In Nazarene Israel, we explained how the Christian people are the prophetic (and perhaps also the literal) descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Even though there has been a lot of grafting in and out (i.e., genetic drift) over time, the Protestant Christian people remain the only group on earth which fulfills all of the prophecies given over the Lost Ten Tribes.

 

Yeshua tells us that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’akov (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) in the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

 

As we explain in Nazarene Israel, one of the reasons that YHWH will call believers from both east and west is that YHWH loves all of mankind. He does not really care about our racial makeup; but about our spirit. He wants all of fallen Adam’s children to come to the knowledge of the truth; and that is why whosoever shall believe on His Son (to the point of obeying Torah) shall be saved. However, while we can look forward to the Millennial Kingdom being filled with people from every tribe, tongue and ethnic background, this does not mean that all of the nations of earth have been given the same roles to play, in prophecy.

As we discuss in Nazarene Israel (and as we will also discuss in Migrations: The Lost Ten Tribes), when the Ephraimites migrated northward and westward (by three separate migration routes) to what would later become Protestant northwestern Europe, the tribes as prophetic bodies each ended up aligned more-or-less with what later became the countries (or ethnic groups) of Europe, and/or their associated empires.

 

For example, the Tribe of Dan eventually became inter-mixed and in-grafted into the Germanic people. This is why there are names such as the Dan-ube River, Dan-mark (Denmark), and Gutenberg (Gut-dan-berg) in the areas settled by the ethnic Germans.

 

For another example, Holland is probably populated with the descendants of Zebulon, whose children were prophesied to dwell by the haven of the sea, and to become a haven for ships (Genesis 49:13).

 

As we discuss in Nazarene Israel, England is the modern-day prophetic representative of Manasseh, as the name Manasseh means, “He shall forget his toil, and (forget) his father’s house.” This is why the Industrial Revolution first came about in Britain: it was so the Manassites would forget their toil (due to the benefits of industrialization), and also forget their Father’s House (through such replacement-theologies as the heretical ‘British Israel’ thesis).

 

America, then, is the prophetic representative of the Tribe of Ephraim, which serves as the lead tribe in representing the House of Ephraim. America was England’s ‘younger brother,’ and became greater than the older (Genesis 48:19); and both the ex-British Empire and the Americans have become like a teeming multitude of fishes in the earth (Genesis 48:16).

While the tribal affiliations were originally pure, they are all-scrambled-up today, particularly for those who live in the New World. Many people therefore concern themselves with questions as to ‘which tribe they might belong to,’ but as we will explain elsewhere, such questions are not really important. Ezekiel 47-48 tells us that when the Ephraimites come back to the Land (after a victorious war with Islam), tribal affiliations will be re-assigned based upon the geographical location into which one settles (rather than upon any question of race, ethnicity, or genetic heritage).

 

And yet, these finer points of Scripture are generally ignored by the Muslims, who consider that the Jews and the Christians are really just two halves of the same whole (i.e., ‘people of the Book’). This is one reason why the Islamic nations call America the ‘Great Satan,’ and Israel the ‘Little Satan.’ This is also why the Islamic war-cry is, “First the Saturday people, (and) then the Sunday people:” they see scant little difference between Christians and Jews.

 

Islamic animosity towards the Jews and the Christians is not really a secret. Islamic law dictates that every human being must convert to Islam, or else be put to death as an ‘infidel.’ This militant theology is the cause of the repeated Muslim attacks on Israel and against the United States, in such incidents as the 9-1-1 Tragedy, the Achille Lauro, the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, the terrorist attack in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, and many, many more.

 

The truth is that Islam has already essentially declared war on both Israel and America, and the only thing restraining them from attacking us at this time is their lack of adequate means. However, Islamic nuclear scientists are working diligently to close this gap.

But who are the Muslim people? Where do they come from? And why do they seem so implacably hostile towards both Jews and Christians alike?

 

We have already seen that the Book of Genesis is prophetic, in that the events listed in Genesis recur throughout Scripture (and history). Notice, then, that Genesis Sixteen tells us that when Sarah was not able to bear children unto Avraham, she asked Avraham to impregnate her maidservant Hagar, so that maybe she (Sarah) would obtain children by her (Hagar). Avraham did so, but then, when Hagar conceived, she began to despise Sarah (here called Sarai).

 

 

 

But what should we learn from this? Why would it be important to know that Hagar despised Sarah (Sarai)?

As we also saw in Nazarene Israel, Genesis One tells us that living beings reproduce after their own kinds.

 

 

 

Since living beings reproduce after their own kinds, it should follow that Hagar’s descendants would tend to despise Sarah’s children (i.e., the Jews and the Christians/Ephraimites). This is in fact what we do see.

 

As another witness, Scripture also tells us that Hagar’s son was named Ishmael; and that he scoffed at the great festival that Avraham threw, in honor of the weaning of Sarah’s son Yitzhak (Isaac).

 

 

 

But how do we know that the Muslim peoples are really the Ishmaelites? Well, for one thing, the Muslims claim to descend from Ishmael; and according to Scripture, self-identification with a given religious belief set is what actually determines one’s Scriptural nationality.

[Let us note that when the Assyrians took the Ephraimites out of the Land, the next generations of Ephraimites no longer self-identified as Ephraimites. Instead, they began self-identifying as Assyrians, and so they became Assyrians (i.e., ‘gentiles’). Then, as the dispersed Ephraimites no longer lived in the Land, no longer spoke Hebrew and no longer kept the Torah, the Jewish rabbis rightly ruled that they could no longer be called Ephraimites; but that they should now be called ‘gentiles,’ seeing as they no longer behaved anything like YHWH’s covenant people Israel.]

 

Other passages confirm that the Islamic people really do descend from Ishmael. For example, one more-or-less direct link is how Esau married one of Ishmael’s daughters, named Mahalath (also called Basemath in Genesis 36:4).

 

 

 

We are also told that Esau is Edom, and Edom’s historical territorial homeland lies just east of the present-day Land of Israel, in what is now modern-day (Islamic) Jordan.

 

 

 

Scripture tells us that the Ishmaelites are not the Covenant People, in that the Promise was to come through Ya’akov (Jacob). However, Elohim did give Ishmael blessings of great physical multiplicity.

 

 

 

Verse 20 tells us that Ishmael would beget twelve princes, and there are twelve Arabic (Ishmaeli) nations in which Islamic law is woven into the fabric of society. These are Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and etcetera.

However, if we saw that Ishmael, Esau and Edom can all be equated with Islam, then we should also take special notice that Esau was a hunter.

 

 

 

Jeremiah 31, then, tells us that America is only a temporary resting stop for the House of Ephraim, before he is brought back to the Land.

 

 

 

But if America is only a temporary resting stop (i.e., the place where Ephraim finally comes to his senses), Jeremiah 16 tells us that first YHWH would send for many fishermen, to bring the Ephraimites back home; and then (when that did not work) YHWH would send for many hunters (to drive His people back home).

 

And, if Esau is a hunter, Scripture also tells us that Ishmael (i.e., the Muslim people) was an archer.

 

 

 

If the fishermen are perhaps the Nazarenes, then the hunters are the Islamic peoples (Ishmael/Islam), who are now in the process of developing nuclear and chemical weapons. This is a problem, in that we saw how these archers are prophesied to “bitterly grieve” both America and the ex-British Empire (who are Ephraim and Manasseh, respectively).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But if we can see that the Land of Israel will one day be greatly expanded, then the question remains, how will these lands ultimately become annexed by the present day State of Israel? The answer probably lies in the fact that Scripture calls for the United States and Israel to fight together against a common Islamic foe. 

 

We have already seen how Prophecy calls for the Muslims to attack the descendants of the House of Joseph (i.e., America, and possibly Britain, and others).

 

Zechariah tells us that Judah and Joseph (essentially Israel and America, and possibly Great Britain and/or elements of the old British Empire) will fight together (and win) against a common Muslim foe.

 

Verse 10 tells us that the Ephraimites will be brought into Gilead (which is in northwestern Jordan, and possibly also southern Syria) and into Lebanon, until no more room is found for them. This alone speaks of an influx of millions of people.

 

We should ask ourselves: where will the people who are presently occupying Lebanon and Gilead go? Assuming we are talking about displacing all of the residents of those countries, what kind of an outrage will those nations need to commit before the (basically pacifistic and forgiving) Jewish and American peoples encourage their governments to commit what amounts essentially either to ethnic supplantation, or genocide?

 

To answer this question, let us take a look at some more prophecies. As we have already seen, Isaiah speaks of a war in which Israel and America will fight together, to conquer a common Islamic foe in the Gaza Strip, and in Jordan.

 

 

It is well-known in intelligence circles that while Jordan pretends to be militarily neutral, in truth, Jordan serves as a quiet supply conduit for Saudi arms, ammunition and explosives. Not only that, but it also provides a safe haven and training grounds for more than one Islamic terror group.

 

Remembering that Zechariah and Isaiah prophesy the conquest of Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and the Gaza Strip, and given the fact that the Islamic world has been promising for years to attack America and the West with nuclear weapons, how difficult is it to believe that the fulfillment of the prophecies in Isaiah and Zechariah will involve an Islamic attack on the U.S.? 

 

Remembering the public furor over the 9-1-1 incident, what kind of response might one expect from America if she were attacked with nuclear weapons? And if it were discovered that these nuclear attacks were staged from Muslim facilities in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, how soon would the average voter demand that his government do whatever is necessary to annex the offending countries to Israel, so that no further Islamic nuclear attacks could ever again arise from these countries?

 

We do not know if our scenario is the one that YHWH will ultimately use to expand the Millennial Land or not: it is just one plausible scenario that seems to fit with all of the prophecies, as well as with the daily news.

However, given the fact that the Muslim world promises to attack the United States with weapons of mass destruction, and given the fact that the Islamic world is working hard to accomplish this goal, how realistic is an Islamic nuclear attack on the United States within the next twenty or thirty years? And when this nuclear attack finally takes place, how reasonable is it that the American people would support annexation of all of the offending territories to the State of Israel?

 

If these things seem plausible (particularly in light of the fact that Prophecy predicts them), then we should note that the first thing any country needs when it annexes new lands, is settlers. Without settlers, newly won lands soon revert to enemy control. But then, from where will these settlers come? That is, who would want to relocate to the Land of Israel?

 

Clearly, it is the Ephraimites who would want to go back to the Land of Israel.

 

Remembering that Ezekiel 36 tells us that Ephraim will not return to the Land in a perfectly pure state, we cannot assume that the Ingathering will consist entirely of doctrinally-correct Nazarene Israelites from the Stick of Ephraim. There will be a Stick of Ephraim, and there will be some doctrinally-correct settlers, to be sure, but there will also be a ‘House of Israel,’ his companions.

 

Who is this “House of Israel” but the Christian Church, running the full gamut all the way from the replacement theological Catholic Church of Rome to the Messianic organizations? No Catholic, Protestant or Messianic organization keeps the full Torah; and these will accompany the Stick of Ephraim back home to the Land of Israel.

 

This is also why the House of Israel will loathe itself for its iniquities, and its abominations, is that it has taught something less than the full Torah.

 

 

 

In his flesh, man is basically lazy, and he does not do anything unless he sees a need. That being the case, why would the Ephraimite people leave the comfort and safety of America, and go to a land that will lie in ruins in the wake of a major war?

 

We can only guess as to why the Ephraimites will want to leave all the comforts and safety of home, but one reason might be that it may no longer be quite so comfortable, or safe. The Ephraimites originally came to America to escape persecution, and it seems likely that YHWH will re-create persecution, in order to get Ephraim to want to go home.

As the Harry Potter generation continues to come into voting age, and as Americans continue to turn away from the same Judeo-Christian traditions that originally made America great, how likely is it that those who truly believe in His Word would elect to settle in the newly annexed territories, if it meant they could live out their faith without persecution?

 

In the wake of a major war in which the Americans and their allies helped Israel to overcome their Islamic foes, how likely would the Israelis be to open their doors to American and allied Christian settlement, especially seeing as they will need to occupy these newly annexed lands with someone; and why not with the same people who just stood by them in a war?

 

Christian groups continue to build political alliances within Israel, to the extent that the Christians have even established a political association within the Knesset itself. Further, the Israeli public is finally becoming aware of their longstanding persecution of Christianity within their own borders.  Israelis are starting to ask why they allow virtually any kind of Jew to immigrate to the Land of Israel, except believers in Yeshua.

 

And how likely will Judah be to accept his Messiah, when he sees that the country that just helped him win a regional war with Islam (i.e., America) is also the home of the Ephraimite people; and that the Ephraimite people have also gathered themselves together and taken a Stick, just as Ezekiel foretold?

 

 

 

While it is true that Zionism was first founded upon the desire to escape from Christian persecution, the world of today differs considerably from the world of 1896 (or even the world of 1948). Religious and non-religious Israelis alike were startled when America’s Protestant Christians threatened to turn President George W. Bush out of office, if he failed to adequately support Israel in the Palestinian conflict. 

 

Moreover, the average Israeli is becoming aware that the reason that America has so long stood by Israel is principally because of its Christians. Although the official immigration policy in Israel is still against allowing believers in Yeshua to come into the Land in any form, this policy is beginning to come under widespread criticism in the Land. Many Israelis are starting to ask why their establishment is so steadfastly against belief in Yeshua, and yet the doors for immigration are open to Jews of any other religious persuasion (including witchcraft, Buddhism, Hinduism and even Satanism). The average man on the street in Israel is starting to wonder how his nation can justify a continued policy of discrimination against the same people who have supported their nation through more than a half a century of Muslim onslaught.

 

If Judah and Joseph fight together successfully, how difficult would it be for the average Israeli to allow American Christians to settle in his land? Zechariah clearly says that a ‘mixed race’ (which is an apt description of Ephraim) will settle in Ashdod (which lies just south of Tel Aviv, but north of the Gaza Strip).

 

 

And perhaps speaking of a metaphorical (spiritual) land of Egypt and Assyria, YHWH tells us that those of Ephraim will be gathered in from far countries.

 

 

 

What is so exciting is that these days appear to be close at hand. And, while we do not know whether it will take place before, during or after the Ingathering, Zechariah also tells us that YHWH will pour out a spirit of supplication and prayer, and cause Judah to realize that Yeshua really is the Messiah.

 

 

At whatever point it takes place, once it becomes clear to Judah that the Ephraimites are coming out from Christendom, and that the reason for Joseph’s return to the Covenant is precisely his faith in Yeshua, the average Jew will no longer be able to escape the inevitable conclusion that Yeshua really is the Messiah: the Anointed One who regathers the lost and the scattered of Israel.

 

With both houses believing on Yeshua, with the War(s) of Territorial Expansion successfully won and the Two Houses restored to the Land, at some point there will also be a Religious Unification, and Nazarene Israel will be established as the official religion of the Millennial Land. We can also expect to see the joint electoral head mentioned in Hosea 2:2 (Hosea 1:11 in English versions) be inaugurated, whether he be called a president, a prime minister, or whatever other title.

 

The faith for which Yeshua was crucified from before the foundations of the world will ultimately prevail, and the Two Houses shall come together. However, lest we forget: before Ephraim can go home, he must meet certain legal pre-requisites. Until Ephraim comes back together and forms the Stick (or Nation) of Ephraim, the Ingathering cannot take place.

 

There are those who are confident that since it is YHWH’s Word, His Word shall be accomplished, with or without any help from us humans. And, while this is certainly the case, it is also true that YHWH has His eyes on us all. He knows who is working to help fulfill His prophetic Word, and who is sacrificing to help establish His Son’s empire here on earth, and who is not; and He promises to repay each according to his works.

 

We will talk about what Ephraim has to do to fulfill his part of the bargain in the final chapters of this book: but before we do that, first let us clarify what happens to us after we go to stand before the throne, and our deeds (good, bad, or nonexistent) are recounted.