Tag Archives: Manasseh

Who are the modern descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh?

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One clue to answer the question: It’s not the Jews!

Genesis 46:14 and 16, Jacob’s Prophecy Over Ephraim and Manasseh

While prophesying over Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob crossed his hands over their heads making the symbol of the Paleo-Hebrew letter tav  (like the letter t or x in the alphabet), which resembles a cross and in that ancient Hebraic script and according to some Hebrew scholars pictographically means “sign of the covenant.” Jacob then spoke of the Heavenly Messenger (the Hebrew word malak mistranslated as “angel” in most Bibles) of YHVH (i.e. the preincarnate Yeshua) who had redeemed him from all evil (see Gen 31:11–13). Jacob then prophesied that the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh would become like “fish in the midst of the land” (literal translation of Gen 48:14–16; see The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach).

In light of this prophetic symbolism, which present day religious group would qualify as having fulfilled Jacob’s prophecy as to who the descendents of Ephraim and Manasseh would be? Which religion on earth uses the fish as their symbol, speaks of a Messenger from YHVH as their Redeemer, and has the sign of the Paleo-Hebrew letter tav, which looks like a cross? The Buddhists? The Moslems? The Hindus? Even the Jews? No! Only Christianity fits this enigmatic criteria. Many Christians are without a doubt the literal descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh. Those who are not, according to the Paul the apostle, once they come to saving faith in Yeshua in some unique sense become the descendants of Abraham (e.g. Gal 3:7, 29). Many of these unsaved descendants of Abraham will recognize Yeshua their Messiah on the day that he returns to Jerusalem (e.g. Zech 12:10).

Which nation on earth is without a doubt still the greatest Christian nation? It is the United States of America. Having an understanding of how Jacob’s prophecy to Ephraim and Manasseh was fulfilled is the first piece of the puzzle in identifying America in Bible prophecy.

 

Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh & Benjamin in End Times Prophecy

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Here are a few of my thoughts on who Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin represent in end times Bible prophecy.

In studying the Jewish sages of old, I am amazed at how prescient they were about end time events. They gained this understanding often as they studied the lives of notable biblical characters.The sages had the strong sense that history would repeat itself— often again and again for the people of Elohim. This they observed in the cyclical patterns of Israel’s own history where YHVH gave them the truth, they remained faithful to it for a while, and turned from it, were punished and then returned to Elohim only to have the cycle repeat itself again and again.

As I have studied their method of predicting the future based on past events in Israel’s history, this has led me to some of my own speculations, which I present to you below.

Joseph as ruler1

There is much more to learn on this subject and I try to remain teachable.

Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh Antetypical of Christianity

Joseph’s wife was the daughter of an Egyptian priest. Jospeh married into the religious system of Egypt. He is a picture of Christian church, which has married itself to Babylon by syncretizing itself with certain pagan traditions and belief systems. Joseph is a picture of the end time lukewarm church. Ephraim and Manasseh were products of the union of Joseph (an Israelite) and Potifera (an Egyptian). Though they were Israelite, they were genetically a mixture of both Israelite and Egyptian blood. In fact, they resembled Egypt so much that Jacob, when blessing them, didn’t even recognize who they were. They were strangers to him. Though they were spiritual mulattos, their spiritual destiny was to identify wholly with their Israelite heritage, which would necessitate their renunciation of their Egyptian ties. In the end times, YHVH is calling Christians to renounce the pagan ties they Continue reading →

 

Think Globally; Act Locally

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Genesis 48:19, Multitude of nations. What do the Jewish sages say about this prophetic verse pertaining to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh?

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Ibn Ezra declares that many nations will descend from him, since the word many is the Hebrew word melo meaning “fullness,” and connotes abundance. The phrase literally means “and his seed will become the abundance of the nation” ([Neter; Karnei Or]; The ArtScroll Bereishis/Genesis Commentary, p. 2121)

R. Avraham b. HaRambam somewhat similarly states that the expression denotes abundant profligacy to a point that they will have to inhabit lands of other nations it is an allusion to Ephraim’s expansive territory (Ibid.).

The Radak says that this refers to the exile when the lands of others will be filled with his scattered descendants … See also Hos 7:8: “Ephraim shall be mingled among the nations. (Ibid.)

What kind of blessing was this prediction that one day his descendants—the ten tribes—would be scattered among the nations? R. Munk explains: while it is true that the dispersion was caused by the unfaithfulness and sinfulness of Ephraim’s descendants (Hos 7:8ff), Jacob’s blessing was not in vain for “they will return to God” and will have their share in the world to come (Sanhedrin 110b). And R. Eliezer adds: “Even the darkness in which the Ten Tribes were lost will one day become as radiant as the day’ (according to the version of Avos d’Rabbi Nosson 36). And in the perspective of history, did not these exiled children of the Patriarchs enlighten the nations among whom they were scattered? They did so by teaching their conquerors the fundamental ideas of the knowledge and love of God, ideals they had never forsaken. Hence they too have a messianic vocation and their Messiah the … Messiah son of Joseph (Succah 52a), also called Messiah son of Ephraim (Targum Yonasan on Exod 40:11), will play an essential role in humanity’s redemption, for he will be the precursor of the … Messiah Son of David …” (Ibid., pp. 2121–2122).

Can you better see in Jacob’s prophecies over the sons of Joseph and the resulting rabbinic interpretations of those prophecies foretelling the Messianic or Hebrew roots movement (within the Christian church) of the final days?

This movement will be instrumental in bringing the Christians (many of whom are descendants of Joseph’s sons) back to their spiritual Hebrew (or Book of Acts) roots as part of the restoration of all things before Messiah Yeshua, the Son of David, returns (Acts 3:21).

The Book of Revelation prophesies the last days Hebrew roots movement when it declares that the end-time saints will be those who have the message of the gospel or the faith and testimony of Yeshua the Messiah and who keep YHVH’s Torah-commandments (the Torah or instructions of YHVH given to Moses and Israel at Mount Sinai, Rev 12:17 and Rev 14:12).

Yeshua sent his disciples out to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:6; Acts 1:6–8). If you’re a disciple of Yeshua, what can you be doing to help bring in the lost scattered  sheep of Israel to Yeshua?

Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker which says, “Think globally; act locally.” I don’t know what folks who place this on their cars mean by this, but maybe we could co-opt this phrase with regards to helping to gather in the lost sheep of Israel. (By the way, it is one of the goals of this blog and the ministry behind it to help to do just that.)

Please pray and ask YHVH through his Spirit to lead and guide you to be his profitable servant in helping to gather in the lost sheep of Israel.

 

Prophetic Shadows in Joseph’s Life (pt 4)

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This final post in this series on the life of Joseph is a little longer than the others, but stay with it to the end.  It’ll be worth the time to read it in that your understanding of end-times prophecy with regard to the Jewish and Christian people will be greatly expanded. Enjoy!

Joseph’s Brothers Didn’t Recognize Him as Their Brother (Gen 42:6, 8)

Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him, though he recognized them. This is prophetic of what would happen between the brothers in the future—they again wouldn’t recognize each other.

To understand how this scenario would play out prophetically,  we have to know who Joseph’s descendants would become. Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons (Gen 41:50–52) would not only become whole nations or people-groups, but would become the leaders of other nations as well (see Ezek 37:16; Hos 6:10; 11:12; 2 Chr  30:1, 10–11).

Prophetically speaking, as Judah (the leader and spokesman of the brothers and whose descendants are the modern-day Jews didn’t recognize Joseph, so the Jews have not recognized Joseph’s descendants—the house of Ephraim—who constitute a major portion of the lost sheep of the house of Israel today (Matt 10:6; 15:24). The Jewish sages have long recognized that their Ephraimite brothers (along with those from the other tribes who had forgotten their identity) are scattered and will someday return by the divine hand of the Almighty and in fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies. For example, Jewish teacher Jacob Immanual Schochet acknowledges that through the efforts of the Messiah, the ingathering of the exiles, including the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom, will occur, and they will be reunited with Judah and together the whole house of Israel will serve YHVH as stated in Ezekiel 20:32–37, 40–42. The Talmud (the Jewish oral law) confirms this view position and states that the ten lost tribes will return to the land of Israel at the end of the age in conjunction with the coming of the Messiah to be reunited with their Jewish brothers.

Joseph’s Brothers Didn’t Recognize Him as Their Savior (Gen 42–44)

Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize that Joseph was their savior (from famine). Prophetically, and in our time, most Jews neither recognize Christians (the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh) as their brothers, nor that the Jesus of Christianity is their Savior who will supply spiritual food for which their hearts are longing (but not finding in rabbinical Judaism), but that he died to redeem them from their sins.

The Scriptures prophecy that this spiritual blindness would occur to many of the children of Israel, including the Jews. We read about this in Isaiah 8:14 and Romans 11:25.

The Concept of Deliverance Through Substitution (Gen 42:17–19, 24)

Joseph made known to his brothers a way of deliverance through substitution in that they would all be saved if Simeon were held back for ransom.

Continuing our comparison between Joseph and Yeshua, Continue reading →

 

Prophetic Types and Shadows in the Life of Joseph (Pt 1)

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Joseph and Judah (the Two Houses of Israel)

In what follows, we will see types and shadows that point to the end-time reunification of the two houses of Israel (Joseph/Ephraim and Judah/the Jews), and to Yeshua the Messiah whose role it would be to regather and reunite the two houses of Israel by laying his life down as a ransom or substitute for his brothers. In this study, we will discuss the following themes:

  • reuniting lost family members
  • reconciliation and healing of wounds and offenses between families
  • forgiveness of past wrongs, offenses and misunderstandings
  • prophetic shadows of Yeshua the Messiah

Let’s now analyze the events in the life of Joseph (and to a lesser degree, Judah) as they occurred chronologically to see how they pointed forward to events that would occur in the future including the end times.

Joseph Taken as Captive to a Gentile Nation (Gen 37)

Joseph was sold into slavery and taken as a captive to Egypt. Similarly and prophetically, Joseph’s descendants (Ephraim and Manasseh), along with their fellow tribesmen of the northern kingdom of Israel (or house of Israel), were taken as captives into Assyria (ca. 723 B.C.). From there they were scattered around the world (into spiritual “Egypt,” ) where the  biblical prophets predicted they would remain until the final regathering at the end of the age (just prior to and at the coming of Messiah). We will understand this more as we proceed.

Joseph: From Slave to Ruler (Gen 37, 41)

At first, Joseph was a slave and a prisoner in Egypt, but then he prospered and was elevated to a position of leadership there. Likewise, in the future, Joseph’s descendants (Ephraim, Manasseh, and the rest of the house of Israel) would start out as slaves and captives in Assyria (in the eighth century b.c.), but would later become leaders and rulers in their captive nations and would actually have their own nations just as Jacob prophesied would occur to Ephraim and Manasseh (that they would become a multitude of nations, Gen 48:19). We believe that these nations have become the primary Christian nations (of which America is the leader). As we shall see below, the ancient Jewish sages, based on their understanding of the Scriptures, foresaw that the nations of the ten tribes would spread the truth of Messiah Son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant (Yeshua the Messiah at his first coming) around the world. This would help to prepare the way for the Messiah Son of David (Yeshua the Messiah at his second coming).

How do we know that many people in the major Christian nations would be the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh? The answer is found in understanding the prophecy that Jacob made on his death bed over Joseph’s two sons. Continue reading →

 

Jacob’s Prophecy to the Christians (pt 3)

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48:18, Multitude of nations. What do the Jewish sages say about this prophetic verse pertaining to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh?

Ibn Ezra: Many nations will descend from him (i.e., the word TKN/mem-lamed-aleph [melo], fullness, connotes abundance, the phrase meaning: And his seed will become the abundance of the nation [Neter; Karnei Or].) (The ArtScroll Bereishis/Genesis Commentary p. 2121)

R[abbi] Avraham b. HaRambam somewhat similarly: The expression denotes abundant profligacy to a point that they will have to inhabit lands of other nations it is an allusion to Ephraim’s expansive territory (Ibid.).

Radak: This refers to the Exile when the lands of others will be filled with his scattered descendants … See also Hos 7:8: “Ephraim shall be mingled among the nations. (Ibid.)

What kind of blessing was this prediction that one day his descendants—the Ten Tribes—would be scattered among the nations?

R. Munk explains: while it is true that the dispersion was caused by the unfaithfulness and sinfulness of Ephraim’s descendants (Hos 7:8ff), Jacob’s blessing was not in vain for “they will return to God” and will have their share in the world to come (Sanhedrin 110b). And R. Eliezer adds: “Even the darkness in which the Ten Tribes were lost will one day become as radiant as the day’ (according to the version of Avos d’Rabbi Nosson 36). And in the perspective of history, did not these exiled children of the Patriarchs enlighten the nations among whom they were scattered? They did so by teaching their conquerors the fundamental ideas of the knowledge and love of God, ideals they had never forsaken. Hence they too have a messianic vocation and their Messiah the. … Messiah son of Joseph (Succah 52a), also called Messiah son of Ephraim (Targum Yonasan on Exod 40:11), will play an essential role in humanity’s redemption, for he will be the precursor of the … Messiah Son of David …” (Ibid., pp. 2121–2122).

Can you better see in Jacob’s prophecies over the sons of Joseph and the resulting rabbinic interpretations of those prophecies foretelling the Messianic/Hebrew roots movement (within the Christian church) of the final days? Can you see how this movement would (will) be instrumental in bringing the Christians (many of whom are descendants of Joseph’s sons) back to their Hebrew and Jewish (Book of Acts) roots as part of the restitution/restoration of all things before Messiah Yeshua, the Son of David, returns (Acts 3:21)?

Does not the Book of Revelation prophesy the last days Hebrew roots movement? Read Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 that states that the end-time saints will be those who have the message of the gospel or the faith and testimony of Yeshua the Messiah and who keep YHVH’s Torah-commandments (the Torah or instructions of YHVH given to Moses and Israel at Mount Sinai).

 

Jacob’s Prophecy to the Christians (pt 2)

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48:16, Multitude in the midst of the earth. The ArtsScroll Stone Edition Tanakh translates this verse as follows:

“‘May the angel who redeems me from all evil bless the lads, and may my name be declared upon them, and the names of my forefathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they [Ephraim and Manasseh] proliferate abundantly like fish within the land.’

Onkelos renders this verse as follows:

‘And like the fish of the sea may they multiply among the children of men on earth’ … The literal translation of VDS/dalet-gimel-hey [dagah] refers to procreation … [and] the word essentially denotes fish (The ArtScroll Bereishis/Genesis Commentary p. 2117, emphasis added).

What religious group on earth today has spread out across the face of the earth into all nations and has proliferated a message of Redemption pertaining to a Messenger of YHVH involving a cross-symbol resembling the ancient paleo-Hebrew letter tav and a fish symbol?