The Mystery of Esau and Ephraim

Chapter 37 contains a prophecy of both the Jews’ and Israelites’ return from captivity to their own land; of the union of the each tribes with one another; their restoration is represented by a vision of dry bones made alive. But is this the start of the Millennium?

Ezekiel 37

¹ The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

— further details and enlightenment could be derived from Ezekiel 23:

And I will set My jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee. They shall take away thy nose and thine ears, and thy remnant shall fall by the sword. They shall take thy sons and thy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. Ezekiel 23:25

— since Ezekiel’s message is for the endtime and meant for the house of Israel, which is the United States and its European allies and “thy remnant shall fall by the sword . . . and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire”

— that is, if those remnant are put to the sword, and any residue be put to the fire, then no more would be left, reaffirming there is no place of safety for those hopeful to have one. Second, any living would have to be resurrected from the valley of dry bones!!!

² and caused me to pass by them round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. — this dryness reaffirms they are from the dead.

³ And He said unto me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, Thou knowest.” — and he said unto me, son of man, can these bones live? ~ is there any probability to believe they shall live?

⁴ Again He said unto me, “Prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, ‘O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

⁵ Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. — the word of prophecy from the Lord, indicating, as usual, it it a prophecy and a reference to a future time.

⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.’” — God said of these dry bones “and ye shall know that I am the Lord” implying that they never have known God, despite many claim they were Christians;

— how could they? In today’s world, no less than 99.99 percent of professing Christians don’t even know the basic tenet of understanding the Oracles of God!

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

⁸ And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. — these would be resurrected, but because they still need breath, they are resurrected into an mortal life, not spiritual as yet. Most of the time, the sheep have been fleeceth; and are only told lies.

⁹ Then said He unto me, “Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’”

— and breathe upon these slain or dead, that they may live; as in the proper form of living men; and yet no principle of spiritual life in them; but, like Adam’s body, of the earth, earthly, and breathless, till the Lord stirred up their spirits.

¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

¹¹ Then He said unto me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We are cut off from our parts.’ — these bones are the whole house of Israel; this phrase takes in the ten tribes, as well as the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah inclusive.

— in Isaiah 8:14 it is expressed as the “two houses of Israel” or “both houses of Israel;” which means the house of Judah could also be expressed as the house of Israel! ~ and depending on context, the house of Israel could only meant the 2-tribes house of Judah as in Ezekiel 8:6,11,12 and Matthew 15:24;

More from Ezekiel 12:3 “the whole house of Israel” all coming back, all in their Land of Promise, between the two Great Rivers: the Nile and the Euphrates!

and say: ‘Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys: Behold I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. — this message to the “mountains of Israel;” these mountains refer to the United States, UK and France. . . .

— and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys; the hills: Ireland, Switzerland and the Scandinavian: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, Finland and Iceland; and the valleys, the low countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg;

— and to the rivers (or ravines), where during the nineteenth century, the British Navy were known to “Rule the Waves;” their colonies, their new territories; and the United States having been plowing up and down the five oceans with her Seven Fleets since the British Navy left the scene;

¹² Therefore prophesy and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

¹³ And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, — in God’s view, death is both unclean and an insignificant event, hence he forbid his priests to come near the dead among his people; but the high priests, only their parents and close relation (Leviticus 21:1-11).

¹⁴ and shall put My Spirit in you and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord.’” — this phase ye or they “shall know that I am the Lord” or a variation here implies that neither those teaching in the synagogues nor those in their numerous churches know God today!!!

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, — the Targum renders it as the word of prophecy from the Lord. If Ezra sees it as a prophecy, it is a reference to a futuristic time.

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.’

— earlier in Ezekiel 36:1 these are described as “the mountain of Israel;” this prophecy is concerning the top dog, the United States and its European allies, UK and France. And in Ezekiel 36:4 “the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys;” these are the hills: Ireland, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, Finland, and Iceland; and the valleys, the low countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

¹⁷ And join them one to another into one stick, and they shall become one in thine hand.

¹⁸ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, ‘Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?’

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.’ — behold and they shall be one stick; that is, that they shall no longer be two kingdoms.

²⁰ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

²¹ “And say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations whither they have gone, and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land.

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. — and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, as they were during the times of David and Solomon.

²³ Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places wherein they have sinned and will cleanse them. So shall they be My people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “‘And David My servant shall be King over them, and they all shall have one Shepherd. They shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. — is this the Millennium? Is this the same King David of ancient Israel? Or is he an equivalent?

— and they shall also walk in my judgements, and keep my statutes, and do them; these would definitely include the statutes and ordinances of the “ceremonial” law since the Temple will be rebuilt; and which the Jews, who control Jerusalem, will be performing them for and on behalf of all other tribes of the Israelites and of all nations; for more see Ezekiel chapter 40 to chapter 48.

²⁵ And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children and their children’s children for ever. And My servant David shall be their Prince for ever. — is this the Millennium? Is this the same King David of ancient Israel? Or is he a type, or an equivalent?

²⁶ Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. — the Temple will be rebuilt, and the Glory of God, the Shekhinah will return; for more see Ezekiel chapter 40 to chapter 48.

²⁷ My tabernacle also shall be with them. Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

²⁸ And the nations shall know that I, the Lord, do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.’” — the Temple will be filled with the Glory of God; the Shekhinah will be manifested before all the nations of the world.

— the Question remains, is this the start of the Millennium? If so the Messiah (Christ) and His saints would rule the world, some over one city, others ten. Would these saints be given power over the nations, yet so powerless with no power to allow their subjects, Gog and Magog, to go all the way to Jerusalem and mount a war against its inhabitants? And all the way from east Asia, say China, Korea or even Japan? It seems inconceivable. Or, is “My servant David” a form of John the Baptist that came in the name of Elijah? Your thoughts?

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Malachi 4:5

Ezekiel 38

¹ And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

² “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, in the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him — Gog¹⁴⁶³ גוג (Agag ⁹⁰אגג) of the land of Magog, is an abbreviated expression for “Gog from the land of Magog;”

— Magog, Meshech and Tubal, these are the sons of Japheth; Gomer, and his son, Togarmah, are mentioned later in verse 6; omitting the Japhetic tribes of Madai, Javan and Tiras; Genesis 10:2), and led by their chief, Gog, Russia; and Gog is acting as their Chief; their Prince;

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. ³And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah ⁴And the sons of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. Genesis 10:2-4

— in Revelation 20:8, after the thousand years are over, “Gog and Magog” might be a term adopted by John either as mystical names or symbolic names of rebellious nations against the eminence of those ruling from Jerusalem; or rebelling “against the mountains of Israel” with Jerusalem as its Capital;

— second opinion says the countries of Gog and Magog, which they call Gug and Mungug; from hence came the Turks, even from Tartary; Josephus (Antiqu.l.1.c.6.sect.1) says that the posterity of Magog are called Scythians, and these inhabited Tartary; so some commentaries make Gog to be the general of the Ishmaelites or Edomites or Turks. This land of Magog is the same with Cathaia or Scythia, that part of Tartary from whence the Turks came; Joel Richardson is of this opinion;

— a third opinion; could the term chief or title “Gog” be translated as Agag or as the Amalekitish kings instead? The name Gog occurs only in connection with Magog, except in 1 Chronicles 5:4. In Numbers 24:7 it was translated as “Gog” in the Septuagint in place of Agag. It has been suggested that “Agag” was a dynastic name of the kings of Amalek, a grandson of Esau; just as Pharaoh was used as a dynastic name for the ancient Egyptians, Caesar of Rome; or of more modern times, the Czar of Russia;

There shall come a man out of his seed, and he shall rule over many nations; and the kingdom of Gog shall be exalted, and his kingdom shall be increased. Numbers 24:7 (Septuagint) “Agag” in the Masoretic; throughout history there is no concept of any “kingdom of Gog” but a “kingdom of Agag” could be conceptualized as the kingdom of the Amalekites.

— a fourth opinion confirms the third, it arose from the Targum, the prophecy of Eldad and Medad (Number 11:27 Jonathan), refering to endtime “Gog and Magog” which says, “a king will arise from the land of Magog, at the end of the days.” Thus this solidifies that Gog is a dynastic title of a king, a king of the Amalekite vigour in their hatred for Israel.

³ and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. — Gog is not a name among the sons of Japheth, but designated as from the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal[

— some from the first opinion identify Moscow as Meshech and Tobolsk as Tubal; a country called Ros; from whence the Russians came;

⁴ And I will turn thee back and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords;

— “Gog and Magog” seems to have a evil design for the mountains of Israel, hailing a war cry: “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance,” hence drawing God’s response;

⁵ Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet; — Persia, or Elam (for more, see Jeremiah 49) these, with Ethiopia, and Libya, are known to be from among the sons or grandsons of Ham (or with a mix with Shem)

⁶ Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters and all his bands — Gomer, the eldest son of Japheth, is here mentioned; and many people with thee; in Revelation 20:8 Gog and Magog shall go out to deceive the nations to the four quarters of the earth;

— but here, Persia (which, today is Iran) is from the east; Ethiopia or Cush is from the south; Libya or Put represents the west; and the house of Togarmah is from the north; that is, all four directions; and representatives from all the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

⁷ “‘Be thou prepared and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. — TLB translation says “Be prepared! Stay mobilized. You are their leader, Gog!”

⁸ After many days thou shalt be visited. In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste; but it is brought forth out of the nations and they shall dwell safely, all of them.

— after many days thou shalt be visited; this expression “after many days” indicates that what is predicted through Ezekiel’s eyes is far into the future; hence it is our endtime days, or our near future;

— led by “Gog and Magog” ‘in the latter years,’ numerous rebellious nations will launch an attack on the mountains of Israel from all directions; note: mountainS in plural, indicating more nations are then within the land between the great Rivers, the Nile and the Ephrates (for more see “I am thy shield!” (Genesis 15));

— the nation of ‘Israel’ today is only one nation; but here until the end of chapter 39, it is against “the mountains of Israel” indicating that the United States, the United Kingdom and France have returned to the Land of Promise between the two Great Rivers (for more see “I am thy shield!” (Genesis 15));

— note that (1) Damascus or Syria is not among “Gog and Magog” by which time a larger portion of Syria, including Damascus, it capital; would have been destroyed; Isaiah 17; (2) Lebanon, including Tyre and Sidon; (3) Jordan, known by its biblical name as Ammon and or Moab; would all have been absorbed into Greater Israel!

⁹ Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm. Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy troops, and many people with thee. — ‘in the latter years,’ yet not within the Millennium.

¹⁰ “‘Thus saith the Lord God: It shall also come to pass that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought; — is this the Millennium? If so, Satan would be bound and he won’t be able to influence the nations?

— at the same time shall things come into thy mind; when the Israelites shall be in their own land, dwelling in great security; and when Gog and his companions shall make preparation to enter into their land suddenly and furiously; and thou shall think an evil thought, many schemes and devices; to do mischief, to dispossess them of their land, and plunder their substance.

¹¹ and thou shalt say, “I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates” — evil thoughts abound with these nations, thus this couldn’t be the Millennium where all people would be given a new heart with a new spirit.

¹² to take a spoil and to take a prey, to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited and upon the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten cattle and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. — this intended plundering by Gog as the chief of numerous rebellious nations and peoples with him against a reconstituted Israel will be met with God’s judgement and retribution of his might.

¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, “Art thou come to despoil us? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”’

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: On that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? — the nations would be tested whether they could learn from the Israelites experience or if not, they could face God’s judgement and retribution of his might.

¹⁵ And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army. — in relation to Jerusalem, Gog, the chief of their princes, a confederation of nations, is indicated as coming from the north. So who is their Chief? The two major nations lying north of Jerusalem are Turkey and Russia;

— most Evangelicals including the CoG Communities say Gog is Russia whereas Joel Richardson says Gog is Turkey; so who is this chief, Gog, from the land of Magog? Both Russia and Turkey lying north of Jerusalem. We’ll have to wait and see.

¹⁶ And thou shalt come up against My people of Israel as a cloud to cover the land. It shall be in the latter days; and I will bring thee against My land, that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. — the timing is during “the latter days” so in this context it is before the Millennium;

— the Targum says, “that the people may know the vengeance of my power, when I shall be sanctified in thee, who shall see thy vengeance, O Gog.”

¹⁷ “‘Thus saith the Lord God: Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old times by My servants the prophets of Israel who prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? — besides Ezekiel, there would be other prophets that spoke of Gog, hence the plural form of prophet.

¹⁸ And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that My fury shall come upon My face. — these are rebellous Gentile nations who are stubborn and refuse to learn from the experiences of the Israelites.

¹⁹ For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken: Surely on that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel, — why this “great shaking” in Israel only; more probably it is because Gog and his confederate is there in the land of Israel; or is this inclusive of the whole world?

— or perhaps this is about a scene in Isaiah 24:20; and if it is the earth, this would be inclusive of the whole world, which shall reel to and fro like a drunkard; the cities in confusion; the land utterly emptied!

“The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again” Isaiah 24:20

²⁰ so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence; and the mountains shall be thrown down and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

— this scene runs parallel like when the Israelites were at the foot of Mount Sinai when the mountain quaked with thunders getting louder and louder, with Moses speaking with God in a voice also like thunders that frightened the Israelites as written in Exodus 19:18–20.

¹⁸ And Mount Sinai was altogether in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

¹⁹ And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

²⁰ And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. Exodus 19:18-20

²¹ And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, saith the Lord God. Every man’s sword shall be against his brother. — this will be a civil war within “Gog and Magog” warring among the confederate, with numerous nations swords against each other’s throats.

²² And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him and upon his troops and upon the many people that are with him an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.

— and I will plead against them with pestilence and with blood; not only the sword against the confederate and the sword of Gog’s soldiers against one another; but the Lord himself would plead with them by his laws and commandments, “and they shall also walk in my judgements and keep my statutes and do them” or be executed judgement against them;

— as the Targum; and send a pestilence in his army, which should destroy vast numbers of it; as the army of Sennacherib was destroyed by one when he went before Jerusalem; and make a great slaughter among them by that and other judgements;

— or with six plagues; namely, pestilence, blood (by guns or by the sword certainly), torrential rains, hailstones, fire and brimstone;

²³ Thus will I magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ — “and I will be known in the eyes of many nations” could be known by another term, “the times of the Gentiles;”

— the times of the Gentiles would most probably be a time where God revealed himself to the Gentiles as he had earlier revealed to the Israelites, and would be given an opportunity to learn all of God’s ordinances and statutes, his laws and his judgements and even observe his Sabbaths: weekly, annual and land; those who refuse to obey will similarily be horse-whipped with “hailstones, fire and brimstone” like the Israelites before them;

— and lastly, “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” (together with verse 16 “that the nations may know Me”) indicate these Gentiles would have learned their lessons, repented and survive at the end; that is, all nations, all nations without exception, would have their share of opportunity for warning, repentence and redemption during their judgements before the Glory of God.

~ by Japheth on November 20, 2022.

Posted in Ezekiel