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then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." It is easily seen that these declarations refer to the new Jerusalem, into which "nothing entereth that defileth." In the next verse it is written, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim." In other words, in that day, living waters shall flow out from the throne of God, in the spiritual Jerusalem, or increased spiritual life be given to His people.

In Micah it is written, "In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." By this prophet Jerusalem is said to be "the stronghold of the daughter of Zion." It needs no laboured argument to show the meanings intended.

In Jeremiah it is written, "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah shall be saved, und Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the

name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness." It is evident this language applies only to the new Jerusalem.

Ezekiel was shown "as the frame of a city." The frame of this city is described by an anonymous author, in a work called "The Mystery of God Finished." The several chambers, &c., are successive means whereby God has built the holy city. At the close of Ezekiel's description it is written, “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there." These words involve an apparent contradiction. Here a circumference is said to be a day. They are, in truth, a prediction when the city should be known. The principle for measurement is given in chap. xlv. 11, by which it is discovered that a tenth has to be deducted. The 18,000 measures thus become 1,800 measures, or 1,800 years. This explanation of the measures is not given by the author of "The Mystery of God Finished."*

The day is then arrived for the city to be known. as "The Lord our righteousness," or "The Lord is there." From henceforth this will be a recognised truth. The holy city will be known as pertaining to earth, and that God is in the midst of her. The ark of God's covenant, introduced under the Hebrew polity into the material temple, is put aside by the ark of God's testament in His spiritual temple. (Rev. xi. 19.)

The absence of the knowledge of this truth has denied to Christendom, in the past, "the stay and the

This author has plainly been an instrument in God's hands, and employed for a special service. His mission has not failed, as he may be assured. He is mentioned by Ezekiel,

chap. x. 7.

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staff of life." Without it the Scriptures are sealed. They cannot be comprehended. The Book of Life is a closed book, without the knowledge of this fundamental truth. Everything else hinges upon it; and without this key to unlock its treasures, its hidden wealth is comparatively useless. makes the Book the Book of Life. Union with God gives life, spiritual, eternal life, begun on earth. Therefore it is, the temple within the city is God. "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these," is the religious cry of every vain imagination of man. "The temple of the Lord" here indicated has been one of man's own making. He has set up pattern temples. Except men be within the favourite temple of each cunning workman, salvation is denied. Bigotry thus stalks through the land, and expels mercy. God's voice is drowned in the mingled noise of tumultuous strife. For the bread of life is given a stone. Hungry men are famished. Craving souls are withered up. "The hour of God's judgment is now come upon this state of things. The pent-up waters of life will now be made freely to flow. "Living waters in these our days shall go out from Jerusalem," and fertilise the land of Israel. howling wilderness shall be made to blossom like the

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CHAPTER II.

THE HEBREWS.

Ir is supposed by many earnest Christians that the Hebrew people are to be restored to the ancient Jerusalem, and to be again a national people in Palestine, and the Hebrews themselves are indulging hopes of this. The false expectations of the Hebrews, and the false interpretations of prophecy by Christians, may be traced to the ignorance which has prevailed of the uniform plan of God's Book.

It is very historical people for the purpose of establishing types, and providing characters or letters for symbolic and prophetic language. Having been made to perform their part in the past, ignorance alone could suggest a re-elevation of this people, to the subversion of the grand scheme of God's earthly government. His tender mercies are over all His works. He has as much love for one people as another. He formed the light, and He created darkness. He made peace, and He created evil. "I, the Lord, do all these things." (Isa. xlv. 7.) To suppose that God created the Hebrew people for an elective love, is greatly to lower the character of God as "our Father."

evident that the Hebrews have been an

What has been advanced in reference to the holy city will already have suggested to thoughtful minds the sources of error in respect of the Hebrews. The types in the prophetic language have been mistaken for the antitypes. The terms Judah and Jerusalem have been misapplied.

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When we reflect upon God's comprehensive scheme, we can easily imagine that the prophecies given to the world, a short time prior to the overthrow of the Hebrew polity, would have much more to do with Christianity than with Judaism. The old polity was about to give place to the new. Judaism was about to be destroyed; Christianity to be raised up upon its ruins, and to exist for all remaining time.

Let us take a glance at the scheme of God's Book, in order to a right comprehension of the terms employed in the prophetic language.

First, we have historical statements; next, an elected people and their history; then, prophetic announcements; then, divine teachings; then, again, prophetic announcements to show the results.

It should be remembered that God had to teach to a spiritual being confined within an animal body, and necessarily, therefore, by the union limited in spiritual apprehension, the great foundation-truth of its spiritual existence in relation with God. For this purpose, a language had to be framed, which could not be easily changed or subverted, and which would convey the knowledge of God's existence, and of man's relation to that Existence. The mere declaration would not avail, as evidenced in the history of the Hebrews, and as evidenced in every-day life. The conviction must be brought home by successive lessons. To set up the language, a history is given, an elected people raised. Upon these and their relations are symbols founded, as figures of speech, affording characters or letters for prophetic language and divine teachings. The historical is continued while any characters or letters have to be formed to complete a full language. It is therefore commenced in Adam, and continued to

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