TEXT: JEREMIAH 3: 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. (KJV)

Today I would like to deliver a message entitled “THE NORTH COUNTRY.” The Bible said several times that there would be the menace of the land of the north to the God’s people in the end time. We would like to learn what this means.

Let’s see the passages one by one about the land of the north.

JEREMIAH 6: 22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. (KJV)

It is told that the people would come from the north country to attack Jerusalem, Judah, that is, southern country in the days of Jeremiah. Likewise, the menace that has never happened so far will come to the Protestant church that does not hear God. It is the teaching of the great north country, that is, the Catholic. We should clearly understand that this teaching will attack the Protestant church so that it becomes the disaster that has never occurred. Those who say such as, “Why is it wrong with the unification of the Protestant and the Catholic? It is the will of God,” do not know the Word of the Bible. The Bible says as below.

2 CHRONICLES 25: 6- 8 6 He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

7 But there came a man of God to him, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.

8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. (KJV)

As it was not the will of God for the south country, Judah, to go with the north country, Israel, for battle, it is now also not God’s will for the Protestant to unify with the Catholic.

EZEKIEL 38: 6, 15 6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army. (KJV)

Well, it is written on Ezekiel that the people of God’s will who are symbolized as Jerusalem would be surrounded and attacked by the north country in the end time. It is about Gog and Magog. Therefore, Gog and Magog are other hidden names of the Catholic now. They are a great company and will attack the God’s people with many people.

DANIEL 11: 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (KJV)

The same thing is written on Daniel, too. The army of the Catholic of the north will enter into the boundary of the Protestant, the kingdom of the south, and overflow and pass over. This is happening now. The lies of the Catholic will further enter into the Protestant church to the end time.

JEREMIAH 50: 41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. (KJV)

A people said here is a church. They will be raised to attack the Babylonized God’s people. Many kinds of Catholic teachings of devils will sweep over the Protestant.

Such teachings as to worship of the dead saints, to listen to Pope, and to accept the apocalypses are about to be introduced to the Protestant, and these will more and more remarkably influence the Protestant to the end time. It tells the time coming now that Pope now begins particularly to emphasize the superiority of the Catholic (to the Protestant).

JEREMIAH 31: 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. (KJV)

But, in another aspect, God says, “I will bring them from the north country, the church that depart far from the truth, and gather them from the coasts of the earth.” There will be with them the blind, spiritually blind people, and the lame, the people who are weak in the walking of faith. They will return. And there will be the woman with child and her that travaileth with child, the people with babies who need milk, and the people who cannot eat strong meat mentioned on Hebrews. They will also return.

JEREMIAH 16: 15 But the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. (KJV)

Let’s think what “all the lands whither he had driven them” means. Many kinds of teaching not of God are entering into the present Church, turning from the past simple, unsophisticated, true faith. Psychology of this world enters into some churches, and ideas of possibility, like the teaching of human willpower, in other churches. And even the worship of the saints is brought in. So, the people are now scattered far from their own land to follow such teachings. And the place where they are is not the land that God has given to their fathers. Therefore, they will not get to the eternal life there. Yet God says in this end time, “I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” The people who return to the right straight way of faith will appear.

ZECHARIAH 2: 6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith Lord. (KJV)

On the one hand there will be Protestant people who sympathize with the lies of the north country, and on the other hand there will be some other Protestant and Catholic people who narrowly escape from such lies like this. It refers to that, “flee from the land of the north.” As long as God says here, “flee from the land of the north,” we should notice that many things that are done or believed in the north country are far from the will of God.

Even if they are related to so much tradition but are against the Word of God, we should know, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

JEREMIAH 23: 8 But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. (KJV)

It is the will of God to return from this north country, status of the Catholic faith now. At that time we will be able to enter into our own land, the blessed walk, that God has prepared from the beginning. We should know it will never His will for us to stay in the north country.

Well, let’s look at the text.

JEREMIAH 3: 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

It is said here, “the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel.” It will be fulfilled in the end time that the descendants of Judah of the Old Testament walk with the house of Israel. Now such like movement may be about to begin, and it will be clearer to the end time. Well, such is the basic meaning. It seems to have another meaning as a parable. When we see it as the parable of the church age, Judah seems to refer to the Protestant and Israel the Catholic. These two Christian churches have been totally separated and had no communication between them so far. But, the Bible says, “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel.” Therefore, the day will come when these two separated churches become one. Such a thing has not occurred for the past several centuries, but it will be fulfilled in the end time.

This seems to be good. Yes, it is of course good. Yet, it is not good in another sense. For, it is blessing that the north country of Israel return to Jerusalem that is the center of the world, but this means that Judah is conversely shifted to the north country at that time.

We should well think that God has placed Jerusalem in the center of the world. This is the central place God has set. If the people are moved to east, west, south or north from there, they are turned aside from the place God has designated. They are in the north. So, it is suggested that they are turned aside from the designated place. The northern Israel had been in the north from the beginning, and Judah would be moved there. In short, the faith of the Protestant denominations will be under the influences of the Catholic. This is turning aside of the way and carried away.

But, it is written, “They shall come together out of the land of north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” What does the land of the north represent? The Bible says the center of the world is Jerusalem. This is the center. Therefore, Japan that is located in the east of Jerusalem is the oriental country, and England in the west western country. Then, what is the country that is immediately in the north? It is no other than the country of northern Israel. Well, this people come back from the north country to “the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” We know that as long as they come back they were in the country far from their fathers’ land. Let’s think what this means to us in the present days.

We Christians have for a long time inherited our fathers’ land, that is to say, the position of faith that our fathers and mothers of faith had defended to the death. The position that no salvation is given except by Him is the same. The Japanese believers such as the saints who died of martyr four hundred years ago in the far land of Nagasaki had firmly defended this position to keep the faith in the martyr and persecution.

But now there are many wretched Christians who are carried away from their fathers’ land in the north country, the Roman Catholic.

If Buddhism or Hinduism could save us, the faith that our fathers and mothers had defended to the death would have been in vain. But in fact our ancestors are the very ones who have defended this land to the death, and those who fling up unreasonable logics now saying such as, “Salvation is also extended to Buddhists,” which may be heard as tolerant but is actually lie, are the ones who are carried away. There are many wretched liars in this north country. Some people may not correct this lie to the end. But not all are so, for it is written, “They shall come together out of the land of north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” Therefore, many God’s people will return to the designated land, the position of faith.

The center of God’s will is in Jerusalem. This is the center. It says this with the assumption of God’s people scattered to the south, north, east and west that the Lord said on Matthew, “And he shall send his angels with a sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Where will they be gathered? It will be to Jerusalem, the center, and also the New Jerusalem written on Revelation.

Let us do the will of the Lord in the end time.

End.