The Final Redemption of the 12 Tribes

Genesis 47:28, The Jewish sages recognize that this final portion of Genesis chronicles Jacob’s wish to reveal to his sons prophetic understandings pertaining to Israel’s long and numerous exiles, culminating in the final redemption (return of Israel from her exile in “Babylon” at the end of the age prior to the return of Messiah at which time the two houses of Israel will be reunited under Messiah Son of David). Jacob states this in 49:1 when he gives his prophecies relating to what will befall his sons “in the last days.” Prior to the establishment of the Messianic Age (Millennium) all Israel would go into a time of darkness, gloom and exile. The sages teach that this idea is implicated in the fact that the Torah scroll fails to place the customary nine spaces between the last word of the previous parashah and the first word of the present one. There is only a one space gap in Hebrew letters which predicts the “closing in” of Israel as they go into exile and captivity in Egypt.

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Here’s an excerpt from a larger, yet unpublished, article on the timing of the return of the 12 tribes to the land of Israel in the last days. This extract deals with the concept of redemption in Israel’s long history, and specifically with the final redemption of the last days.

I hope you enjoy this Shabbat-day study.

The Repeating Paradigm of Israel’s Redemption

Biblically, the concept of the return of exiled and scattered Israel (including Ephraim) to the land of Israel is tied to the idea of redemption. Biblically, the concept of redemption involves a stronger person (the redeemer) intervening on behalf of a weaker person (the enslaved, i.e., the one needing redemption), defeating the captor of the slave thus allowing the enslaved to go free.

The first biblical example of this process occurred when Elohim redeemed Israel out of Egypt. The biblical prophets compared this first exodus to a greater, or second exodus that is yet to occur in the future. In Jewish thought, the exodus out of Egypt is called the first redemption, yet the biblical prophets also speak of Israel going into captivity again — this time not to Egypt, but into the exile of the nations. From this place of exile and spiritual enslavement, Elohim promises to redeem Israel from slavery again, but this time in the last days. The Jewish sages refer to this momentous event as the final redemption.

In the prophecies of the Bible and in Jewish thought, the concept of the final redemption is synonymous with the idea of a second or greater exodus of Israel from its exile in the nations of the world. According to the Jewish sages, and based on their understanding of the biblical prophecies, this redemption of the tribes of Israel (including the ten northern tribes) will occur at the end of 6000 years, which they refer to as the Age of Messiah. This is to occur just prior to a time period they refer to as the Messianic Age, which the Book of Revelation says will last 1000 years, and which believers in Yeshua refer to as the Millennium.

 Again, the concept of the final redemption has its origin in the promises of Deuteronomy 30:1–10 where we read (in summary):

YHVH your Elohim [will] … gather you from all the nations, whither YHVH your Elohim has scattered you. If any of you be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will YHVH your Elohim gather you, and from thence will he fetch you, and YHVH your Elohim will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it…

The Jewish sages teach, again based on their understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures, that the following notable events will occur in conjunction with the final redemption:

  • There will be an ingathering of the dispersed remnant of Israelite exiles to the land of Israel including both the exiles of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom and those of the southern kingdom of Israel (comprised of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and part of Levi, collectively known as the Jews) from the lands where they have been scattered.
  • Messiah Son of David will assume rulership over the earth and the Messianic Age will be established upon this earth for 1000 years. The Torah will be imposed as the law of the earth.
  • King David will rule over a reunited Israel (i.e., the tabernacle of David).
  • The resurrection of the dead will occur at the coming of the Messiah.

The biblical prophets and Jewish sages view Israel’s redemption from Egypt as a precursor, antetype or prophetic model of Israel’s final redemption in the end times and as one of the events accompanying the coming of the Messiah Son of David. In Christianity, this is known as the second coming of Jesus (i.e., Yeshua).

As an aspect of the final redemption, an obvious question must be asked. How long will the regathering of scattered Israel back to their land take? Is the “day of YHVH’s wrath” a litteral day, or a time period, since the Hebrew word for day (yom) can mean both? The prophet Isaiah may give us a clue. In several places, he mentions “the day of YHVH’s vengenace” (or words to this effect). This is the time period when YHVH will judge the nations including Babylon the Great, which occurs at Yeshua’s second coming (see Rev 18 and 19). In three places, Isaiah indicates that the day of YHVH will last for one year (Isa 34:8; 61:2 and 63:4). Interestingly, in Isaiah 63:4, the prophet couples the idea of the day of YHVH’s vengeance being a year long with the jubilee year — “the year of my redeemed has come.” This occurs as the Messiah (the subject of Isa 63:1–6) judges the enemies of Israel (notably Edom) as he is at the same time about to redeem (i.e., regather and return scattered Israel to its Promised Land inheritance.) It appears that while Yeshua is judging Israel’s enemies at his second coming, he will at the same time be regathering the lost and scattered 12 tribes of Israel, a process that will take no longer than a year.

Following the example of the first redemption where Israel was delivered by the strong arm of YHVH the Redeemer, the biblical prophets and Jewish sages do not explain exactly how Israel will be redeemed the second time, but simply that she will be redeemed by the strong arm of YHVH when he defeats her enemies, sets her free and allows her to make her way to the Promised Land, as occurred in the first redemption of ancient Israel. Her being set free will involve mighty and divine judgments against Israel’s captors. As Israel was not set free from Egypt through her own efforts, except by having faith in YHVH and leaving Egypt when he opened the door, there is every indication in the biblical prophecies that the same will occur in the final redemption. As we shall discuss below, the people of Israel will first need to recognize that they are Israel, that they have turned from YHVH and his Torah, and that they need to repent of their sin and return to YHVH and the Torah.

While the Jewish sages view the final redemption as a precursory event to the coming of the Messiah at the end of the age, Yeshua and the apostolic writers teach us that this process of the redemption of mankind actually began with the first coming of Yeshua, and will continue until his second coming—a process that has been going on for 2000 years! This process can be summarized as follows:

  • The final redemption of Ephraim began 2000 years ago when ten men of nations took hold of the fringes of a Jew (Zech 8:23). As we have already noted, Ephraim is a biblical colloquialism for the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel whose biological and/or grafted-in descendants largely comprise the Christian peoples of the earth today. The ten men of the nations is a prophetic reference to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel) who Elohim sent into captivity and who became scattered among the Gentile nations. This Jew, to which Zechariah makes reference, was Yeshua, the Messiah who declared that he and his disciples were sent to regather the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:6; 15:24), and whose gospel message has been going out to the nations of the world for 2000 years now. So, in reality, the final redemption started with the ministry of Yeshua and, in reality, has been going on for two millennia.
  • This redemption process, which involves the restoration of all things and the turning of the hearts of the children back to the fathers of their faith just before the day of YHVH’s wrath, started in the 20th century and is picking up pace as more and more Christians are returning to the Hebraic roots of their faith.

The idea of the final redemption is tied to the biblical concept of Israel’s first exodus from Egypt and her future second exodus from the nations of the world. Let’s now examine the prophecies that pertain to this second exodus.

 

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