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“Surely your turning of
things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay.”—Isa. 29:16.
The following remarks were written in Jerusalem, after a full
understanding of the mission's aim and object, in endeavoring to
convert or promote Christianity amongst the Jews, and expecting Israel to be blessed
by and in them, instead of the missions, and all nations, being blessed by
and in Israel, as it is written: "In thee and in thy seed—(mark, not
'in seed' in the singular, but in thy seed, plural,)—shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Gen. 15:5; 22:18.
There is a very great difference between a man's growing up in the midst
of the house, or the house growing up in the midst of a man. In the
first position he might enjoy himself, and be very comfortable indeed, surrounded by an
affectionate wife and children; but in the last case he would be exceedingly uncomfortable
and troubled, and require the assistance of the most skillful and eminent physician before
he could be disgorged of his great burden, viz., of extracting the house out of him; and
effecting this would be a wonderful delivery; and if he should live through and after the
operation, we should extol the abilities and skill of the physician very highly indeed.
In the early ages of the world, God raised up a most noble,
glorious kingdom, or "nation of kings and priests," (Exod. 19:6;) and what is most
remarkable, they all originated from the faithfulness and moral excellence of one man. He
was born about A. M. 2000, whose name was called Abraham, and in whom, or in the midst
of whom, and in the midst of whose seed, "all the families of the
earth should be blessed." See Gen. 28:14.
This great and most excellent man, Abraham, had a grandson whom
they called Esau, and who was an exceedingly ambitious and overbearing character, and was
most violently opposed to <<499>>his brother Jacob; and this grandson succeeded in subduing
and crushing his brother Jacob, so that after several ages and generations of men,
this glorious and most dignified nation of "kings and priests" became despised
by him, till his very name, "Jew," became a proverb of reproach, and he trod
him down under his feet, "as the mire of the streets," and "esteemed as
earthen pitchers." (See Lam. 4:2.) And furthermore, this gentile Esau endeavored to
supplant his brother Jacob in establishing a MESSIAH, church and religion, entirely of
his own making; so that he thought he would succeed finally, under the name Christian,
in getting the "tub turned upside down," and the house bottom upwards,
so that Israel should grow up in the midst of Edom, or Esau, (that is, in
his church,) instead of Esau's going to Israel for the blessing, and growing up in the midst
of Israel, (as the prophet Jeremiah declares he shall do, in chap. 12:16.)
In short, the greatest of worldly thirsts inspired this Esau after dominion
and pre-eminence, instead of being willing to grant it to his brother Jacob, to whom
he had made a legal, bona fide, fair sale, too, for a mess of pottage.
(See Gen. 25:31, 33.) This sale of his "birthright and blessing" included the first
dominion and power over all created beings, as was fully and unalterable decreed by
God through Isaac: "Let people serve thee, and nations bow
down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons (Esau
was his twin brother) bow down to thee." (Gen. 27:29.) And now, after
fairly selling his "birthright," which included this all-sweeping and
comprehensive Blessing, his descendants, the gentile Christians, which
compose Daniel's four beasts, or monarchies, after a lapse of near 4,000 years, send a
mission for converting (i.e. perverting) Jacob to Christianity, to Jerusalem and
the Holy Land, and desire him to receive them as ministers and teachers, or priests, and
desire Jacob, or Israel, to grow up in the midst of the mission, and be blessed
in the gentiles, instead of the gentile Christians and all nations being blessed
in Abraham and his seed, (Israel.) Surely this is the tub turned upside down, and
a house growing up in the midst of a man, instead of a man growing up in
the midst of his house. "Surely your turning of things
upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay." It is an old proverb,
"Let every tub stand upon its own bottom;" then let Jacob honorably
inherit his blessing, <<500>>and Esau his. Esau's blessing was, "By thy sword thou shalt
live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass, when
thou shalt have the dominion, (as is now the case,) that thou shalt break his yoke from off
thy neck." (Gen. 27:40.)
The first part of this blessing and prophecy has ever been
fulfilling itself since the first captivity of Israel, under the king of Babylon, above 620 B.C.;
for Edom is Babylon, as is declared by the spirit of God in Ps. 137:7, 8, where God calls
Edom Babylon, for Esau, or Edom, has always lived by his sword, and all his
conquests have been made by it. And mark, if we observe the consecutive order in
which it was spoken, this must be fulfilled before the second part of it
is, viz., serving his brother Jacob, and which has never taken place as
yet for any length of time. Therefore the reservation, that, "when thou shalt have
the dominion, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." And indeed there is no
blessing, except in a state of subservience to his brother Jacob, between the two lids
of the Bible; and the one that is mentioned in Amos 9:12, is, after
God "returns to raise up the tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, and to build
it as in days of old." (See verse 11.)
And the very next verse declared that Israel shall "possess the
remnant of Edom," (and mark particularly that Edom is not to possess Israel,
but right the reverse;) and the object of this is declared to be, that Israel may
have in possession all the remnant, not only of all the gentile
Christians of Edom, but all the heathen also, "which are called by my name, saith the
Lord, that doeth this." And most assuredly all the gentiles and heathen must come to
his people Israel, upon whom He called, and "put his great name." (See Num. 6:27;
Dan. 9:19.) And it is in this very particular way and thing that in Abraham and his seed,
(not in seed, singular, as Paul* says, but in thy seed,
in the plural number,) that all nations are to be blessed. (See
Gen. 15:5; 22:18.)
Then let us hear no more of a mission or missionaries coming from England,
preaching and telling Israel that they must all come to their messiah, and "believe"
their corrupt system of Christianity, and "be baptized, or they shall be
damned." And yet their very <<501>>system numbers at present above three hundred
sects, (see Buck's Theological Dictionary,) contradicting and denying those very
truths that the opposing party assert to be true; and all asserting there is but "One
Lord, one faith, and one baptism." (See Eph. 4:5.) And yet they have
three* Lords, or Gods, three hundred faiths, and many kinds of baptisms, viz., spiritual
baptism only, water baptism, sprinkling, dipping, and plunging backwards
and forwards. So when the gentiles come to the one holy truth,
and grow up in the "midst" of that which is in the "midst"
of Israel, instead of Israel coming to any of the three hundred different sects
and faiths, and growing up in the "midst" of them, then the tub
will be right side up, as the prophet Jeremiah declares in his 12:16: "And
it shall come to pass, if they (the gentiles) will diligently learn the way of my
people," (Israel,)—mind, Israel is not to learn the gentiles' ways†—"to
swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall
they be built up in the midst of my people."
I asked lately the head missionary, and the one that has been the longest
in Jerusalem, the meaning of this sixteenth verse of the 12th of Jeremiah, and to be so
kind as to explain it to me, as they came here (Jerusalem) with the design to
"promote Christianity amongst the Jews;" and that the object of the mission was
to instruct the Jews how to be built up in the 'midst' of them, instead of their
being "built up in the 'midst' of my people Israel." He replied,
"O, that was fulfilled in the days of Hyrcanus." But I replied, "Alas!
alas! alas! in the days of Hyrcanus the 2d, nearly all the Jews were butchered by the
Romans, under Pompey, who captured Jerusalem and stormed the temple. This was the very reverse
of being built up in Israel: and I really pitied the poor missionary, for his
"turning things thus upside down was esteemed as the potter's clay." And if we
consult the two preceding verses of this twelfth of Jeremiah, the 14th and 15th, it fully
proves it so; for, "Thus saith the Lord, against all my evil neighbors
that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to
inherit by promise; (so, it is yet future, although these very missionaries are
now touching it, and claiming it in virtue of being Christians, and of Jesus being the
messiah,) "Behold, I will pluck them (the missionaries) out of
<<502>>their land,
and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after I have
plucked them (the missionaries) out, I will return and have compassion on them, (Israel,)
and I will bring them again every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people,
to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people Israel to swear by Baal;
they shall be built up in the midst of my people."
Written in Jerusalem, February 7th, 1848,
By the Watchman
REMARKS UPON THE ABOVE.
If the above words of the prophet Jeremiah are true, and ever take place,
which they undoubtedly are and will, one would suppose it will be indispensably necessary
for the Jews to establish societies for promoting Judaism amongst the gentile Christians,
instead of the Christians establishing societies "for promoting Christianity amongst
the Jews," for perverting and subverting them, (instead of
converting them,) as is now the case.
The Jews know full well that it will not be necessary for them to use the
like means that the gentiles are now using; for God declares, He will promote Judaism by
his last plagues, or "judgments," and that "early in their affliction
will they seek him," and then "ten men shall take hole out of all
languages of the nations, even shall take hold of him that is a Jew, saying, We
will go with you, for we have heard God is with you." And surely this would be a
fool's errand, if God is with the gentiles. Not only Jeremiah, but Ezekiel and
all the prophets, declare that the gentiles shall no longer serve themselves of
Israel,"* as is now the case, but that all the gentiles shall serve Israel,
(see Isa. 14:1, 2,) and become tributary to Israel. "Yea, even
the abundance of the sea, and the forces and wealth of the gentiles, shall come
unto thee." (Isa. 60:5.) "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee
shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." (Is.
60:12.) Read the preceding verse, the 11th, where it declares not only that they shall
"bring the forces of the gentiles, but also that their kinds shall be brought."
O, when will the gentile Christians learn only
<<503>>wisdom enough to place the tub right side
up, and those many misguided and overzealous persons in England and
America learn to keep their money in their pockets, instead of perverting by it the whole
order of the word of God, in supporting an idle, proud, and luxurious set of
missionaries in usurping the ascendency and pre-eminence over Israel,
for a salary of from £100 to £1200 a year? "Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of
Hosts, Is wisdom no more in Teman?" (Jer. 49:7.) "Teman" was
a son of Eliphaz, and Eliphaz was a son of Esau. (See Gen. 34:10, 11.)
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