Israel Restored

Returning Jews

The call from Zion’s king is two fold, to the nations and to the people of God.   To the nations, God will say “to the north, ‘Give up, and to the south, keep not back; bring my sons from far and my daughters from the end of the earth.’”[1]  The nations hear the pronouncement that Israel are God’s witnesses and His servant whom He has chosen.[2]

The second call is delivered to the Jews in exile by their Jewish brethren who tell them that they have been sent by the command of their Messiah, who now reigns in Zion.  “Come out of her my people,”[3] they will say, “Deliver thyself O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.”[4]  In this reference, Zechariah was writing during the period of the Kingdom of Persia shortly after the overthrow of Babylon, to stir his people to depart from the life they had made for themselves in Babylon, and return to their homeland.  However there is a greater exodus yet to come.

The call to leave Babylon is beautifully expressed in the prophecy of Isaiah.  Jerusalem and Zion are seen as being reclothed, and her people as being loosed from their Babylonian captivity.  The prophet refers to Israel’s two former captivities in Egypt and in Assyria and promises that “my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak.”[5]  In this context the wonderful invitation is announced (also used by the Apostle Paul to depict the preaching to the Gentiles[6]): “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”  The Medo-Persian King Cyrus issued the command for the repatriation of the captives and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  Many did return to rebuild their nation under the patronage of the great Persian ruler.  But these words will be far more relevant when God’s son reigns in Zion.  At that time, he will truly comfort his people and redeem Jerusalem so that “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”[7]   And he is also the servant who “shall be exalted and extolled and be very high,”[8] for he is the one who had endured suffering for the redemption of his people.[9]

As the wonder of Zion’s restoration continues, the surprise of Sarah (the spiritual mother of the faithful, Jew and Gentile[10]) is expressed, and she finds she must prepare to receive a greatly extended family.  Her children shall “inherit the Gentiles,” and though formerly “afflicted,” her “children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children.  In righteousness shalt thou be established, thou shalt be far from oppression…. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”[11]

But in this great blessing there is a warning.  The people of God must leave behind the things that relate to Babylon: “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing …. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.”[12]  As returning Israel brought back with them the holy vessels for service in the sanctuary to be rebuilt at Jerusalem, so they themselves were vessels of the Lord, containing something of the “glory of God.”[13]  God wishes His people to be “vessels of mercy,” not “vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”[14]  It is the same lesson for those who join themselves to Israel.  We are commanded to “come out from among them and be ye separate…. and touch not the unclean thing.”[15]  There can be no agreement with idolatry, no unequal yoking with unbelievers, no communion of light with darkness, for the kingdom of the beast[16] and the realm of Babylon are full of idolatry and uncleanness.[17]

They will also have a great leader, this time Elijah rather than Moses, who will complete the work he begun so long ago with the ten tribes.[18]   Elijah will have a support team, representatives from Judah who have been “refined” through the devastating fiery judgments of Armageddon.[19]   Those from Judah who have “escaped” will be used as a “sign” to their exiled brethren, and they shall “declare my glory among the Gentiles.”[20]  The same word for “sign” is used of the signs in Egypt performed by Moses to convince Pharaoh of the reality of God.  Perhaps the emissaries ofJudah will likewise perform signs to demonstrate that they are not making an ordinary humanitarian request for the release of their people.  Moses was well acquainted with Egyptian court etiquette, having the position as Prince of Egypt.  It may well be that some notable Jews from Judah will present themselves at the Courts of Europe where they are already known!

As Judah supports their exiled brethren to return to the land, some will make their way back from Europe in a clandestine fashion, as small groups of Jews did from Nazi Europe in the mid twentieth century.  But others will encounter open hostility with every obstacle placed in their path.  As the Jews leave Babylon II, there will be no need to fear because “the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will gather you up.”[21]  Just as Israel was led through the wilderness under the patronage of God in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, so also the returning tribes will have divine protection.  Their return is patterned upon their former deliverance from Egypt, and though nations may object and even attack the homeward bound groups of Jewry, they will ultimately “see and be confounded at all their might;  they shall lay their hand upon their mouth.”  The whole aim of repatriation is in order for God to have compassion upon His people, forgive their iniquities and to completely fulfil the ancient promises to the fathers of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.[22]

Judah, the goodly horse in battle

The King in Jerusalem, who has dealt with his people of Judah, now invests them with authority to act on his behalf.  As the “righteous man from the east,” he assures Israel that they are his chosen whom he has taken from the end of the earth, therefore, “Fear thou not for I am with thee … I will strengthen thee; yea I will uphold thee with the hand of my righteousness… They that war against thee will be as nothing.”[23]

Judah is pictured as being “the goodly horse in the battle.  And they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies …. and they shall fight because the Lord is with them.”[24]  They are also spoken of as having an iron horn and hoofs of brass.[25]  Israel has been respected as a fighting force only in recent years, but for years in long exile, passively accepting whatever inhumanities were inflicted upon them, it was hard to believe that this prophecy could ever be fulfilled.   With the Lord having breathed into them His purpose, they stand “up on their feet an exceeding great army….  These bones are the whole house of Israel.”[26]

Judah is particularly strengthened in order to assist Ephraim (the leading tribe of the defunct northern Kingdom of Israel), whom they will encourage in their fight back to the land.  Judah will be revealed to their exiled brethren as a blessing, like dew gently descending upon a barren landscape,[27] but to their enemies “among the Gentiles”, they will be as “a lion” who “teareth in pieces and none can deliver”, triumphant over every adversary. [28]  The nations who are not receptive to Israel and her King will be severely dealt with.[29]  On the other hand, there will be a response from some Gentiles who observe the fall of Babylon and heed the command to no longer worship the beast.  They will come to recognise the divine work being undertaken with the ancient people of God.  As Israel is being gathered from east and west, they will turn their back on their former life and “shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.’”[30]

As Judah will have been through “the fire” at Armageddon,[31] Ephraim will also go through a selection process as they fight their way back.   Under the overall direction of their immortal officers, both Jewish groups will form a formidable fighting force.  “I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph…. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man.”[32]  Zechariah describes Ephraim as a chariot, and Judah as the horse.  God uses Judah as a bow, His hands directing the arrows of Ephraim to unerringly reach their mark.  The battle scenes are reminiscent of the confrontation of young David with experienced Goliath;  they shall “subdue with sling stones.”[33]  Viewed from a human perspective, David had little chance against the warrior giant from Gath;  it needed a greater power than David to direct the stone to its fatal mark.  So it will be with the military capacity unleashed by David II.  “The Lord shall be seen over them and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning.”[34]  The context of this passage shows that the account of the war is subsequent to the arrival of Zion’s king.  The Lord shall “go before” to lead his people in the battle as he did for David, so that even the most ineffective soldier shall be as formidable as David.[35]  Only when the enemy is completely subdued will the King command an end to the war, and then “he shall speak peace unto the nations and his dominion shall be .… to the ends of the earth.”[36]

Judah and Ephraim working together for the common good of their people will forge a new brotherliness which will overcome their former alienation.  No longer shall there be “vexing” or “envy” between the two ancient divisions of the Kingdom of God.[37]  Thus the full union of both peoples will be possible as never before.[38]  “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel.”[39]  As they return together, Judah will inform Israel about the remarkable events in their restored land, about the wisdom and graciousness of their King and Messiah, and of their need for repentance in order to receive of his grace.  Jeremiah prophesied of the return of both Israel and Judah[40] at the time when Israel was already in dispersion, and Judah was about to fall to the Babylonians.  Judah’s last King was captured and slain, yet Jeremiah predicted that the kingship would ultimately be restored: “They shall serve the Lord their God and David their king.”[41]  After 2,500 years, this prophecy is still unfulfilled.

When Balaam viewed the encampment of Israel shortly before they crossed the Jordan River to subjugate the promised land, he foresaw that they had a greater destiny than the immediate possession of the land. “The people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” “His King shall be higher than Agag” (Gog) “and his kingdom shall be exalted.  God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn; He shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.”[42]

Another symbol which describes new Israel’s fighting capacity, involves threshing.  They will be prepared like a threshing instrument, and will be effective even in threshing mountains (dominant nations).  The process of threshing sorts out the grain from the chaff, and the chaff is then simply blown away.  “Thou shalt fan them and the wind shall carry them away.”[43]  This is the exact process described in the final stage of the destruction of the Kingdom of men, when the broken pieces become “like the chaff on the summer threshing floor and the wind carried them away.”[44]

The world will have seen nothing like this army.  “An armament like this, in which every soldier of the ranks shall be able to “chase a thousand, and to put ten thousand to flight” – an army of Samsons – cannot but be invincible. It will be just the force the necessities of the situation demand.”[45]

Israel’s full restoration in these years is one of the main works of Christ.  It is well summarised in Isaiah chapter eleven where the prophecy opens with the great justice and wisdom of the righteous one, the effects of his reign in peaceful co-existence of both nations and animals, so “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”[46]

The repatriation of Israel is well named “second” exodus, for “it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left.”[47] An ensign or a standard shall be set up as a rallying point and sign to the nations that God is assembling His people to bring them home.  The standard will be erected and the way prepared for the salvation of Zion.[48]

A detailed record of the Second Exodus is outlined by Ezekiel the prophet, who reminded his people that they had been brought out of Egypt into the wilderness in order to receive the benefit of divine law, “which if a man do, he shall even live in them… But Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness, they walked not in my statutes and they despised my judgments.”[49]  Despite these setbacks, God is determined upon His course.  The latter part of the same chapter regarding the Second Exodus, begins with an oath, but instead of bringing the nation into the wilderness of Sinai, this time they are brought “into the wilderness of the people” where God will endeavour to turn them around in a similar way to how He dealt with their fathers.  “And I will cause you to pass under the rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant and I will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgress against me;  I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn and they shall not enter into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”[50]

As before, the return requires a selection process.  The word “rod” conveys a number of ideas.  It is translated “sceptre” in a couple of places,[51] and is one of the Hebrew words translated “tribes,” particularly used when Joshua was dividing up the land for the tribal possessions.[52]  It also indicates counting and is used of the Levites assessing the tithing.[53]   We can therefore conclude that as well as the purging process, the holy ones accompanying the returning Israelites will be busy establishing the genealogies of each family, particularly the ten “lost” tribes, in order to resettle them in their allotted portions.   The return of perhaps several million people will require some considerable organisation to absorb them into the land.   However, by this time, the earth will already be producing abundantly.

The process of the return will doubtless have its difficulties as was the case with Israel under Moses, but the Lord will provide food and drink for them, as well as assurance and protection from their enemies, if they trust in him.  Only the rebels will not survive.  Hence the commentary from Paul: “Harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me … Wherefore I was grieved with that generation… so I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.”[54]   The rebellious in heart among returning Israel will also be denied entrance into the presence of the King, for those who return to the “holy mountain” are required to bring an offering in a “clean vessel into the house of the Lord,”[55] and to serve in the new administration.  If the pattern of the first Exodus is to be followed, then it is likely that the return will take about forty years.[56]

Coming home

There is a distinct link between the rise of Israel and the fall of Babylon, or the inverse, the rise of Babylon and the fall of Israel.  In the prophecy concerning an oracle against ancient Babylon (Isaiah 13 & 14), the repatriation of Israel to her own land is foretold.  There is a parallel between the ancient event and the future collapse of Rome.  While Rome has been in the dominant position for long years during Zion’s decline, the fall of Babylon-Rome will mark the full ingathering of Israel: “For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob and will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land and the strangers shall be joined with them.”  Many of these strangers will find employment among Israel as stockmen and agriculturists.[57]

Oppressed from long years of exile, the Jewish heart needed to be awakened.  The fluttering of Jewish hope was underway during the years when the Pope was losing his territory (the central portion of Italy known as the Papal States), as part of the process of the nationalisation of Italy.  Small groups of Jews began to emigrate to Israel, and societies in England promoted support for the establishment of new Jewish homes in their old land.  The year when the Pope lost his final political protector,[58] a Frenchman funded the establishment of an agricultural college in Palestine for the education of both Jews and Arabs.  At the same time, the last Jewish ghetto in Italy was closed – in Rome.  Only at that point were Jews granted full Italian citizenship.  The complete return of Israel will be contemporary with the absolute destruction of Babylon.

As this exodus nears its completion, the Jews will be led into the land via two routes, from the south through Egypt, and from the north via Assyria.[59]  The mention of Assyria is particularly interesting.  Historically, Egypt and Assyria have been implacable enemies of Israel, but Assyria is particularly relevant in this context because it was the empire which deported the ten tribes from the Kingdom of Israel.  In remembrance of these captivities, Egypt and Assyria, they will return via these two countries.[60]

As the groups of émigrés converge after years of exile in foreign lands, they will join the main multitude travelling to the homeland.  They will travel by various means, “upon horses, and in chariots and in litters and upon mules and upon swift beasts” (dromedaries),[61] or their modern equivalent.  As they travel, their leaders will remind them of their history and evoke the national memory to develop their spiritual conscience.  “There will I plead with you face to face like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt.”[62]  Here the word “plead” indicates litigation, a process of justice.  Indeed their progenitors had been assessed and judged in the many situations that came into their path during their journey.  This will result in the hard hearted and impenitent falling away from the main body of returnees.  God will not endure their complaining, their unbelief of His intentions or their hankering after the former things of life (the leeks, the cucumbers and the garlic, which are flavour enhancers, but lack the substance for true growth).  Those so inclined will be given ample warning, “Harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation…. when your fathers tempted me….”[63]

As always, the divine will allows choice, and as in the wilderness of old, those who would not hear the divine message, did not need God to mark them out.  They identified themselves.  There were those who organised a petition to complain about the food,[64] a challenge within the leadership of Israel itself,[65] a deputation of princes who challenged the leadership,[66] and despite a recent victory over their enemies, flagrant disbelief that God would honour His promise.[67]  The leaders of the second exodus will doubtless remind the people of these events.   Memory is one of the most powerful means to stir the conscience.  Joseph used memory to turn around the thinking of his brothers, to help them remember their past awful deeds and their hardened heart.  The greater Joseph will use the same process to bring about Israel’s full restoration.   In this whole process of exodus, the coming out is but a preparation for the bringing in.[68]

The travellers approaching the Land from the northern route, may well traverse the same path of Jacob as he returned from exile.  Like Jacob, they too will remember that all their lovers have forgotten them, for God has “wounded thee with the wound of an enemy.”[69]  The large returning multitude is described in some detail: “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.  They shall come with weeping and with supplications will I lead them.  I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble:  for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.  Hear the word of the Lord O ye nations …. He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.”[70]  Like Jacob, many will bear marks of suffering, and perhaps even physical impairment as Jacob did, but they will have learned, finally, to trust in the God of their salvation.

Ephraim will “bemoan himself,” sorrowfully confessing his former unwillingness to serve, and declare his new commitment to honour God.[71]  God will eagerly respond to “Ephraim, my dear son” and reveal He has yearned for him throughout the long years of their alienation. [72]

Upon this confession, God reveals His plans for Judah and Ephraim: “As I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to throw down … so will I watch over them to build, and to plant.”  In this context, the latter part of this chapter of Jeremiah describes the new covenant which God will make with both Judah and Israel.  It will be a markedly different covenant to the Mosaic covenant, because the law will become enshrined in their hearts in a way that was not possible before.  This time, they will truly “know” the Lord because through the experiences they have endured, they will have come to perceive the working of God.  “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth.” [73]

The Door of Hope

As the travellers approach the Holy Land from the northern and southern routes, they will come to Jordan.  Perhaps they will cross it together, as their forefathers did under Joshua.  We cannot be sure.  But certainly they come together in the Valleyof Achor.  What memories this valley evokes!  The earthquake will have brought about vast changes.  This valley leads from the vicinity of Jericho westwards right up to the heartland of Israel.   It was near this valley that Israel was encamped when their army set out to capture Ai, but were routed.  The sin of Achan, a prince in Israel, was the cause of God’s disfavour.  Joshua went through a selection process in order to discover the man with the covetous eyes.  In this process the word ‘tribes’ used here[74] is the same word as “rod,” so that Israel passed under the rod to discover the culprit.   After his confession, Achan and his complicit family were judged and condemned.  Even at this critical stage of entry into the land, having witnessed the miracle of crossing the river Jordan and the destruction of Jericho, there was still the possibility of turning aside by following the desire of one’s eyes.  This will serve as a serious warning to Israel’s exiles as they have the site of Achan’s grave pointed out.  If the loving kindness and justice of God is not accepted, then the anger of the Lord will fall upon the guilty, as it did upon Achan.   However, the place which had once been the occasion of so much distress, would now be a place of joy and exultation, a symbol of all their past sins purged and forgiven, truly a door of hope.  Achor and Sharon (the coastal plain) are specifically named as being quiet and peaceful havens where herds safely graze.

Hosea is the prophecy that portrays the deepest feelings of God for His people.   In his book, the prophet Hosea entered into God’s intense feelings concerning an unfaithful wife.  Israel had also been unfaithful to God, and the blessings that He bestowed upon her she used for pagan worship.  Israel’s homecoming to the land is portrayed as the return of an errant wife being reconciled to her long suffering husband.  “Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God ….turn … for I am married to you and ….. I will bring you to Zion.”[75]  “And I will allure her” (or persuade) “and bring her into the wilderness and speak to her heart.”[76]  The covenant that the Lord will make with His people will involve a covenant of marriage, and Israel shall come to fully know the loving kindness and justice of their Lord.[77]

The process of return also involves a healing work.  The “weeping and supplications of the children of Israel”[78] will awaken a response from the King and his ruling priests.   One of their major concerns will be to attend to the emotional and spiritual needs of these people, and help guide them to recover from the traumatic experiences they have undergone.  The Lord has promised that this is a very necessary process and part of their full restitution.  “I will give you pastors according to mine heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”[79]  The broken spirit is not a disadvantage in this case.  It is the beginning of putting away the old life which only brought grief and disappointment, in order that they might begin anew.

The Lord is patient in dealing with his people, particularly when they have been traumatised.  Despite the prophet Jonah’s anger, God dealt gently with him.[80]   Those hardened or disputatious, can only make the required change by their minds being quietly led.[81]  Only after long forbearance when the implacable spirit will not respond does the Lord give up.[82]  The Lord’s method of dealing with his deeply shocked disciples illustrates the forbearance which so characterises God.  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, when all seemed lost to the disciples, the Lord met two on the way to Emmaus.  Both were involved in intense conversation so he asked them what were they talking about and the reason for their sadness.  They were astounded!  They thought that EVERYONE would know!   They did, but the Lord patiently asked questions to draw them out.  He sympathized with them in order that they might express all their disappointment and empty themselves of their feelings.  In short, they had an emotional outburst!  We are not ready to listen until we have “got it all off our chest.”  Only when we are ‘empty’ of our own concerns and ourselves, can we be filled with God.  While we have preoccupations and concerns, we will not truly absorb the divine message.  This was the secret of the remarkable focus and obedience of the Lord himself.  He “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, having become in the likeness of men… Because of this also God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name… ”[83]

As Israel come into the land, they will be led to full health and spiritual healing.[84]  With a new outlook and a new heart, Israel shall exhibit thankfulness and the praise of their God.[85]  What a magnificent chance to rebuild a new life!  A new land under the benign rulership of one who is wisdom and justice personified, with no more fear of anti-Semitism or deprivation, where each family is given a property in a rural environment, and the children can grow in a world no longer subjected to pursuits which sap spiritual strength and morale.

Here in Achor the Lord will supervise a covenant between His people and other peoples of the earth.  The covenant will also involve full disarmament.   After long years of war, the inhabitants of the earth will want nothing more than to settle quietly, and already the wisdom of Zion’s King will have come to the ears of others in far off lands.  With realisation of their full deliverance, perhaps this may be the time when Israel sings the Song of Moses and the Lamb.  As they remember their deliverance from the lands of their dispersion and the vanquishing of the Babylonian power, their minds will return to the deliverance of their forbears who witnessed the overthrow of the greatest power of the day, Egypt, and they will begin to move towards the sanctuary.  In this way, “the redeemed shall return and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads.’[86]

Their return will involve both their political and religious reformation, for “Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit… and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”[87]  “And I will bring them and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.”  Israel will lead the world in devotion to the Creator, and they will become intermediaries to assist other people to learn of the God of Israel.  “Many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem …. In those days … that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you:  for we have heard that God is with you.”[88]  Indeed, there will be no doubt that God is with the Jewish people.  The blessings and wise judgments that will come from the King will impress all who begin to look favourably upon Zion.

Jewish resettlement

The planning for the future will involve the repatriation of all the tribes of Israel, not merely Judah and Benjamin who comprise the bulk of those living in the land at the time of Christ’s return.   As in the past, Judah and Benjamin will occupy the tribal allotments closest to the site of the new cityof Jerusalem.   An area of some fifty-six square miles encompassing Jerusalem and extending southeast to the salty marshes that will still remain south of the ‘Dead’ Sea, will be set aside as a tribute or an offering for the dwellings of government administrators.   Judah will occupy the territory to the north and Benjamin to the south.   Their experience in rebuilding their own towns and villages will enable them to assist their newly arrived Jewish brethren settle in their homeland.   Both Judah and Benjamin were rebuilders under the return under Ezra,[89] but this time, they will be assisted by the “sons of strangers.”

The old coastal territory of the Philistines, who have long been enemies of Israel, will become the possession for the dwellings and flocks of the “remnant of the house of Judah.”[90]  The northern and southern borders of the land are clearly defined in the prophecy which outlines the territory each tribe will possess.  That this territory has never been fully possessed by Israel, nor tribes located in the positions outlined in Ezekiel, is indication enough that the prophecy is yet future.   The overall boundaries of the whole land will encompass the area promised to Abraham, most of which was occupied by the Kingdom of Israel under Solomon.[91]   Though the eastern and western boundaries are not specified in the last chapter of Ezekiel, the indication is that they will be “from sea to sea,”[92] which is possibly interpreted as being from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.  Dan is positioned as the northern most tribe, and Hamath and Damascus are mentioned to identify the area.[93]  These places have formerly been part of the territory of various kings of Israel.[94]  The southern most tribe is Gad, who will border the river of Egypt.

In the midst of the tribal portions, the Holy Oblation occupies the heart of the Kingdom, and in the centre of the Holy Oblation, on the border between the portions for the Sons of Zadok and the Levites, is the Temple itself.   Thus remarkably, the whole arrangement is reminiscent of the encampment of Israel, with the tabernacle in the midst encircled by the ministering priests, and surrounded by the tribes of Israel.   Many Israelites will be employed in the service of the sanctuary and in the hostel city to the south of the great Temple.  They will act as hosts to welcome international visitors who come to admire and honour the great King.  They will truly become a blessing for all people.[95] 

God is intimately concerned with settling His people: “I will settle you after your old estates and will do better unto you than at your beginnings.”[96]  Within each tribal division, the land will be divided by lot for families.[97]  Once in their own territory, “they shall build houses and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build and another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat:  for as the days of a tree are the days of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  They shall not labour in vain nor bring forth for trouble, for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them.”[98]    And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations and they shall repair the waste cities…”[99]  The desolations of war and earthquake will call for much building.

The only others who shall be privileged to settle in the land apart from the natural descendants of Abraham, are referred to as strangers, who are mortal because they “beget children.”[100]   They shall choose which tribe they wish to be associated with, and shall be allotted land in that division.  Who are they?  Other mortals will live in their own countries, so it is quite likely that these are the children of the holy ones who were under age at the time their parents presented for judgment.  Once they have grown, they will be granted the privilege of living among the first nation of the Kingdom of God.