A Look at End-Times Bible Prophecies Relating to the Second Exodus
By Ya’acov Natan Lawrence
Waters in the Wilderness, A Teaching Ministry of Hoshana Rabbah Biblical Discipleship Resources
The Issue in People’s Hearts
The Bible clearly teaches that the ten tribes of the ancient northern kingdom of Israel (known biblically by various names such as the house of Israel, Samaria or Ephraim) were exiled among the nations of the world because of sin. At the same time, the biblical prophets and Jewish sages over the past 2000 years have predicted that in the end times (at the coming of the Messiah), through a series of supernatural events, these tribes will be regathered and return to the land of Israel to be reunited with their Jewish brethren who are descended from the southern kingdom of Judah. Furthermore, there is clear biblical and historical evidence that the ten northern tribes of Israel collectively known as Ephraim are largely to be found among the Christian peoples scattered across the earth. I have attempted to prove this point from biblical, linguistic, archeological, historical and rabbinic Jewish sources in a previous work .
In these last days before Messiah’s second coming, more and more redeemed believers in Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) are discovering a new-found love for the Jewish people and the land of Israel. At the same time, they are awakening to the need to return to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith by adhering to a more Torah-centered lifestyle and spiritual walk. It then follows that some are coming to the fundamental truth taught numerous places in the Testimony of Yeshua (the more biblically accurate name for the “New Testament”) that born-again believers are actually redeemed Israelites and are either the literal biological or are the “grafted in” descendants of Abraham. As such, many are beginning to see that the numerous promises YHVH (the LORD) made to Abraham and his descendants apply to them—especially the promises that the land of Israel is an important aspect of their promised future inheritance. With these revelations often comes a new-found zeal and enthusiasm about returning to the land of Israel. For many, it is a question of not if, but “when do we return?”
This is the question I will grapple with in the following study in attempting to determine the timing of the return of Ephraim to the land of Israel, often referred to as the second or greater exodus. This is a difficult and complex subject and many factors need to be considered. No one has all the answers and neither do I, but hopefully the presentation you are about to read will provoke thought and discourse that will move us all toward a greater understanding of this subject.
In this work, I will cover much ground in a panoramic manner without delving into the fine details of any one biblical passage. If my overall analysis is correct, then it is my hope that other biblical researchers will look at the evidence presented here and synergistically we can fine-tune the details and elucidate this subject.
Since there is no direct place in the Scriptures that tells us the exact year or date when Ephraim will be regathered and return to the land of Israel (although, many believe that the process will begin on a jubilee year), we must examine many prophecies and prophetic scenarios in order to extrapolate from them the answer to our question. Before we take the plunge, let’s review some fundamental biblical truths.
Ephraim’s Return to the Land of Israel Is a Fundamental Truth of the Torah
As the very words of YHVH Elohim (the LORD God) dictated to and written down by Moses, the Torah (the biblical books of Genesis through Deuteronomy) is the bedrock of biblical truth upon which the rest of biblical revelation is founded. This is the place to begin when discussing the timing of Ephraim’s return.
In Jewish thought, Deuteronomy 30:1–10 is the embryo from which all the other scriptures discussing Ephraim’s return are birthed. Here YHVH promises to gather Israel from all the nations where he has scattered them (because of spiritual apostasy), and he promises to return them to the land of Israel. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, and nor is it referring to the Jewish captives who returned from their 70 years exile in Babylonian, since the term “all nations” is used in this prophecy. The ancient empire of Babylon is not “all nations”!
Here is the prophecy in its entirety:
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, whither YHVH your Elohim has driven you, and shall return unto YHVH your Elohim, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; that then YHVH your Elohim will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, wherever 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; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers. And YHVH your Elohim will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live. And YHVH your Elohim will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you. And you shall return and obey the voice of YHVH, and do all his commandments which I command you this day. And YHVH your Elohim will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for YHVH will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers: if you shall hearken unto the voice of YHVH your Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn unto YHVH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul. (emphasis added)
The Jewish Sages Affirm That Ephraim Will Return
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 Hoshea 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 leader, 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,
[T]here will be an ingathering of the dispersed remnant of Israel. This will make it possible for the Davidic dynasty to be reinstated and for the observance of the Torah and its mitsvot to be restored in its totality. (emphasis added)
According to Jacob Immanual Schochet, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel will also return (as substantiation for his claim, he cites b. Talmud, Sandhedrin 110b) to serve YHVH (he also cites Ezek 20:32–37, 40–42).
Furthermore, The ArtScroll Bereishis, vol. 1(b) states in its commentary on Genesis 48:19 regarding Ephraim,
R. Munk explains:
Continue reading“[W]hile it is true that the dispersion [of the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh] 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 [Elohim]’ and will have their share in the world to come ([Talmud] 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 [Elohim], ideals they had never forsaken. Hence they too have a messianic vocation and their Messiah the Mashiach ben Yosef, Messiah son of Joseph (Succah 52a), also called Messiah son of Ephraim (Targum Yonasan on Exodus 40:11), will play an essential role in humanity’s redemption, for he will be the precursor of the Mashiach ben David, Messiah Son of David. It is therefore not surprising to find that the prophet Jeremiah (3:12) speaks affectionately of Ephraim. In this light, Jacob’s words, ‘his offspring will fill the nations,’ assume the significance of blessing.”
