The Berean Expositor
Volume 15 - Page 122 of 160
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Israel's oppressors remembered.
When Israel's day comes, and they sing their millennial song of triumph (Isa. 26: 1),
they will look back upon the days when the seed of the serpent had dominion over them.
Of such they say:--
"They are dead, they shall not live; they are the Rephaim (giants), they shall not
rise; therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made their memory to perish"
(Isa. 26: 14).
So will it be with Gog and Magog at the end of the millennium. The conflict of the
two seeds, "the seed of the woman" and "the seed of the serpent", runs throughout the
Scriptures and the entire course of the ages. The seed of promise triumph in Christ their
great kinsman redeemer. The seed of the serpent perish utterly and completely, so much
so that they have no resurrection. Here in Rev. 20: 9 we see another section of them
"visited and destroyed". It is God's intention to gather out of His kingdom all things
that offend, and the new heavens and new earth can only be ushered in by the fire of
Rev. 20: 14, 15.
Not only will Israel remember their oppressors in the day of their exaltation, they will
also be very sensibly reminded of their past sins.
Israel's sins remembered.
This may be seen by reading the closing verses of Ezek. 16: We cannot quote at
length, but give the last verse:--
"That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith
the Lord God" (Ezek. 16: 63).
Another suggestive passage is Ezek. 44: 9-14, where we find certain of the Levites
who went into idolatry are not permitted to exercise their office in full, but are made
servants at the gate, not being permitted to come near unto the Lord. This particular
honour is reserved for the sons of Zadok. These are rewarded for their fidelity, they
"kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me"
(Ezek. 44: 15).
It is evident from this distinction that the element of reward and loss obtain in the
millennial kingdom. This is further exemplified in Ezek. 48:, when compared the
144,000 sealed overcomers, but they do not lose their place in the earthly apportionment
of the kingdom which is theirs by covenant, not by merit, for the tribe of Dan is
mentioned in Ezek. 48: 1.