Acts 2:9-12

THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL NOT LOST

9-12. Volumes have been written, and weary eyes amid nocturnal lucubrations have toiled through the intervening ages hunting the lost tribes of Israel. It is rather a joke on the hypercriticism characteristic of modern times. The Bible is the book of all books. When John Wesley got sanctified he says he became “ Homo unius libri,” a man of one book. All other books must bend to the Bible, and they are only valuable as they corroborate and elucidate the Word of God. You have nothing to do but look at these verses and examine your dictionary, and you will find the so- called lost tribes all gloriously represented in this great national camp- meeting, i. e., the Pentecostal festival commemorative of the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. The Jews had three great national camp meetings at Jerusalem every year, i. e., Passover in April, commemorative of the emancipation out of Egyptian bondage, Pentecost in June, celebrious of the wonderful birth of the Mosaic dispensation, and the Feast of Tabernacles in September, reminiscent of their gratitude to God for His abundant harvests.

The Jews are the people of God's providence; and consequently always have been and always will be the most enterprising people in the world.

This day, though long driven from their own country, vagabonds among all nations, persecuted, scathed and pealed, they stand at the front of the world's finances and rule the great kings of the earth, and through them the nations buy their money power. Only fifty thousand returned out of Babylonian captivity, responsive to the proclamation of Cyrus, under the leadership of Nehemiah. When I was in Palestine three years ago there were a hundred and twenty thousand there, in contrast with only ten thousand ten years previously. Thus we see how rapidly, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the latter days, they are gathering home. You have but to look at this Scripture and you will see that the Jews from every land of their captivity are here represented. In the old dispensation, as well as in modern times, the Jews migrated into all countries, and settled among all nations, pursuant to their industrial enterprises. Bear in mind once for all that this is a Jewish meeting in the metropolis of the Jewish world, and Gentiles have nothing to do with it. In reading your Bible you inadvertently leap to the conclusion that these different nations here mentioned are Gentiles, which is not true; they are “Jews and proselytes” (Acts 2:10). There is no mention of a Gentile in this vast assembly. The apostles and disciples are all Jews, the natives are all Jews, as are the visitors, as none but Jews came to the great national and ecclesiastical assemblies. Of course, there might have been a few Roman Gentiles incidentally there, but there is no mention of them. Who are the Parthians? They are Jewish delegates, bona fide members of the Mosaic church all the way from far-off Parthia, tenaciously adhering to the covenant of Abraham. Where is Parthia? It is a country in Persia, into which the Jews were carried in the Babylonian captivity. As only a small remnant returned under Nehemiah, the balance being settled and engaged in business so they did not see proper to leave, it does not follow that they repudiated the religion of their fathers; but on the contrary they stuck to it through all these intervening centuries, and now we find their delegates sent by their synagogues in the far-off land of their captivity and their adopted country.