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wander up and down", "fugitive", "vagabond", "scatter", and other terms which
graphically picture the "wandering Jew", and suggests one way in which this "sifting"
will be accomplished. This element of mingling and mixture, necessitates the purging
and the refining that must take place before Israel can be given their land at the opening
of the day of the Lord.
"For he is like the fire of smelters and the acid used by fullers; He will sit down to
smelt and purge, purging the sons of Levi, refining them like silver and gold" (Mal. 3: 2
Moffatt).
"Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of
Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of
the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in Mine anger and in
My fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you . . . . . as silver is melted in the midst of
the furnace" (Ezek. 22: 19-22).
To go outside the pages of Scripture for our information is fraught with danger, we are
neither historians nor ethnologists, we simply refer to a further evidence of this great
intermingling that has taken place since 70A.D. There is evidence in hand to show that
another nation was incorporated into the Jewish faith, a people called the Khazars who
occupied the south-eastern corner of Europe in the eighth century A.D. About the end of
the seventh century, the Khazars became converted to Judaism, and Rabbis were brought
over from Spain to minister in their synagogues. Later on this Khazar kingdom became
incorporated in Southern Russia, and this accounts for the great Jewish population of
Poland, Rumania, and adjacent countries. All this, however, we take "on trust", knowing
little more from history than that such a kingdom existed.
If to the Edomite intermixture we add the Khazar, and other additions we can well
understand that the "all Israel" that God is pledged to "save" (Rom. 11: 26) cannot include
many who are "of Israel" or who can call Abraham their "father" (Rom. 9: 6-8), such are
not the children of the promise who are counted for the seed. If we have represented the
character of the "Jew" aright, it makes it simply impossible, that to such a mixture, the
blessed words should be addressed, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come"; such an unholy
mixture could never be used by God as a Pre-Millennial kingdom, for their melting and
refining, the ridding of their dross, takes place on the eve of the Lord's return at His
Second Coming. Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the end of Gentile
time. Gentile time will end when the Stone cut without hands smites the image of
Dan. 2: The people that become a blessing to all nations will be those who at long last
will look upon Him Whom they have pierced, and who will say:
"Unto Him that loved us, and washed (or loosed) us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever, Amen" (Rev. 1: 5, 6).
In line with all that we have seen, is Peter's appeal immediately following Pentecost:
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3: 19).