Tag Archives: End-Times Prophecy

What the Jewish Sages Say About the Second Exodus

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The Jewish Sages Affirm That Ephraim Will Return to the Land of Israel (along with the Jews/Judah) in the End Times

The biblical prophets predicted that all the tribes of Israel (including the ten tribes of the northern kingdom or Ephraim) would be scattered to other lands outside of Israel, and that YHVH would regather them in the last days and return them to the land of Israel. This has also been the dominant belief of the Jewish sages as recorded in their writings and in their oral traditions including the Talmud. For example, the Scriptures tells us about the scattering of the twelve tribes,

And YHVH rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land [eretz acheret], as it is this day.” (Deut 29:28)

The Babylonian Talmud, in Yevamot 17a (written ca. A.D. 500, The Soncino Talmud) confirms this when it states,

“[T]hey had declared them [i.e., the ten tribes of Israel, see rabbinic footnote below]19 to be perfect heathens [or gentiles]; as it is said in the Scriptures, ‘They have dealt treacherously against YHVH, for they have begotten strange children.’”
A rabbinic footnote on this passage states, (19) ‘The ten tribes; (20) Hos 5:7.’”

The ArtScroll Tanach Series Bereishis/Genesis (an Orthodox Jewish commentary on Genesis) states, regarding Genesis 48:19, quoting Orthodox Jewish sage of the Middle Ages, Ibn Ezra:

Many nations will descend from him [Ephraim]. That is, the word, fullness, melo, connotes ‘abundance,’ the phrase meaning: ‘and his seed will become the abundance of the nations’ (Neter; Karnei Or, p. 2121).

According to Radak’s (R. Dovid Kimchi, a Torah scholar in the Middle Ages) commentary on the same verse,

This refers to the Exile when the lands of others will be filled with his scattered descendants. See also Hosea 7:8:

Ephraim shall be mingled among the nations (Ibid.).

Pertaining to the end-time regathering of the twelve tribes, the late well-known orthodox Jewish rabbi, Menachem Schneerson stated that the future King Messiah (Messiah Ben [Son of] David) will not only redeem the Jews from exile, but will restore the observance of the Torah-commandments to its complete state, which will only be possible when the Israelites are living in the land of Israel. At this same time, Schneerson who is quoting the notable rabbinic sage of the Middle Ages, Moses Maimonides also known as the Rambam, says,  Continue reading →

 

Isaiah’s Prophecy on America?!

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Isaiah 18:1–3, In the chapter heading in some Christian Bibles, Isaiah chapter 18 is titled “Ethiopia.” Is this an accurate chapter heading?

Isaiah 18:1 refers to “the land … which is beyond [on the other side of] the rivers of Ethiopia.” The traditional view among many biblical commentators (both from Christian and Jewish sources) is that this prophecy is referring to the area of modern Ethiopia, which is just south of Egypt. It is believed that the river mentioned in this passage is the Nile with its tributaries, while the ships are a reference to boats that regularly ply those waters, and the whirring wings refer to either locusts or to tsetse flies, which are abundant in that region. These same commentators offer various views on how this prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in ancient times. In these commentaries, no explanation was given of the meaning of the word sea in verse two and how that relates to Ethiopia, or how Ethiopia was a nation that was feared far and wide (verse 2). Perhaps another interpretation could be offered that would better fit the descriptions of the land and its people given in this prophecy.

It would be presumptuous to base our entire premise that America is in Bible prophecy on this passage alone, but united with other similar passages that speak clearly of end-time Ephraim, perhaps Isaiah 18:1–3 should be considered in this context. This is all the more plausible when we consider the fact that the scholarly views that this prophecy pertains only to ancient Ethiopia are from before the twentieth century when America was not yet a world power, and airplanes were yet to be invented. Also consider the fact that as rabbinic Jewish scholars do not know who end-time Ephraim is, so Christian scholars do not know who Ephraim is either. Neither group relates Ephraim to “Gentile” Christianity.

Now with some of these things in mind, let us take another look at Isaiah 18:1–3 and see how several well-known Bible translations render these passages.

Verse 1, This verse literally refers to “a land buzzing/whirring with wings” beyond Cush (Ethiopia, Africa), or to “clamorous wings” (ASET), or to “whirring wings” (NAS). Could this be a reference to the modern airplane and the role of aircraft in end-times America? Which nation on earth has more aircraft than America? Where was the airplane invented? What nation is the world’s leader in the aero-space industry and technology? Where can one not go in America without hearing aircraft overhead? What nation of people fly more than any other people?

Verse 2, This country sends ambassadors by sea, is a nation which has been feared from its beginning, is feared far and wide (KJV and NAS), is a powerful and oppressive nation (NAS) whose land is full of rivers meaning there are many mountains and lakes as well—it’s a well-watered land, and it is a land where people speak a strange language. English is a very recently developed language! Additionally, America has been a mighty nation from its founding. It twice defeated the mighty British empire in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. America is also a land of many large and small rivers flowing out of numerous mountain ranges.

(This article is excerpted from a much larger teaching I have published entitled, “Is America In End-Times Bible Prophecy?” You can read this article at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/america.pdf.)