"For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." Heb. 8:8.
The subject of this text is the new covenant. This new covenant is called in the preceding verse, the second covenant. But a new implies an old, and a second implies a first. Two covenants are thus singled out in the word of God, as standing in this relation to each other: the one called the first, or old, covenant; the other called the second, or new, covenant. Why are two covenants thus coupled together, and made so prominent in the Sacred Scriptures? It is because these relate particularly to that great work, the redemption of a lost race, for the furtherance of which, even the Scriptures themselves are given, which have consequently received the names of the Old and New Testaments. This is shown in the fact, that the new covenant is designed to bring all those who avail themselves of its proffered blessings into such a relation to God that their sins and iniquities will be remembered no more; which can be accomplished only by redemption. The conclusion is therefore clear, that these two covenants embody two grand divisions of the work which Heaven has undertaken for human redemption, and cover two especial dispensations devoted to the development of this work.
The subject of the covenants is one in which every person has reason to feel the most lively interest; for it embraces the whole question of our relation to God in this world, and of all our hope for the future. There is no evil which, through Christ, we hope to escape, from which we are not guarded by these covenants which God has so graciously condescended to make with his people, and no good which we hope to obtain, which is not embraced in, and secured to us, by them.
Paul, in Ephesians 2:11, 12, sets forth the condition of those who do not place themselves within the provisions of the covenants: "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."
This presents in a startling light the condition of every unconverted man; and a more utterly wretched and abject condition it would be difficult to describe. No Christ, no hope, no God! Such is the condition of him who is a stranger from these covenants of promise. It becomes therefore a matter of infinite moment to ascertain what the new covenant is, upon what conditions its blessings are suspended; and what we are to do, in order to become partakers of its benefits.
In addition to this general statement, we may remark that the subject of the covenants is becoming a theme of particular interest to Seventh-day Adventists at the present time, because it is just now considered a favorite point of attack by some of those who oppose the doctrine of the perpetuity of the ten commandments, and the still binding obligation of the original Sabbath. Having exhausted every other source of theoretical opposition to the Sabbath in their futile efforts to overthrow it, they now claim that in the doctrine of the covenants they find conclusive evidence that the ten commandments have been superseded by something better, and that the seventh-day Sabbath, at least, has consequently come to an end.
It is more particularly with reference to this phase of the question that the present examination will proceed. We will therefore fairly state, and then candidly examine, these claims of our opponents.
Briefly stated, then, their claim is this: That the ten commandments constituted the first or old covenant; that that covenant was faulty and has been done away; which is simply to say, in other words, that the ten commandment law was imperfect, and has been all abolished, the Sabbath with the rest.
In proof of this they quote a few texts of Scripture, which to new hearers would seem quite pertinent and positive. Thus, Deut. 4:12, 13: "And the Lord spake unto you, out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."
Here, they claim that the ten commandments are plainly called the covenant. Then they turn to Deut. 5:2, 3, to show that this covenant had no previous existence, but was established at Horeb, where Paul also, quoting from the prophet, says that the first covenant was made: "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day."
Having found these texts so much to their mind, they turn to 1 Kings 8:21, for a statement to settle forever the controversy: "And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." Verse 9 of the same chapter says, "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb." They ask us what can be plainer. There was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone, containing the ten commandments; yet Solomon says that in the ark was the covenant which the Lord made with the fathers of his people when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Therefore those commandments were the covenant. And having established this point, they have only to quote Paul's testimony, that the old covenant has waxed old and vanished away, carrying with them the obnoxious seventh-day Sabbath into their eternal tomb.
Now to one who has not made this matter a subject of study, this seems very plausible. To not familiar with this question, the quotations would seem to be to the point, the reasoning consistent, and the conclusion inevitable, that the ten commandments constituted the old covenant which has been abolished. To such we would say that this cable which our opponents make appear to the uninformed of such strength and fair proportions, does not contain one solitary fiber upon which they can justly hang a single proposition contained in either their claims or their conclusions. This we think we can clearly show.
That the old covenant has been abolished by being superseded by the new, Paul plainly states; of this there is no question. And we affirm further that nothing has been abolished but the old covenant. Whatever has been abolished was included in that covenant, and whatever was not included in that covenant still remains, unaffected by the change from old to new. If the ten commandments constituted the old covenant, then they are forever gone; and no man need contend for their perpetuity or labor for their revival. But if they did not constitute the old covenant, then they have not been abolished, and no man need breathe a doubt in regard to their perpetuity and immutability. This therefore becomes a test question. It determines as definitely as any one subject can, the whole question of the perpetuity or abolition of the moral law.
Can we then tell what did constitute the first, or old, covenant. What does the word, covenant, mean? Webster defines it thus: "A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation." This is the primary, leading definition of the word; and in looking for the old covenant, we look for some transaction to which this definition will apply.
We have definite data from which to work. We are told who was the author of the first covenant. It was God. We are told with whom it was made. It was made with Israel. We are told when it was made. It was made with that people when they came out of the land of Egypt. Jer. 31:32; Heb. 8:9. By these circumstances the old covenant is clearly distinguished from the Adamic, the Abrahamic, or any other covenant brought to view in the Bible.
We go back therefore to the history of Israel as they came out of Egypt, and lay down this as a consistent and self-evident principle: That the very first transaction we find taking place between God and the Israelites after they left Egypt, which answers to the definition of the word covenant, must be the first covenant, unless some good reason can be shown why it is not.
Do we find anything of this kind in the experience of that people? Anything which constitutes a formal and mutual agreement between God and themselves, based upon mutual promises? We find one, and only one, transaction of that kind. The record of it commences in Ex. 19:3: "And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."
The briefest glance at this language shows it to be a formal proposition on the part of the Lord to the Israelites. Moses was the minister through whom the negotiation was carried on. Go down, said God to Moses, and make to the people this proposition. If you will obey my voice, and keep my covenant, I will secure you in the possession of certain special blessings above all people. With this instruction Moses went down to the people, and God waited for their answer.
Verses 7, 8: "And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord."
Such was the response of the people. They said, "We agree to the terms; we will enter into the arrangement." We now have the two parties before us, and the mutual, voluntary action on the part of each. This is the first transaction of the kind recorded between God and that people. It answers most strictly to the meaning of the word covenant. Therefore we say that this has the primary claim to be considered the old covenant of which Jeremiah prophesied and Paul discoursed.
(To be continued.)
U. S.
Salvation in the Name of Jesus
An old divine has said: There is majesty implied in the name of God. There is independent being in Jehovah. There is power in Lord. There is unction in Christ. There is affinity in Immanuel; intercession in Mediator; and help in Advocate; but there is salvation in no other name but Jesus.
Life Has No Proof-Sheet
IN ordinary books, errors may be erased in manuscript, or corrected in the proof-sheet. But life has no proof-sheet. "What is written is written." Pilate, in these words, wrote his own history and ours. A word spoken, or deed done, is beyond recall, like a letter, dropped in the mail and carried far beyond our reach. Hence forethought is necessary, so is fervent prayer for that divine help without which our record will be filled with errors.
Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER XI—CONTINUED.
"And they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." Having shown quite fully what constituted the taking away of the daily, or paganism, we now inquire, When was the abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed or set up? The little horn that had eyes like the eyes of man was not slow to see when the way was open for his advancement and elevation. From the year 508 its progress toward universal supremacy was without parallel.
When Justinian was about to commence the Vandal war, A. D. 533, an enterprise of no small magnitude and difficulty, he wished to secure the influence of the bishop of Rome, who had then attained a position in which his opinion had great weight throughout a large portion of Christendom. Justinian therefore took it upon himself to decide the contest which had long existed between the sees of Rome and Constantinople, as to which should have the precedency, by giving the preference to Rome, and declaring in the fullest and most unequivocal terms, that the bishop of that city should be chief of the whole ecclesiastical body of the empire. A work on the Apocalypse, by Rev. George Croly, of England, published in 1827, gives a detailed account of the events by which the supremacy of the pope of Rome was secured. He gives the following as the terms in which the decree of Justinian was expressed:—
"Justinian, pious, fortunate, renowned, triumphant, emperor, consul, &c., to John the most holy archbishop of our city of Rome, patriarch.
"Rendering honor to the apostolic chair and to your holiness, as has been always, and is, our wish, and honoring your blessedness as a father; we have hastened to bring to the knowledge of your holiness all matters relating to the state of the churches; it having been at all times our great desire to preserve the unity of your apostolic chair, and the constitution of the holy churches of God which has obtained hitherto, and still obtains.
"Therefore we have made no delay in subjecting and uniting to your holiness all the priests of the whole east. We cannot suffer that anything which relates to the state of the church, however manifest and unquestionable, should be moved without the knowledge of your holiness, who is the head of all the holy churches; for in all things, as we have already declared, we are anxious to increase the honor and authority of your apostolic chair."—Croly, pp. 114, 115.
"The emperor's letter," continues Mr. Croly, "must have been sent before the 25th of March, 533. For in his letter of that date to Epiphanius, he speaks of its having been already dispatched, and repeats his decision, that all affairs touching the church shall be referred to the pope, 'head of all bishops and the true and effective corrector of heretics.'"
The pope, in his answer, returned the same month of the following year, 534, observes that among the virtues of Justinian, "one shines as a star, his reverence for the apostolic chair, to which he has subjected and united all the churches, it being truly the head of all."
The "Novellae" of the Justinian code give unanswerable proof of the authenticity of the title. The preamble of the 9th states that "as the elder Rome was the founder of the laws, so was it not to be questioned that in her was the supremacy of the Pontificate." The 131st, on the ecclesiastical titles and privileges, chapter 2, states: "We therefore decree that the most holy pope of the elder Rome is the first of all the priesthood, and that the most blessed archbishop of Constantinople, the new Rome, shall hold the second rank after the holy apostolic chair of the elder Rome."
Toward the close of the sixth century, John of Constantinople denied the Roman supremacy, and assumed for himself the title of universal bishop; whereupon, Gregory the Great, indignant at the usurpation, denounced John, and declared, with unconscious truth, that he would assume the title of universal bishop was anti-Christ. Phocas, in 606, suppressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople, and vindicated that of the bishop of Rome. But Phocas was not the founder of papal supremacy. Says Croly, "That Phocas repressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople is beyond a doubt. But the highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome, spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memorable year 533." Again he says: "On reference to Baronius, the established authority among the Roman Catholic annalists, I found the whole detail of Justinian's grants of supremacy to the pope formally given. The entire transaction was of the most authentic and regular kind, and suitable to the importance of the transfer."
Such were the circumstances attending the decree of Justinian. But the provisions of this decree could not at once be carried into effect; for Rome and Italy were held by the Ostrogoths, who were Arians in faith, and strongly opposed to the religion of Justinian and the pope. It was therefore evident that the Ostrogoths must be rooted out of Rome before the pope could exercise the power with which he had been clothed. To accomplish this object, the Italian war was commenced in 534. The management of the campaign was intrusted to Belisarius. On his approach toward Rome, several cities forsook Vitijes, their Gothic and heretical sovereign, and joined the armies of the Catholic emperor. The Goths, deciding to delay offensive operations till spring, allowed Belisarius to enter Rome without opposition. "The deputies of the pope and clergy, of the senate and people, invited the lieutenant of Justinian to accept their voluntary allegiance."
Belisarius entered Rome December 10, 536. But this was not an end of the struggle; for the Goths, rallying their forces, resolved to dispute his possession of the city by a regular siege. They commenced in March, 537. Belisarius feared despair and treachery on the part of the people. Several senators, and Pope Sylverius, on proof or suspicion of treason, were sent into exile. The emperor commanded the clergy to elect a new bishop. After solemnly invoking the Holy Ghost, they elected the deacon Vigilius, who, by a bribe of two hundred pounds of gold, had purchased the honor.
The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for the siege of Rome; but success did not attend their efforts. Their hosts melted away in frequent and bloody combats under the walls of the city; and the year and nine days, during which the siege lasted, witnessed almost the entire consumption of the whole nation.
In the month of March, 538, dangers beginning to threaten them from other quarters, they raised the siege, burned their tents, and retired in tumult and confusion from the city, with numbers scarcely sufficient to preserve their existence as a nation, or their existence as a people.
Thus the Gothic horn, the last of the three, was plucked up before the little horn of Dan. 7. Nothing now stood in the way of the pope to prevent his exercising the power conferred upon him by Justinian, five years before. The saints, times and laws, were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in fact. And this must therefore be taken as the year when this abomination was placed or set up, and as the point from which to date the period of its supremacy.
Verse 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Those that forsake the covenant, the Holy Scriptures, and think more of the decrees of popes and decisions of councils than they do of the word of God, these shall he, the pope, corrupt by flatteries; that is, lead them on in their partisan zeal for himself by the bestowment of wealth, position, and honors.
At the same time, a people shall exist who know their God; and these shall be strong, and do exploits. These were those who kept pure religion alive in the earth during the dark ages of papal rule, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent among these, stand the Waldenses, Albigenses, Huguenots, etc.
Verse 33. And 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.
The long period of papal persecution against those who were struggling to maintain the truth and instruct their fellow-men in ways of righteousness, is here brought to view. The number of the days during which they were thus to fall is given in Dan. 7 : 25; 12 : 7; Rev. 12 : 6, 14; 13 : 5.
Verse 34. Now when they, shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
In Rev. 12, where this same papal persecution is brought to view, we read that the earth helped the woman by opening her mouth and swallowing up the flood which the dragon cast out after her. The great Reformation by Luther and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold. The German States espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reformers, and restrained the work of persecution so furiously carried on by the papal church. But when they should be helped, and the cause begin to become popular, many should cleave unto them with flatteries, or embrace the cause from unworthy motives, be insincere, hollow-hearted, and speak smooth and friendly words through a policy of self-interest.
U. S.
(To be continued.)
The Sonship of Christ.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
(Continued.)
GOD RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD, EXALTED HIM TO HEAVEN WHERE HE SITS UPON HIS FATHER’S THRONE.
THAT Jesus was truly raised from the dead by the Father we have already shown. Acts 2:32. That the same material flesh and bones, which was born of the virgin Mary, which was crucified upon the cross, was buried in the grave, and was resurrected, did ascend into heaven, is plainly taught in the Scriptures. I cannot state this fact more clearly than in the language of the Episcopal creed, which reads thus: Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh bones and all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he returns to judge all men at the last day. Art. 4. Also the same in the Methodist discipline, Art. 3. Thank God that our trinitarian brethren hold on to this fundamental truth. The Scriptures proving this are very plain. That he really had flesh and bones after his resurrection is shown by Luke 24:36–43:—
"And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before them."
How unequivocal this statement. He shows them his hands and his feet, he tells them to handle him and see that he is really flesh and bones; and to farther prove this, he takes meat and eats it before them. This convinced them and they believed it. Peter speaking of this fact says to Cornelius, "we did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." Acts 10:41. Also he was eating with them at the very moment of his ascension. See margin, Acts 1:4.
Paul also says that the very one who descended unto the earth was the very one who ascended into heaven. "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." Eph. 4:9, 10. Indeed, no truth is plainer than that the very one who died and was buried, was also resurrected, and is now alive in heaven. It is the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ according to the flesh, who was seated at the right hand of the Father. Rev. 5:5–9. "Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear." Acts 2:30–33. He now sits at the right hand of God upon the Father’s throne. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:21. The wonder-fully exalted position which our blessed Saviour now occupies is thus set forth in the enthusiastic but inspired language of the great apostle: "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." Eph. 1:20–23. Who can measure the hight and depth of this language?
Who can comprehend the surpassing glory, the almighty power of this once humble Jesus of Nazareth, this person who once lay dead in Joseph’s new tomb? Think of it, seated high upon the throne of the universe, at the right hand of the Almighty, clothed with all power, high above all dominions, principalities, angels, and every name in heaven and earth.
It should be borne in mind that the prophecies respecting Israel are of three classes, first, those prophecies relating to their restoration from the captivity, to Jerusalem. Of course all such have been fulfilled in the past.
Second, prophecies made on conditions. In this second class the Lord promised certain blessings on condition of thorough repentance and reform on the part of the Jews. Of this class of prophecies are the testimonies in Ezekiel 40 to 44th chapters. In chapter 43:10, 11, the conditions of the prophecy are plainly expressed: "Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern, and if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof," &c. Of course if they did not comply with these conditions the Lord was under no obligation to fulfill the promise as it was a conditional one. The chronology of this prophecy of Ezekiel was 574 B. C.
As to how these conditions were treated we may learn by reading the prophecy of Malachi made 397 B. C., see chapter 2:8-9: "But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law."
In chapter 3:15 he says, "And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." In verse 7 of this same chapter he says, "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them."
This being the true description of the course of the Jewish people, it need be no marvel if we claim that these conditional promises to them, found in Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 44, were never fulfilled.
The third class of prophecies and promises to Israel are those which relate to the final gathering of all of God's people into the future immortal kingdom.
In reading these various prophecies care must be taken to "rightly divide the word of truth," and discern to which class of prophecies the peculiar text we may have under consideration may belong.
We will first notice Isaiah 11:10-16. In the first part of the chapter we have a prophecy respecting Christ, his mission and work, his character as a ruler, and the beauties and glories of his immortal kingdom. We quote as follows: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; and their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the141cockatrice' den. 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."
In verses 10-16 of the same chapter he seems to go back again to the first advent of Christ, presenting before us, as he passes over the grounds again, the work of the gospel of Christ among the Gentiles, and they presenting the final gathering of both Jews and Gentiles, of his people, into his immortal kingdom, at his second advent, we quote the words as follows: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious. And 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, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."
In Zechariah 10:9-12 we have a prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to the land of Canaan, after being scattered into various countries in the Babylonish captivity, the text reads: "And I will sow them among the people; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away; and I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down," &c.
This prophecy of Zechariah was made in 517 B. C., while the final decree that went forth which fully restored Jerusalem was made in 457 B. C., 60 years afterwards. At the time of the proclamation of this decree in the Persian Empire, that empire, according to Dan. 6:1, consisted of one hundred and twenty provinces, so that the people that had been scattered in "far countries" even in "Egypt," verses 9 and 10, could learn that favor was again shown to God's people, and they could return again to Palestine if they wished.
The words in Eze. 36:36-38, apply to the return from the captivity in Babylon. We read in the above verses, "Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate; I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel's prophecy was made in the time of the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. The chronology of this 36th chapter is 587 B. C., one year after Jerusalem was destroyed, and was 130 years before Jerusalem was fully restored under the decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B. C., as recorded in Ezra, chapter 7.
In Ezekiel, chapter 37, he introduces the resurrection of God's people to take place at Christ's second coming. It would be very natural, after contemplating the restoration of his people from their great distress in their captivity, for the prophet's mind to be carried over to the final gathering of God's people to the earth made new. So he there presents them as raised from the dead, and placed in their own land, the immortal kingdom.