'Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the

ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which

divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His

name: if those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then

the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for

ever.  Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the

foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all

the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord' (Jer.

Turning from Jeremiah we note the testimony of Ezekiel.  Israel's

grievous sin is fully recognized, yet in spite of all that they have done

restoration is assured.

'And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into

captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against Me,

therefore hid I My face from them, and gave them into the hand of their

enemies: so fell they all by the sword.  According to their uncleanness

and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid My

face from them.  Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring

again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of

Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name; after that they have

borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have

trespassed against Me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none

made them afraid.  When I have brought them again from the people, and

gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in

the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord

their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the

heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left

none of them any more there.  Neither will I hide My face any more from

them: for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel, saith

the Lord God' (Ezek. 39:23 -29).

Again, consider the vision of dry bones given in Ezekiel 37:1 -14 and

the symbol that follows of the two sticks (37:15 -28) and ask whether the

final restoration of Israel as 'one nation in the land' with 'one King to

them all' is not as fully endorsed as is the Gospel message of John 3:16.  In

addition consider the promise of restoration found in Ezekiel 34:11 -31.

These passages are too lengthy for quotation here, but they should be read

and pondered.

Turning to the evidence of the New Testament, we consider the question

of the apostles as recorded in Acts 1:6:

'When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying,

Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'

It is essential to keep in mind that during a period of forty days, the

apostles had received instruction as to the Old Testament passages that spoke

of Christ and His kingdom.  Among these the following from Isaiah would make

plain the connection between the outpouring of the spirit and the restoration

of Israel:

'Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be

a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest ... My

people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings,

and in quiet resting places' (Isa. 32:15 -18).