THE HOPE OF ISRAEL - The Preterist Archive

The Hope of Israel: What Is It? 87
A VOICE FROM THE TEMPLE
Let us turn now to a passage in the last chapter of
Isaiah which is sometimes cited as foretelling the conversion
of the Jewish nation in a day yet future, but
which in my opinion, and as will be evident to the unbiased
mind upon slight examination, refers to this
present gospel dispensation, and indeed to one of the
most conspicuous events of the early days thereof.
The passage begins with these words :
"A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a
voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to His enemies.
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came
she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing?
Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring
forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon
as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isa. 66:6-8).
Clearly there is nothing here about any salvation for
Israel in the millennium ;
and nothing about the conversion
of that nation, as a nation, at any time. On the
contrary, the subject of the passage is the birth of
another nation. Zion is represented as being in travail,
and as bringing forth children. There can be no room
for doubt, therefore, that the "nation" whereof the
prophet here speaks is that "holy nation," concerning
which Peter wrote (1 Pet. 2:9) ;
a nation composed of
all who have been "born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God" (1:23-25).
And beyond all question the "one day" here foretold
is that great day of Pentecost, which was the birthday
of that marvellous "nation," the like whereof had never
been in the world before.
The predicted "noise from the city" had a striking
fulfilment in what is recorded (Acts 2:6) in these