THE END OF MY WEBSITE
My readers may have noticed that my website has disappeared. I suspected that this might happen one day. If anybody is interested in reading my FREE books while they are still available, here are links where they can be downloaded…for now!
TRIBULATION TIMELINE: We are in the last days and Jesus Christ is even at the door. 2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. There is an ancient Epistle of Barnabas that was written at about the same time as the Books of the New Testament. The writer of Barnabas lays out God’s broad framework for the original fall of Adam and Eve, and the timeline for the final redemption of mankind.Barnabas 15:4
https://www.free-ebooks.net/religious/Tribulation-Timeline
SPEAK, HEAR, AND BELIEVE: If we desire to transform into His image, we must begin SPEAKING truth, light, life and love, we must begin Speaking God’s Word. Speaking, hearing, and believing God’s Word is the only way we can approach God and appropriate His promises.
https://www.free-ebooks.net/body-spirit/Speak-Hear-and-Believe
CHRISTIAN EXODUS OUT OF BABYLON: There are multitudes of allegories throughout the Old Testament regarding our Lord Jesus Christ. ALL the allegories regarding Jesus Christ also are allegories regarding the Church because the Church is the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul mentions that the Exodus 17:6 allegorical Rock is a reference to Christ: “for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” in I Cor. 10:4. Our Lord Jesus mentions the manna in Exodus 16:15 and says: “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” referring to Himself.
https://www.free-ebooks.net/religious/Christian-Exodus-Out-of-Babylon
I have learned a valuable lesson…never take for granted that books, or videos, or articles, or people that we are interested in will always be available whenever we want to have access to them. Perhaps this “bug” will be fixed someday, but I am not going to hold my breath.
I am going to fast and pray, and seek God for what He wants me to do next…Perhaps someday you will hear from me again. 2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
The following is the communication I had with my web host provider, Weebly.com:
Chat transcript:
Visitor: When I attempt to "edit" my website, I am taken to "add a theme".
Bree M: Hi there, my name is Bree and I will be helping you out today! Can I please start with the email address associated with your account?
Visitor: motsog.com
Visitor: mdh2016@yahoo.com
Bree M: thank you
Bree M: one moment while I look into this for you :)
Visitor: ok
Bree M: still looking into this :)
Visitor: ok
Bree M: Did you build the site using the app or desktop?
Visitor: desktop
Bree M: thanks
Bree M: Thanks for your patience, I am working with my advance team on this issue. Just a few more moments
Visitor: ok
Bree M: thanks for holding. Looks like this is an issue with the older theme you are using. We do recommend updating to one of the newer themes. I can still go in and reapply the older theme if you do not want to use a newer theme
Visitor: i like the older theme
Bree M: okay one moment let me get it re applied.
Visitor: ok
Bree M: give me a few more moments
Visitor: ok
Bree M: thank you so much for holding.
Visitor: ok
Bree M: We were able to apply the older theme however, this removed all the content on the site. Good news is we did make a copy of the site first so it has all the content on the copied version, however the blog does not copy over so the blogs are not on the copied site. At this point all the blogs and content are still on the live site, so we urge you not to publish as this will delete all that live content. I am going to escalate this up to be looked into however the fastest way to get this resolved is if you re-add the blogs on your end by copying them from the live site and adding them to the copied version in the editor. I know this is going to be some work, I have added 3 months of service to your starter plan making it good until October 21, 2019.
Visitor: I have been blogging on this site since 2015,
Bree M: I totally understand. All the blogs are still there on the live site but are not on the copied site. We are going to look into this further but not sure how long that will take. You are still able to access the all the blogs on the live site so you can copy and paste them into the copied version
Visitor: There are hundreds of blogs.
Bree M: I totally understand your frustration, I really do. We will work on trying to resolve the issue on our end however in the meantime the best bet is to re-add the blogs to the copied site. As long as you do not publish the site your site will stay live as it is now.
Visitor: OK, How long to resolve this?
Bree M: I do not have an eta
Visitor: A week? A month? A year?
Bree M: Unfortunately I do not know an eta. It depends on the complexity of the issue and if there is a way to resolve.
Visitor: Can you give me a time frame of when I will be updated about the resolution of the issue?
Bree M: Unfortunately not since I have no eta on this.
Visitor: So no progress report?
Bree M: my advance team will reach out to you via email with any updates or resolution when they have them, however I do not have an eta on when that email will be sent since it is a different team working on the issue.
Visitor: Who do I contact to check on progress?
Bree M: You can certainly reach back out to support and we can check for you however it is not necessary since you will be emailed by our advance team with that when any update or resolution is available
Visitor: Weebly should have a better resolution mechanism to deal with updates on this site.
Bree M: I hear you. I am truly sorry you are running into this issue.
The problem you're describing has already been identified as a bug and is being investigated by our engineering team. I don't have an ETA for when they'll have the issue fixed, but someone will follow up with you as soon as we have an update.
I'm very sorry you've run into this problem, and thanks for your patience while our team works to get this resolved.
Thank you!
Bree-Anna M
Customer Success Advocate
It is extremely important that we become well versed in the sacred scriptures. Often times, so called Bible “teachers” will take Bible verses completely out of context and even misquote the Bible in order to support false doctrines.
There is a very important promise that runs throughout the Old and the New Testament. God has promised to regather ISRAEL back to His Holy Land. I call this “regathering” the “Great Exodus” because I believe it will go hand in hand with the Great Tribulation. However, there is a misconception that has been promoted for at least the last seventy years, which has caused a lot of confusion in the modern Church, and it has also promoted a lot of wrong-headed understanding of end-times eschatology.
The error that has been promoted for the last seventy years is that the modern nation state of Israel is the ISRAEL of Bible prophecy. This falsehood could not be further from the truth, and hopefully I will be able to clear up the confusion (the error) in this article.
You might be saying to yourself, “Oh, he is one of those ‘replacement theology’ guys, who claim that the Church has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people”… and you would be right!
Supersessionism, also called replacement theology or fulfillment theology, is a Christian doctrine which asserts that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ supersedes the Old Covenant, which was made exclusively with the Jewish people.
In Christianity, supersessionism is a theological view on the current status of the church in relation to the Jewish people and Judaism.[1] It holds that the Christian Church has succeeded the Israelites as the definitive people of God[1][2][3] or that the New Covenant has replaced or superseded the Mosaic covenant.[4] From a supersessionist's "point of view, just by continuing to exist [outside the Church], the Jews dissent".[5] This view directly contrasts with dual-covenant theology which holds that the Mosaic covenant remains valid for Jews. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersessionism
Replacement Theology is not a new doctrine promoted by anti-Semitic racists. Replacement theology is a very ancient Christian doctrine promoted by Jesus Christ Himself.
Luk 20:9 He began to tell the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.
Luk 20:10 At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:11 He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:12 He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.
Luk 20:13 The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
Luk 20:14 “But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
Luk 20:15 They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
Luk 20:16 He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”
There is zero doubt who Jesus was talking about in this parable…at least in the minds of the scribes and priests who heard the parable. Instead of repenting, the Jewish leaders “immediately” began to conspire to carry out the very plan that Jesus warned would cause God’s wrath and judgment to be poured out on the nation of “JUDEA (Judah)”.
Luk 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
Luk 20:20 They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
If you have a Bible with a map of Palestine during the time of Jesus Christs’ ministry, you will notice that there was no “ISRAEL” during His ministry. Also, there is no “ISRAEL” today, because God has NOT re-gathered “ISRAEL”…yet! The nation that calls itself ISRAEL today is the nation of JUDEA (Judah)…NOT ISRAEL! The people who are actually practicing replacement theology are the JEWS! They are attempting to convince the Church that ALL the blessings that God has promised to ISRAEL belong to the Jewish people, but ALL the blessings promised to ISRAEL actually belong to… the CHURCH!
Joh 10:15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
The Apostle Paul made it very clear that ISRAEL, which includes the Jews (but is not only the Jews), has been replaced (for a time) by the GENTILE Church, because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah AND ancient ISRAEL fell into apostasy.
Rom 11:25 For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,
Rom 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Paul called it a PARTIAL hardening because many Jews during the ministry of Jesus Christ, and during the early Church, actually did accept Jesus as their Messiah, but the majority rejected the sufficiency of His sacrifice, or even the need of a sacrifice for their sins. The Jews in the first century believed that the sacrifice of bulls and sheep was all that they needed in order to appease the wrath and judgment of God.
Unfortunately for them, history and the Bible prove that they were wrong…and they are still wrong today. We understand from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus that the ten “lost” tribes of ISRAEL were still scattered beyond the Euphrates River during the Roman Empire period and during the early Church age.
2. When Esdras had received this epistle, he was very joyful, and began to worship God, and confessed that he had been the cause of the king’s great favor to him, and that for the same reason he gave all the thanks to God. So he read the epistle at Babylon to those Jews that were there; but he kept the epistle itself, and sent a copy of it to all those of his own nation that were in Media. And when these Jews had understood what piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took their effects with them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem; but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, Chapter 5:2, Complete Works of Flavius Josephus.
Apparently, the Jews during the time of Jesus still knew the location of the other “lost” tribes of Israel, and were able to communicate with them.
Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
James, the brother of Jesus, identified twelve (12) tribes in the Dispersion. I believe this is because there were also Benjamites and Jews mixed in with the other ten tribes. If we read the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we are told only three (3) tribes returned from the exile in Persia: Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. Also, only a small “portion” of these tribes actually returned during the time of the Persian captivity.
Ezr 1:5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of JUDAH and BENJAMIN, the priests, and the LEVITES, all whose spirit God had stirred to go up rose up to build Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem.
There has been much speculation about the identity of the so called ten (10) lost tribes of ISRAEL. Some people claim that the ancient Scythians are the lost tribes of Israel, others people claim that the ancient Celts are the lost tribes of Israel, and I have even heard convincing evidence that the modern day Kurds are the lost tribes of Israel. I suspect that ALL of these speculations are “partially” correct. Moses made it clear that ISRAEL would be scattered among ALL the nations because of their apostasy and rebellion against God.
Deu 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among ALL the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
Deu 30:2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from ALL the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Jacob told Joseph that the tribe of Ephraim, all by itself, would become a “multitude” of nations.
Gen 48:19 His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a MULTITUDE of nations.”
Gen 48:20 He blessed them that day, saying, “Israel will bless in you, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’” He set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Apparently, after the complete destruction of Judea by the Romans around 130 A.D., it was impossible for the Jewish people to maintain communication with the remaining ten tribes still in the dispersion. Although the ten “lost” tribes of Israel have been lost and forgotten to human history, God has promised that He would never lose or forget them.
Amo 9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh.
Amo 9:9 “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among ALL the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth.
Also, God has promised that in the last days, He would eventually re-gather ISRAEL back to the Holy Land and they would never be scattered again.
Amo 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of ISRAEL, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Amo 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
If you look at the timeline of prophets located below, you will notice that the Prophet Amos was alive BEFORE the dispersion of ISRAEL to Assyria. Even if you have only a little knowledge of Bible history, you know that the tribe of JUDAH was separated from ISRAEL shortly after the death of King Solomon…and they were NEVER joined together again.
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against David’s house to this day.
1Ki 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed David’s house, except for the tribe of Judah only.
This separation of ISRAEL from the tribe of JUDAH lasted for over two centuries until eventually the King of Assyria conquered ISRAEL and took them all away into captivity to the land of Assyria.
2Ki 17:22 The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn’t depart from them
2Ki 17:23 until Yahweh removed Israel out of his sight, as he said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.
However, there are several prophecies about the scattering and the REGATHERING of both Judah AND Israel. The Bible is NOT chronological; therefore, the history of Israel and Judah tends to become confusing. It may help to have a timeline of the prophets.
Moses: 1440 – 1400 B.C.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Joshua and Judges: 1400 B.C. – 1000 B.C.
Joshua, Judges
King David and King Solomon: 1000 B.C. – 931 B.C.
Job (may be the oldest book in the Bible), Ruth, Psalms, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Division of ISRAEL from JUDAH: 931 B.C. – 722 B.C.
Joel, Obadiah, Jonah: 790 B.C.
Amos: 767 – 750 B.C.
Hosiah: 755 – 725 B.C.
ISRAEL carried away into Assyria: 722 B.C.
Isaiah: 740 – 686 B.C.
Micah: 740 – 700 B.C.
Kingdom of JUDAH lasted until the exile in Persia: 722 B.C. – 605 B.C.
Nahum: 640 B.C.
Habakkuk: 627 – 561 B.C.
Zephaniah: 630 B.C.
Exile in Persia for seventy years: 605 – 536 B.C.
Jeremiah and Lamentations: 627 – 561 B.C.
Daniel: 603 – 535 B.C.
Ezekiel: 593 – 570 B.C.
Post Exile: 516 – 400 B.C.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi
The Prophet Isaiah was living in JUDAH when ISRAEL was carried away into captivity to Assyria, but Isaiah prophesied that ISRAEL would be regathered together again, with JUDAH, a second time from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of ISRAEL, and gather together the dispersed of JUDAH from the four corners of the earth.
This prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. It is important to recognize that Isaiah mentions both ISRAEL and JUDAH in his prophecy. This promise of a second gathering by God is not just for the Jews, but also includes ISRAEL…they are separate entities for now, but in the future they will be one people.
Again, Ezekiel prophesied during the captivity of Judah, also made it clear ISRAEL and JUDAH were separate, but would be joined together by God in the last days.
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For JUDAH, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of EPHRAIM, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze 37:22 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:
This prophecy was made several centuries after EPHRAIM and ISRAEL was led into captivity to Assyria. It is important to understand that this prophecy has NOT been fulfilled yet. This will be the biggest miracle in the history of the world and I believe it will occur during my lifetime. If you find the Book of Revelation confusing, it is because most people, including most Bible scholars, do not really understand that it is story about the final EXODUS that will be totally orchestrated by God to deliver His people in the Last Days. This GREAT EXODUS is really what the Book of Revelation is all about.
I am going to write more about this in my next blog, but you can also read more about it in my FREE Book: Christian Exodus, Out of Babylon.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jer 3:18 In those days the house of JUDAH shall walk with the house of ISRAEL, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
There is a very important promise that runs throughout the Old and the New Testament. God has promised to regather ISRAEL back to His Holy Land. I call this “regathering” the “Great Exodus” because I believe it will go hand in hand with the Great Tribulation. However, there is a misconception that has been promoted for at least the last seventy years, which has caused a lot of confusion in the modern Church, and it has also promoted a lot of wrong-headed understanding of end-times eschatology.
The error that has been promoted for the last seventy years is that the modern nation state of Israel is the ISRAEL of Bible prophecy. This falsehood could not be further from the truth, and hopefully I will be able to clear up the confusion (the error) in this article.
You might be saying to yourself, “Oh, he is one of those ‘replacement theology’ guys, who claim that the Church has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people”… and you would be right!
Supersessionism, also called replacement theology or fulfillment theology, is a Christian doctrine which asserts that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ supersedes the Old Covenant, which was made exclusively with the Jewish people.
In Christianity, supersessionism is a theological view on the current status of the church in relation to the Jewish people and Judaism.[1] It holds that the Christian Church has succeeded the Israelites as the definitive people of God[1][2][3] or that the New Covenant has replaced or superseded the Mosaic covenant.[4] From a supersessionist's "point of view, just by continuing to exist [outside the Church], the Jews dissent".[5] This view directly contrasts with dual-covenant theology which holds that the Mosaic covenant remains valid for Jews. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersessionism
Replacement Theology is not a new doctrine promoted by anti-Semitic racists. Replacement theology is a very ancient Christian doctrine promoted by Jesus Christ Himself.
Luk 20:9 He began to tell the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.
Luk 20:10 At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:11 He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:12 He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.
Luk 20:13 The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
Luk 20:14 “But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
Luk 20:15 They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
Luk 20:16 He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”
There is zero doubt who Jesus was talking about in this parable…at least in the minds of the scribes and priests who heard the parable. Instead of repenting, the Jewish leaders “immediately” began to conspire to carry out the very plan that Jesus warned would cause God’s wrath and judgment to be poured out on the nation of “JUDEA (Judah)”.
Luk 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
Luk 20:20 They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
If you have a Bible with a map of Palestine during the time of Jesus Christs’ ministry, you will notice that there was no “ISRAEL” during His ministry. Also, there is no “ISRAEL” today, because God has NOT re-gathered “ISRAEL”…yet! The nation that calls itself ISRAEL today is the nation of JUDEA (Judah)…NOT ISRAEL! The people who are actually practicing replacement theology are the JEWS! They are attempting to convince the Church that ALL the blessings that God has promised to ISRAEL belong to the Jewish people, but ALL the blessings promised to ISRAEL actually belong to… the CHURCH!
Joh 10:15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
The Apostle Paul made it very clear that ISRAEL, which includes the Jews (but is not only the Jews), has been replaced (for a time) by the GENTILE Church, because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah AND ancient ISRAEL fell into apostasy.
Rom 11:25 For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,
Rom 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Paul called it a PARTIAL hardening because many Jews during the ministry of Jesus Christ, and during the early Church, actually did accept Jesus as their Messiah, but the majority rejected the sufficiency of His sacrifice, or even the need of a sacrifice for their sins. The Jews in the first century believed that the sacrifice of bulls and sheep was all that they needed in order to appease the wrath and judgment of God.
Unfortunately for them, history and the Bible prove that they were wrong…and they are still wrong today. We understand from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus that the ten “lost” tribes of ISRAEL were still scattered beyond the Euphrates River during the Roman Empire period and during the early Church age.
2. When Esdras had received this epistle, he was very joyful, and began to worship God, and confessed that he had been the cause of the king’s great favor to him, and that for the same reason he gave all the thanks to God. So he read the epistle at Babylon to those Jews that were there; but he kept the epistle itself, and sent a copy of it to all those of his own nation that were in Media. And when these Jews had understood what piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took their effects with them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem; but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, Chapter 5:2, Complete Works of Flavius Josephus.
Apparently, the Jews during the time of Jesus still knew the location of the other “lost” tribes of Israel, and were able to communicate with them.
Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
James, the brother of Jesus, identified twelve (12) tribes in the Dispersion. I believe this is because there were also Benjamites and Jews mixed in with the other ten tribes. If we read the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we are told only three (3) tribes returned from the exile in Persia: Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. Also, only a small “portion” of these tribes actually returned during the time of the Persian captivity.
Ezr 1:5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of JUDAH and BENJAMIN, the priests, and the LEVITES, all whose spirit God had stirred to go up rose up to build Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem.
There has been much speculation about the identity of the so called ten (10) lost tribes of ISRAEL. Some people claim that the ancient Scythians are the lost tribes of Israel, others people claim that the ancient Celts are the lost tribes of Israel, and I have even heard convincing evidence that the modern day Kurds are the lost tribes of Israel. I suspect that ALL of these speculations are “partially” correct. Moses made it clear that ISRAEL would be scattered among ALL the nations because of their apostasy and rebellion against God.
Deu 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among ALL the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
Deu 30:2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from ALL the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Jacob told Joseph that the tribe of Ephraim, all by itself, would become a “multitude” of nations.
Gen 48:19 His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a MULTITUDE of nations.”
Gen 48:20 He blessed them that day, saying, “Israel will bless in you, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’” He set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Apparently, after the complete destruction of Judea by the Romans around 130 A.D., it was impossible for the Jewish people to maintain communication with the remaining ten tribes still in the dispersion. Although the ten “lost” tribes of Israel have been lost and forgotten to human history, God has promised that He would never lose or forget them.
Amo 9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh.
Amo 9:9 “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among ALL the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth.
Also, God has promised that in the last days, He would eventually re-gather ISRAEL back to the Holy Land and they would never be scattered again.
Amo 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of ISRAEL, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Amo 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
If you look at the timeline of prophets located below, you will notice that the Prophet Amos was alive BEFORE the dispersion of ISRAEL to Assyria. Even if you have only a little knowledge of Bible history, you know that the tribe of JUDAH was separated from ISRAEL shortly after the death of King Solomon…and they were NEVER joined together again.
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against David’s house to this day.
1Ki 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed David’s house, except for the tribe of Judah only.
This separation of ISRAEL from the tribe of JUDAH lasted for over two centuries until eventually the King of Assyria conquered ISRAEL and took them all away into captivity to the land of Assyria.
2Ki 17:22 The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn’t depart from them
2Ki 17:23 until Yahweh removed Israel out of his sight, as he said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.
However, there are several prophecies about the scattering and the REGATHERING of both Judah AND Israel. The Bible is NOT chronological; therefore, the history of Israel and Judah tends to become confusing. It may help to have a timeline of the prophets.
Moses: 1440 – 1400 B.C.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Joshua and Judges: 1400 B.C. – 1000 B.C.
Joshua, Judges
King David and King Solomon: 1000 B.C. – 931 B.C.
Job (may be the oldest book in the Bible), Ruth, Psalms, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Division of ISRAEL from JUDAH: 931 B.C. – 722 B.C.
Joel, Obadiah, Jonah: 790 B.C.
Amos: 767 – 750 B.C.
Hosiah: 755 – 725 B.C.
ISRAEL carried away into Assyria: 722 B.C.
Isaiah: 740 – 686 B.C.
Micah: 740 – 700 B.C.
Kingdom of JUDAH lasted until the exile in Persia: 722 B.C. – 605 B.C.
Nahum: 640 B.C.
Habakkuk: 627 – 561 B.C.
Zephaniah: 630 B.C.
Exile in Persia for seventy years: 605 – 536 B.C.
Jeremiah and Lamentations: 627 – 561 B.C.
Daniel: 603 – 535 B.C.
Ezekiel: 593 – 570 B.C.
Post Exile: 516 – 400 B.C.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi
The Prophet Isaiah was living in JUDAH when ISRAEL was carried away into captivity to Assyria, but Isaiah prophesied that ISRAEL would be regathered together again, with JUDAH, a second time from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of ISRAEL, and gather together the dispersed of JUDAH from the four corners of the earth.
This prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. It is important to recognize that Isaiah mentions both ISRAEL and JUDAH in his prophecy. This promise of a second gathering by God is not just for the Jews, but also includes ISRAEL…they are separate entities for now, but in the future they will be one people.
Again, Ezekiel prophesied during the captivity of Judah, also made it clear ISRAEL and JUDAH were separate, but would be joined together by God in the last days.
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For JUDAH, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of EPHRAIM, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze 37:22 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:
This prophecy was made several centuries after EPHRAIM and ISRAEL was led into captivity to Assyria. It is important to understand that this prophecy has NOT been fulfilled yet. This will be the biggest miracle in the history of the world and I believe it will occur during my lifetime. If you find the Book of Revelation confusing, it is because most people, including most Bible scholars, do not really understand that it is story about the final EXODUS that will be totally orchestrated by God to deliver His people in the Last Days. This GREAT EXODUS is really what the Book of Revelation is all about.
I am going to write more about this in my next blog, but you can also read more about it in my FREE Book: Christian Exodus, Out of Babylon.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jer 3:18 In those days the house of JUDAH shall walk with the house of ISRAEL, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
