THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

216 The Hope of Israel: What Is It?
fact it is entirely clear from the whole record of the
Conference, that James applied "the words of the
prophets," including the phrase "after this," to what
God was then doing in visiting the Gentiles.
Furthermore, the exact words which God spake by
the prophet Amos were, "In that day" (not "after
this")
"I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is
fallen" etc. (Am. 9:11) ;
and the Holy Spirit, speaking
by James, gives us to understand that the words,
"after this," correctly express what Amos meant by
"in that day"; and that they express also what was
meant by other prophets, who had foretold the salvation
of the Gentiles. Now the two preceding verses of
Amos make it
plain that the "day" whereof he was
speaking is this present era; for it is now that the
Israelites are "sifted" among all the nations (v. 9).
Hence the Scriptures thus far considered compel us
to look for some work of God in this present age as the
fulfilment of the prophecy that He would "raise up the
tabernacle of David"; and for a work that involves
the conversion of the Gentiles.
This brings us to the question, What then is
THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID?
To begin with, let us note that it is not the temple
of Solomon. The two structures were quite distinct;
and typically they differ widely in significance. Amos
prophesied concerning a "tabernacle," definitely associated
with David, a tabernacle which, at the time of
his prophecy, had "fallen," and was in "ruins." Amos
prophesied "in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah"
(1:1), at which time the temple of Solomon was standing
in all its glory, and its services and sacrifices were