VI.-The Jewish Remnant
BUT a beautiful antithesis to the apostasy will be the testimony of the remnant in that day. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:1414And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)). Prior to the cross, the gospel of the kingdom was strictly confined to Israel. “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not” (Matthew 10:55These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: (Matthew 10:5)). But now, behold a devoted band going forth to the nations, announcing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that the Son of man will come in power and great glory to judge the world. It will be a marvelous thing, when Christ has been given up by Christendom, that the savor of His name will be borne through the world by despised Jews!
The circumstances of this evangelistic remnant are very interesting. First, it appears that, though Jews, they have come to see that the Jesus whom they had crucified was really the Messiah, and so their persecution by the nations is not merely as Jews, but, the Lord says, “for my name's sake” (Matthew 24:99Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (Matthew 24:9)). And this coincides with the language prophetically provided for them in the 53rd of Isaiah. Its touching expressions are familiar to Christians and applicable no doubt to them, but the passage belongs chiefly and properly to repentant Israel. A new light is shed on this exquisite chapter when we see that this is its primary intention. With what peculiar appropriateness will they be able to say, “He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (vers. 3, 4). The first verse too is especially for Israel. It is the remnant bewailing the rejection of their testimony as well by the mass of Israel as by the nations at large, “Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of Jehovah revealed?” “Arm of Jehovah” is not the character in which Christ is now preached. It is, however, that in which He intervenes in power on behalf of His people (51:9), and which will be actually fulfilled when He appears “in power and great glory,” delivering both the remnant and the Gentile host out of the “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:30, 3130And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30‑31); Revelation 7:1414And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)). The preaching of the remnant will announce this intervention, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The “report,” however, will not be heeded by the mass of the Jews or the Gentiles, any more than was the preaching of Noah in his day; for, “as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:3737But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:37)).
No doubt this powerful testimony will be grievous in the eyes of the proud skeptics of Christendom—then Christendom no longer. They had thought to have finally got rid of Christ, but have to witness the power of His name again demonstrated by a new and strange evangelism. Doubly obnoxious also to the mass of Israel will be the conversion of a great number of their own race, repenting and owning their sin in having crucified the Lord Jesus. Accordingly, it is not surprising that this devoted and godly remnant will be subject to persecution and martyrdom.
A feature, too, which will probably make the testimony odious to the pleasure-loving dwellers upon earth is that it will be capable of a definiteness as to time which does not pertain to our gospel. The present gospel warns men of the coming of the Lord in judgment. But no one is authorized to say when that will be. The church was put into a waiting attitude when the Lord went away, and should have maintained it. Instead, she adopted the sentiment of the unfaithful servant, “My lord delayeth his coming.” As belonging to heaven, the church has nothing to do with times and seasons on the earth. Her duty is simply to wait for the Lord from heaven. Before His ascension, He told the disciples, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons"; and Paul, to the Thessalonians, likewise says, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (Acts 1:77And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. (Acts 1:7); Thessalonians 5:1). We, therefore, have no sign given to us, no event but the coming of the Lord to look for, and no event before it. It has been a mistake to suppose that any further preaching under Matthew 24:1414And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14) has first to be completed. So far from that, it will not have been commenced.
But the Jew has signs, many and various. For instance, there are signs that “the end is not yet"; and later, that “then shall the end come.” The preaching of that day, therefore, will, probably from the very first, indicate the near approach of judgment; for even the events as to which it is said, “the end is not yet,” are, nevertheless, the beginning of sorrows, which precede “the end” as its penultimate. Thus, the remnant will be able to announce that the coming of Christ in judgment, of which through centuries the world has been warned, is now at last drawing near. If, however, this is an element even in the early stage of the remnant's testimony, in the later stage when “the time of the end” is entered upon, it becomes urgent and imperative. “Fear God and give glory to him” is then the cry, “FOR THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME” (Revelation 14:77Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:7)). How unwelcome, like a knell of doom, this will be, to those who have settled down to the enjoyment of the earth. No wonder if they try to silence it by affliction, imprisonment and death (Matthew 24:99Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (Matthew 24:9); Revelation 20:44And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)). But blessed will be those who in that time receive the testimony, and who come out of “the great tribulation,” having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:1414And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)).
Another interesting point relating to the remnant's testimony is that: it appears to take on a distinctive character at the time of the end. At first it is the gospel of the kingdom. But when that has been preached in the whole world (Matthew 24:1414And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)), “then shall the end come.” The abomination of desolation is set up, and Satan worshipped instead of God, as will be shown in subsequent chapters. This is the time to which applies the vision of Revelation 14:6, 76And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:6‑7), viz.: “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the everlasting glad tidings to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and do homage to him who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters.” This is a testimony which, very clearly, is correlated to the evil of the time, for the preceding chapter tells us, “They did homage to the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast: and they did homage to the beast” (13:4). Thus Satan and the Roman beast are worshipped. In these circumstances God is identified in the gospel as the One who created all things. What a comment upon the state of the world, that men are so carried away by Satan's influence that when God claims the worship that is His due He has to define and specify Himself as the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters! Now, at that time, what will be the position? Christendom will have apostatized; all fear of God is cast off; the very being of the blessed Creator is ignored or denied; and Jews and Gentiles worship the dragon, the Roman beast, and the antichrist, in lieu of God. Moreover, seven angels are in readiness to pour out the bowls of divine fury upon this wickedness (Revelation 15; 16). But God is “rich in mercy,” and it is just then that we have that beautiful intimation of His grace—an angel flying in mid-heaven having “EVERLASTING GLAD TIDINGS to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” This will be no feeble voice among men; the call will be as from mid-heaven, and the voice is loud (ver. 7).
The glad tidings are everlasting. They were coeval with the fall of man, when God declared that the Seed of woman should bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)). In richer, fuller form, they are still sounding—salvation to the believer, though foolishness to them that perish. In the time to come the gospel is apparently reduced to its lowest terms—to fear God and give Him glory, and to do homage to the Creator in repudiation of the dragon and his trinity. Whoever accepts that message of grace will be saved. The result is magnificent, for we have already seen from Revelation 7, that besides the elect of Israel, a host so vast that no one could number them, accept this gospel, and emerge triumphant from the great tribulation, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. By all this will be manifested the character of God who “will by no means clear the guilty"; yet is “abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6, 76And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6‑7)). It is a relief, amidst the judgments of the Apocalypse, to see thus the brightness of divine grace, bursting through the dark clouds.
Besides the external sufferings of the remnant, their trials from within will be poignant. Under the strenuous temptation of the time, there will be treacherous defections from their ranks, with all the mortification and disappointment which such lapses must cause. There will be, too, the rending of ties and severing of friendships, as we read, “Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And because lawlessness (ἀνομία) shall abound, the love of the many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:1212And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matthew 24:12)). The “many” here must mean of the remnant. It could not mean of Israel at large; for they will, as now, be hardened in estrangement from God. Those, therefore, whose love cools must be those in whom there was love that could be cooled. So while some will desert and betray, many will become halfhearted, to the grief, no doubt, of the zealous and true. Then follows a text which has troubled the peace of many a Christian, but which really belongs to the Jewish remnant of a future day “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” It refers to salvation when the Lord appears in judgment. Many will fall away under the influence of the delusions of the time, but there will be a discriminating judgment when the Son of man appears. Then, there may be two in the field, and one may be taken and the other left. That is, one taken in judgment, and the other spared or “saved” to pass into eternal life on the earth under the Son of man in the millennium and beyond. Besides these things there will be to the godly remnant as to Christians now, all the dangers arising from personal unwatchfulness. “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts he overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:34-3634And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:34‑36)). Here, what is in view is clearly not the catching up of saints out of the world, but an escaping through judgments, and passing, saved, into the millennium.
What now will be the light and intelligence which will be possessed by the remnant? This is a question not quite easy to answer. But God's book, the Bible, will still be in the world, and there is instruction in Matthew 24 provided for the Jewish remnant, which fact would imply that they will have recourse to the New Testament as well as to the Old. But the Epistolary part at least, of the New Testament, will be to the remnant in the same relation as the Old Testament scriptures to us. The remnant will perhaps look back to those writings as we to the Prophets or the Psalms; but the church being gone, they may well be in doubt whether they can appropriate privileges which belonged to a calling which will be past and over. Possibly, they may regard with a kind of pious envy the heavenly privileges of the church, which Christians now so little value or even know. How far they will have spiritual understanding of the scriptures is doubtful, for they will not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as the Christian now has; and every mature believer knows what a difference there is between the scriptures as he now grasps them, and as they were but dimly understood before he was sealed by the Spirit. Indeed, the condition of soul of the remnant would seem to be analogous to that of a person at the present time who has been converted, but has not yet found peace. Such an one is quickened with eternal life, but does not know it; clings to God earnestly, but as yet has not the Spirit of adoption; has not salvation. That, indeed, is intensely longed for; there are times of joy and hope and anon of depression approaching despair. All this is aptly expressed in the Psalms, which give Jewish experience, not Christian. No child of God now should he in this state, because the gospel announces eternal life and peace simply on believing. The remnant, however, will probably have but dim light. The reader will doubtless remember, even of the disciples who were with Jesus upon earth, how poor was their comprehension of what He said to them. See Mark 9:3232But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. (Mark 9:32); Luke 2:50; 9:4550And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. (Luke 2:50)
45But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying. (Luke 9:45); John 10:6; 12:166This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. (John 10:6)
16These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. (John 12:16). The last-mentioned text intimates the reason of this mental dullness, “These things understood not the disciples at the first, but when Jesus was glorified then remembered they that these things were written of him.” The explanation is that, when Jesus was glorified, the Holy Spirit was given, and their minds were illuminated. And the remnant, when the church is gone, will be in a somewhat similar condition.
If, however, the remnant have not the presence of the Holy Spirit as we now, yet the Spirit will work in them; and besides, a most interesting feature is that there is made repeated mention of those “that understand among the people,” who appear to be a class raised up for the help of Israel in that dark day. This has always been a resource provided by God for His people especially in difficult times. Of old, there were men of Issachar, who “had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:3232And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. (1 Chronicles 12:32)). So the remnant in the days of Ezra had assistance from “men of understanding” (see Ezra 8:16-1816Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. 17And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. 18And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; (Ezra 8:16‑18)), and so will it be with the future remnant. “They that understand among the people shall instruct many” (Daniel 11:3333And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. (Daniel 11:33)). “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end” (ver. 35). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:33And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)). It is to this class of understanding ones that reference is made in connection with “the number of the beast.” “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six” (Revelation 13:1818Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (Revelation 13:18)). Thus, what now is an enigma, will doubtless in the day when required for practical use, be expounded by “them of understanding” for the instruction of God's people.
We have already seen from the Revelation the sealing of a remnant of Israel, while in Matthew the existence of that remnant is assumed, for the prophecy gives instruction and cautions for such a remnant in the last times, firstly in the beginning of sorrows, and afterward at the time of the end. This fits with the doctrine of Romans—that when the church-period closes, divine dealings with Israel are renewed. God leaves not Himself without witness. A remnant of Israel stands out boldly for Him in the world. The sealing, obviously, is the setting apart of the individuals for God, and the seal being in the forehead probably intimates that their character will be manifest—visible to all. Notice that they are not merely sealed for God, but as “the servants of our God.” It is in this character that they carry the gospel of the kingdom to the nations. The number 144,000 is of course symbolical, implying that the remnant is a definite number proportionate to the twelve tribes, not a countless host, as in the case of the Gentile multitude.
The development of a new national sentiment by a large number out of Israel must necessarily create considerable stir. One of the first results will probably be the revival of what is now dead in the heart of Israel, expectation of the Messiah; and there will be the fraudulent pretense of many ambitious men who will present themselves in that character for the acceptance of the Jews, which has before been a danger to that people, as Josephus tells us. There will also be “false prophets,” and many will be entrapped by these imposters, but the godly are elaborately cautioned against them. And at the time of the end (vers. 23, 24) when Satanic power is rampant, they will exhibit great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, the very elect. The elect here are the elect of Israel, not, of course, of the church. But while the mass of the Jews are in darkness and at the mercy of these delusions, the remnant are instructed that the coming of Messiah will be like lightning shining from the east unto the west. It will be (1) from heaven, (2) public and unmistakable, (3) glorious and terrible. They will know, therefore, that any report as to the Messiah being here or there, in any earthly locality, must necessarily be false.
(To be continued)
[E. J. T.]