The Jew-Gentile paradigm that is often promoted in the Christian church is to be called into question when lined up with the Truth of the Bible. This video is a quick overview of the subject of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, which Yeshua mentions twice in the Gospels that he came to regather. What does this term really mean, and who are the lost sheep of the house of Israel and how does it relate to YOU? Watch, listen and learn about this wonderful, overlooked Bible truth that has been hidden in plain sight all along, but that false teachers in the church have been purposely or ignorantly hiding from YHVH’s people. Shame on them!
Understanding this vital truth will not only help make the Bible come alive, but will revolutionize your own spiritual walk and sense of purpose and destiny.
This author believes that the earthly ministry of Yeshua had prophetic implications pertaining to end time events. In other words, I will now attempt to show the reader that behind, if you will, the literal events surrounding Yeshua’s earthly ministry including his miracles and teachings, there was an entire prophetic or allegorical subtext or message. Yeshua’s life was literally a walking prophetic shadow-picture. Understanding these divinely engineered, yet hidden clues from a Hebraic context will yield a literal treasure trove of understanding into end time events as prophetically prefigured in the fall festivals of YHVH.
For the record, let it be known that such a study in no way denies the historicity of the literal events surrounding Yeshua’s life. Both Jewish and Christian scholars have been interpreting literal biblical events in an allegorical light for thousands of years. This is not a new exercise. (For a discussion of this, please refer to our brief study of the Jewish rules of biblical interpretation at the end of this book.) Not only have the biblical exegetes derived understanding from the biblical record through this means of interpretation, but numerous examples can be cited from the apostolic writers themselves interpreting various scriptural passages from the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament) in this manner as well.
What is different about the following study is that it will allegorically examine the entire life of Yeshua—his ministry activities, the meaning of the geographical names of the places where he ministered and his parables for the purpose of deriving insights into end time events such as the great tribulation and wrath of Elohim periods, the resurrection, the second coming, the regathering and reunification of the exiled Israelites, the marriage of the Yeshua to his bride and the establishment of his kingdom on earth. It is hoped that the insights gained may clarify some of the difficult passages in the writings of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the prophecies found in the Testimony of Yeshua including the Book of Revelation.
Yeshua Ministers to a Great Multitude
Matthew 4:23–25, And Yeshua went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with various diseases and pains, and those which were demonized, and those who were epileptic, and those that were paralytic; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis,103 and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.
Prophetic Points to Analyze
verse 23— all Galilee
verse 23— preaching the gospel of the kingdom
verse 23— healing all manner of sickness and disease
verse 25— great multitudes
verse 25— Decapolis
verse 25— Judea
verse 25— beyond Jordan
Yeshua ministered with miraculous healing power to those from the region of Galilee in northeastern Israel (the ancient territory of Ephraim in the Northern Kingdom of the house of Israel) to the area of Decapolis (meaning “ten cities”) east of the Jordan River. This is a possible allegorical if not a prophetic reference to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, some of whose lands were located east of the Jordan River.
At the end of this present age just prior to and at the return of Messiah Yeshua as well as after the return of Yeshua, those Jews and Ephraimites returning to the Promised Land from the nations of their captivity (“beyond [or east of] the Jordan [River],” verse 25—a reference to Babylonia and Assyria where the Southern and Northern Kingdoms were exiled respectively)—will be returning broken, wounded, sick and demonized. They will need physical and spiritual healing (see the prophecy of Ezek 34). The regathering of lost Israel was Yeshua’s main ministry focus at his first coming (or advent), and is a mission that will be completed after his second advent. This end time or final regathering of lost Israel will occur during the time period that many Jewish sages refer to as the “final redemption” (when Messiah returns, the resurrection of the saints will occur, and Messiah will establish his kingdom upon this earth). At this future time, the regathering of the exiled twelve tribes of Israel will swing into full gear.
In the Gospel narrative, Matthew chapter four records that “great multitudes”followed Yeshua out of Galilee (verse 25), which, again, was the historic region of the Northern Kingdom comprising of the ten tribes of Israel.
Multitudes from this region of the ten tribes of Israel following Yeshua is a prophetic picture of what will happen in the future. Both the prophet Isaiah and Matthew the Gospel writer use the term “Galilee of the nations” (goyim or Gentiles, Isa 9:1; Matt 4:15) in reference to the Israelite tribes that had settled east of the Jordan River. The Bible writers also use this term in reference to the fact that those of the house of Israel would be scattered among the Gentile nations as part of their punishment for forsaking the Elohim (God) of Israel and the covenant they had made with him at Mount Sinai.
Likewise, prophetically at the time of Messiah Yeshua’s second advent, a final regathering of the Israelite exiles will occur from the nations of the world where they have been scattered. Multitudes will come to Yeshua as we see in the Book of Revelation (Rev 7:1–17) where John, under the inspiration of the Spirit of Elohim, prophesies about the 144,000 righteous saints sealed from all twelve tribes of Israel. After this, John speaks of the ingathering of the exiles and describe this momentous and long-awaited event as follows (verses 9–17),
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our Elohim who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped Elohim, saying, ‘Amein: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our Elohim for ever and ever. Amein.’ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they?’ And I said unto him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of Elohim, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and Elohim shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.’”
Prophetic Points to Analyze from Revelation 7:1–17
verse 9— a great multitude…of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues
verse 14— which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes … in the blood of the Lamb
verse 16— they shall hunger no more
verse 17— the Lamb…shall feed them
One may ask the question when does this regathering of exiled Israelites occur that John speaks about in Revelation? Is it strictly an end time event as the Jewish scholars see, or has it been occurring since the time of Yeshua’s first coming only to culminate after his return?
In that the rabbinic Jews refuse to recognize the first coming of Yeshua the Messiah they, by default, have placed the “final regathering” of lost and exiled Israel at the coming of Messiah just prior to “the Messianic Age” or Millennium.
In reality, by Yeshua’s own admission (see Matt 15:24), he began the regathering at his first coming, and commissioned his disciples to continue that mission (Matt 10:6 cp. Acts 1:8).
Zechariah, the prophet, saw this regathering occurring when he prophesied hundreds of years before the birth of Yeshua, “In those days…ten men of the nations shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the cloak of a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that Elohim is with you,’” (Zech 8:23). Yeshua said that salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22), and he is that Jewish man, and Jewish Savior, and all people must take hold of him spiritually to be brought to Elohim (John 14:6). Ten is the number of the tribes in the Northern Kingdom who were mixed among the Gentile nations after their deportation and captivity from the land of Israel. This prophecy was partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when many from the nations placed their trust in their Jewish Messiah (Acts 2:9–11, 36–41). So Zechariah’s prophecy, along with that of John in Revelation 7, began to be fulfilled in the time of the apostles and has continued to this very day. It will culminate in what the Jews call the “final redemption” or the “Gathering of the Exiles.”
The message that Yeshua preached was called “the gospel”, which is an Old English word meaning “good news” (Matt 4:23). This mission not only involved healing the sick, comforting the afflicted, feeding the hungry, and giving drink to the thirsty, but also preaching “the good news of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 4:17). Yeshua was that Good Shepherd about whom Ezekiel prophesied in Ezekiel 34, who would heal the sick and feed the hungry.
When Yeshua mentions preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt 4:23), to what kingdom is he referring? If he were coming again, this time as Messiah Son of David, to rule the earth during the Millennium or Messianic Age, as Ezekiel 37:24–25 indicates, ruling over a reunited Israel (i.e., both houses of Israel, or the whole house of Israel as Ezek 37:15–22 states), then what other kingdom is there except the kingdom of Israel, that is, one nation under King Yeshua Son of David (verses 22–25)? And that kingdom is comprised of people coming from all nations who have one thing in common: they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14) making them children of Abraham as Paul clearly states in Romans 4:16; 8:9, 11 and gain in Galatians 3:7, 9, 14, 28–29), and who are no longer Gentiles (Gal 3:28), but are Israelites as Paul describes it in Ephesians 2:11–13,
[I]n time past Gentiles [peoples of the nations] in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth [citizenship] of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without Elohim in the world, but now in Messiah Yeshua you who sometimes were far off are brought near by the blood of Messiah.
Early in his earthly ministry, Yeshua began preparing the way for the reunification of the two kingdoms or houses of Israel and for his rulership over this reunited kingdom during the Messianic Age (or Millennium). The final redemption or regathering of Israel is an event for which the rabbinical Jews have been waiting (as testified in their writings) for thousands of years. They simply fail to recognize that their Messiah Son of David and the Christian “Jesus” or more properly, Yeshua, are one in the same Person.
Are you a part of this final regathering of lost Israelites returning to their heritage as the prophets Zechariah and Malachi (and many other biblical prophets, as well) prophesied would happen in the last days (Zech 8:23; Mal 4:1–6)?
What You Can Do
Are you the willing “victim” of some invisible hand that is guiding your heart and footsteps back to the ancient and original Hebraic roots of your Christian faith? For some unexplainable reason, are you beginning to take an interest in and to identify with the nation of Israel as well as to our Jewish brothers? If so, then you are a part of the final regathering that the Gospels refer to literally and prophetically as “multitudes from Galilee of the nations” that followed Yeshua. These are some of the same people about which John prophesies, who will come out of great tribulation in the last days in Revelation 7:9, 14.
With all of your heart, embrace the divine calling that YHVH has graciously and sovereignly tendered to you. Do not turn back form it! Ask Elohim what he would have you do to be part of his end-times spiritual program to help restore his people to their ancient spiritual heritage and their future destiny.
Yeshua Heals the Man With an Unclean Spirit in a Synagogue
Mark 1:21–28, 39, “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with you, Yeshua of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Set-Apart One of Elohim.’ And Yeshua rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him.’ And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.’ And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout the entire region round about Galilee.…And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.”
Prophetic Points to Analyze
verse 21, Capernaum
verse 21, synagogue
verse 23, an unclean spirit
verse 28, region round about Galilee
verse 39, preaching in their synagogues…casting out demons
“And it came to pass, as [Yeshua] went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices, and said, ‘Yeshua, Master, have mercy on us.’ And when he saw them, he said unto them, ‘Go show yourselves unto the priests.’ And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified Elohim, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. And Yeshua answering said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine?’ There are not found that returned to give glory to Elohim, except this stranger [lit. sprung from another tribe, foreigner or alien]. And he said unto him, ‘Arise, go your way, your faith has made you whole.'”
Prophetic Points to Analyze
verse 11— the midst of Samaria and Galilee
verse 12— ten men that were lepers
verse 12— that stood afar off
verses 14–15— they were cleansed … healed
verse 16— he was a Samaritan
verse 18— stranger
Samaria and Galilee were Roman provinces comprising of the ancient territories of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the home of the ten northern tribes. As noted earlier, Yeshua spent much of his time ministering in that region and in much of what he taught, as well as the venues where he ministered, in the meanings of the geographical names, and in the terminologies used in describing his ministry activities, we can find a deeper or allegorical prophetic meaning relating to his ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This account of the ten lepers is no exception.
These ten lepers lived in the historic region of the Northern Kingdom, house of Israel or Samaria. The number ten corresponds to the number of tribes that historically had lived in that area. These tribes were: Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, part of Levi, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Zebulin and Issachar. (Judah, part of Levi and Benjamin comprised the Southern Kingdom, or house of Judah; Simeon is omitted, for it is thought that they were assimilated into Judah in accordance with the Genesis 49:5–7 prophecy, and that their land inheritance was surrounded by that of Judah.) But when the ten northern tribes were exiled from the land of Israel they became strangers or aliens in the countries of their captivity. These terms are used throughout the Scriptures in reference to the scattered tribes of Israel. These lepers, because of their disease, were likewise aliens from their fellow Israelites in the land of Judea where they currently were living.
The term “leprosy” scripturally, was a generic term for any infectious skin condition and does not necessarily relate to the modern term leprosy that is a disease involving the slow rotting away of the flesh. Samson Raphael Hirsch, the nineteenth century Jewish Torah scholar, shows that the biblical skin condition of tzaraas is unrelated to leprosy and therefore is an erroneous translation in our English Bibles.Here is a brief study on the skin disease the Torah calls tzaraas and some of the spiritual implications of this ailment. It is quoted from the author’s own Torah commentary.
Leviticus 13 discusses various skin disorders known as tzaraas. The KJV uses the word “leprosy,” but this is a mistranslation. The [Jewish sages] teach (and so does Christian biblical commentator Matthew Henry in his commentary) that these skin disorders “[were] a plague often inflicted immediately by the hand of [Elohim].”
Tzaraas is a result of sins of the mouth such as slander, gossip, murder with the mouth, false oaths and pride as well as sexual immorality, robbery, and selfishness. For proof of this the [Jewish sages] cite the similarity between the Hebrew word for “skin disorder” (m’tzora) and the word “one who spreads slander”(motzeyra). They say that these skin disorders are “divine retribution for the offender’s failure to feel the needs and share the hurt of others. YHVH rebukes this antisocial behavior by isolating him from society, so that he can experience the pain he has imposed on others—and heal himself through repentance.”They then cite the examples of Miriam’s skin turning white when she slandered Moses. We must not forget what occurred to Gehazi and to king Uzziah, as well (2 Kgs 5:27; 2 Chr 26:19, 21).
It would be well for us to pause at this moment and to consider our own behavior with respect to our tongue. Thankfully, we’re under the grace of Elohim. But in the book of Acts, Ananias and Sapphira found out what happens when one sins with one’s mouth and Elohim pulls back his hand of grace. They were instantly struck dead. As we get closer to the end of the age and the return of Messiah it is likely that Elohim will begin to require greater spiritual accountability of his people, especially of leaders, in the areas we are discussing. He wants to instill within his people the true fear of YHVH-Elohim and a repentant and contrite heart, and to turn people away from lukewarmness. It is likely that such rapid judgments as happened to Miriam, Korah et al, Gehazi, Uzziah, Ananias and Sapphira and others in the Scriptures will begin to occur soon, in our day, and may already be occurring.
The time for playing fast and loose with our mouths and other members of our bodies is over. We are all being called to account by Elohim. Be hot or cold, not in-between! Yeshua is not coming back for a Babylonian (half world and half Word-orientated lifestyle), sin-spotted bride, but one who is without spot and wrinkle.
The skin disease, tzaraas, was like a red flag which if a person had it was regarded as a judgment from Elohim for the sin of slander, gossip, murder with the mouth, false oaths and pride as well as sexual immorality, robbery, and selfishness. That person was considered to be physically and spiritually contagious and so was put outside the camp of Israel until the disease was gone. According to Samson Raphael Hirsch, quarantine was a means of shocking the victim into recognizing his moral shortcomings and driving him to repentance.
It is the skin disease of tzaraas that the ten men of Luke 17 most likely had making them ritually impure and causing them to be legally banned from social contact with the rest of Jewish society. It was these social outcasts of the region of the historic homeland of the lost sheep of the house of Israel to which Yeshua was reaching out. These men knew they were spiritually and physically unclean and they cried out to the only one who could heal and save them—Yeshua the Messiah, whose very name means “salvation.”
Similarly, in the end times, the house of Israel (or the Christian church) will begin to recognize that many of its Torahless religious traditions have been inherited lies handed down from previous generations (Jer 16:19), that she has failed to remember her Torah-based marriage covenants with YHVH (Mal 4:4–6), and that the foreign lovers to which she turned spiritually did not satisfy her like YHVH her husband once had (Hos 2:7). The house of Israel (and the house of Judah) will eventually return to YHVH (Hos 2:6–7) in covenantal relationship (Jer 31:31, 33). They will no longer be a rejected people (Hos 1:6, 9). YHVH will begin to call his people to come out of the filth of Torahlessness and spiritual Babylon (Rev 18:4) and urge them to stop forgetting his Torah (Hos 4:6; 8:1, 12). YHVH pleads with both Judah and her sister Israel (Ephraim) to return to him from their backslidden spiritual condition (Jer 3:6–14). Hosea prophesied that both the houses of Ephraim and Judah will acknowledge their sin against YHVH (the sin of breaking their covenants with him and syncretizing themselves spiritually with the customs of the heathen nations around them, Hos 5:3), and begin to seek YHVH eagerly (Hos 5:15). Hosea then prophesies that Messiah will return after three days (or in the third millennium) to “revive,” resurrect or resuscitate them spiritually and give to Israel new life (Hos 6:1–2), after which she will live in Messiah’s sight during the Messianic Age (or Millennium, verse 3).
Yeshua’s encounter with the ten lepers is an allegorical picture of this. After the Messiah healed the lepers, he instructed them to present themselves to the priests whose duty it was, according to the Torah, to declare that they were physically healed and ritually clean. This pronouncement on the part of the priests cleared the way for the former lepers to legally integrate themselves back into Jewish society without fear of retribution or ostracism.
It is interesting to note that one of the ten “lepers” was a Samaritan. These people were highly shunned and disdained by many in the Jewish culture of the first century. This mixed race people lived in the historic lands of the house of Israel. They were most likely comprised of Northern Kingdom Israelites and heathen Gentiles that the Assyrians had transplanted into northern Israel when they conquered that nation. Here Yeshua is reaching out to this people whom the Jews despised and rejected. Hosea prophesied that the house of Israel would mix herself with the nations of the world (Hos 7:8; 8:8), yet Yeshua reached out to these same type of people when he ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), and when he commanded his disciples to take the gospel to Samaria (Acts 1:8).
This account of Yeshua’s ministry to the ten “lepers” teaches us that even though some lost and scattered Israelites may be in a state of extreme spiritual contamination and pollution brought on by sin, YHVH’s grace is open to all—even those whom society shuns and considers to be at the lowest echelon.
Ezekiel 34 paints a clear picture of YHVH’s sheep who have been lost and scattered, but who YHVH, the True Shepherd, will regather. His sheep are starving spiritually, have been pillaged by evil and covetous shepherds and ravished by spiritual diseases and predators. Yeshua is that true Shepherd whose arms of love are still open wide (as they were while he was hanging on the cross). He takes upon himself the burdens of all lost Israelites who are returning to him and promises to heal and to feed them, and to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
What You Can Do
We must follow the example of Yeshua and reach out to anyone regardless of their race or religious affiliation and offer them the good news of spiritual healing and salvation through Yeshua the Messiah. The disease of sin has made all humans impure and separated us all from a loving relationship with YHVH Elohim through Yeshua. Only as we as come into contact with Yeshua the Savior , place our trust in him, and receive his mercy can we be made whole.
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
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).
A major key to understanding biblical prophecy is to recognize the relationship between antetypes and types in the Scriptures. This means that an event or a series of events occurred once, was recorded in the Scriptures, and then at a later time a similitude of the event repeats itself, but with different characters and scene.
An antetype is a type or pattern of something that occurs before the actual event occurs (sometimes incorrectly referred to as an antitype, which means opposite rather than before). In other words, the first event predicts or points prophetically to the future event. This is a way for the Creator to give clues and hints about future events that will come to pass. Those who are ardent students of his Word and those “who have (spiritual) ears to hear” will pick up on these clues and be able to have a sense of what the Creator is going to do at some future date. In this way, those who diligently seek him are rewarded with understanding or “inside information” about what he is planning to do in the future. At the same time, his divine plans and purposes will be obscured from those who don’t have a diligent heart to seek him and his truth, and who could possibly misuse the truth, if they were to discover it, for selfish purposes if they were to learn it.
Similarly, the Gospels record that Yeshua explained deep spiritual truths via parables not to make the meaning clear to the general public, but rather to obscure it. His teachings were meant to be understood only by those whom he had called that they might know the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of Elohim (Matt 13:10–11; Luke 8:9–10).
For thousands of years, the prophets of the Bible, as well as biblical students, scholars and sages have understood the concept of antetypes and types and it has helped them to understand Bible prophecy and future events.
Biblical antetypes are identified in three ways. First, the Scriptures themselves identify events as being antetypical. Examples would be:
The life of Moses pointed to Yeshua (Deut 18:15–19; Heb 3:3–6).
The serpent on the pole pointed to Yeshua’s crucifixion (John 3:14).
The rock from which the Israelites drank prefigures Yeshua (1 Cor 10:4).
The manna the Israelites ate prefigures the Word of Elohim or flesh of Yeshua (John 6:32, 48–51).
Aaron as the high priest was antetypical of Yeshua’s high priesthood (Heb 5, 7 and 8).
The sacrificial system pointed to Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross (Heb 9 and 10).
Jonah in the whale is a prophetic picture of Yeshua’s death and resurrection (Matt 12:40).
Melchizedek was an antetype of Yeshua (Heb 7).
The first exodus (or redemption of Israel out of Egypt) was prototypical of a second exodus or redemption of Israel out of the world in the end times (Isa 11:11; Jer 23:7–8).
The Jewish sages from antiquity have also identified antetypes. Examples would be:
The difficulties surrounding Jacob’s return to the Promised Land after 20 years of exile in Babylon (under Laban, Gen 31–33) is antetypical of the difficulties surrounding the return of Jacob’s descendants to the land of Israel in the last days, which the Scriptures call “Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer 30:7).
The life of Joseph prefigured that of a Messiah Son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant.
The life of David prefigured that of a Messiah Son of David, the Conquering King.
The seven-day week is antetypical of the seven thousand years of man’s tenure on this earth.
Christian Bible teachers have identified antetypes in the Scriptures as well. Examples would be:
The Passover lamb was antetypical of Yeshua’s crucifixion.
Isaac’s near sacrifice and the ram caught in the thicket in Genesis 22 was antetypical of Yeshua’s death.
The tabernacle of Moses pointed in all aspects to the ministry of Yeshua as Savior and Redeemer.
Finally, Hebrew roots teachers have identified antetypes in the Scriptures. Examples would be:
The biblical feasts point to the steps in YHVH’s plan of salvation for mankind centering around the first and second comings of Messiah.
The stages of the biblical wedding point to YHVH’s plan of salvation for mankind.
YHVH’s judgments on Egypt point prophetically to his judgments on Babylon the Great in the last days.
In like manner, the story of Joseph’s interacting with his brothers (starting in Genesis chapter 37 through 46) is antetypical of future events that are to happen on a national level with the children of the patriarchs.
In this study, we will examine the events of Joseph and Judah in Egypt to see how they relate to the houses of Joseph or Ephraim (broadly speaking, the Christians) and Judah (broadly speaking, the Jews) in the last days. Remember that although the events and details of antetypes and types correlate, they do not match each other perfectly in every detail. There should, however, be enough similarities between the two that to the rational and biblically astute mind the juxtaposition of the two is not a logical stretch. Some of these parallels the writers of Scripture tell us about, while others we must arrive at through our own diligent and careful analysis of the Scriptures.
Ezekiel 37:14–28, The vision of the two sticks (trees).The second vision Ezekiel records in chapter 37 involves YHVH commanding him to take two sticks (or trees) and writing upon one stick “for Judah and for the children of Israel and his companions [i.e., those who have knit themselves together with or joined to the tribe of Judah],” and upon the other stick, write “for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel and his companions [i.e., those who have knit themselves together with or joined to the tribe of Ephraim].” Ezekiel was to told to then join the two sticks together, so that they would become one stick (or tree) in his hand (verses 15–17).
How were these two nations, which separated from each other some three thousand years ago, to be rejoined into one nation? That has been the subject of much debate between both Jewish and Christian commentators for years. Some modern historical revisionists view this prophecy as having been fulfilled when the Jews returned to the land of Israel in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah after their Babylonian captivity ended. But this interpretation leaves some unanswered questions. The book of Ezra, which chronicles the return of a Continue reading →
Genesis 46:1–7, The reuniting of Jacobs family — the twelve tribes of Israel. These verses recount the move of Jacob and his family to Egypt where they were reunited with Joseph and his family.
This prophetically foreshadows a time in the future, which the Jewish sages callthe final redemption, which is to occur just prior to and at the coming of Messiah Son of David as he comes to establish the Messianic Era (Millennium).
The Jewish sages teach that part of that final redemption includes the reunification of the two houses of Israel (i.e. the Messiah-loving Jews and Torah-loving Christians) into one kingdom under Messiah Son of David. Where do we find this prophesied in the Scriptures? (Read Ezek 37:15–28, which interestingly enough is this week’s Haftorah portion!) This speaks of the family reunification or reconciliation of Judah and Ephraim at Messiah’s return. (Hos 5:15–6:4; 1:11; Acts 3:21; Ezek 37:25). This will be a supernatural work of the Ruach haKodesh (Set-Apart Spirit) of Elohim (Ezek 36:19–32).
After the reunification of the divided family, where did the reunited and reconciled family move to? (Read Gen 46:34.) Goshen was in the Nile River delta area and was, and to this day is, the prime farm land of Egypt. It was a veritable promised land compared to the arid regions of Canaan. Could Goshen be a tiny shadow-picture of the Millennium?
The Jewish sages have a sense that history for the people of Israel is continually repeating itself, over and over again in cyclical patterns as YHVH works his purposes out among his people. He is continually endeavoring to reveal his plan of redemption and reconciliation to those who have eyes to see, and continually reaching out the loving hand of reconciliation to the next generations of Israelites. This is but one more picture of the cyclical pattern of redemption that we see YHVH working out in the pages of Scripture all pointing toward a final climax at the end of the age where all of the children of Israel will worship YHVH in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) under the rulership of King Yeshua the Messiah, Son of Joseph/David.
