Friday, August 24, 2012
Ezekiel 37:22
Friday, August 24, 2012 |
And I will
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king
shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall
they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
For further study - Ezekiel 37:15-23
This passage of
scripture, selected for today's reading, is a prophetic passage that many Bible
prophecy students have either ignored or have not been able to understand.
It is a prophecy that
seems to be saying that the "ten lost tribes" of Israel will in the
last days be found and they will be reunited with the two tribes known as
Judah. According to Jewish history there are no "ten lost tribes" of
Israel.
The record found in Ezra
speaks of "all twelve tribes" being back in the land some 2,500 years
ago when Cyrus gave permission for Zerubabbel to take almost 50,000 Jews back
to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, Ezra 1.
The list in Ezra 2
mentions a number of people from tribes other than Judah and Benjamin. Two
examples are verses 28-29,
Bethel and Ai are in the tribe of Ephraim, verse 28;
and Nebo is in the tribe of Reuven, verse 29.
This means that the
families of "all twelve tribes" were in the land. Notice Ezra 6
where it speaks of the "dedication service" of the Temple when they
offered twelve "he goats" according to the number of the tribes of
Israel, Ezra 6:17.
Even the fact that Ezra 6
uses the term "Israel" indicates that it's speaking of all twelve
tribes back in the land at the time of the building of the Second Temple.
In Ezekiel 37:11
it states that the "bones", in the dry valley, are the "whole
house of Israel". That means representatives of all twelve tribes have
been coming back into the land of their forefathers, even though they are
coming in unbelief, as the text states they should.
Therefore, the passage
for our devotional reading for today is a prophecy of two "Jewish
states" during the Tribulation Period that will become one state again at
the Second Coming of Jesus Christ when He will cleanse the Jews, and they will
be His people, and He their God, verse 23.
The "two
sticks" represent the two Jewish states, Israel and Judah. This prophecy
is also revealed in Malachi 2,
Jeremiah 3:18
and Ezekiel 35:10,
when it refers to "two nations". Now, that's the prophecy. (For more,
see my audio series on Ezekiel, "Dry Bones and Two Sticks")
The current events that
play into this scenario are many. For a number of years this prophetic concept
has been discussed among the religious Jews. The former Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon told US President George W Bush that Israel was on the verge of
civil war, Jew against Jew.
With the disengagement of
the Gaza, the Annapolis Middle East Peace Summit and pressure from the Unites
States, the European Union and the United Nations, the Israeli government has called
for the removal of the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, several hundred
thousand Jewish settlers.
This call has been met by
calls for a "second" Jewish state. There is now a campaign to come up
with a "flag" for the second Jewish state, and an "anthem"
as well. There are very serious Jewish scholars that are now calling for this
"second Jewish state", a prophecy that Ezekiel wrote about 2,500
years ago.
The stage is set and all
the actors are getting into place, the curtain is about to go up on the final
act in this prophetic drama for the last days. Only one thing must happen
before all of these prophecies will be fulfilled, and that's the Rapture, which
could happen, today. Keep looking up ... Until.
PRAYER
THOT: Thank you Lord for the understanding of Bible prophecy for the last
days. It helps me to recognize where I am on Your time clock. Help me to live
expecting You to come today.