Thru the Bible

Host: Some people believe God has given up on the ten so-called lost tribes of Israel. But were they ever really lost?

Welcome to Through the Bible. We've been traveling through the prophetic book of Zechariah and we're learning new things every day.

In today's study of Zechariah chapters 10 and 11, our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee is going to help us understand that the picture of Israel's ten lost tribes might be different than what we've been taught. But first, as you grab your seat on the Bible bus, let's hear more of Dr. McGee's series of introductions on the spiritual characteristics of the millennium.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And therefore, we feel like that to say something about the millennium will be helpful in understanding the prophets and understanding the book of Revelation. That out there is coming a kingdom, and there are certain spiritual characteristics of that kingdom that are very important. We have seen that peace will be on the earth. Also, that justice will prevail. And we have found out that justice of God is different from the justice of man altogether.

It's something you can't buy. You couldn't buy God's justice. You couldn't get Him to save you because you do something, because you can't buy it. It's a gift of God. And as a sinner, you will have to be judged. All of us are going to have to be judged.

And today there are two classes of people in the world. All are sinners, but they're divided like this. There are those whose sins are yet to come before them. There are those whose sins are back of them and been judged. I may make it personal. My sins are back yonder 1,900 years ago when Christ died. He died for me. He died for you. I've trusted Him, and He paid the penalty for my sin and your sin.

And so, there are those whose sins have been forgiven. Then there are those that will not trust Christ. Their sins are out yonder, and they're going to have to meet them someday. They'll be judged. And they'll be judged just and merciful. God is a God of justice, and He's a God that judges in truth. You won't need witnesses there. You can't beg yourself off there. John said it, "He needeth not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." He knows you, and you'll be judged righteously and justly.

And God is right and just in providing a savior for us. Now we've come to that last scripture that I'll look at. There are many other scriptures that we could turn to. We are told in Revelation 15:3, "They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.'"

Host: Just and true. What a beautiful way to describe our Lord. Isn't that the kind of God that you want to follow? He's not only righteous in His judgment, but rich in mercy.

And because of God's goodness and your partnership in prayer and support, we're taking the whole word to the whole world, day by day, language by language, one heart at a time. Let's celebrate what God's doing by hearing from a few fellow passengers on the Bible bus.

First a note from Carlos in Mozambique. "I'm a pastor, but without any Bible training. Therefore, I use your lessons to prepare mine. This has been a Bible school for me and a big support for the success of my ministry. Please keep on teaching the word of God, and I will too."

Isn't that great? Now here's a voicemail from a listener in Waterford, Michigan. No name's been given, but full of praise.

Guest (Female): I love to tell the story of Jesus' redeeming love and amazing grace and mercy that He's had on me in my life and on so many others through Dr. McGee's program. I also would like to thank the Lord Jesus for saving my soul on March 17th of 2017. And I got saved when I was in my 20s, and I am just now listening to Dr. McGee's program on the online website, and I am growing tremendously. We are in the First Epistle of John chapter 2, and I hopped on the Bible bus in Jonah, and we studied the whole book of Jonah.

And I really loved the program because it helps you grow and mature in the word of God and it gives you insight on how you can better explain to others God's love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, tender loving kindness, and compassion that endures forever. Thank you guys so much. I listen to you guys from Waterford, Michigan. Thank you guys so much and I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for your devotion to Him and your service for Him and your love for Him and that He can grow and mature so many people through Dr. McGee's program. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for you. Thank you.

Host: What about you? Has a recent study challenged your thinking or maybe opened your heart in a new way? What's God teaching you as we travel through His word together? Would you tell us your story?

Call and leave a message at 1-800-65 Bible or drop a note in our app. You can always email us at biblebus@tbb.org, or write to Box 7100, Pasadena, California 91109. In Canada, you can mail us at Box 25325, London, Ontario N6C 6B1. Let's pray. Father, thank You that through Jesus our sins have already been judged at the cross. Thank You for those who are hearing and responding to Your word around the world. Give us soft hearts as we open Your word in Jesus name. Amen.

Host: Now here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Zechariah chapter 10 on Through the Bible.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now we're still in this 10th chapter of Zechariah, because we considered it a very important chapter. We got down through verse 6, and so I'm going to pick up there with verse 6. Now, we have in this chapter, as we've seen, two tremendous things that are pertinent for us today. One is the rise of all of this that borders on the supernatural and is satanic to the very core, and I think we need as never before to try the spirits to see whether they be of God. There was that warning because that is what actually sent Israel into captivity, their turning from God and turning to these things, and there's a danger giving much attention, too much attention to the demonic instead of the divine.

And immediately, when He gave this, He spoke then of the Lord Jesus who was coming. He's going to be a cornerstone, as we saw last time, and a nail, a tent peg that's driven in, that will hold us to the faith, and He's the battle bow. He's coming someday to put down unrighteousness and establish His kingdom on the earth. And in the meantime, God says concerning the nation Israel, and you must put yourself back in Zechariah's times, they're building the temple. A very small remnant of all twelve tribes had returned. And you say, how do you know that? Well, will you notice? Again, He comes back and says what He said now several times. He says, "I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph."

Now, as far as God is concerned, they're not ten lost tribes. And He says, "I'll bring them again to place them." A remnant of all of the tribes had returned, because a delegation had come down from Bethel, and that was one of the capitals of the northern kingdom. Now, why does God intend to protect them during this interval? Well, He makes it clear, "for I'll have mercy upon them." How did you and I get saved? Well, it's not by works of righteousness which we've done, but it's according to His mercy. And He's rich in mercy, and He had to have a whole lot of it to save me. Maybe He didn't need that much to save you, but He's rich in mercy. He's got an abundance of it.

And that's the basis on which He intends now, since they've returned, and He warns them about turning again to idolatry and to that which is the supernatural, that which does not only border on, it's satanic to the very core. Now, God says He'll preserve them during that period, and that takes you into the period that is known as the intertestamental period. We'll be taking up shortly Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. And when Malachi wrote, God went off the air. He wasn't broadcasting for about 400 years. And you have that interval. Now, in that interval, they probably suffered more as a nation at any time, except during the time of Hitler and the Nazi regime in Germany. And these people have been preserved down through the ages. And all of that is outlined here with Daniel and Zechariah. You have a very good picture of the period, we call it a silent period, between Malachi in the Old Testament and Matthew in the New Testament. But actually, God covered that period well, and He covers it here.

Now He says in verse 7, "And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man." Now, just in case you think the ten tribes got lost, now Ephraim is one of the names that God gave to the ten northern tribes. And if you want to check on that, you ought to try Hosea again if you've forgotten. You remember how tenderly He said, "O Ephraim, how shall I give thee up?" God didn't give them up. They're not lost, my friend. And it's by His grace they've been preserved as a nation. And during that period, God says, "And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man." And one of the most thrilling accounts of these people is during that interval between the Testaments, the time of the Maccabees, and how they stood against the Syrian conqueror, one of the generals of Alexander, and his name was Antiochus Epiphanes. He wasn't the general. He was in the line, of course, on the Syrian throne. And he persecuted these people frightfully. But they were enabled to stand, "They of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine. Yea, their children shall see it and be glad, their heart will rejoice in the Lord."

That's going to be a period in which it will be difficult and they'll be far from God many times in that period. But there are also going to be periods when they'll rejoice in the Lord. Now, He says in verse 8, "I will hiss for them, and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase as they have increased." Now God said that He would put them back in that land during this period. And actually, more and more of them came into that land, so that there must have been by the time that Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus, and I think that Flavius Josephus gives us some figures too, that there must have been around 12 million people in that land. Well, that's far more than are in that land today. Now, God says, "I will hiss for them." Well, that word doesn't quite express it. I don't know how you'd translate it, but have you ever been sitting in an auditorium and have somebody back of you say, "Pssh," you know, like that, and you know somebody's trying to get your attention? Well, that actually is what the word means. And Dr. Unger gives it a new twist, and it's a good one. He says, "I'll whistle for them." Well, I like that. God says, "I'll whistle for them and gather them."

Now, frankly, that looks forward to a return that has not yet been fulfilled, because God says in the very next verse that that coming together up to the time of the Messiah, and the Lord Jesus made it clear that Jerusalem would be destroyed after Him. And that took place shortly after He was crucified and went back to heaven. Somewhere around 33 AD, and in 70 AD, Jerusalem was destroyed, and these people were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Now listen to Him in verse 9. And He says, "I will sow them among the people, and they shall remember Me in far countries, and they shall live with their children and turn again."

Now, they're yet to turn again. What? To the land? No, to God. They have turned to the land today, but they have not returned to God. And it is the belief now of several expositors, I'm in agreement with them because I look up to these men, that they will probably go out of that land again. This is not the return that God spoke of. I am told that 20% of the people want to leave that land. A friend of mine returned from over there, told me this at the time I made this tape. He said that 20% of those people want to leave there, want to go back where they came from. And that includes even some of the Russian Jews. And that's a strange thing to me, but that's what he says. And that actually inflation is worse there, and taxes are higher there than any place. It's not propitious to go to that land right now unless you just have a craving for it and you just can't do anything else. But God makes it very clear that He intends to scatter them. And He scattered them throughout the Roman Empire. Then He says, "I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt." There are very few in the land of Egypt today. Well, I personally think they may be scattered again. And "gather them out of Assyria, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and place shall not be found for them."

Now, He'll bring them to Lebanon. Actually, Lebanon is part of the promised land. If you'll read very carefully Joshua, and notice where the borders are put down. Lebanon was part of it. And it's the belief of a great many that when the Bible speaks of the land of milk and honey, it had reference rather to the southern part of the Lebanese coast and that area there. It even today is a very rich and fertile area. Well, I don't agree with that, may I say, because I think at the time that Joshua sent spies into the land, there was rainfall there. And the hills were wooded, there were springs, and there was fruit in abundance. So that actually a few years of withholding rain can make a desert. It doesn't take very long for certain places to become desert. Now during the dust storm, many of us remember that, that there are still areas in the Midwest that are nothing in the world but desert. And if you would go back beyond the dust storm, you'd find it a very fertile land, in fact, wonderful pasture lands, but it's a desert today. And up here in the San Joaquin Valley, it's supposed to be the most fertile lush valley in the world. Produces more even than the Valley of Jezreel.

But frankly, if it wasn't for irrigation, that would be a desert up there. So a little water makes a lot of difference, makes a big difference. That is what has happened to the land. But Lebanon was to be part of the promised land. And God certainly hasn't given them that. They've been criticized enough for certain Arab lands they've taken. But someday they'll be given Lebanon. And I guess then the Lebanese listening to me are not going to like that. But I don't think they need to worry. That's not going to happen to the millennium. And when that begins, why, everything's going to be so wonderful even for the Lebanese that I don't think they'll complain at all. Verse 11, "And He shall pass through the sea with affliction and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up, and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down. And the scepter of Egypt shall depart, and I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord."

Now, He is basing the return of these people, using language that was appropriate to their first return when they came out of Egypt. And the same type of miracles. Now you will recall that Jeremiah, in the 23rd chapter, says that the day's coming when they'll no longer remember the Passover. But they will remember the Lord. That brought them from east, west, north, and south. What does that mean? Well, the Passover is associated with their Exodus out of Egypt. The beginning of a great miracle period. Now God says that when He brings them back to that land, it'll be so miraculous that actually they'll forget the Passover. And forget the coming out of Egypt, and all they will remember will be their marvelous way in which He gathered them. Now, I do not think the wildest interpretation of prophecy today, could come up with the explanation that the present return is a fulfillment of that, because it couldn't possibly be. And frankly, of course, it's not.

Now that brings us to the 11th chapter, and that's the last chapter in this division where we have these burdens that actually hinge on the first coming of Christ. And let me pass this on to you before I begin reading. The division of this chapter here, and the title I've given the chapter 11, is "The Lord Jesus Christ is to be rejected as the King at His first coming." Now, this section is dealt and hinged on the first coming of Christ. Now we read here in verse 1 of this chapter. "Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars." Well, that doesn't sound very promising. Well, frankly, this reveals that there is to be a scattering of these people even after the time of Zechariah. And again, that was, I think, performed by the Romans. Now, the Romans used the same method that Alexander the Great did. They came down from the north. I don't care to get into that in detail today. But up in Lebanon, if you go above Beirut, you come to a river that's known as the Dog River. That's not a very good name, and I don't know where it got that name. And they have there, right at the entrance by the sea, what they have labeled, the calling cards of the nations of the world. Somebody started it in the past. And every great general of every great nation that went through there, he put up a monument, that is, carved in the rock there. And I've read. I mean, I've looked at it and had the translation given to me. I couldn't read the Persian or I didn't do too well with the Greek, but I finally figured that one out. All of the great generals came in through that direction because that's the beginning of what is known as the Great Rift. Now that great rift moves inland. Now, you pick it up down in Palestine, right north of the Sea of Galilee. And the Sea of Galilee's part of the Great Rift, so is the Jordan River, so is the Dead Sea. And that great rift goes right on into North Africa. Now the generals of the past came down that route. And so here again, you see them coming into Lebanon. "Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars." Now the cedars of Lebanon were famous. They were in the first temple, used a great deal of the wood there. Evidently Solomon's palace was built out of that. Now, it says, "Wail, fir trees." And that means these very famous cedars of Lebanon. Now those trees have largely disappeared, which is quite interesting. There are very few of them left. The nicest one that I've seen is actually in Herzl's Park right outside of Jerusalem. And it is a very beautiful tree. It's well taken care of. But the one I saw in Beirut itself, it was a scrawny sort.