The Tub, or House Turned Upside Down

“Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay.”—Isa. 29:16.

The following remarks were written in Jerusalem, after a full understanding of the mission's aim and object, in endeavoring to convert or promote Christianity amongst the Jews, and expecting Israel to be blessed by and in them, instead of the missions, and all nations, being blessed by and in Israel, as it is written: "In thee and in thy seed—(mark, not 'in seed' in the singular, but in thy seed, plural,)—shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Gen. 15:5; 22:18.

There is a very great difference between a man's growing up in the midst of the house, or the house growing up in the midst of a man. In the first position he might enjoy himself, and be very comfortable indeed, surrounded by an affectionate wife and children; but in the last case he would be exceedingly uncomfortable and troubled, and require the assistance of the most skillful and eminent physician before he could be disgorged of his great burden, viz., of extracting the house out of him; and effecting this would be a wonderful delivery; and if he should live through and after the operation, we should extol the abilities and skill of the physician very highly indeed.

In the early ages of the world, God raised up a most noble, glorious kingdom, or "nation of kings and priests," (Exod. 19:6;) and what is most remarkable, they all originated from the faithfulness and moral excellence of one man. He was born about A. M. 2000, whose name was called Abraham, and in whom, or in the midst of whom, and in the midst of whose seed, "all the families of the earth should be blessed." See Gen. 28:14.

This great and most excellent man, Abraham, had a grandson whom they called Esau, and who was an exceedingly ambitious and overbearing character, and was most violently opposed to <<499>>his brother Jacob; and this grandson succeeded in subduing and crushing his brother Jacob, so that after several ages and generations of men, this glorious and most dignified nation of "kings and priests" became despised by him, till his very name, "Jew," became a proverb of reproach, and he trod him down under his feet, "as the mire of the streets," and "esteemed as earthen pitchers." (See Lam. 4:2.) And furthermore, this gentile Esau endeavored to supplant his brother Jacob in establishing a MESSIAH, church and religion, entirely of his own making; so that he thought he would succeed finally, under the name Christian, in getting the "tub turned upside down," and the house bottom upwards, so that Israel should grow up in the midst of Edom, or Esau, (that is, in his church,) instead of Esau's going to Israel for the blessing, and growing up in the midst of Israel, (as the prophet Jeremiah declares he shall do, in chap. 12:16.)

In short, the greatest of worldly thirsts inspired this Esau after dominion and pre-eminence, instead of being willing to grant it to his brother Jacob, to whom he had made a legal, bona fide, fair sale, too, for a mess of pottage. (See Gen. 25:31, 33.) This sale of his "birthright and blessing" included the first dominion and power over all created beings, as was fully and unalterable decreed by God through Isaac: "Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons (Esau was his twin brother) bow down to thee." (Gen. 27:29.) And now, after fairly selling his "birthright," which included this all-sweeping and comprehensive Blessing, his descendants, the gentile Christians, which compose Daniel's four beasts, or monarchies, after a lapse of near 4,000 years, send a mission for converting (i.e. perverting) Jacob to Christianity, to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and desire him to receive them as ministers and teachers, or priests, and desire Jacob, or Israel, to grow up in the midst of the mission, and be blessed in the gentiles, instead of the gentile Christians and all nations being blessed in Abraham and his seed, (Israel.) Surely this is the tub turned upside down, and a house growing up in the midst of a man, instead of a man growing up in the midst of his house. "Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay." It is an old proverb, "Let every tub stand upon its own bottom;" then let Jacob honorably inherit his blessing, <<500>>and Esau his. Esau's blessing was, "By thy sword thou shalt live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, (as is now the case,) that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." (Gen. 27:40.)

The first part of this blessing and prophecy has ever been fulfilling itself since the first captivity of Israel, under the king of Babylon, above 620 B.C.; for Edom is Babylon, as is declared by the spirit of God in Ps. 137:7, 8, where God calls Edom Babylon, for Esau, or Edom, has always lived by his sword, and all his conquests have been made by it. And mark, if we observe the consecutive order in which it was spoken, this must be fulfilled before the second part of it is, viz., serving his brother Jacob, and which has never taken place as yet for any length of time. Therefore the reservation, that, "when thou shalt have the dominion, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." And indeed there is no blessing, except in a state of subservience to his brother Jacob, between the two lids of the Bible; and the one that is mentioned in Amos 9:12, is, after God "returns to raise up the tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, and to build it as in days of old." (See verse 11.)

And the very next verse declared that Israel shall "possess the remnant of Edom," (and mark particularly that Edom is not to possess Israel, but right the reverse;) and the object of this is declared to be, that Israel may have in possession all the remnant, not only of all the gentile Christians of Edom, but all the heathen also, "which are called by my name, saith the Lord, that doeth this." And most assuredly all the gentiles and heathen must come to his people Israel, upon whom He called, and "put his great name." (See Num. 6:27; Dan. 9:19.) And it is in this very particular way and thing that in Abraham and his seed, (not in seed, singular, as Paul* says, but in thy seed, in the plural number,) that all nations are to be blessed. (See Gen. 15:5; 22:18.)

* Compare Gal. 3:16, with Gen. 15:5, and 22:17, 18. And this is the only subterfuge that the mission dare assert, to evade the truth of growing up in the midst of Israel.

Then let us hear no more of a mission or missionaries coming from England, preaching and telling Israel that they must all come to their messiah, and "believe" their corrupt system of Christianity, and "be baptized, or they shall be damned." And yet their very <<501>>system numbers at present above three hundred sects, (see Buck's Theological Dictionary,) contradicting and denying those very truths that the opposing party assert to be true; and all asserting there is but "One Lord, one faith, and one baptism." (See Eph. 4:5.) And yet they have three* Lords, or Gods, three hundred faiths, and many kinds of baptisms, viz., spiritual baptism only, water baptism, sprinkling, dipping, and plunging backwards and forwards. So when the gentiles come to the one holy truth, and grow up in the "midst" of that which is in the "midst" of Israel, instead of Israel coming to any of the three hundred different sects and faiths, and growing up in the "midst" of them, then the tub will be right side up, as the prophet Jeremiah declares in his 12:16: "And it shall come to pass, if they (the gentiles) will diligently learn the way of my people," (Israel,)—mind, Israel is not to learn the gentiles' ways†—"to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people."

* "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost."

† And become gentilized.

I asked lately the head missionary, and the one that has been the longest in Jerusalem, the meaning of this sixteenth verse of the 12th of Jeremiah, and to be so kind as to explain it to me, as they came here (Jerusalem) with the design to "promote Christianity amongst the Jews;" and that the object of the mission was to instruct the Jews how to be built up in the 'midst' of them, instead of their being "built up in the 'midst' of my people Israel." He replied, "O, that was fulfilled in the days of Hyrcanus." But I replied, "Alas! alas! alas! in the days of Hyrcanus the 2d, nearly all the Jews were butchered by the Romans, under Pompey, who captured Jerusalem and stormed the temple. This was the very reverse of being built up in Israel: and I really pitied the poor missionary, for his "turning things thus upside down was esteemed as the potter's clay." And if we consult the two preceding verses of this twelfth of Jeremiah, the 14th and 15th, it fully proves it so; for, "Thus saith the Lord, against all my evil neighbors that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit by promise; (so, it is yet future, although these very missionaries are now touching it, and claiming it in virtue of being Christians, and of Jesus being the messiah,) "Behold, I will pluck them (the missionaries) out of <<502>>their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them (the missionaries) out, I will return and have compassion on them, (Israel,) and I will bring them again every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people Israel to swear by Baal; they shall be built up in the midst of my people."

Written in Jerusalem, February 7th, 1848,
By the Watchman

REMARKS UPON THE ABOVE.

If the above words of the prophet Jeremiah are true, and ever take place, which they undoubtedly are and will, one would suppose it will be indispensably necessary for the Jews to establish societies for promoting Judaism amongst the gentile Christians, instead of the Christians establishing societies "for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews," for perverting and subverting them, (instead of converting them,) as is now the case.

The Jews know full well that it will not be necessary for them to use the like means that the gentiles are now using; for God declares, He will promote Judaism by his last plagues, or "judgments," and that "early in their affliction will they seek him," and then "ten men shall take hole out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard God is with you." And surely this would be a fool's errand, if God is with the gentiles. Not only Jeremiah, but Ezekiel and all the prophets, declare that the gentiles shall no longer serve themselves of Israel,"* as is now the case, but that all the gentiles shall serve Israel, (see Isa. 14:1, 2,) and become tributary to Israel. "Yea, even the abundance of the sea, and the forces and wealth of the gentiles, shall come unto thee." (Isa. 60:5.) "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." (Is. 60:12.) Read the preceding verse, the 11th, where it declares not only that they shall "bring the forces of the gentiles, but also that their kinds shall be brought." O, when will the gentile Christians learn only <<503>>wisdom enough to place the tub right side up, and those many misguided and overzealous persons in England and America learn to keep their money in their pockets, instead of perverting by it the whole order of the word of God, in supporting an idle, proud, and luxurious set of missionaries in usurping the ascendency and pre-eminence over Israel, for a salary of from £100 to £1200 a year? "Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Is wisdom no more in Teman?" (Jer. 49:7.) "Teman" was a son of Eliphaz, and Eliphaz was a son of Esau. (See Gen. 34:10, 11.)

* See Ezek. 34:27, 28, and Jer. 30:8. They will tell us who is to be subservient.