KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
#1 The Two
Kingdoms: Israel and Judah
The Kingdom of Israel was a united kingdom consisting of
all 12 tribes under the reigns of David and Solomon. When Solomon died the kingdom became divided
with only the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and some of the Levites in the
southern kingdom containing Jerusalem and the temple. The northern kingdom contained 10 tribes
including Ephraim and Manasseh, who were given the name of Israel from their
father Joseph and their grandfather Jacob.
By the legal right given by God they retained the name of Israel or the
house of Israel.
The full story is found in 1 Kings 11, where the prophet
Abijah told Solomon that because he had departed from God, the kingdom would be
taken from him and given to another. Solomon's son, of Judah, would be given
the tribe of Benjamin, but the kingdom itself would be stripped from him. When
Solomon died, the kingdom was given to an Ephraimite named Jeroboam, but
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, reigned over the southern House of Judah.
From this point of the divided kingdom onward, the Bible
speaks of Israel and Judah as two distinct nations because they were in fact,
two distinct nations. Up to Solomon's
day “Israel” meant the entire nation of all twelve tribes, but after the split
in the kingdom, “Israel” was the name of the northern House of Israel, as
distinct from the House of Judah to the south. Furthermore, the prophecies to
Israel and to Judah are quite different, for each nation had a destiny to
fulfill.
#2 The Two
Blessings: The Scepter and the
Birthright
When Jacob blessed his twelve sons (Genesis 49), he gave
the birthright to Joseph (or actually, Joseph's sons when Jacob adopted them in
Genesis
48:13-16). With that birthright came the legal right to be called by
the name which the angel gave him, the name of Israel (Genesis 48:16).
Judah, on the other hand, received the Scepter. That is, the Messiah, the king
of Israel, would come through his family. These things are verified by 1 Chronicles
5:1-2.
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 KJV Now
the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but,
forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the
sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after
the birthright. (2) For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and
of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's.
This is why the northern ten tribes retained the name of
Israel after the split in the kingdom after the death of Solomon. It was
because the northern tribes included the tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and
Manessah), whose right it was to the name of Israel. Judah never had that
political right, although in the genealogical sense, they were Israelites,
because they were descendants of Jacob-Israel.
A verse in Isaiah appears to prophecy that another group
would take the name of “Israel” for themselves as a “surname”. This could be identified as the current
nation calling themselves “Israel,” thereby illegally claiming the promise of the
blessing of the birthright which was given to Ephraim through Joseph, of the
ten northern tribes. Judah was never the
birthright holder, for that blessing was given to Joseph then Ephraim, not to
Judah.
Isaiah 44:5 KJV One shall
say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and
another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Surname: kānāh: A verb meaning to give a surname,
a title of flattery or honor. It depicts the assigning of an honorary name to
someone (Job_32:21-22); or persons calling themselves by names, e.g., Jacob
(Isa_44:5).
It must be noted that Great Britain (Ephraim), through
the Balfour declaration, gave the birthright blessing to the Edomite Jews who
were declared the nation of Israel in 1948.
This fulfilled the prophecy given by Isaac to Esau and will remain until
the return of Christ when Jerusalem will be destroyed along with the Khazarian
(Magog), Edomite, and Persian terrorists who invaded the unwalled and
unprotected cities and towns of Canaan during the 30’s and 40’s.
Genesis 27:40 KJV And by thy
sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
#3 The Two
Works of Christ
Leviticus states that it requires a ritual involving two
doves to cleanse a leper. Leprosy can be
considered a type or symbol of one’s death-ridden sin nature. The first dove was killed in an earthen bowl
that was held over running water (14:5). The second dove was dipped in the
blood of the first and let loose into an open field (14:7).
In 33 AD Jesus was killed (crucified) in a mortal earthen
body. At His return, scripture states
that Jesus will be clothed with a vesture dipped in blood as was the second
dove set loose in an open field (which is a type of the world). The second appearance of Christ, with his
vesture dipped in blood, not only portrays the appearance of the second dove,
but also identifies Him as “Joseph”. According
to Genesis 37:31
– And they took Joseph's coat,
and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood.
Revelation 19:13 KJV And he
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of
God.
The ceremony of the Day of Atonement involved two goats. The first goat was to be sacrificed outside
the tent (or temple) and the blood of the sacrifice was to be brought into the
Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat for the atonement of the
sanctuary as a covering for sin. The
second goat was to remain alive. The
priest was to lay his hands of the head of the live goat while imputing all the
sins of the people onto the goat. A
different man was to take the goat and release it into the wilderness (or an
uninhabited area). In this manner the sacrificed
goat covered all sin and the live second goat removed all sin for all people.
Leviticus 16:7-10 KJV And he
shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation. (8) And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;
one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. (9)
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer
him for a sin offering. (10) But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the
scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with
him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
The first goat, a shadow and type of Jesus’ death,
covered sin or imputed righteousness in the eyes of God. The second, a type and shadow of the return
of Christ, will forever remove sin and make us completely righteous before
God.
When Jesus returns, He will come as the Son of Joseph
with His robe dipped in blood as the King of the Judah linage and will fulfill
the birthright promise as the son of Adam through Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. The second coming will also
fulfill the type and shadow symbolism of the second live bird released in the
field and the type and shadow symbolism of the second goat carrying the sins of
the people into the uninhabited places.
The first bird and the first goat represent the dominion
(scepter) work of Judah which was to bring forth the Messiah as the suffering
servant and sacrificially dying to cover the sins of the people. The second bird and the second goat is a work
of Joseph (or Ephraim and Manasseh) which would save the world or remove sins
as if they never happened although a complete and total removal will not take
place until the second coming of Jesus Christ when the birthright promise is fulfilled.
The first appearance of Jesus was as the first dove, when
He came through the line of Judah. His second appearance will be as the second
dove, and this time He comes with a Joseph ministry. The first time He came of
Judah to lay claim to the Scepter that Jacob had given to Judah. The second
time he comes of Joseph in order to lay claim to the birthright given to
Joseph.
#4 The Cursed
Fig Tree
One additional work is needed to fulfill the prophetic
promise to Joseph. That promise was to be “a fruitful
bough (son).” The Hebrew word for “bough” is ben. It means a son.
The tree was planted with Jesus' death and burial. It
sprouted in His resurrection. Now we have come to the time where the tree must
bear fruit.
Genesis 49:22 KJV Joseph is
a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the
wall:
The majority of Judah (inhabitants of Judea) in Jesus'
day did not accept Him as Messiah the King. There were, of course, many
individuals who did accept Him, but as a nation, He was rejected. As a consequence, at the end of His ministry,
Jesus gave a curse to a fig tree that represented the nation.
Matthew 21:19 KJV And when
he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but
leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.
And presently the fig tree withered away.
Jesus prophesied the tree
would not bear fruit when it came time for the fruit to be eaten. This fig tree was alluded to later in chapter
24.
Matthew 24:32-33 KJV Now
learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
(33) So likewise ye, when ye
shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Currently, many Bible students understand that Jesus was
here referring to the cursed fig tree. It is widely accepted that the cursed
fig tree that had withered from the roots in Jesus' day suddenly began to put
forth leaves in 1947-48 when the Israeli state was created and this will be
considered correct. However
(incorrectly) to their detriment, many also believe that the Jewish fig tree
nation founded in 1948 is going to bear fruit, even though Jesus specifically
stated in Matthew 21:19
that it would not (or never). Consequently, this is an area that deserves
further investigation, so that we might understand the mind of God and know
what He is doing in the world today.
#5 Esau and the
Birthright
Toward the end of his life, Isaac decided to bless his
oldest son, Esau, before he died. He sent Esau out to find venison. Meanwhile,
Rebekah heard what was happening, and she devised a plan by which to give Jacob
the blessing. She and Jacob took advantage of Isaac's blindness, dressed Jacob
like Esau and managed to trick Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau.
Naturally, when Esau returned with the venison and found that he had been
supplanted, he was furious. The story is told in Genesis 27.
Jacob sinned against Esau and would therefore have to pay
restitution to him eventually in order to restore the lawful order. It was
certainly God's intent to give the birthright and blessing to Jacob, but Jacob
should have waited for God rather than take matters into his own hands. So Isaac prophesied that Esau would receive
the dominion at some future time. Jacob would have to give the birthright back
to Esau for a period, in order to allow God to give it to Jacob in His own way
and time. The scripture found in Genesis
27:40 is given above. It should be noted
that the Scepter blessing was sold to Jacob by Esau for a bowl of soup and does
not apply here.
I have written on several occasions concerning the
history of the Edomites. They were
conquered by John Hyrcanus (the Maccabees) in 126 BC and were given the choice
of either becoming Jews or being deported.
They chose to become Jews. This
fact can be verified by Josephus, the Jewish Encyclopedia, and practically any other
encyclopedia. The Jewish Encyclopedia,
1925 edition, Vol. 5, p. 41, says, “Edom is
in modern Jewry.” From that point forward in history, there has
been no nation of Edom, or Idumea. All prophecies dealing with Edom must either
be spiritualized entirely, or else look to the Jews for the fulfillment of
prophecy of both Judah and Edom. As can be seen, they are indeed fulfilling
both sets of prophecies at the same time without contradiction.
Isaac in his blindness blessed Jacob thinking he was
blessing Esau. Because Jacob lied to his father and violated the divine law to
obtain the blessing, God blinded Jacob's descendants (true Israelites) in order
that they too might be tricked into giving back the blessing to Esau. It was
“an eye for an eye.” God's lawful judgment was absolutely just. Thus, in 1948
the true Israelites gave the blessing back to the Jews, who were only too happy
to take the birthright name and surname themselves by the name of Israel.
#6 The End
Results
The true Israelites had migrated from northeast Assyria
into Europe to become known as the Caucasian peoples. God blinded them to their
true identity over the years and removed from them the name of Israel, because
He had cast them off for a time. The
outcome of the Israelites and Judahites (prior to the Babylonian captivity)
were both simultaneously prophesied by Isaiah.
Isaiah 65:11-15 KJV But ye
are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain…... (12)
Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to
the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did
not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I
delighted not. (13) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my
servants (Israel) shall eat, but ye
shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty:
behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: (14)
Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for
sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. (15)
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord
GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
Israel, his servants, shall eat, shall drink, shall
rejoice, and will sing for joy. However,
the Judahites will be put to the sword, will bow down to the slaughter, shall
be hungry, shall be thirsty, shall be ashamed, shall cry for sorrow of heart,
and shall leave their name for a curse.
The prophecy to Judah was partially fulfilled by Babylon, then Rome, and
finally by the wrath of God. The
prophecy to Israel (the 10 tribes) will be completely fulfilled at the return
of Jesus Christ.
The Jews refused to believe that they had done anything
wrong in crucifying Jesus, whom they called an imposter and a blasphemer. Even
when judgment came, they simply blamed God for their misfortunes, not
comprehending how God could allow these terrible things to happen to them, for
they thought they were doing everything correctly in the sight of God. Thus,
they became increasingly angry and bitter instead of seeking God to find the
cause of their sin.
God's true servant people, the house of Israel who had
been deported by Assyria 800 years earlier, were increasing in population and
migrating across Asia Minor and across the Caucasus mountains into Europe,
where they were known by other names, even as Isaiah had prophesied. These
became known by later scholars by the general category, “Caucasians,” since
many had crossed the Caucasus Mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian
Sea who were actually the physical descendants of the house of Israel. The
history is currently proven, since archeologists have unearthed the majority of
the evidence in the past 150 years.
Through the power of God, the Gospel went first to these
European Israelites, because He intended to Christianize His servant people,
that they might bring the Gospel to the rest of the world. However, during the
past age (33-1993 AD), the spread of the Gospel was greatly hindered by the
rise of oppression in the Roman Church. Thus, it was not until quite recently
that the great missionary movements began. Even so, the message has been spread
by God's servant people who did not really know who they were or why God had
chosen them to bring the Gospel to the rest of the world.
In 1947-48 the Church essentially returned its birthright
blessing to Esau by its enthusiastic support for the Israeli state formed on
Nov. 29, 1947 by the United Nations resolution. In May 1948 the British pulled
out, and the Israelis seized the reins of government, declaring independence of
the “State of Israel.”
This also started the fulfillment of the prophecies of
the fig tree that began to put forth more leaves without any fruit. The remnant
of Judah (fig tree) came back to life in a national sense. The several branches
of modern Jewry (Edomites, a few Judahites with a host of Khazarians), each
with its set of prophecies to be fulfilled, ushered in the time where the end
was “near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). For more information view the following
link: The
True Origins of Professing Jews
It is time for true Israel to be healed of his blindness
and return to his inheritance, which is the birthright. According to the
Jubilee law, the Israeli state should have given up the name of Israel and
return it to its rightful inheritors. They obviously did not do so. Hence, they
must now deal with God in His court for violation of His Law.
NOTE: Some material for this commentary was adapted
from articles written by Dr. Stephen E. Jones.
