THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

The Hope of Israel: What Is It? 37
how it has arisen and spread itself among the true followers
of Christ in these "perilous times" ?
And now we come to the grand climax of the passage
we are examining, Hebrews XI. It is found in verse
16, where it is announced that the fathers of Israel
desired "a better country, that is an heavenly. Wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He
hath prepared for them a city"; and from Revelation
21:2, 3, we learn that He will dwell with them in that
city forever.
Here is truth of the highest importance and most
practical character. These words give us the explanation
of the fact that the Eternal God, the Almighty
Creator, He who is infinite in power, wisdom and holiness,
condescends to call Himself "the God of Abraham,
of Isaac and of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6, 16; Mat. 22:32).
There could not be a more emphatic assertion of the
oneness of God's elect, the true "seed of Abraham"
(Gal. 3 :7, 29) ,
and of the truly fundamental truth that
there is just "one hope," one "common salvation" for
them all,
whether by nature they be Jews or Gentiles.
And there could not be a more impressive refutation
of the erroneous doctrine now current amongst
certain groups of Christians that the biblical "hope
of Israel" is a thing of earthly place and dominion.
This surely is "another gospel," very different indeed
from the gospel God preached unto Abraham.