The Dawn of the Day / September 2004

One of my favorite Jewish stories is about the two Yeshiva students arguing over when the dawn of the day begins. One said it was the dawn when you could tell the difference between an olive tree and a fig tree. An olive tree has small leaves; fig trees have big leaves. The other argued that the dawn of the day was when you could tell the difference between a man and woman. Neither could agree. Finally, they asked their rabbi. The rabbi answered, “It is the dawn of the day when you can no longer see a difference between a Jew and a Gentile.” That is the dawn of THE DAY.

Jeremiah, a prophet to Judah, wrote:

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

Jeremiah 31:31

But instead, this is what has been taught for more than 1700 years,

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with some Jewish people but primarily with the Gentile Christian Church.”

As a result, when a Bible teacher speaks of the Two Houses of Israel, beyond a historical setting of the prophets, most believers think it is a strange subject. They are unaware of the subject. Even Messianic Jews fall prey to this paradigm and see the believing world as divided into Jews and Gentiles (there are no two houses of Israel; Israel means Jews only). Please don't misunderstand me. I do accept the fact that the present reality of understanding is defined this way. However, the Bible does not define God's people this way. The Bible defines God's people (the called out assembly) as the “remnant of Israel” and the “children of promise.” It says that the true descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are those of Abraham's seed (those who believe in God's promise of a Son). Genealogy is not the determinate of redemption! Without redemption, you will not see the kingdom. The Bible defines the believers of the Messiah as the redeemed House of Jacob, which includes physical descendants of Jacob and the aliens, sojourners, those adopted, and those grafted in to the family. Clearly, the believing world defines themselves differently. Some Messianic Jews want to see themselves as the fourth branch of Judaism; without need to be grafted in. For the most part, Christians see themselves as the “church” and gentile, grafted into their own separate tree. So which is it?

Has God slipped a cog and He just needs to update His great plan to fit us? Or, have we slipped a few cogs and we are no longer in parallel with God's great plan to “restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

Acts 1:6

Christians will not argue with the fact that Yeshua the Messiah came to be the Redeemer. He did the work of Redemption, but they rarely see that the Messiah is also prophesied the do another great work - Restoration. Specifically, He is prophesied to gather the scattered of Israel from the nations. This is why many unbelieving Jews reject the Messiahship of Yeshua. He didn't fulfill that prophecy. However, they fail to understand that the gathering of the scattered of Israel was to include both houses (Judah and Ephraim). Judah was not yet scattered when Yeshua did the work of redemption. Even further, the gathering of Judah and Ephraim is prophesied to occur at the end of the ages, when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.

When Simeon first saw Yeshua as a baby, he was looking for “the consolation of Israel.” When Anna in the temple saw the child, she was looking for “the redemption of Jerusalem.” If you read those prophecies from Isaiah, he was describing a greater event that the disciples later asked about - the restoration of the kingdom to Israel.

In this generation, we have begun to see just how real those prophecies are. We have seen the first installment of Judah returning to the land of Israel from world-wide captivity. However, the prophecy is specific in this regard. The House of Israel will also join with Judah. But this joining takes place after a particular conflict is resolved. That conflict is between the House of Jacob and Esau. The present inhabitants of the land who are battling Judah are the descendants of Esau. They are called the Palestinians. Therefore, we in this generation should pay particular and close attention. We are about to see the end of the exile for Israel in the nations and to see the Messiah gather the scattered of Israel. The Scriptures refer to this as the restoration of the two houses of Israel.

To understand the prophecies of the two houses of Israel, you must understand how prophecy in the Bible works. That is, you must understand how the Torah begins these great prophecies. Moses is the greatest prophet of the Messiah. If the Messiah is to gather the scattered of Israel from the nations, then Moses must have spoken of it. Let me shorten that study by giving you an overriding principle of prophecy.

What happens to the fathers will happen to the descendants.

The dividing of the two houses of Israel and their future joining begins with Jacob's return to the promised land after serving Laban for twenty years. If you recall, Jacob left the promised land earlier under a cloud. In fact, Esau, his brother had sworn to kill him. After serving Laban, getting married and having children, Jacob was then told to return to the land. The Lord promised to multiply him. Instead of sneaking into the land, Jacob sent messengers in hopes of resolving the conflict with Esau. Our story picks up here with the messengers returning.

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”

Genesis 32:6-8

Esau coming to see him was good, but bringing 400 men with him was a disaster. It was obvious that Esau meant to harm Jacob and his family. The Scripture simply says that Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. I'm sure you have heard the expression before. It is called “Jacob's trouble.” When Jeremiah refers to Jacob's trouble at the end of days, he is referring to this story (Jacob and Esau).

Jacob prayed and came up with an ingenious plan to protect his family while in the hands of his enemies. He divided them into two companies. This division was based on the two wives Leah and Rachel. He sent Leah and her children forward first and had Rachel come later with Joseph. This division of Jacob's family is also a prophecy.

God followed this same plan of Jacob when all of Israel was scattered to the nations. God knew we would go into the hands of our enemies and be kicked out of the promised land. He did the same thing Jacob did. He divided Israel into two houses: the House of Judah and the House of Israel, commonly called the Southern and Northern kingdoms. This event took place after Solomon's death. The House of Israel went into Assyrian captivity beginning in 722 B.C. and the House of Judah went into captivity with the Romans after 70 A.D. (I'll mention the Babylonian captivity in a few moments.) This is how Israel was scattered into all the nations.

Let's review first how the House of Israel became scattered and how they are prophesied to return to the land. We begin with the prophet Hosea.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it will come about on that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the Lord their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.” When she had weaned Lo–ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.”

Hosea 1:4-9

Hosea had three children: Jezreel, Loruhamah, and Loammi. The meanings of their names were the prophecies of the House of Israel (the Northern kingdom). The valley of Jezreel in the northern areas of Israel are for the scattering of grain crops. This is where the House of Israel was defeated militarily by the Assyrians. Loruhamah, which means “no compassion” or “no mercy,” was a devastating judgment. Even their prayers were not heard when they cried to the Lord. But, the third child's name and judgment is unique and very difficult. Literally, the House of Israel lost their identity as being part of Israel. They wanted to be like the other peoples, and they got their wish. As a result, they could no longer remember or trace back who they were and where they came from. (This reminds me of many Americans today.)

When the prophets of Israel gave their negative counsel, they also concluded on a positive note. They would not leave the people without hope. Whenever the prophets would shift to this future hope and offer a positive word, they would transition their prophecy using the word “yet” or “therefore.” Listen to Hosea shift to the positive concerning the House of Israel.

Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.” And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and they will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

Hosea 1:10-11

You would think that if a people were defeated militarily, taken captive, and had no compassion or mercy from their God that they would diminish in number and eventually die away completely. But the prophecy of the House of Israel is the exact opposite. Instead of diminishing, the Lord has said that the House of Israel would increase in number beyond what any man could number or count. This is the original promise of God given to our fathers. His promises remain despite our own behavior to the contrary. But more than that, God has promised that the House of Israel would become believers in the Messiah while scattered in the nations.

One of the central tenets of our New Covenant faith is that once a person believes in the Messiah, even in His name, they receive the power to be one of the sons of God.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

John 1:12

When a person receives the Messiah as part of the New Covenant, he becomes one of the children (sons) of the Living God. This is exactly what Hosea said would happen to the House of Israel scattered among the nations. According to the promise of God, many of the so-called Gentile believers in the Christian church must be the physical descendants of the House of Israel. This is why the Apostle Paul quoted this prophecy from Hosea when he defended his role and ministry as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul quotes Hosea's prophecy in Romans chapter 9:24-26. Paul also defines the remnant of Israel as believers in the Messiah that originate from two groups: those from Jerusalem (the House of Judah called Jews) and “those from among the Gentiles” referred to by Hosea as “not My people” (the House of Israel). Many in the Gentile Christian Church have hijacked this teaching of Paul to self-justify a Gentile Christian Church separate from Israel. This is the purest form of “replacement theology.”

“What about the Gentiles?” you may ask. Paul answers that in verse 30 and later spends an entire chapter (Romans 15) discussing it. They are just like the mixed multitude that left Egypt who were counted in the tribes of Israel in the book of Numbers. Not everyone who left Egypt was a physical descendant of Jacob. The children of Israel included “aliens, sojourners, the adopted, and those grafted in.” They are called “children of promise” fulfilling God's promise to Abraham, “In your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.” They were counted in the book of Numbers with the tribes of Israel. Even the prophet Isaiah stresses the inclusion of Gentiles in the family and worship of God at the temple.

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from His people.” Neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

Isaiah 56:3

Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Isaiah 56:6-8

I always try to point out to brethren that the wonderful place we are looking forward to - New Jerusalem - has 12 foundations stones named after the twelve apostles and the twelves pearly gates named after the twelve tribes of Israel. I remind them that there is no Gentile gate. There is no Baptist, Catholic, Independent, Lutheran, Pentecostal, etc. gates there. If you are not counted as part of the tribes of Israel, you will not enter.

How did we get so off track?

For several years now, I have endeavored to show many people how we are the last the generation, the generation spoken of by Moses, the prophets and Yeshua. We are a unique group in world history based primarily upon our number, ability to travel, and our use of technology. No other generation in history even compares to us. Even if you group all previous generations together and compare them to us, they do not come close.

It seems very obvious to me that God has planned these days to make His manifestation clear and to accomplish all of His good pleasure. One thing stands out clear in all of this dynamic. The world is changing and changing faster than people can keep up. The status quo is no longer stable. Instead of a snapshot, it is a moving picture. This is particularly true in the spiritual realm. I think the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is about to make some serious changes in the world. One of those dramatic changes is the return to God's plan A.

Men and their traditions have tried to change God's plan to conform to their wishes. The ancient Pharisees and Sadducees did the same to the teaching of Moses. The Gentile Christian Church did the same with Yeshua's teaching. God is bringing us back to His plan in these days. It is not without controversy. It attacks the church's paradigm and self definition. But the children of God, and the sons of the Living God are to make this transition.

Hosea tells us when the transition takes place - “great will be the day of Jezreel.” In the valley of Jezreel in northern Israel is a particular mountain called “Megiddo.” In the Hebrew, it is called “Harmegiddo.” You may be more familiar with the English name “Armageddon.” Hosea says that the reunion of Judah and Israel is associated with this event.

Jeremiah, the prophet to the House of Judah, prophesied of two captivities for Judah: one to Babylon for 70 years and the other world wide captivity for Judah and Israel together. He also spoke of when and how Judah and Ephraim would return.

Some of my Messianic Jewish brethren who dispute the two house teaching need to read their Bibles again. They have suggested that the House of Israel joined Judah after the Babylonian captivity before the Messiah came. As a result, all of Israel are now called “Jews.” This is error and nothing short of self-serving.

Let's address Jeremiah's prophecy of the Babylonian captivity and why it happened.

For thus says the Lord, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”

Jeremiah 29:10

Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would go into captivity to Babylon for 70 years and return to the land in this verse. This prophecy was based upon Moses, who said that those who crossed the Jordan into the promised land would be taken captive if they did not give the land its Sabbath rest every seven years. In particular, he said that they would go into captivity for every year that the land did not rest.

Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.

Leviticus 26:34-35

The children of Israel had been in the land 490 years when the judgment was recorded in Chronicles.

To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

II Chronicles 36:21

The Remnant of Judah did return from Babylon after 70 years just as Jeremiah had said. However, Jeremiah spoke of another world wide captivity for Judah. In the days of Nehemiah, he saw men bringing in the harvest on the Sabbatical year. Here is Jeremiah's prophecy for the later captivity.

Now it will come about when you tell this people all these words that they will say to you, “For what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the Lord our God?” Then you are to say to them, “It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord, “and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I shall grant you no favor.”

Jeremiah 16:10

Jeremiah writes his prophecy in a unique way, considerably different from the Babylonian prophecy. He postulates a conversation among ourselves while we are scattered in the nations. He actually asks the question for us. “Why are we out here? What did we do to deserve this?” He then answers the question. “We are here because of what our fathers did, and further, we have done worse than our fathers did.”

To show you just how powerful Jeremiah's prophecy is… state the name of your city and state and ask yourself if you think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have ever heard of it. I live in Oklahoma. I am sure that our fathers never heard of the place. It is just as Jeremiah said. We have been hurled out of the land into a place that our fathers have never known. Still further, we Americans in this generation have been moved and shifted multiple times. I have lived in Kansas, Colorado, California, and Oklahoma. I am in exile in the nations and my prayers are not always answered. It is what the prophecy said.

But here is the good news! Listen to what Jeremiah says is going to happen not only to Judah but to the House of Israel.

“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but, - As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.? For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.”

Jeremiah 16:14-15

This incredible prophecy says that all of Israel will one day leave the nations and return to the land of our fathers. This is called the “Greater Exodus.” This is not the only place where this is spoken. Jeremiah will repeat this prophecy in chapter 23. There, he specifically points out that the Messiah will be responsible for our return. Ezekiel speaks of the Messiah as the Great Shepherd who brings us back in chapter 34. Messiah Yeshua addressed this prophecy in John chapter 10.

These are the prophecies that religious Jews take issue with Yeshua of Nazareth. Because the church hijacked these prophecies, replacing the House of Israel, no proper answer has been given to my brethren. Even further, other groups have misappropriated these prophecies, such as those who espouse British-Israelism, the Mormons, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Most believers want nothing to do with the prophecies used by them since they do not want to be associated with them. This is why some Messianic Jewish leaders accuse two house teachers of teaching heresy. However, the prophecies are in the Bible and they are yet to be fulfilled. We must come to terms with them; this is why the teaching of the two houses of Israel is so important in our day. It is key to my Jewish brethren seeing who Yeshua is and what He is doing in our day concerning the Messianic Movement.

The manner and way the Messiah would accomplish this gathering of Judah and Israel is also prophesied. When Yeshua first came on the scene in Israel, He established His ministry in Galilee. Why didn't He go to Jerusalem and establish Himself there? Answer: Because the prophecy said that He would work first in the Galilee, in the land of Naphtali, because they were the first element of the House of Israel taken captive. Do you remember Yeshua saying, “I have come for the lost sheep of the House of Israel?” The prophecy said that they would see the “light” first. If someone is going to restore something, he must go to where the breach is at for repair. Yeshua did exactly that. But how was He to gather us from all the places where they have been scattered?

Jeremiah's prophecy says exactly that in the next verse.

“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I shall send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and from the clefts of the rocks.”

Jeremiah 16:16

Yeshua dispatched His disciples to the nations as the “fishers of men.” He was fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy. But what does Jeremiah say would be the characteristic of this gathering process just before the two houses are restored?

“For, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.” The Lord says, “I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.” Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, “For thus says the Lord, ‘I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace. Ask now, and see, If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it; and it is the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be saved from it.’”

Jeremiah 30:3-7

Jeremiah says that in the days prior to the restoration of the two houses of Israel it will be just like the story of Jacob and Esau. Do you remember how Jacob's family was in two companies? Do you remember how he was afraid and in terror? Look at Israel today.

Today, Israel is divided into two houses. The children of Leah (Judah) have crossed over into the land and are dealing with the descendants of Esau. There is conflict, terror, and dread. There is no peace. It is the time of Jacob's trouble. Even the rabbis in Israel have announced this publically.

Most Christians associate the term “Jacob's trouble” with the great tribulation. Its primary definition is not about the tribulation; it is about the conflict between the descendants of Jacob and Esau that precedes the reunion of Jacob's two companies (houses). It is about going back to the land after serving Uncle Laban (exiled in the nations).

Jeremiah describes Jacob's trouble as men holding their loins as in childbirth and all faces are pale. You see that every time a terrorist bomb explodes. In Israel, these are the days of Jacob's trouble. But note the final word of Jeremiah. “He will be saved from it.”

The prophet Ezekiel begins in chapter 35 describing the conflict with Esau. In chapter 36, he tells us more. By chapter 37, he tells us how the dry bones will be a nation again, moved by God's spirit. Then he says that he will unite Judah and Ephraim (the House of Israel) together as one stick (one olive tree).

“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions;’ then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’”

Ezekiel 37:16-19

Ezekiel continues and specifically states that the mountains of Israel (the west bank) is the target of return.

And say to them, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. And they will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.’”

Ezekiel 37:21-23

Ezekiel also says that the Messiah's return is connected with this return from captivity.

And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them. And they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant shall be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.

Ezekiel 37:24-28

The Apostle Paul used the olive tree word picture in Romans 11 to explain how the Gentiles are wild branches being grafted into the same olive tree that the broken branches (Judah and Ephraim) would be grafted into.

Ezekiel says in chapter 38 and 39 that a battle will be fought over the unwalled villages in the Samarian and Judean mountains of Israel (the Israeli settlements in the west bank). According to the prophecy, the battle will conclude in favor of Israel because the God of Israel will fight the battle. As a consequence, the Palestinians will be no more, the city of Damascus will be no more, the cities of Jordan will be no more. It will be stunning. Even the nations will say, “Surely, there is a God in the midst of Israel!” Even the Israelis will say, “Surely, there is a God in the midst of Israel!” But then something really spectacular will happen.

God will declare the exile of Israel to the nations as over and complete. It will be time for all of Israel (Judah and Ephraim) to return to the land of our fathers. Listen to Ezekiel's words on this in particular.

And I shall set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.

Ezekiel 39:21-24

Ezekiel gives this as a double prophecy (meaning that it is determined by God).

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I shall restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I shall be jealous for My holy name. And they shall forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 39:25-29

For Judah and Ephraim to be restored, we must also have the punishment of exile to the nations to be completed. God must declare the exile over. Yeshua said the exile would not be over until the Gospel is preached in all the nations until “the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.”

Look at what Paul had to say specifically.

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

Romans 11:25-27

“All Israel will be saved” is God's promise to bring all of Israel back from the nations. “The Deliverer will come from Zion” is the language of the greater exodus, when the Messiah will gather us all again. Paul quoted only one verse. There are many verses that speak of the Messiah's work of bringing us back to Zion. Here are a few more. They all speak of a return from captivity, a time of restoration, deliverance and salvation, just like the exodus out of ancient Egypt.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Psalms 14:7

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His captive people, Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalms 53:6

Isaiah has a lot to say about this subject, particularly when he speaks of the consolation of Israel.

And the ransomed [released from captivity] of the Lord will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 35:10; 51:11

However, let us turn again to the ancient story of Jacob crossing over into the land and being reconciled to Esau. Jacob wrestled that night with the Angel of the Lord. Some of the sages of Israel are willing to admit that Jacob was wrestling with the Messiah, thus Jacob called the place Penuel (the face of God). When you deal with the Messiah, you deal with the face of God. But what about the actual meeting with Esau. Didn't it turn out like one of those old Hollywood movies where they run toward each other, embrace, kiss, and live happily ever after? Not quite.

Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Genesis 33:4

It is true that Esau did not destroy Jacob or his family. But it was not happy ever after. In fact, Moses prophecies that by putting the “jots” above the letters in the word “kissed.” The kiss of Esau was not sincere or true. In fact, it is the kiss of death. Ever since, the descendants of Esau have attempted to kill the descendants of Jacob. Remember the Amalekites in the wilderness? They were the descendants of Esau. Remember Haman during the days of Esther? He was a descendant as well. There are also many of Israel today who believe that Hitler was his descendant as well. Do you remember that Esau was a hunter, and that Jacob dwelt with his tents as a shepherd? That is the other part of the prophecy in Jeremiah 16:16. Look at the verse again.

“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I shall send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and from the clefts of the rocks.”

Jeremiah 16:16

The prophecy of the hunters coming afterwards is Jeremiah referring to the latter conflict with the descendants of Esau (the hunters).

Now let's turn to Moses. He speaks prophetically to the conflict of Jacob and Esau in the last generation and concludes with his prophecy of the Greater Exodus.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 29:29

This is a very intriguing verse as Moses concludes the Torah and addresses the last generation. It almost jumps off the parchment when you see the same “jots” over the words “and to our sons forever.” This verse is connected to the Jacob and Esau story. The future sons of Moses will be part of the resolution with the descendants of Esau. For in them the whole conflict is embodied. This is also part of why the Scripture states multiple times, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

From this moment, Moses begins to describe the exodus of us all from the nations at the end of the ages.

So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

Deuteronomy 30:1-5

Clearly, this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. It is a promise of God, by the mouth of Moses. There are many more passages that describe this exodus. In particular, the entire teaching about the Great Tribulation and the second coming are about that exodus. You see… just when God says that it is time for us to return, another Pharaoh will arise (the antimessiah), and he will say, “I will not let the people go.”

The Great Tribulation is the fulfillment of all of the prophecies about our exodus through the wilderness. The judgments in the book of Revelation are parallel judgments to the ancient Egyptian exodus. In fact, the entire story of the Egyptian exodus is really a prophecy of what will happen to the last generation. Listen to how Paul described it.

Now these things [the exodus from Egypt] happened to them [our ancestors] as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come [the last generation].

I Corinthians 10:11

You want one good reason to study Torah? If you're a member of the last generation, your life and the lives of your family depend on it. Truly Moses said, “It is not an idle word for you. It is for your very survival, as it is this day.”

One of the teachings that come from the Torah for your very survival is the subject of Sukkot. Sukkot is the Hebrew expressions for the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles teaches you and your family how to survive in the coming Greater Exodus. It is based on that ancient story of Jacob and Esau again. After Jacob and Esau parted, guess where Jacob went?

And Jacob journeyed to Succoth; and built for himself a house, and made booths for his livestock, therefore the place is named Succoth.

Genesis 33:17

Why would the Bible give this little detail? Because your life depends on it.

In the Egyptian exodus, where did the children of Israel first camp?

Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses, and camped in Succoth.

Numbers 33:5

When the Messiah returns, what is the first thing we are going to do in Jerusalem with Him?

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah 14:16

Brethren, let me be very direct with you. Do you see a pattern here? Has the Holy Spirit peaked your attention on this? It is extremely important that we understand this point. What happens to the fathers will happen to the descendants. If you intend to escape, survive and endure the Great Tribulation you must understand that you will escape by a tent (a sukkah), and that safety will be in the camp of the righteous. Let me show you the promise from the Psalms.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

Psalms 91:5-10

You dwell in tents when you observe the Feast of Tabernacles.

This is probably why the last commandment that Moses emphasizes in his last discourse of the Torah is the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. It is of profound significance to the last generation.

So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts [when the Messiah ransoms us from the nations] , at the Feast of Booths [Sukkot], when all Israel [when all Israel is saved] comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place which He will choose [Jerusalem at His appearing], you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing [For the Torah shall go forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem].

Deuteronomy 31:9-11

I began this article by telling you the Jewish story of the dawn of the day. The sages of Israel say that watchmen were stationed at the temple each night. Only the watchmen who had the last watch and stayed awake had the joy of seeing the dawn of the day. This is what is meant by the words of Isaiah.

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when the Lord restores Zion.

Isaiah 52:8

We are standing the last watch of the generations. We must stay awake and keep watch. The promise of the dawn is true. We will see the Messiah gather the two houses of Israel and bring us back from the nations.

When a branch is grafted into a tree, it take three days to bond. When it takes hold, there is a technical term for this bond. It is called Zion.

YAVOH - He is Coming is a monthly newsletter published as an outreach ministry of Lion and Lamb Ministries.
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Editor - Monte Judah
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