The Return of YEHOVAH God and the Restoration of ALL Israel

by Dr. James D. Tabor

Christians have been taught for centuries that the Church has replaced Israel as the Chosen nation, taking over her mission to the world. In a related way, the dozens of Prophetic texts which promise the full and complete restoration of all Twelve Tribes of Israel to the Land have been allegorized and applied to either the Church, or to salvation in Heaven. The sad tale of Christian history, particularly the "Christian" slander and slaughter of the true Israelites down through the ages, certainly belies any such transfer of the Plan to the Church.

It is noteworthy that many texts from the New Testament itself reject such displacement interpretations, indicating that such ideas entered the Nazarene movement only over time and slowly took root. However, it is beyond doubt that the Hebrew Prophets know of no such shift in the Abrahamic Plan. Accordingly, those who take the Biblical revelation seriously must thoroughly reject all forms of replacement theology.

According to both Torah and Prophets, and even pious Jews have understood this through the centuries, the House of Israel (the northern 10 tribes), and subsequently the House of Judah (the Judahites and Benjamites) went into Exile because of their sins, and YHVH actually hid His face from her:

Deuteronomy 31:17-18: "Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?' And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods."

Deuteronomy 32:20: "Then He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be."

Micah 3:4: "Then they will cry to YHVH, but He will not hear them. But He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds."

However, this "hiding of the face" is neither rejection nor replacement. On the contrary, the very purpose of the Exile is to prepare for the full restoration of all Israel. Exile is always understood as a temporary measure of discipline, for a set period of time. Notice, when Moses first mentions the Exile, he includes the promise of restoration:

Deuteronomy 4:30-31: "When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to YHVH your God and obey to His voice, for YHVH your God is a merciful God, He will not forsake you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them."

Deuteronomy30:3-6: "YHVH your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the nations where YHVH your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest part under heaven, from there YHVH your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you...And YHVH your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love YHVH your God with all your heart and will all your soul, so that you may live."

The Lost Tribes of Israel

These promises of restoration are addressed to both the House of Israel (the Lost Ten Tribes) and the House of Judah (the Judahites and Benjamites). One of the most neglected points in the Hebrew Prophets, even among true Israelites, but virtually unacknowledged among Gentiles/Christians, is their constant emphasis on the total restoration of ALL Israel -- meaning all twelve Tribes. Ephraim/Joseph, who has seemingly been lost among the Gentiles, will make himself known to his brother Judah.

The results of this reunion will astound the world and alter world history. This is even hinted at mystically in the Joseph story (Genesis 45), but is declared in no uncertain terms throughout the Prophets. The average reader seldom notes the careful distinction which the Prophets consistently make between the House of Israel (Ephraim/Joseph), which refers to the Lost Ten Tribes, and the House of Judah, whom we have known since the Babylonian Exile as the Judahite people.

2 Kings chapter 17 recounts the stark story of how the Assyrian king Sargon II took the Ten Tribes into captivity in 723 B.C.E and settled them northwest of Palestine, in the area of the Habor River near Lakes Van and Urmia. The writer makes it clear that "none was left except the tribe of Judah" (17:18). Josephus tells us that in his day many of them were still living in these areas, "beyond the Euphrates" (Antiquities 11.133). However, there is a persistent tradition that significant portions of these tribes began to migrate elsewhere. The question of just where they went has been a subject of controversy down through the years and has given rise to many legends and attempts to locate them.

2 Esdras says that after crossing the Euphrates they journeyed a year and a half and came to a distant sparsely inhabited country called "Arzareth," where they are to remain until the last days (13:43-47). Unfortunately this name simply means "another land" and tells us only that they left their original area and went a considerable distance. The rabbinic sources say that they migrated beyond the river Sambatyon, across which they will someday return. This mysterious river is said to flow six days a week, but rest on the Sabbath.

Most scholars have taken this reference to the Sambatyon River as purely legendary and fantastic. However, recent research in Jerusalem has identified the river as none other than the Bosphorus strait, where the waters of the Black Sea flow past Istanbul toward the Aegean. There the current does actually slow down drastically, and at times even stop or reverse, on average about once a week, giving rise to these accounts. Isaiah also indicates that these tribes were located to the west in his time (Isaiah 66:18-21).

Based on this, and much additional recent research, it can definitely be shown that significant portions of the Lost Tribes migrated northwest, toward Europe, and are to be found today among the Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred peoples. In other words, the tribes are largely located today in the United States, Great Britain, northwestern Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other scattered areas. They are primarily Protestant, tied to their Biblical heritage.

Unfortunately, most researchers have tended to look to the East, and have only found scattered pockets of peoples who might be associated with the tribes -- the Bene Israel of India, the Pathans on the Afghani-Pakastani border, the Kashmiris, the Chiang-Min on the Chinese-Tibetan border, and even many tribes of Africa of whom the Ethiopians have been the most prominent example.

These attempts at locating the tribes miss the fact that the most significant group went northwest into Europe, and did finally fulfill the promises that were made to the two sons of Joseph -- Ephraim and Manasseh, about unprecedented national greatness (Genesis 48:4-20). They were to become a great company of nations leading the world in wealth and influence (Genesis 49:22-26; Deuteronomy 33:13-17). This fits in well with what the Prophets predict for the last days, when the Lost Tribes return. They are pictured "without number, as the sand of the sea" not as tiny insignificant pockets of tribal groups. The official rabbinic ruling (halacha) is that the Lost Tribes will return.

The Hebrew prophets consistently and carefully distinguish between these two "Houses." This is not a minor theme, but actually the dominant emphasis that runs throughout these texts. This restoration of all Israel rests upon the absolute promise of YHVH. Although Israel (that is the Ten Tribes) is scattered through the nations, numbering as the sands of the sea, and they even come to think of themselves as Gentiles, YHVH declares that not the "least grain" will be lost. His eyes are on all their ways, and they will surely RETURN -- to YHVH their God, to Judah (the Judahites), and to the Land.

The following texts provide a brief overview of the prophetic picture. The details and consistency one finds in the Prophets on this subject is quite impressive. Anyone who will bother to carefully study these texts will come away with a transformed understanding of what lies on the horizon with regard to the prophetic times in which we live.

Isaiah 11:11-12: "It shall come to pass in that day that YHVH shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

The Davidic ruler gathers both the House of Israel and the House of Judah -- and peace comes between the two. This full gathering seems to come with the appearance of the Davidic Messiah, however, many texts indicate that the first stages of the reunion begin earlier and in less dramatic ways.

Jeremiah 3:6-18: The northern tribes of Israel return and join Judah, "one from a city, two from a family" prior to the complete union when the Kingdom of God comes. This appears to be what has begun to happen in our day.

Jeremiah 16:14-19: This is often erroneously applied to Judah and to the Judahites returning to the Land in our century, but in context, it applies to the House of Israel (Lost Ten Tribes), who have become like the "nations," whose fathers have inherited lies. Note the images: the first stage is fishing; the second is hunting.

Jeremiah 23:1-6: "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says YHVH. Therefore thus says YHVH the God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says YHVH. "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

"I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says YHVH. "Behold, the days are coming," says YHVH, "that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is his name by which he will be called: The Lord our Righteousness."

This passage makes it clear that both Houses will come eventually -- and again their return is associated with the Davidic Messiah. This GREAT RETURN is to rival the Exodus from Egypt in the time of Moses!

Jeremiah 30-31: These key chapters are particularly full and vivid regarding the sequence of events to come about in the "latter days," and the establishment of the much expected new covenant with the restored Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Hosea 1-3: The Lost Tribes become "not My people," losing their identity and their knowledge of YEHOVAH God and turning to paganism ("days of the Baalim," through they number as the sands of the sea (1:10-11; 2:13). They remain in this state for "many days" but return to Judah and to their God in the "latter days." Once again their return is associated with the appearance of the Davidic Messiah (1:11; 3:4-5).

Hosea 5:6-6:3: They are "revived on the third day," probably meaning after 2500 years of exile.

Amos 9:8-10: "Behold, the eyes of YHVH God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," says YHVH. "For surely I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake us nor confront us'."

In Amos 8:11-12 the northern Ten Tribes lose contact with YHVH God. They are to be sifted through the nations, nonetheless they are kept intact. Their restoration is once again connected to the Davidic Messiah.

Obadiah 15-21: A restored "Joseph/Ephraim" (Lost Tribes) is instrumental in finally punishing the Islamic nations who have rejoiced at modern Israel's troubles and distress (the Twin Towers, the Gulf War, etc.).

Micah 2:12-13: "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make a loud noise because of so many men. The one who breaks open will come up before them; they will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; their king shall pass before them, with YHVH at their head."

Great multitudes of the remnant of Israel return, until their is no room for them, even spilling over into Gilead (the east Bank, see Micah 7:14). Micah 5:3-15: They are given up until the Davidic restoration, "then the remnant of the Messiah's [Israelite] brethren return unto the children of Israel!"

Zechariah 8:13; 9 & 10: All the tribes eventually come together -- Judah and Ephraim are joined. Judah seems to be saved first (12:7), and have great military success (10:3-5), but Joseph (the Lost Tribes) is afterward associated with them (10:6-10). They are so numerous that they spill over into Lebanon and Gilead. Of particular note is the language of Zechariah 10:9: "And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries, and they shall live with their children, and turn again."

Ezekiel 34-37: YHVH Himself will search out His "lost sheep" which have been scattered among the nations (34:11-13). The "two sticks" of the House of Judah (the Judahites) and the House of Israel (the Lost Tribes of Joseph and his brethren) are absolutely destined to become one, leading to the Messianic era (37:15-28).

Almost all interpreters of prophecy, whether Jewish or Christian, tend to loosely read these texts and apply them in a blanket way "to the Jews." However, these passages from the Prophets clearly speak of a GREAT RETURN of ALL Israel. This vital distinction between the House of Judah and the House of Israel must be carefully noted if one wants to understand the detailed prophetic picture presented in these texts.

These promises to national Israel are absolute and unconditional. There are over forty separate sections of the Hebrew prophets which deal specifically, and in the greatest of detail, with this theme of the full and unqualified restoration of all twelve of the Tribes of Israel. The cumulative impact of these texts is overwhelming. They cannot be ignored or spiritualized if one wishes to interpret the Scripture with any historical seriousness. Yet they have never been fulfilled in past history -- not in the 6th century B.C.E when a few thousand Judahites returned to the Land, nor yet in our day. The Prophets speak of Judah returning first to the Land. Their return will be a concrete demonstration that YHVH has not, and will not, cast off or reject His people Israel -- including the Ten Lost Tribes:

Jeremiah 31:35-37: "Thus says YHVH, who gives the sun for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea so that its waves roar; YHVH of Hosts is His name: "If those ordinances depart from before Me, declares YHVH, then the offspring of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus says YHVH, 'If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,' declares YHVH."

Isaiah 54:9-10: "'For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the land, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall my covenant of peace be removed,' says YHVH who has mercy on you."

Surely language could be no plainer. The full restoration of all Israel is as sure and certain as the laws of Nature and as the sworn testimony of YHVH God Himself. The Prophets speak about a specific period of time when this restoration will come:

Hosea 3:4-5: "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek YHVH their God and David their king. They will fear YHVH and His goodness in the last days."

Though scattered to all nations, shifted like wheat, YHVH declares "my eyes are on all their ways," and "not the least grain will fall to the ground" (Jeremiah 16:17; Amos 9:9). Both Israel and Judah (all Twelve Tribes) will be brought back to the Land and reunited in a GREAT RETURN that will rival the Exodus from Egypt (Ezekiel 37:15-23; Jeremiah 16:14-15). This return is for spiritual purposes which leads to the arrival of the Messianic age and the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God.

Ezekiel 39:25-29: "Therefore thus says YHVH God, 'Now I will bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My Holy Name....When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am YHVH their God who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide my face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My spirit on the house of Israel.'"

Jeremiah 31:33: "'But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' says YHVH: 'I will put my Torah in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'"

Ezekiel 36:25-26: "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all the countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean....I will give you anew heart and put a new spirit within you..."

This is all part of the Plan: that through the nation Israel, and her Messiah, all the world will come to experience the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. Israel suffers Exile, receiving "double for all her sins," but according to Isaiah 40-53 she is also the "servant of YHVH" whose suffering and redemption is a light for all nations. Jeremiah puts it most succinctly:

Jeremiah 33:7-9: "I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity...then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all the nations of the earth."

The conversion of Israel leads to the turning of all nations to the knowledge of YHVH and His Torah Way for all humankind. The Davidic Messiah regathers all Israel, and at the same time the nations seek YHVH (Isaiah 11:10-12). It is at that time the "earth becomes full of the knowledge of YHVH as the waters cover the seas" (Isaiah 11:9). The Torah goes forth from Jerusalem to all nations; the nations stream up to the land to learn the Way of YHVH (Isaiah 2:2-4). Consistently the Prophets associate these three related phenomena: the return of the House of Judah, the joining of Judah with the Lost Ten Tribes, and the subsequent joining of all the nations to YHVH and His Way. Notice these verses:

Isaiah 14:1-2: "For YHVH will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of YHVH; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors."

Isaiah 56:7: "Even them [strangers, foreigners] I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."

Isaiah 60:3: "The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."

Zechariah 2:10-12: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says YHVH. "Many nations shall be joined to YHVH in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that YHVH of hosts has sent Me to you. And YHVH will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem."

 (See also Psalm 67).

Note these clear examples:

Jeremiah 16:15; 19: "But, YHVH lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them. For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers....The Gentiles [House of Israel, in this case] shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthless and unprofitable things." 

Jeremiah 3:17-18: "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of YHVH, and all the nations [of Israel] shall be gathered to it, to the name of YHVH, to Jerusalem. Nor more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. In those days Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers."

Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek YHVH of Hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before YHVH...Thus says YHVH of Hosts,

Zechariah 8:23: "In those days ten men from every language of the nations will grasp the corner of the garment [the tzizit; Numbers 15:38-40] of a Judahite man saying, `Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." 

Jeremiah says, "Israel was holy to YHVH, the firstfruits of His harvest" (2:3). This image of the firstfruits relates to the symbolic meaning of Israel's Holy Days and the harvest seasons, as set forth in Leviticus 23. The Way of YHVH will first be realized through the "great nation," as promised to Abraham, repeated to Isaac and Jacob, and reiterated throughout the Bible, then the "full harvest will follow.

There is none of the modern denominational attitude of “everybody love everybody, regardless of race” in all of this. Israel taking “tribute” of foreigners was not an isolated incident either. Some may say, “Well, that was just what they did in those days” as if it has no present-day bearing. But we saw a glimpse of YHVH God’s purpose in Isaiah 60:10-12, 14:1 in the past, and in Zechariah 14, for the future. We have seen what was done in the past and what will be done in the future.  

There is nothing racist about this Plan of God, rather it is a matter of YHVH using those whom He has determined and prepared for his historic purposes, thus fulfilling His promises. As YHVH Himself declares, this restoration of all Israel is a "vindication" of His Holy Name (Ezekiel 36:23). This is the prime Messianic task according to all the Prophets. Unless, and until, all Israel is restored to the Land, with Judah and Joseph joined as one, there is no Messianic fulfillment, and there will be no realization of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God.

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Courage for the Sake of Truth is Far Better Than Silence for the Sake of Unity!

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