God promised to
gather the residue of his people in the last days.
Jeremiah
prophesied, “I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all
countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to
their folds; and they shall . . . fear no more, nor be dismayed”
(Jer 23:3-4).
The weak will
gather with his people.
Elsewhere, Jeremiah said, “Behold, 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” (Jer 31:8).
Israel received
more land than Abraham.
He told his son Joseph, “The
blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my
progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills” (Gen
49:26).
The bounds of the
everlasting hills refer to the coasts and isles of the sea.
Isaiah said, “Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and
declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel
will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock” (Jer
31:10).
Jacob gave these
additional lands, the coastlines and isles, to Joseph.
He
prayed, “They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of
the head of him that was separate from his brethren” (Gen
49:26).
God promised
Israel a new land free from oppression.
God spoke by Nathan, “Moreover
I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them,
that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more;
neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as
beforetime” (2 Sam 7:10).
God will erect an
ensign there for the gathering of his people.
Isaiah wrote, “And
he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss
unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come
with speed swiftly” (Is 5:26).
The ensign will
be under an eagle’s wings:
Isaiah prophesied, “Woe to the
land shadowing with wings. . . All ye inhabitants of the world, and
dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the
mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye” (Is 18:1-3).
America’s national emblem is an eagle with outstretched
wings.
Tarshish, the
Bible’s name for Spain, was the first nation to bring God’s people
to America.
Isaiah prophesied, “Surely the isles shall wait
for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far”
(Is 60:9).
God promised to
prosper His nation.
Isaiah wrote, “In righteousness shalt
thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou
shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee”
(Is 54 14).
Enemies will come
against His nation:
“In the latter years thou shalt come into
the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of
many people, against the mountains of Israel” (Ezek 38:8).
They will attack
unwalled cities such as America has:
“Thou shalt say, I will
go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are
at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and
having neither bars nor gates . . . to take a spoil, and to take a
prey” (Ezek 38:8-9).
God will defend
his people.
He promised through Isaiah, “No weapon that is
formed against thee shall prosper” (Is 54:17).
God will cleanse
his people after He gathers them.
Through Ezekiel, He promised,
“I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of
all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you” (Ezek
36:24-25).
God will call His
holy nation Zion.
Jeremiah wrote, “They shall come
and sing in the height of Zion” (Jer 31:12). Isaiah prophesied,
“The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is
35:10).
