have” is the nearer to the meaning. However, this does say when this took place, so again grammar gives us an insight. In the three places above marked with an (*) in the Young’s version, he shows these are written in Hebrew in the Perfect Tense. This tense is defined as follows:

Applying this, the “I will” of the KJV version should have been translated as, “I have”. There are many examples where the Imperfect is translated this way. This would mean that the appointment of the “place” originated before this time, even if it was to be completed in the future. Thus it could NOT be an altogether new place!

Furthermore, the 10th verse we are considering finishes with, “afflict them any more, as beforetime”. This has been wrongly taken as being a future happening, but the next verse tells us what time is being spoken of. If we eliminate the added words, “and as” the end of the 10th verse and the start of the 11th verse, it reads, “afflict them any more, since the time appointed judges to be over my people Israel”. We will come back to this point later on. But before we do, we will have another elementary look at the grammar of the critical verse, from the Hebrew this time rather than from the Greek, as before. Keep in mind the definition of the Perfect Tense.

I had prepared a list of examples where the Perfect was used to show translation comparisons, showing how the “I will” should have been translated as “I have”, but I have deleted these because they are lengthy, and because there is another factor to consider. In this verse, there are three verbs in the Perfect. The “I will appoint” has what is called “vav consec.” added, which addition conditions the meaning to read “I appoint”, rather than “I will appoint”, and this then reads in a similar way to the Greek aorist tense --(grammarians do not all agree on this point). Quoting the scholars Keil and Deloitzsch, as they translate the verse:

“I have taken thee from the pasturage [grass-plat], behind the flock, to be prince over my people Israel; and was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and exterminated all thine enemies before thee, and so made thee, ועשׂיתי [perfect with vav consec.], a great name,...and created a place for my people Israel, and planted them, so that they dwell in their place, and do not tremble any more [before their oppressors]; and the sons of wickedness do not oppress them any further, as at the beginning, and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I create thee rest from all thine enemies”.

They too start with, “I have taken thee” and for “will appoint” they translate “and create” -- (not “I will create”). From the use of the Perfect Tense on its own, we can see this action started before the time of the Prophet Nathan’s address to King David, and that what started before a given time can be fulfilled in the future. Nathan is speaking of something that is always true (aorist). Of YEHOVAH God's covenant to Abram, we read: "In the same day the LORD made <perfect> a covenant with Abram saying, Unto thy seed have I given <perfect> this land from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates”. "Made" and "have given" are spoken as things that are always a fact because of the Perfect Tense.

With respect to Israel and its association with the Promised Land, YEHOVAH’s association with the area is, of course, much older. The Promised Land, as shown to Abram, is the area that YEHOVAH God made for Himself in Genesis 2:4. The earliest reference to the association between the area YEHOVAH made, the Israelites and Zion is seen in the Song of Moses,

Exodus 15:17: "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made <Perfect> for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary [Hebrew: miqdash -- hallowed place], O LORD, which thy hands have established <Perfect> [Hebrew: kuwn –prepared]."

The “mountain of thine inheritance” here is about a particular situation for “thee to dwell” (amongst His people), and it was made by YEHOVAH God Himself! YEHOVAH prepared this Sanctuary for Himself in a particular location and there is NEVER any suggestion of changing this defined location. It is described as being, “beautiful for situation”. Thus what was established so long ago in this beautiful situation could never be transferred to the USA!

There was only this limited area where Israel actually “dwelt”.

Yes indeed, there are statements such as, “And they came in and possessed it". Then quotes are made such as, “And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their forefathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass”. YEHOVAH God did not fail and all His part came to pass, but Israel failed to perform their part as instructed. Yes, it did come to pass, but only as far as from Dan to Beersheba! They possessed “of it”. If I take a bite from a loaf of bread, I am eating the loaf, but this does not mean I have eaten the whole loaf! Another failure in understanding is that there are two words for “all”, one being confined to the limitations of the context, and the other meaning all of the lot.

Arguments based upon this abound. The sort of flaws in them can be seen in Nehemiah 9:23, “So the children also multipliedst thou as the stars of the heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou should go in and possess it”, where this is claimed as a total fulfillment. The rebuilding of Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah was hardly, “from the river of Egypt unto the great river , the river Euphrates". These are the sort of flaws we find in these claims. What Israel possessed was only from Dan to Beersheba, as the above record shows. Thus it is wrong to make a claim of fulfillment of a whole from just a part. Thus there is fulfillment yet to come in a fuller area of land, “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. King Solomon did subdue kingdoms as far as the Euphrates River, but Israelites did not drive out the inhabitants and come to “dwell” in those parts. I have been to Beersheba and I know it is a long way from the “river of Egypt”.

In the list in this chapter, we can see the mention of “the river of Egypt”, which is well South of Beersheba. Verse 3 of the chapter above includes from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. Then we see it includes all of Lebanon and the source of the Jordon River. It includes the conquered territories of Sihon and Og. Obadiah 1 tells us Israel will also possess “the Mount of Esau” as well. Zephaniah 2 tells us Israel will possess Moab, Ammon and Gomorrah. This is in the day of YEHOVAH God's anger. Has it happened yet? Could these same areas possibly be in the USA?

In Joshua 13:1 we read, “Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed”. It was not all possessed in the days of Bible history. In this and the following chapters we are told more detail about tribal lots, and more confirmation that some tribes did not eliminate the inhabitants and thus did not dwell in many parts of the Promised Land.

It has been written to me, “But as to land definition for Ishmael, the commentary related to land rights for his progeny are clearly defined in Genesis 25:12-18, but in verse 18, we find the particulars of how God defined the region in which Ishmael's progeny were to dwell: 'And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest towards Assyria'".

My comment is this: In the 18th verse, “the verb “dwelt” is in the imperfect tense and so the words “were to dwell” (as being indicative of the future) are invalid. A definition of the Imperfect Tense is as follows. “The imperfect tense is also called the past descriptive tense and corresponds to was doing or used to do in English. The imperfect is used to describe a continued or habitual action in the past” .

It has also been written to me that:

….means that the covenant was completed in the time of David and Solomon. But it does not! The word “dominion” has been wrongly taken to mean Israelites dwelt in all this area, and the verse immediately following is in the same context and confirms the lesser area where Israel actually “dwelt”.

This is stated to be available “so long as the moon endureth”, so it is still available. This actual full occupation then is end-time or at the beginning of the Millennium. The “ends of the earth” means the limits of that particular earth. Each country had its own “earth” or land. That specified “earth” does not exist anywhere in the USA either!

Some go as far to say that, because the things which are unseen (i.e., spiritual) are eternal, whereas the things which are seen (i.e., physical or fleshly) are but temporary, that “the prophesied Zion is nothing other than the kingdom of Heaven, over which the Messiah has been reigning for roughly two millennia -- a kingdom which has no physical boundaries”. However, to be a kingdom, there must have a King, the laws of the King, a territory, and a subject people. The Millennial Jerusalem is yet unseen – and will exist until the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven at the end of the Millennium!

The permanent city following the Millennium is the New Jerusalem that “cometh down from heaven”, and it is indeed unseen as yet, and indeed is made by YEHOVAH God. No problem!

The British Israelites and the American Identity supporters have a history of bringing in geography and history as proof of their doctrine that England or the USA are the terminus of Israel’s Westward migration. They use notions such as rivers and geographical features in support. The Americans are falling for the same trap the English fell for 100 years earlier. But the Millennial Jerusalem has never been a creation of man. In any exposition, we cannot use anything secular, such as the facts of history or geography, to prove a point, because we would probably be wrong altogether. The Biblical way is to compare Scripture with Scripture, not Scripture with history or geography. The latter two are not “witnesses” in the Biblical sense, where, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” refers to Bible witnesses.

Where the Children of Israel were driven to could not possibly be a “terminus” because they return “to their own land” from where they had been driven to, or had spread to. In its gathering, the “seed of the House of Israel” comes from the North, not “to the North”, so “their own land” is not in the USA as would be the case if the USA was the “terminus”. The “North” is one of the directions from whence Israel comes back from their captivity. YEHOVAH God promises to bring His people back from the “North”.

There is no suggestion of a different place such as the USA being the final terminus of a North-Western migration. Israel is brought back from where YEHOVAH God had scattered them, “Unto the land that I gave to your fathers”.

“When the Lord shall gather His people out of the dispersion, then will He raise up shepherds over them who will so feed them that they shall no longer need to fear or to be dismayed before enemies who might be strong enough to subjugate, slay, and them captive. The figurative expressions are founded on the idea that the sheep, when they are neglected by the shepherds, are torn and devoured by wild beasts; cf. Ezekiel 34:8. They shall not be lacking; cf. for נפקד with this force, 1 Samuel 25:7; in substance = not be lost. יפּקדוּ לא is chosen with a view to אתם פקדתּם לא (Jeremiah 23:2): because the shepherds did not take charge of the sheep, therefore the sheep are scattered and lost. Hereafter this shall happen no more. The question as to how this promise is to be accomplished is answered by Jeremiah 23:5 and Jeremiah 23:6. The substance of these verses is indeed introduced by the phrase: behold, days come, as something new and important, but not as something not to happen till after the things foretold in Jeremiah 23:4. According to Jeremiah's usage throughout, that phrase does not indicate any progress in time as compared with what precedes, but draws attention to the weightiness of what is to be announced."

Note that they translate about YEHOVAH God gathering His people as “out of the dispersion”. Also, they do NOT use “move” in the sense of relocation as the USA-Zion advocates try to wrongly make the word to mean. I have been unable to find any morphology, dictionary or commentary that supports what the USA-Zion advocates make the word “move” mean.

Using the word “place” as we do in English, as always the place is not found to be where they are scattered to, such as the USA being a terminus, but it is back to where they came from in the first instance. Please note the two houses of Israel return to their own land with one King over them. This is the King of Israel -- the Messiah! This is at the end of the age and at the beginning of the Millennium!

Some say, the end-time re-gathering of Israel under YEHOVAH God, with the Messiah as King over Israel, began two thousand years ago, and continues to this very day. This is partly true in the sense of Colossians 1:13 of which Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:4, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”. In that last time YEHOVAH God will rule the world with a rod of iron; do we see YEHOVAH with His vesture dipped in blood today -- as recorded in Revelation 19:13? Also, notice verse 15:

In the Parable of the Vineyard, the “Landowner” (YEHOVAH God -- Matthew 21:33-41) will “miserably destroy those wicked men” presently occupying the Vineyard. We can note that He returns to the same vineyard in the identical locality. That means that the present State of Israel will be destroyed, together with those occupying it. This could well be a nuclear destruction.

Some think that the word “planted” means permanence in a “move no more” sense. YEHOVAH God gave Israel rest from her enemies in the days of King David, in preparation for the building of the Temple by Solomon. At the time when the prophecy was delivered by Nathan, the Ark of the Covenant had no permanent resting place. Some claim that not until the permanent Temple “comes down out of heaven” is Israel finally “planted” for good. The word “planted” (H5193) is used of planting in a garden or vineyard, and very often refers to the “planting” of Israel. Being so “planted” does not mean the planted people cannot ever be “removed”, “plucked up”, “laid waste”, “trodden down” or “rooted out”, in the way the USA–Zion advocates read into 2 Samuel 7:10. Rather we find:

After those “planted” had sinned and were removed from where they had been “planted”, what then? The following passage is one of many that tells us what we are looking for, that is, “What is the place where they are gathered to?” Is it the USA? No. It is to “This place” where Israel was driven from. They are then “planted” in the Land promised to Abraham.

The 30th verse includes the House of Israel with the House of Judah. Now it has often been said by the USA–Zion advocates, that YEHOVAH God has permanently abandoned the land promised to Abraham, but we have just been reading something quite pointed to the contrary. And through this paper we will see a lot more.

YEHOVAH God's Promise to Abraham

When YEHOVAH God says, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates", this does NOT say, “Will I give” -- it says, “Have I given”. The stated area has definite geographical boundaries, boundaries that no one can impose upon the United States of America. Thus there can be no USA-Zion reality unless all value and reference is taken from the Abrahamic Covenant. So what do we read about this?

Must I bring in grammar again? Yes I must. This is because the tense of the last verb is aorist. It will always be true in terms of ownership! So, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river , the river Euphrates”, will yet be fulfilled. But it cannot be in the USA because these boundaries are not there!

Above it was shown that the word “move” = ragaz (translated in 2 Samuel 7:10 as “move” and used about 41 times in the sense of shaking or trembling), is NEVER otherwise translated in the sense of relocation. We do not find any suggestion of relocation in commentaries, lexicons or dictionaries. The phrase is always used in the sense of trembling, shaking or similar. The words “no more” in the phrase, “move no more” is not in the Hebrew or Greek texts, (although some recent modifiers of Strong's add manufactured Strong's references to include it). In other words, they add to the Greek text. This can be seen in the E-Sword Bible Computer Program in their new added-to version of the Greek text.

It is so sad that proponents of the USA-Zion theory refuse to look at the consistent use of the word ragaz or at what learned commentators such as Keil and Delitzsch say in the, “do not tremble any more [before their oppressors]” that they too present as the meaning.

Writers such as E. Raymond Capt say such about 2 Samuel 7:10, “obviously they were placed in a new land since the children of Israel were in Israel at the time of that covenant with David". This is not so “obvious” at all when we consider the grammar and YEHOVAH’s covenant with Abraham. Because Israel was cast out of the Promised Land, this does not make the places of exile into the Promised Land.

Those who have long held the same view like to say the use of grammar and checking on word usage is “obscurification”, simply because they are unwilling to accept grammatical and other analysis. They do not compare Scripture with Scripture to check up on Bible word usage. There is no possibly way “move no more” can be converted to “relocate no more”. This alone is sufficient to dismantle a doctrine that has erroneously been built upon a wrong word meaning.

The Broken Potter’s Vessel

It has been claimed that Jerusalem as a city was broken as a Potter’s vessel, “that cannot be made whole again” -- Jeremiah 19:1-12 -- as a basis that YEHOVAH God has finished with the Holy Land for all time. Before we go into this, it is necessary to realize that the Old Jerusalem has never yet been destroyed to the extent that it could never be rebuilt. Quite possibly, the only thing that could bring this about would be by something nuclear. The common teaching is that this destruction has already happened, and that Zion is now being prepared in the USA. This can only be wrong.

The context of this passage is, “O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem”. The reason for the city becoming broken was the idolatry of the people. The passage is speaking about an attack on Jerusalem. Some say it could apply to the 70-year-long captivity of Judah in Babylon and “cannot be made whole again” thus apply to this particular context time-period. On the other hand Ezra and Nehemiah did not rebuild Jerusalem in the complete form it was before it was destroyed, and thus it was not ever “made whole” in that period.

Note the “then” in the passage below:

In other words, Jerusalem would be totally desolate as a broken bottle for seventy years. A remnant under Ezra and Nehemiah did indeed start to mend the broken potter’s vessel after this seventy-year period, but this involved only a portion of Judahites. They only laid the foundation of the Temple and built the city wall with its gates. Judah was never to be an independent nation again until the link up with the House of Israel, as we see in Isaiah chapter eleven, the two sticks prophecy and that of the valley of the dry bones. The Old City will be rebuilt with its Temple when YEHOVAH God and the Messiah return at the end of the age and at the beginning of the Millennium. After the Millennium the New Jerusalem will be there in that place, however this has no Temple in the man-made sense:

The place is the same as, “Whence I caused you to be carried away captives”….As always! The passage about the YEHOVAH God appointing “a place” is about the establishment of the Kingdom YEHOVAH had given to His people, but this commencement received its first pledge of perpetuity from the divine assurance that the throne of David should be established for all future time, and that it would become centered upon Jerusalem again, as its setting. Both YEHOVAH God and the Messiah will rule from that “place”. When does this happen?

The Old Jerusalem is indeed unholy, but Jerusalem will be holy during the Millennium following the time when, “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining”.

When we come to Isaiah 11:4, the phrase “towards to West” has been used to suggest the end of a trek towards the USA, but Strong's H3220 indicates something different. When we read the rest of the verse:

We see references which are all Middle Eastern. Where is this highway to? Where did Israel arrive to after the Exodus? It was to the Promised Land! So “like as it was” is to the same place. We will see this answer again, when we study the particular part of the planet that YEHOVAH God says He cares for.

Each animal is coupled with that one which is its natural prey or enemy. A fit state of things under YEHOVAH God and the "Prince of Peace”, will be as Isaiah again tells us:

Whether we take these verses and the animals literally or symbolically, we can see the real meaning of “move no more” in 2 Samuel 7:10. YEHOVAH’s people will literally “tremble no more”, not even with wild animals. That is, they will “move no more” with trembling when the adoption is completed..

The apostle Paul knew what our present position is when he said, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” -- Romans 8:22-23.

Here we find YEHOVAH God separating one part of the planet from other parts, and note this is "always". Thus it never could include the USA because it follows the Exodus as a place of captivity. Israel is in captivity again at present, and the same pattern will follow. This particular piece of real estate is that promised to Abraham, and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob:

Here again we find the “everlasting possession” or “always” confirmed. Therefore this piece of land, known as the Promised Land, is YEHOVAH God’s forever, even if “The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it” -- (Psalm 80:13) and “strangers” are occupying it in the interim whilst Israel is in exile. We have seen how the Tribes of Israel have never ever yet taken possession of their whole inheritance.

ALL the Land of Canaan is the inheritance of Israel, even YEHOVAH God expelled Israel so that the Land can “enjoy her Sabbaths”, whilst Israel is in exile. The time of this land being fully possessed as “an everlasting possession” will come -- Israelites have had some temporary possession of part of it, as shown in Old Testament history, but the whole Land remains Israel’s future inheritance. We will see that it is emptied of people first. This is the land the small remnant of Israel will return to. If YEHOVAH God loves this area of land “forever”, how could He come to be finished with it for all time now?

Then we come to the phrase, “Daughter of Jerusalem” of which much has been made in Mr. Emry’s book. But what has been made of it seems to be deficient. One of the meanings given by the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament is that of “adoption”. It says, “Certain statements which God directed both to people and to individuals are best appreciated in a figurative context associated with adoption or legitimation based upon covenant promises”. The point being made is that the phrase concerns people rather than a place, and the “Emry crowd” take it the other way around.

This could mean either two identities or two aspects of the same thing, but the essence of identity is about YEHOVAH’s people despising their God, as the verse above indicates. Probably the best way to get an understanding is to look through all the references. This is not a simple subject because “daughter” and “daughters” have different meanings. Without the complex explanation necessary, I summarize the meanings:

• When the name of a land or a city is used with verbs denoting human activity (such as to listen, to praise) the name stands for all the people associated with that land or city.

• The plural use of daughters refers only to the female descendants of the people identified directly or indirectly by the whole expression.

• The expression virgin daughter of a city/people/country refers to the unconquered status of the entity. It refers to the current physical incarnation of that entity that is still ruled and occupied by the people who rebuilt it.

• The expression daughter of a city/people/country refers to the conquered/fallen status of the entity.

We have already looked into the wrong word meanings and grammar in 2 Samuel 7:10 and the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17:9. What is important is to look at is whether of not there is a change of location between the different cities, the Old Jerusalem, the Millennial Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem. We can make a good start by looking through “The re-gathering of Israel” in both Testaments.

This is often cited as “The regathering” but there is only one “gathering” of the remnant of Israel after the diaspora. Part of this doctrine may well be summarized by the following verse:

Ezekiel 37:21: “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: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king [the Messiah] shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all”.

Both the Houses of Israel were removed from the Promised Land because of their iniquity, but the time will come when this prophecy will be fulfilled. Both Houses were scattered “among the heathen”, but they will come together as “one nation” upon “the mountains of Israel”. The “one king” indicates that the time of this is at the arrival of the Messiah at the beginning of the Millennium.

Many churches teach that the establishment of the modern Israeli state is the fulfillment of end-of-age prophecy concerning the gathering of Israel. This is a FALSE insistence because the bulk of the peoples being gathered to the Israeli state of today could not possibly be Israelites, as a race of people. Even the Encyclopedia Judaica says that, on the one hand Judaism is multi-racial, and that on the other hand, the majority are descendants of Esau (and thus NOT those of the child of the promise Isaac). Therefore they could never be Israelites! Thus Judaism is a race only in the sense of religious belief. On both counts the Israeli state could not be Israelite in the Biblical sense. Since the seed of Abraham is genetic, and since those going to Palestine are multi-racial, the only common “Jewish” connection can be by religion, sympathy, upbringing or some false pseudo-racial association. Prophecy declares Esau’s descendants will be brought together for destruction centered on Jerusalem. Many of the prophecies concerning the eternal fate of Esau (also known as Edom, Idumea, Mt. Seir, Teman, etc.) are presented through the Bible.

Furthermore, the timing of the Israeli build-up is incorrect if it is to be portrayed as the regathering of Israel. When we consider other events associated with the return of the nation of Israel to “The Land”, we find the sequence does not fit the Israeli state. When writings from Evangelical, Christian-Zionist and Messianic Jewish sources are examined, a limited number of Scriptures quoted by these groups are repeated over and over again to support their views claiming that the Israeli state is a fulfillment of prophecy. So we will go on to see if these are valid, examining the timing factors involved, and just whom the Bible says is gathered and where they are gathered to.

Who Are “Gathered"?

The very references that we find in the margins and footnotes of our popular Bibles, such as “Gathering” and “Jews Return”, suggest correctly that this all pertains to Israel only. However, the churches have mixed-up ideas about identities:

• All converted people of any race are “true Jews”.

• “Jews” and “Israel”, “The Church” and “Christians” are effectively the same since “all are now one” according to popular teaching.

This is a consideration that we can disprove easily on the basis that the Bible is a book about Israel and is addressed to Israel ONLY (that is, the so-called “Gentiles” are the dispersed Houses of Israel). We will see that the prophets were very precise in identifying who are gathered to “the land promised to the fathers”, and that this is on an Israelite-only racial basis.

This selective aspect of the gathering is a fact of Scripture, even though this may be difficult to accept because of the sentimental objections that arise from our pre-conditioning and religious upbringing or education that suggest that Israel is now represented by “The Church”. There are Scriptures used to suggest that “all the families of the earth” are to be blessed in Abraham, to try to incorporate “believers” from other races. It might be well to ask how Israel could have been a blessing to all those nations YEHOVAH God told Israel to destroy! These could not be included. How all races could fit into the Twelve Tribes of Israel that are to be inside of the New Jerusalem is never explained.

it is sometimes thought that the second verse refers to Jacob returning from his sojourn with Laban. But in the 15th verse it is YEHOVAH God making the pronouncement; that is why Jacob consecrated the stone and made his vow a verse later. The second verse does indeed relate to the future gathering of Jacob's posterity to the land promised to Abraham.

Deuteronomy 30:1-6: "…and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee….That then will the LORD thy God turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God has scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee…And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed…and the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed…"

This is addressed to all Israel. The timing is after Israel’s captivity. It has not yet happened because we are still to pray, “Thy Kingdom come”. The phrase, “the land which thy fathers possessed” effectively ELIMINATES the United States of America from the equation! This passage is the original promise made to Israel; this has not changed, and there are things that must be noted:

(4) It is FROM THENCE -- not OF all nations. “Whither” also speaks of a place.

(5) The TIME is given as “when thou [Israel] shalt call to mind” all the things presented at Mt. Sinai and set their mind to return to the LORD and to obey His voice. There is no evidence of this in the Israeli State. Those who have been influenced to believe that the United States of America is Jerusalem or Zion, should note that the above verse indicates the gathering is from places outside of the Promised land and then back to the Promised Land. The place outside of the Promised Land is thus not the final destination of Israel, as the USA-Zion proponents want to say! This prophecy is to all of Israel, not just to Judah.

The situation is given as the “land which your fathers possessed”. (Note all the New Testament references to “The Fathers”). It is to a specific geographical place on Earth. It is the land where the fathers (of Israel) had once lived.

The FULFILLMENT is isolated to the children of “The Fathers”. It is not the mythical, spiritual children of Abraham in the sense that Galatians 3:7 is commonly taught, because “The Fathers” includes Isaac and Jacob as well as Abraham.

The above passage in Deuteronomy 30:1-6 gives us the time of this event and goes on to tell us that Israel’s enemies will be cursed and not be blessed. This racial separation is always present. Provision is also made for those of Israel who deny the LORD, to be cursed instead of being blessed. Being born an Israelite is no guarantee of eternal life. Each must come through The Door. The Messiah says, “I am The Door of the sheep” -- (John 10:7). The Messiah does NOT say that he is the door for races other than “the sheep”. The Messiah gave his Life for the sheep! But, it is NOT recorded that he gave his Life for goats or anyone else. Israel is often spoken of as being the “sheep of his pasture”, or “his Sheep”.

From here we can go on to consider that this is the very same message that the apostle Paul teaches in Romans 10:5-13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”, that is so often quoted in religious gospel preaching. The “whosoever” is limited to those Paul is addressing. They are Israelites ONLY who are stated to be “brethren” (kinsmen of the womb). These were of the same kin and of the House of Israel who Paul said also knew the Law (Romans 3:19 and 7:1-4). The Law was given to Israel ONLY, as a covenant. So this “whosoever” refers to the “whosoever of Israel” in the context.

1 Chronicles 16:35-36: "And say ye, Save us, O God of our [Israel’s] salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy Holy Name…Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever…"

In all these verses, kindly take note of the separation or identification that is made by the pronouns. See just whom the “gather us” refers to and understand how this cannot ever be extended to include others. Note YEHOVAH God is always stated to be “The LORD God of Israel”.

In this song of David, we find the prayer for Israel’s gathering together, prayed by David on behalf of Israel. This gathering has not yet happened. In the New Testament, the Messiah taught Israelites to pray, “Thy Kingdom come”. This is the hope of Israel, under both covenants. It is never presented as being the hope of all races, even in the New Testament.

Some might like to argue that this refers only to those of the House of Judah who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. But, the original promise was made to the whole nation, and in this verse, the gathering is of “nations” in the plural, that is, it is inclusive of both Houses. Again, the action relates to the redemption of Israel. It is through the Redeemer OF ISRAEL, the Messiah, who was anointed “to save his people from their sins”. The PLACE is always a specified place; it is not a “condition” as many New Testament teachers suggest, but a physical place that YEHOVAH God has chosen on Earth. It involves the “land which your fathers possessed”.

Psalm 102:21, 22: "To declare the Name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms [of Israel] to serve the LORD."

Psalm 106:47: "Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us, from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy Holy Name…"

Psalm 105:42, 43: "For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant. And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness."

This psalm is addressed to “O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosen” -- (verse 6). It speaks of the everlasting covenant made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Verses 8, 9-19) and includes reference to the land of Canaan.

In verse 7 of this Psalm, it is YEHOVAH God who leads Israel unto a “city of habitation”. This Psalm is about the gathering of the redeemed of YEHOVAH God from the East, West, North and South. These give the same descriptions of the same places that Israel went to when they were expelled from the Promised Land, and this is where they are gathered from. Thus it could not be a gathering “to” the United States of America, but rather it would be “from” the USA as one of the areas Israel was scattered to.

What are “these things” that are to be taken note of? Are they not to do with Israel and her gathering? Would it be improper to suggest that if we do not observe these things we must therefore be lacking in understanding? The Messiah pointed out the same thing in John 3:12, “If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things”? The Messiah was talking to Nicodemus, a Master in Israel about knowing these things. It is absolutely necessary to understand the earthly things about Israel as a racial entity before we can ever understand heavenly things. The facts concerning the gathering of Israel are most important!

In chapter ten of this Book, we are told about a day of completion (translated as “consummation”):

Isaiah 10:20: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the LORD GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land”.

Here we find that a “remnant” of Jacob will return “in that day” of completion. It is just a remnant that returns to the Land of Israel. What is a remnant? From the LXX, the word “kataleipo” is made up of two words. The prefix “kata” refers to something being broken down and the word “leipo” means “the remainder”. The “remnant” as in, “a remnant shall be saved” as found in Romans 9:27 is derived from the same word. The “remnant” is used as being in the future, throughout the New Testament and this in no way this has any approach such as the present as used in the USA-Zion conception. The timing of this gathering of the remnant of Israel is “end of the age” or Millennial. It occurs after the period of punishment of both the House of Judah and the House of Judah. The day is when what is in the next verse takes place:

The word “outcasts” is important, and it implies the temporary status of the Northern Kingdom. The “dispersed” are the members of the Southern Kingdom, and overall through language it can be determined that this passage is about uniting the two kingdoms into one under King David. “King David” is a figure for “King Yeshua”. The political and spiritual aspects become united again. The separation of these two aspects was the cause of the vexation between the two houses, because Judah contained the line of kings from David, and also the Temple. This vexation thus becomes ended.

Twice in this section there is the phrase, “in that day”. So it does not apply to other than the time specified. This is the day when the wolf will dwell with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the kid, etc, and when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” -- (v. 9)  . Some may say that the passage about the wolf and the lamb are all figures of speech, but they give no explanation as to how the “knowledge of the LORD” might be figurative. Isaiah is telling us a basic fact about the House of Israel who is at enmity against the House of Judah until the time of the gathering of all Israel (Isaiah 11). These two Houses (or parts of Israel) must exist today as specific entities.

The gathering is clearly spoken of as being of two parts that come from among (not of) all nations in ‘the four corners of the earth’. If Israel has now been “taken over” by the Church (in its popular concept), how ever could this prophecy be fulfilled? We will see a lot more about this separation between Israel and Judah as we go along. What do the end-of-age teachers say about this matter? Nothing! If we take this literally, we see the route Israel is to take back to the Promised Land, as well as the timing. So far men do not go dry-shod over the Egyptian sea (verse 15). A highway expressed in verse 16, as being from Assyria is not presently manifested either. The time of “in that day” is the time of the latter days when the Messiah comes to smite the earth with “the rod of his mouth” -- (Isaiah 11:4).

Reading on in this passage we find that the time is when “the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” -- (Isaiah 35:1). The fact that the Israeli state has organized the watering of desert areas does not prove anything in itself. If the same was done in the interior of Australia that desert would also blossom as the rose. We must note here that those who promote the “USA-Zion” idea use this sort of “proof” of their theory. Some of the things they use as evidence could equally apply in say New Zealand or Australia. This is inadequate.

But then, the translators have given us another meaning to “desert” and that is a “plain” (they are the same word in Hebrew):

Zechariah 14:10 tells us: “All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited”.

When is the Land of Israel safely inhabited? It is after the land is turned into a plain! How does this area become “turned as a plain”? Zechariah goes on to give us a description that can only describe nuclear war or some other weapons as being the agency that causes, “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth”. This passage is not free standing, either! This has not happened to the USA that some claim is now Zion, but it will happen in the Land promised to Abraham before the remnant of both Houses return to that land, after it has been cleansed by fire. This "fire" is probably that which destroys the tares. The cleansed land then is that which comes to “blossom as a rose”. (The Septuagint gives the word as “lily”).

Could this possibly refer to any time in the past? All flesh has not yet seen the Shekinah Glory of the LORD, but when He (YEHOVAH God) returns, “every eye shall behold Him”. In context, this is every Israelite eye. In the Word of YEHOVAH God we do not see a multi-racial mix going back to Palestine at the gathering time. The glory of the LORD is revealed to all the flesh of Israel, when He gathers His people. Although there is no “in that day” in these passages, the times are the same. The expression, “in those days” or “in that day” refers to the time of the close of this age and the beginning of the Millennium.

We will see that matter of “inheritance” later. The word “achor” means trouble. The Land where Israel formerly had their troubles shall be a location of peace.

The same applies to “Sharon”, “Bashan” and “Lebanon”:

We are told that the City of David is Zion. The Messiah tells us Jerusalem is the “City of the Great King” (YEHOVAH God).

But this comes after Jacob’s “trouble”. It is not about the terminus of a migration!

Let us consider this matter of Jacob’s Trouble, as just mentioned. It concerns both Houses:

The pattern about the gathering of Israel should be obvious by now. It is nothing like the “terminus” of, “The westward migrations of Israel”.

Please note the word “inheritance”. This area is defined in Numbers chapter 34. Here, as always, we find the gathering is to the SAME specific defined place. This place could NOT be the USA since the USA was not in the Covenant. Here again is a repeat statement about the time of the gathering of Israel as being “in those days”. This is a time when Israel will no longer be walking after the imagination of their evil hearts. In this verse and in this chapter of Jeremiah we again find the same reference to the differentiation between Israel and Judah. They are separate parts of Israel, (for example see Jeremiah 3:11, 3:18, 5:11, 11:17, 30:3,31, 31:31, 33:14, 36:2, 50:4).

That the timing is the future appearance of the Messiah is clear from the reference to “The Branch”. Again, Israel is gathered from where they were scattered outside of the Promised Land. Some like to say that this applies to the Messiah's time, but the Messiah did not reign and prosper as a King when he was here during the first century.

Their own land is that promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It must be noted that the gathering is ONLY of the seed of Israel, that is, the Children (descendants) of Israel. Also, the return is from “the North Country” (singular) where Israel is to be found at present. (In some passages this has been translated as, “The land of the North”). The phrase, “North Country” is interesting as it carries the meaning of, “concealing something for a definite purpose” -- (Theological Word Book of the Old Testament). YEHOVAH God has a purpose in hiding His people outside of the Promised Land, before bringing them home again!

We can now examine the full passage above to see if today’s prophets and teachers are equally profane in not believing what YEHOVAH God says about the gathering of His people Israel. This gathering is the context in which Jeremiah is speaking. Should we feel as bad about it as Jeremiah did? These Pastors and Teachers with the universalistic-all-races doctrines are the pastors who are said to be destroying the sheep of YEHOVAH’s pasture (verse 1). It is not only these who will be judged harshly, but it is also those who try to change the place where the gathering is to be to be the USA instead. It includes the “Christian Zionists” and a lot of organized Christianity.

• The Remnant of Israel is gathered from both Houses from amongst the peoples of all countries where YEHOVAH God had driven them. But Israel is not of the racial content of the races of those countries.

• Judah and Israel are separate entities until this gathering time. Their present enmity has been stated in (Isaiah 11:11-13). Do we believe this?

It is “in his days” that the two entities re-unite. The “middle wall of partition” that the apostle Paul talks of is then totally broken down under the New Testament that is made with Israel and Judah alone (Hebrews 8:8). And then, Paul concluded, “All Israel shall be saved”. (“All” here means Israelites who believe from both Houses. It does NOT mean every individual Israelite). In prophecy, the two parties are never other than Israel and Judah -- they are NEVER “Jews and Gentiles” in the way that is commonly presented. There is no line of Old Testament prophecy that the popular teachings could be shown to fulfill.

The people concerned are always the “seed” (genetic) of the Children of Israel (v. 8). The “Land” is that which was given to their Fathers (genetic). There are not two promised lands, nor is this promised land a place to which “saints” are raptured to before the Millennium! Israel is to “dwell” in their own land; the same one that was given unto their fathers. They are gathered from out of nations on Earth, and not from some place outside of earth from where they supposedly might have been raptured!

[4] Do we say to our people, or think, “no evil shall come upon you” (v. 17)?

[5] Have we yet “marked His word and heard it” (v. 18)? Indeed, look at the rest of this chapter of Jeremiah about teachers and pastors who carry on stealing “My words every one from his neighbor”.

[6] Is what we teach or believe just what we learned at Bible College, a church or from what we read in a book?

[7] Will we yet continue not to accept, or to ignore, what YEHOVAH God is saying through His prophets about the time and place of the gathering of Israel?

[8] Will we continue to ignore the present separation of Israel and Judah as prophetic identities, even if both may be found cohabiting?

[9] Will we continue to ignore the time when Israel is gathered and confess that this is NOT what is happening in the Israeli state?

Jeremiah 31:8-11: "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child, together: a great company shall return thither. And they shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them:…He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock. For the LORD [YEHOVAH] has redeemed Jacob..."

Who”? Yes, “Jacob”. We find again the place that Jacob returns from, is the “North country”. Woman still are getting pregnant at that time and life on Earth continues. They were not raptured away anywhere, nor do they come from a place where they “neither marry or are given in marriage”. It is the returned YEHOVAH God and the Messiah who lead them back to the Land; this Scripture again shows the timing of this gathering! The flock is made up of two parts; remember how the Messiah said he had other sheep than the Judean fold? One is the House of Judah and the other is the House of Israel. The two add together to make up the Jacob we see in the verse above.

YEHOVAH God is never spoken of as the God of all races, and Israel is “My people”. As YEHOVAH says in verse 3 “of old I have loved thee [Israel] with an everlasting love”. Jeremiah 31:31 is the very chapter Paul repeats in the Book of Hebrews (Hebrews 8:8) telling of the New Covenant that is made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. The New Testament is made with none others, even in the New Testament pages! The next verse is a specific limiting statement:

“This land” is the land typified by “Jerusalem”. The 32nd verse says it is, “Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah”. Who, and who only, are planted in “this land? Now do we see what the, “And I will plant them” of 2 Samuel 7:10 is about and do we see where Israel will be “planted”? It is “in this land”. “This land” is not the USA!

“Israel” can never be spiritualized away as a “church” in the modern concept. Jeremiah 31:35-37 and 33:17 tells us that Israel will always be A PEOPLE in the same way Peter does in the New Testament. This is to be so as long as the stars are shining and the moon can be seen. So Israel is still an individual two-part racial entity today, consisting of the House of Israel and the House of Judah! Jeremiah also tells us about the House of Israel always having a monarch over them (Jeremiah 33:17), although not necessarily ruling as an autocrat, and so part of Israel of where Israel is must contain a monarchy today. The British College of Heralds have concluded that Queen Elizabeth is the 144th descendant of King David!

Jeremiah 50:4, 5, 19: "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: and they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherwood…And I will bring Israel again to his habitation…"

It is always Israel and Judah ONLY! Again they are mentioned separately as seeking God together. There is not one drop of a stream of prophecy to the contrary! This verse is certainly not being fulfilled in the Israeli state today, or in the USA! Some would say that “Zion” is a figure of speech, or that the prophecy concerns the return of Judah to the Land under Ezra and Nehemiah. But here it is both houses, not just Judah, who are mentioned as separate entities making up “all Israel” as being brought to his habitation. Israel will be sanctified in the eyes of all the other races when YEHOVAH God gathers His people "…then shall they dwell in THEIR LAND that I have given unto My servant JACOB…" (Jeremiah 28:24-26). The word “Jacob” can NEVER include other races, and of course, that place is pin-pointed precisely. This then could NOT refer to the USA!

This book tells the same story. In chapters 37 and 38 in particular we find some verses are commonly extracted to support popular views. But these chapters also give a repeat of the timing factors, which immediately puts this subject in the right perspective. Ezekiel was told, “Behold I send you TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL” -- (Ezekiel 2:3 and 3:1). To extend this limitation beyond the Children of Israel is to deceive! We are told by the apostle James, who wrote to THE TWELVE TRIBES, that many deceivers are entered into the world. Our modern deceivers extend these twelve tribes to include every race on earth. They claim other races are joined to Israel by adoption. If this were so then other races and churches would have to come to belong to one of the Twelve Tribes! They would have to be in either one or the other of the Houses of Israel or Judah.

Ezekiel 11:17: "Thus saith the LORD God, I will even gather you [Israel] from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."

The “and I will give you the land of Israel” is a very blunt statement! Ezekiel tells the same story as Jeremiah! He makes the same complaint about the pastors and prophets who ignore the national message of the Bible and who have not “made up the hedge for the House of Israel”. He says that their teaching is “prophecy out of their own hearts” -- (Ezekiel 13:1-16). The rest of this chapter tells how their teaching seduces Israel. Today the modern teachers “see visions of peace” for Jerusalem (v. 16) and they think that the Israeli state, or the USA, is the start of the fulfillment. But, there will be no peace in Jerusalem until Edom is destroyed there and YEHOVAH God and the Messiah bring the righteous remnant back to enjoy the abundance of peace they alone are promised. This gathering is after Esau’s descendants have been destroyed in "The Land" by a complete and utter destruction.

YEHOVAH God says that these false prophets will have YEHOVAH’s hand against them, “and they shall bear their iniquity” -- (Ezekiel 14:9-11). They will be taken out from among Israel! It is YEHOVAH God who is saying these things, like it or not! We can see the severity of YEHOVAH God in this and just how seriously we must take heed to this message.

Ezekiel 16:60: "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with thee [Israel]:…and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant."

The next passage tells the same story about Israel being gathered, “out of the countries wherein ye are scattered”, and “bring you into the land of Israel”. There is NEVER a conclusion that where Israel was scattered to might be a permanent destination, as the USA-Zion people say.

If the Israelite rebels cannot enter the land of Israel, this shows that the non-rebels can. Like all the prophets, what Ezekiel says could never “fit” the USA. The gathering of Israel, from among the countries “wherein you are scattered”, is with fury, purging and judgment. All flesh shall know that “I the LORD have drawn My sword” -- (Ezekiel 21:5). Can we perceive the sword sharpened as Ezekiel did (Ezekiel 21:8-17)? Or do we prophesy lies saying YEHOVAH’s people shall be raptured away out of it? YEHOVAH’s principle is always, “the unrighteous shall be severed from among the just” -- (Matthew 13:49). How dare our teachers reverse what YEHOVAH God says! They teach that the righteous are raptured away from wicked. These teachers must face their judgment! In the parable of the Tares and the Wheat, is it not the Tares who are FIRST burned? We must have a good think about this! Likewise, what happens to those who prophesy of another place, such as the USA?

Ezekiel 34:30, 31, 33: "Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the House of Israel are My people, saith the LORD God. And you My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men and I am your God…"

“Sheep” and “flock” are the people who personally belong to YEHOVAH God. They are described as “The House of Israel! Israel is bought back for a price and “found”. The “bring" (v. 13) and “seeketh out” (v. 12) parallel the “bought” and “found” through the New Testament parables. The “new heart” is a promise made to the House of Israel. We will look in vain for the “new heart” to be put in anyone else but Israel (Ezekiel 36:21-38).

What is the timing? We must look at this timing and see if what is commonly taught is right. And with this, note the desolation that is yet to come upon the land before Israel returns. Other prophets write about this too, but you will not find our modern teachers ever mentioning it. They are too busy prophesying smooth things about the Israeli state or the USA being Zion! These are the false prophets. These are the ones with the dangerous doctrines, every one of them. Of them Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”. To seize upon a passage such as 2 Samuel 7:10 and ignore the story that all the prophets tell, is wrong! The weight of evidence shows that something must be wrong with the way 2 Samuel 7:10 is used by the USA-Zion advocates.

Ezekiel 37:14: "…and I shall place you in your own land…"

Just who, and who only are to be placed in their own land? It is Israel as a people who alone are being addressed. So we must again ask if this gives support for the present Israeli state. To support the Israeli state is to say, in effect, that the resurrection is past. The current teaching about the Israeli state is pure deception! Also, the same applies to those who say that “your own land” is the USA. Please note this -- if the USA was already Jerusalem or Zion, then Israel would have to be taken away from there to go back to “your own land”. This does not add up!

Even the Jehovah Witnesses have a play on this one. However, the Bible states the one stick represents Judah and the other represents Israel. They are companions…(v. 16)…or fellows…(v. 19). The sticks become joined together. This is a picture of the gathering together of all Israel. It includes no one else! It is not “Jews and Gentiles” in the popular conception.

Ezekiel 37:21-23: "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. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king unto them all [the Messiah]; and they shall no more be two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all."

Anyone who denies that Israel is made up of just these two peoples has a serious problem. If they are not prepared to believe this earthly thing, the Messiah says they cannot ever believe heavenly things (John 3:12). At present Israel could not possibly be a singular “church” as some teach. The two parties could not possibly be “Jews and Gentiles” as is commonly taught. All the kosmos (or order) of Israel that the Messiah is talking about is changed by our teachers to mean all the races on the Earth. This is not truth.

Ezekiel 37:24: "And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one Shepherd…"

Religious denominations teach that the Messiah is the King of Christians of all races, but they fail to observe that the Messiah says he is gone away to a far country, AND WILL RETURN to the same place, to take his kingdom (Israel) and be one Shepherd to Israel. Those falsely occupying the vineyard part, at present, will be destroyed “with the brightness of his coming”. The vineyard is not the whole earth; it is a specific area of the earth. The one shepherd will return them to the same place they left from, a place that could not possibly be the USA!

Ezekiel 37:25: "And they shall dwell in the land that I [YEHOVAH God] have given unto Jacob My servant…and My servant David shall be their Prince, for ever."

This “land” is a defined area on earth, being that given to Jacob. There is both racial separation and place separation.

Ezekiel 39:21: "And I will set My [Shekinah] Glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them.

V. 22, 23: "So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward…and the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity…

V. 25: "Thus saith the LORD God; Now I will bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy Name.

V. 27: "… and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;

V. 28: "Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen, but I have gathered them [Israel] unto their own land…

V. 29: "Neither will I [YEHOVAH God] hide My face any more from them: for I have poured out My spirit unto the house of Israel."

Note here the segregation of Israel from the other nations. The mercy upon Israel is “in the sight of many nations”, so Israel and these many nations coexist, but are separate in YEHOVAH’s sight. On whom do the prophets say the spirit is poured out? Do the prophets say it is poured out upon all races? From Joel 2:28 (and from the New Testament) we have been wrongly taught that “all flesh” is not limited to Israel’s sons and daughters, even if Israel are the people being addressed. But “all flesh” almost always means the “all flesh” of Israel!

The important thing to note in connection with the gathering of Israel, is that Israel is still a separate racial entity from the other nations, not only at this late stage of this present age, but into the next age. It is impossible that Israel has become a multi-racial “church”. There is no prophecy at all about any portion for anyone of any race other than the Twelve Tribes. YEHOVAH God’s sanctuary (Temple) is stated to be “in the midst of Israel” and NOT in the midst of the heathen nations or races.

All those who want to continue to call the Tribes of Israel “The Church” will continue to blur what is on the pages of the Bible in black and white. The more this subject is examined, the more impossible the popular evangelical teachings become. And the more impossible becomes the teaching that the USA is Zion or the “Daughter of Zion” or even “the Virgin Daughter of Zion”!

Daniel 7:13, 14: "…one like the Son of man [the Messiah] came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days [YEHOVAH God], and they brought him near before Him. And there was given him [the Messiah] dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages [of Israel], should serve him…and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Yet again, this kingdom is SEPARATE from other peoples and nations. The other peoples are servants to Israel. YEHOVAH God (the LORD of Hosts, the LORD of the armies of Israel), has the whole Earth and all the other peoples in subjection. At the end of this book of Daniel, the archangel Michael “standeth for the children of thy [Daniel’s] people” -- (Daniel 12:1). Daniel’s people were Israel. The limitation is specific! Again, there is no suggestion of a “church” in the way it is presented today.

Hosea says the Children of Israel will be known as “The sons of the living God”:

Hosea 1:10: "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head…"

The “One Head” is Yeshua the Messiah, the King of Israel. This shows the time is at the beginning of the Millennium.

Here again we find that the separation of the two Houses must still exist today. Peter, in the New Testament quotes Hosea who does not say anything about both Houses of Israel being other than “a [singular] nation”. He is writing to all Israel:

Hosea 8:10: "Yea, though they [Israel] have hired among the nations, now I will gather them…"

YEHOVAH God says He will then be as the dew to Israel (Hosea 14:5). But note, none of these things are said to anyone of any other race. Israel is scattered “among” the other nations, and is to be gathered from among them. They will be gathered from where they are now.

In “those days” of the pouring out, the blood and fire, the pillars of smoke and the sun being turned into darkness with the moon into blood, Mount Zion and Jerusalem shall be delivered. This is the time when YEHOVAH God says He “will be jealous for His land and pity His people”. YEHOVAH’s people, expressed as being Israel, are still that same entity. The land is still the same area. The land is always, “His Land”. The other races are still separate.

Joel 3:1-2: "In those days…and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land."

YEHOVAH God says that His heritage is still the unchanged nation of Israel who is “My people”. It is not “The Church” in the common concept. “My land” is still parted today. It is parted by those “who say they are Jews but are not”.

The remnant left of YEHOVAH’s people are NOT raptured away from this time of trouble. They are very much present, are here on earth! Joel points out that at that time, YEHOVAH God will be the hope “of His people” and the strength of “The Children of Israel” -- (Joel 3:16, 17). “The Children of Israel” are NOT multi-racial non-Israelites. No strangers (zuwr) will pass through Jerusalem any more (v. 17). Note this well. This means that such must be “passing through Jerusalem” up to this time! We can see that this passing through of strangers is not YEHOVAH God’s intention and the effect of the mixed multitude within Israel is always to Israel’s detriment.

This prophet speaks about the grievous judgments upon Israel. He reminds us of the terror of these days and of the sun going down at noon and of the destruction in “The Land”. But of those of Israel who are left, he says:

Amos 9:11-15: "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 I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall rebuild the waste cities…And I will plant them upon their own land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God."

Amos did not prophesy about any rapture! The territory of Edom was part of that land promised to Abraham. The “waste cities” are those desolated by nuclear fire, or something worse. “Their own land” means just that, and from this point in time, Israel will not be taken into captivity again -- they will “move no more”.

Our modern teachers like to take an expression like “rebuild the waste cities” and misapply this to say this is what is happening in the Israeli state today. Cities are being rebuilt, but the tabernacle of David is not raised up. There are some who say this tabernacle was raised up in the 11th century and that it has to do with worship, but when we examine the use of the word we see it refers to where something happens and not what happens in it. Isaiah 16:5 connects the establishment of the Throne with the tabernacle of David, and the Messiah has not returned to sit upon that throne. To date, neither has “the sun gone down at noon-day”, and so the “plant them upon their own land” could not apply to the Israeli state or the USA. The cities of the Land have never been devastated so much that there is not a person, a blade of grass or even a fish (Zephaniah 1:2, 3). What else than atomic fire, or something worse, would be likely to destroy every fish? This makes the idea that the USA is Zion and that the phrase, “daughter of Zion” means Washington City -- not only foolish imagination, but impossible!

This destruction must come to pass before the notable day of YEHOVAH God, and before Israel returns to the Land. This level of destruction has never happened yet to what is commonly called the “Holy Land”. The wasted cities will then be rebuilt by Israel, but not before this time. That which is being built now in Palestine, must be something other than what the prophets are talking about concerning Israel. It is Edom that is presently doing the building, not Israel.

We will see that the reference to the remnant of Edom in verse 12 is confirmed when we quote from Obadiah. These peoples falsely calling themselves “Jews” will be exterminated and:

Obadiah 1:17: “…and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions”.

This is the time when Israel displaces Edom. The “House of Jacob” NEVER means all races. Neither did Obadiah prophesy of a multi-racial church!

By now the consistency of the message about the gathering together of Israel to that land promised to the fathers of Israel has to be apparent to anyone with half a mind to evaluate the evidence objectively. Not one of the prophets of Israel is an universalist! Not one! Not one suggests that the USA is that Land promised “to the fathers”.

Micah 2:12: "I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold…"

Micah agrees with all the other prophets that the gathering ONLY involves Israelites. As the other prophets say, the time is the beginning of the Millennium, “and their king [the Messiah] shall pass before them, and the LORD [YEHOVAH God] on the head of them” -- (V 13).

This phrase, “their King shall pass before them” needs a little explanation. What the words, “the LORD on the head of them” means can be seen in Exodus 33:14.

This is the time when YEHOVAH God the Father rules over the nations with a “rod of iron”. The “nations shall see and be confounded at thy might” -- (Micah 7:16). Metaphorically, the other nations are, “to lick the dust” -- (Micah 7:17).

For the rest of the Millennium, there is no more war among the nations, all of whom are still separate from Israel. Israel is described as a “nation”, as are the others. Other nations and Israel are always separate peoples in Scripture. All the prophets agree without exception.

Micah 5:7, 8: "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD…And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles [nations] in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the beasts of the forest."

Ask yourself what, “from the days of old” means. Despite what all the prophets have to say about this subject, it is ignored, or spiritualized, by almost all of today’s teachers. What they fail to study is the original covenant that involved a particular covenant land as well as a covenant people!

This prophet’s message on this subject is easily missed because the word for “gather” is translated here as “turned away” (KJV) or “restore” (NIV).

Habakkuk is the prophet who declares that the vision is for an appointed time and that it will surely come (Habakkuk 2:3 and Habakkuk 3:13 -- "You went forth for the salvation of Thy people, the salvation of Thy anointed.")

To call Israel as a people “YEHOVAH God’s anointed” is almost never taught today. It could not possibly be taught together with popular concepts. When we consider the timing factor of chapter three when YEHOVAH God goes forth for the salvation of His people, this is at the time of the beginning of the Millennium (Habakkuk 3:3-6). It is at a time of judgment (v. 9-12).

Zephaniah 3:17, 18, 20: "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy…I will gather them that are sorrowful…At that time I will gather you again…for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes…"

As usual, the word “gather” is associated with the ending of Israel’s “captivity”. In this passage the word “gather” is found twice, but they are different words. The first is “receive” and the second is “collect together”. Although Zephaniah was a prophet to Judah, the last chapter speaks of the remnant of Israel (v. 13) and of a fulfillment beyond the return of Judah from Babylon.

Israel is still found to be separate among “all the peoples of the earth” -- (v. 20). We do not find reference to such captivity of any other nation but Israel. Israel is the ONLY people exclusively to be gathered together from among the other nations! When prophecy is about Israel being taken into captivity, it is made clear that this involves being taken out of their land. Thus nationally, Israel is in captivity today. So now we can understand a little more about the Messiah's comment “setting the captives free” in “the acceptable day of the LORD”.

Haggai 2:5: "According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My spirit remaineth among you…"

This latter phrase definitely is not taught in our churches. Israel is the people of the covenant that are mentioned above. They are children of those YEHOVAH God brought out of Egypt. This identifies them as Israelites. These are whom YEHOVAH’s spirit remains upon, so the prophet says. Haggai goes on to speak of the heaven and the earth shaking and then of the glory of the new Temple. This Temple is in the place Israel is gathered to. This refers to Jerusalem, and speaks of the time surrounding the end of this age. Haggai is addressing the people about, “The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt”. That covenant was to give Israel the Promised Land, not just from Dan to Beersheba as in the time of King David, but “Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be”.

Israel is then, “the apple of Mine eye” and the other nations are a “spoil”. No one can say these are the same things. YEHOVAH God will “yet choose Jerusalem again” -- (Zechariah 2:12). This will be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of Israel -- (Zechariah 8:6).

Zechariah 8:7, 8: "Behold I will save My people…and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be My people…"

Never do we find any other race than Israel being termed “YEHOVAH’s People”. These ALONE are brought (gathered) to Jerusalem. The people at that time would only have thought of what they then knew of where Jerusalem was.

Once again, it is the House of Israel together with the House of Judah that are gathered (Zechariah 8:13 and 9:1), as is also shown in the verse below. The word “Joseph” indicates the leadership of the House of Israel:

Zechariah 10:6: "And I will strengthen the house of Judah and will save the house of Joseph, and will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off…"

The very last verse of this book says, “and there shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of the LORD of Hosts”. This means that the Canaanite must presently be in the House of the LORD. It is the doctrine of those with Canaanite blood that this paper is opposing. The Messiah says, “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees”. These people always are among YEHOVAH’s people during Israel’s captivity!

Malachi’s burden of the Word of the LORD was to Israel (not to others). Here we find the expression, “Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau”. This our universalists cannot accept with their interpretation of “go into all the world”, making this phrase mean the inhabited earth (oikoumene) whereas it is kosmos which means the kosmos of Israel, in that context. Yet no change to, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” -- Romans 9:13 -- is maintained in the New Testament. Thus Esau’s descendants cannot be part of that world “YEHOVAH God so loved”!

Racial admixture is expressed as “hath married the daughter of a strange god” and we see that, “The LORD will cut off the man that does this…both the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob”. It seems that most of our masters and scholars will be cut off because of what they are teaching. We have seen how other prophets say the same thing about the false teachers. “Who will be able to abide the day of His coming?” (Malachi 3:2). The “great and dreadful day of the LORD” is at hand.

Those who are serving YEHOVAH God, as sons, of them we read “shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth not" (Malachi 3:18). This day, “will burn like an oven; and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of Hosts, that it leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings” -- (Malachi 4:1, 2). The word “return” = shoob has a consistent usage meaning, “to go back to where one originally was”.

Let us not be too proud to admit what YEHOVAH God says about the gathering of the remnant of the exclusive SONS OF JACOB. This subject of the gathering of Israel and the “Gospel of the Kingdom” have much in common. The people involved have the same racial identity. It is essential that we believe the right gospel, applying it to the same people that Scripture does. We will now go to the New Testament where we find NO CHANGE from what we find in the Old Testament about the “gathering” of Israel.

• To involve a specific place, that is, to the “land which I gave to your fathers”.

• For a people, Israel, who are gathered are “out of” all nations, NOT “of” all nations. (Not one of the prophets is a racial universalist).

• For two houses, the House of Israel and the House of Judah, who remain two separate parts of Israel, until the present enmity between them is broken, at the given time, under the New Covenant.

• Not completed in this present age. The gathering is concurrent with YEHOVAH God’s return at the beginning of the Millennium. (This is directly contrary to most of the current popular teachings).

• Israel is always shown as being gathered from where they were dispersed. Yes, they are gathered back TO the Promised Land!

Matthew 1:21: "…Thou shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Matthew 2:6: "…That shall rule My [YEHOVAH's] people Israel."

The expression, “his people” and “My people” are specific. Throughout the Old Testament, the expression, “My people,” describes Israel ONLY. John the Baptist declares that “this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah” and John the Baptist goes on to the first New Testament mention of a “gathering” of the YEHOVAH’s people. In many verses below, look for the word “gather” and verify for yourself who is being gathered, and where they are gathered from and the place where they are taken to.

Matthew 3:12: "…he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John 5:29: “And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”,

…applies to the elect. So what are gathered is “his wheat”. Wheat is gathered into the “garner”, a word that signifies to a place. Later the Messiah takes up the theme of the wheat in the parable of the tares and the wheat. If one thing bears repeating, it is the statement that the tares are gathered and burned before the wheat is gathered. The chaff is burned after the harvest. What we are looking at in particular is the time frame, or the order of events, of the gatherings. The Messiah gives the time as being “in the time of harvest” and this is given as being “at the end of the age”. It is at that time when the Son of Man sends forth his angels to remove from of his kingdom, “all things that offend and them which do iniquity”. (Note: the resurrection occurs before YEHOVAH God sets foot on the Mount of Olives.)

The people gathered are “your children”. They are still the descendants of the same people to whom the prophets were sent. No other peoples are ever indicated.

When it comes to the word “gather”, Matthew 24:29 refers to happenings that are forecast through the Old Testament. We have the tribulation or "Jacob's Trouble" before the gathering, so the elect have not been raptured away. There is again the sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light. If these things are literal, then these things have not yet happened.

The language is similar to that seen in the Old Testament where the prophets say Israel will be gathered out of the other nations where they had been scattered. This is from “the four winds”. Once again, we see that the gathering of "his elect" nation is before the Messiah arrives on earth from Heaven. We can again see the consistency of the message through both Testaments that contradicts the popular teaching that says the Israeli state represents the fulfillment of prophecy. Some of the above things that have to happen before the gathering of Israel simply just have not yet happened. So much for the Israeli state! So much for the USA as the place!

In this verse we have mention of the inheritance. Through the Old Testament, the inheritance is shown to be an area of land (on this earth), which was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants. This is no, “pie in the sky” stuff!

In John’s gospel there is an interesting prophecy made by Caiaphas in his capacity as High Priest. It is recorded that he spoke not of himself:

John 11:50-52: "Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not…and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad."

The traditionalists would like to say that this “gathering in one” refers to “Jews and Gentiles” (supposedly meaning Israelites and non-Israelites) being gathered together. But Caiaphas isolated “the whole nation” and their position, “as children of God”. In this passage we see that the Messiah would not die for the House of Judah only, but for “the children of God”, inclusive of the House of Israel, who were then scattered abroad. This confirms what the prophets say about the gathering together of Israel and Judah.

In the first chapter of Acts the question about the kingdom being restored to Israel was asked. The Greek word for “restore” means, “to make it like it was before, or to heal it”. Therefore it CANNOT refer to the Church in the popular concept. Nor could it refer even vaguely to the USA!

The Messiah did not deny the restoration; he told them it was not for them to know the timing. The key point is that the subject is the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel. No other peoples are included. The witness “unto me” is to be taken to “the uttermost” part of the earth where Israel had been scattered among the nations. The racial universalists try to say that the uttermost part of the earth means the inclusion of every race upon earth. But the Messiah says, “You shall not have gone over ‘THE CITIES OF ISRAEL’ before the Son of Man be come” -- (Matthew 10:23). They were to go ONLY to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” -- (Matthew 10:6). The instruction to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” was to go unto all the kosmos of Israel and proclaim it in every ktizo or place where Israelites dwelt.

The question was asked, “Wilt thou, at this time, restore the Kingdom to Israel?” In this restoration time the apostles were told that they would sit on twelve thrones “judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel” -- (Matthew 19:28). No mention is ever made of other peoples. There is NO suggestion of a multi-racial church ever taking the place of Israel as a people. This message of the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel is a message that is not proclaimed any more. If there were a multi-racial “church” possible, it would not be a case of restoration to something that was manifest previously, but something altogether new. This we do not find.

What is the New Testament’s Gathering Time?

At this trump of YEHOVAH God, the dead in “christ” (in an anointed people) are raised (1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16). This refers to the elect in the era of the beginning of the Millennium. Therefore, it is a bit hard to imagine that this trumpet’s reverberation has already happened -- especially if any want to continue to say that the Israeli state today represents this gathering together of Israel. It is too hard to imagine that the last trump has already occurred about those migrating into the USA! Matthew says that this is “immediately after the tribulation of those days” -- (Matthew 24:29), and so it cannot be pre-tribulation (Jacob's Trouble).

The subject people are “brethren” (kinsmen of the womb). These are the kin of the ones who are gathered together. Again, no others are mentioned. The time is at the arrival of the Messiah (the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”), as this verse says.

What we find today is a great falling away from this doctrine about the gathering together of Israel. This is the context of this chapter in which Paul speaks of “the mystery of iniquity” -- (v. 7). The source of this iniquity is Rome (the Vatican) and the doctrines that originate from that source.

Hebrews 9:28: "…unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

Because this is contrary to the weight of prophecy showing repentance, trust in YEHOVAH God alone, and a totally different manner and attitude at the time of the gathering, the Israeli state has no “Divine right” as claimed to the inheritance land. Yet, this is the common assumption of most denominational churches. They have been fooled by those calling themselves “Jews”, but who are not Jews, through their misappropriation of the name “Israel”. The Israeli state who “call themselves Jews” -- (See Revelation 2:9) but “are not”. These are abiding in hatred towards the Redeemer of Israel. The Messiah says that these wicked husbandmen will be destroyed when he returns to the same “vineyard” to take his Kingdom of Israel. (The USA never was that “vineyard”)!

[2] That statements like, “and hast given them this land which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them” (Jeremiah 32:21-23), show that the seed of Abraham was fulfilled in the Messiah, who is “the true seed of Abraham” and “the covenant’s objective reality”.

Both statements completely ignore what YEHOVAH God said concerning the amount of land Israel would inhabit during that period (Exodus 23:20-33). They also ignore what is said by the post-Solomon prophets together with what is said in the New Testament about the gathering to the land that was given to the fathers of Israel. Neither David nor Solomon possessed all the land “forever” as provided for in the original covenant statement. The House of Israel and the House of Judah will re-unite and return to the land under the Messiah as King over Israel, when he arrives to take up his Kingdom. This is the “forever” time.

The second statement generally IGNORES the fact that Jeremiah observes that the disobedience of the people (verse 23) was the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 4:25-27, Deuteronomy 28:64 and other passages. The argument about the “seed of Abraham” has raged for centuries, but the conclusion presented here is the straight-forward answer to what has been made into a complex matter. Israel remains exclusive; and what “all the nations being blessed in Abraham” means is far removed from what is commonly taught. The King Messiah will appear and he will take his Kingdom with its territory (the covenant land) and the “forever” of the Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled by the Messiah in the Promised Land. Those elect “overcomers”, the Sons of YEHOVAH God, resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium, will reign with him over Israel, together with YEHOVAH God who will rule the entire Earth from His Temple in Jerusalem, and those who are “alive and remain until the coming of the Lord”.

Revelation 11:15: "…The Kingdoms [singular in Greek] of this world [kosmos = order] are become (the kingdoms) of our LORD, and of His Christ, and He [YEHOVAH God] shall reign for ever and ever.

There is no possible way that those gathered could include other than the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Through this paper, we have seen exactly to where Israel is gathered. The place is always given as being from where the people of Israel were scattered. The remnant is brought back to “again” to their folds”.

Jeremiah 23:3: “And I [YEHOVAH God] will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase”.

Jeremiah 23:8: “The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land”.

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.

 

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Courage for the Sake of Truth is Better Than Silence for the Sake of Unity!

Hope of Israel Ministries P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. www.hope-of-israel.org

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