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"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate" (Matt. 23: 37, 38).
The third cause of the rejection of Israel is seen in their bitter opposition to the spread
of the gospel. Such passages as Acts 17: 1-7 and 22: 1-22 should be read. Space for
the citation of many of these passages cannot be afforded, but we give one of them from
the epistle to the Thessalonians:--
"Ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the
Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us;
and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always; for the wrath is come upon
them to the uttermost" (I Thess. 2: 14-16).