ever memorable song which speaks of the evils that shall overtake those whose spot is not the spot of his children in that day.

Again in connection with what this prophet says touching the resurrection, he also says (13:11), “I gave thee a king in mine anger and took him away in my wrath." While this may contain an allusion to Saul as a type of that king that Samuel described, it no doubt points especially to that king which the Lord will raise up over the rebellious house in the latter days, whose power and doings will astonish not only the people of Israel themselves, but also the nations of the earth. And because of the heavy hand that he will lay upon his own people, Samuel says, Ye shall cry out in that day because of your king, and the Lord shall not hear you in that day." This king we shall have occasion to speak of particularly in interpreting many Scriptures which speak of his character and the manner of his reign and his overthrow. Many will read the words of the prophet Hosea without understanding the times and the things that he treats of, and therefore his book closes with these significant words, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things; prudent, and he shall know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall therein."

Again as to the truth that Israel will be again governed by evil and rebellious kings in the latter days, it is confirmed by the testimony of Jeremiah, for treating of the same things that Moses spake of in the song he says (2:2628), "As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and their prophets, saying to a stock, Thou art my father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth; and they have turned their back unto me, and not their face, but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise and save us." But the Lord's reply in that day is, "But where are thy gods, that thou hast made thee? Let them arise if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble, for according to the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah." This proves that at the time of Jacob's trouble, in the latter days, they have kings, princes, prophets, and priests, who are worshippers of idols, as of old.

THE SECOND REVOLT OF THE TEN TRIBES

When the kingdom is again restored to Israel in the latter days, they will at first be one united people, as in the days of old; but afterwards, the ten tribes will again fall away, and the kingdom of Israel will again be divided into the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah, two separate and hostile nations.

But such things as these we would not dare to affirm, except upon the clearest authority of the inspired men of God. Where then is the warrant for these things? We reply, In the testimony of the prophet Zechariah, who prophesied to Judah at the time of the return from the Babylonish captivity, and while the Temple and city of Jerusalem were in process of building.

Breaking of the Staffs

Zechariah spake of things that were to transpire at Christ's first appearing into the world, and also of things which are yet to transpire at, and in connection with his second appearing and of things which are to be manifested

in the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah in the latter days before Christ's appearing to judge his people. In the eleventh chapter he speaks first of the destruction and overthrow of the great and lofty men in Israel, who will fall and be laid low because they have rebelled against the Lord, as follows: "Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan is spoiled."

These shepherds and young lions are kings in Israel and Judah in the latter days. (Kings are sometimes called shepherds.) These are kings whom the Lord will make use of to punish his own rebellious people; and when they have done their work, they are again themselves cut down like the cedars, and so the Lord says, "Thus saith the Lord, my God, Feed the flock of the slaughter (they are to be fed with judgment), whose possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich, and their own shepherds pity them not."

Now why does the Lord suffer the flock of Israel to be thus treated by their kings? We answer, It is because the day of their calamity and punishment has arrived when the Lord will visit their sins upon them, for the Lord says further, "For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord, but lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of the slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another."

This description of the prophet shows the fearful condition of things that will come to pass in that day between the kings and the people of the land when the Lord divides them and turns them to fighting and devouring each other like wild beasts because they have forsaken him and turned to other gods, to serve them.

I, Beauty

These two staves which the Lord here calls Beauty, and Bands, are signs of two important events in Israel's history. The first applies to what transpired at Christ's first appearing, the second to what is yet to come to pass in the latter days, and so the Lord says, "I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people, and it was broken in that day, and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord. And I said unto them, ye think good, give me my price; and if not forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord."

If

Thus when Christ came to fulfil the law (for he is "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth "), he was bought and sold by his own people and taken by wicked hands and put to death, and they broke God's covenant with them, and therefore the Lord broke his covenant with them, and cut them off, and grafted in the Gentiles to provoke them to anger, even as the Lord had testified beforehand by Moses that he would do, saying in the song of witness, "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God, they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." And afterwards, because of their hardness of heart, he sent the Romans and destroyed them and scattered them and took away their place and nation. Thus as the first staff was cut in sunder, so was God's covenant with his own rebellious people cut in sunder.

II, Bands

The Cutting Asunder of the Second Staff and the Meaning Thereof as Saith

the Prophet

"Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel" (Zech. 11:14). The meaning of these words may be seen in this way: the first revolt was brought about through the means of Solomon's inconstancy, as testified in the eleventh chapter of First Kings (verse 9), saying, “And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the land of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which I have chosen."

Thus because of Solomon's idolatry the kingdom of Israel was divided into two contending nations for there was war between the kings of Israel and Judah all their days until God cast the ten tribes out of his sight. Now what happened to the kingdom of Israel in their former days will be manifest again in the kingdom of Israel in their latter days. The brotherhood was broken in the fourth year of the reign of Rehoboam and has never since been renewed, and in the days of Zechariah the ten tribes had been in dispersion about two hundred years, and that dispersion continues till the present day. Therefore as Zechariah prophesied of things which were to come to pass future to the times in which he lived, it follows that when he speaks of a brotherhood that was to be broken in the future, a brotherhood must first be formed before this prophecy can be fulfilled. And as no brotherhood has existed since the day that Zechariah prophesied, up to the present time, it follows to a certainty, that it must be fulfilled in the future. Therefore when the latter.

prophets, such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and others, prophesy of the doings of the house of Israel and the house of Judah subsequent to the times in which they lived, they are speaking of things which will obtain after the brotherhood has been formed and broken up again in the latter days, for it must not be forgotten that Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied to the house of Judah about the time that Judah was carried away captive out of their land to Babylon, which was about 130 years subsequent to the dispersion of the ten tribes, from which dispersion they have never yet returned.

We will therefore point out a few places where Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak of the doings of the house of Israel and the house of Judah after the brotherhood will have been broken in the future. In the fifth chapter of the prophecies of Jeremiah one may readily perceive that he is speaking of the future. fortunes and doings of God's people, for there he points out the nation of fierce countenance that Moses speaks of, who are to destroy the nation in the time of their calamity, and in verse 6 he refers to the lion, the wolf, and the leopard which are to watch over their cities because their transgressors are many and their backslidings are increased; and therefore the Lord says (verse 9), "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." And here observe the form of the language used, for the Lord says, "The house of Israel, and the house of Judah, have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord, and said (crying peace and safety), It is not he, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword or famine. And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

"Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless, in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you."

Thus the language of Jeremiah corresponds perfectly with the language of Moses where he speaks of the evils which are to overtake the people of Israel in the latter days, and Jeremiah, it must be noted, speaks of it as taking place subsequent to his day, when God's people are again divided into two nations, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah.

Again Jeremiah says (11:9-10), "And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words, and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will

(speaking of a future time) bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape: and they shall cry unto me, and I will not hearken unto them." He hides his face from them in that day, as the song of Moses says.

ness.

This prophecy contemplates the things that shall befall the twelve tribes after they have been reunited, and then again divided because of their wickedTherefore it must not be forgotten that the house of Israel will be manifested in the last days as two distinct nations, each having kings of their own, Jerusalem being the capital of Judah, and Samaria the capital of Israel. And without this knowledge, no man can interpret the Book of the Revelation.

And now lest some might think the proof of these things as adduced from the testimony of Jeremiah hardly sufficient to establish such things as these, we will refer to the testimony of the prophet Ezekiel. This prophet flourished and prophesied after the two tribes, the house of Judah, were carried captive to Babylon, and therefore if he prophesies of the good or bad works of the house of Israel future to his times, he must of necessity be speaking of things to transpire future to the times in which we now live, from the fact that the house of Israel has had no existence as a nation since they were carried captive by the Assyrians, and are only known to this day as the "lost tribes."

Now what does Ezekiel say of the ten tribes, the house of Israel, and what is to befall them in the latter days, as well as what is to befall the house of Judah? After Ezekiel had been shown the vision of the cherubims, then he sent him to prophesy to his impudent and rebellious people. And the Lord said to him, "I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads, as an adamant, harder than flint have I made thy forehead. Fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house."

This prophet was afterwards directed by the Lord, saying, "Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: and lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and battering rams against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city; and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

"Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

"And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee a day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege” (Ezek. 4).

Then with reference to the food that he was to eat during the time that he