"The Age to Come"
BY JOSEPH MARSH
ROCHESTER, N. Y., PUBLISHED AT THE ADVENT HARBINGER OFFICE 1851
RESTORATION OF JERUSALEM
However many Jerusalems, old or new, are named in the Bible, it appears absolutely certain, that
Jerusalem in the land of Palestine, once the glory of the world, and the favored city of God, but now
trodden down of the Gentiles, will yet be restored to more than its former greatness, perfection and glory.
We thus judge from numerous declarations of the unerring prophetic word.
In Isa. i. 1, it is said, that "Isaiah, the son of Amoz," saw a vision "concerning Judah and Jerusalem."
What Jerusalem is here meant? The literal principle answers: The literal Jerusalem in the land of Palestine;
the city where "Isaiah the son of Amoz" prophesied, "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah," and where they reigned. The mystical principle will not presume to mystify Jerusalem in
this case: it must be literally understood. Shall it be so understood in this prophecy, and in the entire book
of Isaiah? Most certainly; unless the very best authority can be given to show that it means
something else. As no such authority exists, the literal sense must be given to it.
What then? Verse 21 gives us to understand that this literal Jerusalem was once "the faithful city ~~ in
which righteousness lodged: but now murderers." The mystical principle cannot be applied here: nothing
but the literal will make sense of what is said.
Well then, the once literal faithful city Jerusalem was to, and actually has, become the place of
"murderers." What next?
Verses 24-27. "Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, [take care how you
mystify what this 'mighty One of Israel' says], Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of
mine enemies; and I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy
tin. [This has not yet been done, but it will be.] And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy
counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called the CITY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE
FAITHFUL CITY. [Do you believe this? You should: for the 'mighty one of Israel' has promised it,
without an 'if' or a condition. And he has in the next verse promised more.] Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment, and her converts with righteousness."
The conclusion is, ~~ As certain as Jerusalem was the subject of prophecy by Isaiah, the son of
Amoz; and Uzziah, Jetham, Ahaz and Hezekiah reigned there; and has been and now is the abode of murderers,
just so sure it will become the "city of righteousness, the faithful city," and "Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment."
Isa. liv.: This chapter is thought by those of Bro. Miller's peculiar views, to refer to the New Jerusalem.
But by a careful examination of the chapter, we think all will see, that it does not speak of the new
Jerusalem which is to be located on the new earth, but of literal Jerusalem in its redeemed, cleansed,
beautified, and glorified state, in the Age to come, under the millennial reign of Christ. That this
conclusion is correct, will appear evident by the following contrast between the new Jerusalem, and the
Jerusalem referred to in this chapter.
The new Jerusalem was never "barren," not "desolate;" but this is true of the Jerusalem of this chapter.
See verse l.
The new Jerusalem never had any "shame of youth," nor "reproach of widowhood;" but the Jerusalem to
be restored, is now in this very condition. Verse 4.
The new Jerusalem was never "forsaken," "refused" by God, and his face in "wrath" for a "moment"
"hid" from it; neither has the new Jerusalem ever fallen so as to make it necessary in order to have it
redeemed, for the Lord to "have mercy" upon it.
The new Jerusalem was never "afflicted" and "tossed with tempests," so as to need to be "comforted;"
but this is true of the Jerusalem of this chapter, of which it is said, "I will lay thy stones with fair colors,
and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, [the new Jerusalem has
no windows,] and thy gates of carbuncles, [the gates of the new Jerusalem are of pearl,] and all thy
borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of
thy children." Verses 11-13.
The sixtieth chapter of Isaiah speaks so fully and gloriously on the restoration of Jerusalem, that we quote
it entire. Read it with care, remembering that it relates to Jerusalem in the Restitution, "exalted above the
hills," and not to the new Jerusalem, which was never fallen below the hills, or in any sense.
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."
"For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise
upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
"And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."
"Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons
shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side."
"Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the
abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee."
"The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba
shall come: they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord."
"All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto
thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory."
"Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?"
"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver
and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the holy one of Israel, because he
hath glorified thee."
"And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in my
wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee."
"Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring
unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought."
"For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea those nations shall be utterly
wasted."
"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify
the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious."
"The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee: and all they that despised thee
shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The
Zion of the Holy One of Israel."
"Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an
eternal excellency, a joy of many generations."
"Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings: and thou shalt know
that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I
will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness."
"Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders: but thou shalt
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise."
"The sun shall be no more thy light by day: neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but
the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory;"
"Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."
"Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the
work of my hands, that I may be glorified."
"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his
time."
How transcendently glorious are these promises, soon to be fulfilled on Jerusalem, that is now trodden
down of the Gentiles, low in the dust. But as precious as they are, they cannot refer to the new
Jerusalem; for the following expressions, which the careful reader has observed, forbid such an
application.
"The sons of strangers shall build thy walls." The walls of the new Jerusalem
are already built by God.
"In my wrath I smote thee." God never smote the new Jerusalem. "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary." The new
Jerusalem is beautified with the tree of life, instead of being beautified with these trees. "Whereas thou
has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee: I will make thee an eternal excellency."
This cannot apply to the new Jerusalem: but it can to Jerusalem which is the burthen of this prophecy.
The 16th chapter of Ezekiel furnishes very conclusive evidence in favor of the restoration of Jerusalem.
We cannot give an exposition of the whole chapter, on account of its length: but we can call attention to it,
and bring out its more prominent points. It commences with an address unto Jerusalem, in the following
language:
"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations: and say, Thus saith the Lord unto
Jerusalem:"
Jerusalem, then, addressed under the character of a woman, is the subject of the prophecy which
follows.
She is first reminded of her low and heathen origin, by being told, "Thy birth and thy nativity is of the
land of Canaan: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite:" (verse 3.) and that she was found
polluted in her own blood: yet God is represented as loving her, and saying unto her, "Live," and taking
her to be his bride.
He decks her with the finest apparel, with gold and costly jewels: gives her "fine flour, honey and oil to
eat:" so that she became "exceeding beautiful, and prospered into a kingdom, and her renown went forth
among all the heathen." Verses 7-14.
This is literally true of Jerusalem, as all acquainted with her history, as given in the Bible, very well know.
Keeping the figure of the woman in view, Jerusalem is next addressed as trusting in her "own beauty,"
and playing the "harlot." She is also charged with the sin of taking her fine garments, her jewels, gold and
silver, to deck her high places of idolatry: and with setting her Lord's oil and incense before her
paramours. She is further accused of sacrificing her sons and daughters unto her idols, and causing them
to pass through the fire: and of the commission of many other aggravating sins, of which Jerusalem has
been notoriously guilty. Verses 15-34.
For these crimes, the judgments of God are threatened against her. He says he will judge her "as women
who break wedlock and shed blood are judged," assuring her that she shall be given into the hands of her
lovers, who would stone her with stones, thrust her through with a sword, and burn her houses with fire.
Verses 35-41.
The history of Jerusalem fully justifies the truth of this fearful threatening. She has been destroyed, and
for a long series of years, as the Savior predicted, trodden down of the Gentiles.
But, notwithstanding all the unfaithfulness and abominations of this lewd woman, and her rejection by the
Lord; though she has been more corrupt than Samaria and Sodom, her sisters, yet God, her husband,
says, "I will make my fury towards thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be
quiet, and will be no more angry."
"When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughter, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her
daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former
estate."
"I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an
everlasting covenant.
"Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and
thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant."
"And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord."
"That thou mayest remember and be fully confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of
thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou has done, saith the Lord
God."
If this testimony does not prove the restoration of the JERUSALEM in the land of
Canaan, then we
know not how to prove anything by the Bible. It does prove it; and soon will the glorious fulfillment of the
inspired prediction be justified by the actual restoration promised.
Sodom will be restored, and also Samaria 'WHEN' Jerusalem is restored ~~ at the coming of the Lord.
The literal cities, or places where they were located, and not their inhabitants, are the subjects of
prophecy in this chapter. They are all situated within the land of Palestine, and, doubtless, will all be
restored to their Paradisaical state, when the Lord shall come. Sodom and Samaria and their daughters,
however, will not be restored as equals or sisters of Jerusalem, but as her daughters. Verse 61. Jerusalem
will have no equals. It will be the seat of empire of the world, the place of the Lord's throne, the city of
the great King.
"Sodom and her daughters," or, the "Cities of the Plain," stood where the Dead Sea now is; which, at the
point where the Jordan empties into it, is only about twenty-five miles a little north of east from
Jerusalem, and has a depression of about twelve hundred feet below the Mediterranean Sea, and about
three thousand four hundred and sixty feet below the elevation of Jerusalem. Samaria was situated about
a day's journey north of Jerusalem, on a hill of that name. And, as Zechariah tells us, some portions of
"the land" will be "turned as a plain," while other portions will be "lifted up," we may reasonably suppose
that all the mountains of Palestine will be so leveled down, and her valleys and sunken places so lifted up
or exalted, as to make the entire land as a plain, or as the "Garden of Eden." Ezek. xxxvi. 35.
In Micah iii. 12, it is said, "Jerusalem shall become heaps," and in the second verse of the next chapter,
that "the word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem." Therefore, the same Jerusalem that is to
"become heaps," is to become the place of the throne of the Lord, whence his word to the nations is to go
forth.
This agrees with Christ's prediction in Luke xxi. 24, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Then, the fair inference is, the Lord will come and cause her to
arise and shake herself from the dust, and shine in all the perfection and glory of the city of the Lord, the
King of the whole earth.
This view is greatly strengthened by a large amount of Bible evidence, that proves the . . .