THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

The Hope of Israel: What Is It? 173
passage, and other Scriptures which speak plainly to
the same effect, have no application to those who are
of "Israel after the flesh?" And what responsibility
do we incur, if we preach a doctrine so contrary to
that of Christ and His apostles, especially if thereby
any should be encouraged to continue in unbelief,
trusting the delusive hope of national salvation in the
approaching day of wrath? This passage is most assuredly
decisive of the question we are considering;
for it declares, in language that is unmistakeably
plain, what will happen at the end of this gospel era
to them that have not obeyed the gospel ;
and certainly,
of all the people in the world, the Jews are most conspicuously
those who have not obeyed the gospel.
2 Thessalonians 2:2-12. There are difficulties of a
minor character in regard to certain details of this
passage ;
but with respect to the subject of our present
inquiry it speaks with a certainty and clearness that
leave nothing to be desired. For it plainly declares
that, at the Lord's appearing in glory, "that man of
sin, the son of perdition," "that Wicked one" (the antichrist)
shall be consumed by the spirit (or breath) of
His mouth, and destroyed by the effulgence of His
presence (lit. the epiphany of His parousia) ; and
further that they who would not receive the love of the
truth, whereby they might have been "saved," will
have been given over by God Himself to "strong delusion,
that they should believe the lie" (the original
has the definite article) ;
to this end, namely (let the
words be carefully observed)
: "That they all might
be damned, who believed not the truth (the gospel),
but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
This agrees perfectly with Christ's own words concerning
the flood, "and took them all away." It abso-