When Ephraim Comes Home Part 1 (Restored)

 

When Joseph saw his father lay his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased and took his father's hand from Ephraim's head and placed it on Manasseh's head. Joseph said to his father: «Not so, my father, because this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.' But his
father refused him and said: “I know, my son, I know; he too will become a people; he too will be great; nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations” – Genesis 48:17-19 (New International Version)

Ephraim was the second son of Joseph, born of an Egyptian named Asenat (or Aseneth), daughter of Potiphera who was an Egyptian priest - Genesis 41:50-52 The same names,
Aseneth and Potiphera underline how much they were related to religion Egyptian ¹ .
So both Ephraim and Manasseh were born into a “mixed” family, so to speak, that is, not exclusively among True God worshippers.
Nonetheless, Joseph considered both of his sons a blessing from God in that upon their birth he said “God to me it has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's house". And the second he named Ephraim, because, as he said, "God made me fruitful in the land of my trouble" - Genesis 41:51, 52
That this idea was correct was all the more seen when his father, Jacob, adopted them as his own sons giving them the inheritance of his line and said that, as his sons by adoption, they too would take possession of the land to time indefinite like everyone
else! - Genesis 48:3-5
That blessing was certainly a reason for joy for Joseph but a singular thing also happened which, at least initially, left him perplexed.
Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim's head, thus giving priority and preference to him rather than to Manasseh, despite the fact that the latter was the firstborn...
Perhaps due to his advanced age, Joseph thought of an oversight on the part of his father... but Jacob said resolutely what is reported in the Guide Scripture of this article.
What did Jacob mean by those words and how and when would they be fulfilled?
After that episode, Ephraim's 40,500 fighters exceeded those of Manasseh who, however, stopped at 32,300 - Numbers 1:32-35
Was this what Jacob was referring to in his blessing many years earlier?
Obviously not, not only because just a few decades later the situation had already drastically changed (compare Numbers 26:34, 37) but as we will soon see there is an even more important reason.
Moses reconfirmed that blessing when, on the verge of dying, he again mentioned the superiority of Ephraim over Manasseh and the particularity of the latter, compared to the blessings pronounced to all the other tribes, would have been precisely the number - Deuteronomy 33:17
Jacob's blessing, however, did not just say that he would become greater than Manasseh but clearly specified that he would grow so much, to the point of becoming " a multitude of nations "... but when did this happen?
Is there any trace of this fulfillment in the Word of God?
By simply examining the biblical story, the "Ephraim" issue soon became enormously complicated.
This tribe became a problem.
Even before the division of Israel they showed pride and ambition and this attitude led to a sad civil war - Judges 12:1-6
Later, as already mentioned, Ephraim became the main tribe of the northern kingdom when the nation divided.
The Ephraimites, at least the majority of them, left the worship of the only true God and became shameful worshipers of Baals and calves – Hosea 13:1; 1 Kings 12:25-30
For this they were severely punished.
From then on Ephraim suffered a constant and inexorable decay.
Through the prophets Hosea and Isaiah, the God of Israel severely condemned Ephraim who, instead of repenting and changing his course by trusting in God, sought the support of Egypt.
The northern kingdom of Israel (of which Ephraim was the chief tribe) was then destroyed while this portion of the Israelites merged and dispersed into several other nations.
In the original territory of the ten tribes, which has now become an Assyrian province, people of different origins settled there - 2 Kings 17:24
This was the end of the Northern Kingdom, including Ephraim.
So did Jacob's prophetic blessing fail?
Was he lost in thin air?
Perhaps when he said that Ephraim would become a multitude of nations, was he referring to this, that is, the dispersion among the nations?
Of course not, because this would have been a curse (compare Deuteronomy 30:1-7) while the blessing was just the opposite, namely taking possession of the land of Israel.
However, the biblical story regarding Ephraim stops there.
From then on we will speak only of the two tribes of the southern kingdom or Benjamin and Judah.
Zechariah and several other biblical books of that period related, in detail, the return of the
Jews at home but by "Jews", obviously, the remnants of these two tribes were now meant - Ezra 2:1
Those who had occupied the original territory of the ten tribes for a long time, who wanted so much to "build with them", did not c 'they entered absolutely nothing with them - compare Ezra 4:1-24
Given this tragic epilogue should we conclude that Ephraim would have been history of the past and that the God of Israel rejected that tribe forever and, consequently, all the others now scattered?
This hypothesis would closely resemble what is called "replacement theology" by apostate Christianity.
We have seen that all of Christendom's claims about this fateful substitution are utterly bogus.
If this is true of the Jews who, no less than the Ephraimites, have strayed enormously from true worship…why should it be any different for everyone else? - compare Ezekiel chapter 23; Jeremiah 3:11-18; Romans 11:30, 31
Jacob blessed Ephraim under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that is, according to the will of God, and He cannot change His mind or fail His purposes – Isaiah 55:11; Malachi 3:6, 7
In fact, the return of Ephraim has long been prophesied in the Scriptures.
God's Word had prophesied, to all of Israel, what would happen if they stopped following him by serving other gods.
They would have been scattered among the nations and this happened, at different times, to both kingdoms - Deuteronomy 30:1
However this warning/prophecy said that even after such punishment, once they remembered those words and repented “the LORD your God will bring your people back from bondage, have mercy on you, and gather you again among all peoples, among whom the LORD your God will scatter you” – Deuteronomy 30:2, 3, New International Version
Is it God's will, then, that Ephraim return to the promised land?
Let's think carefully about it when evaluating a very significant prophecy.
“And the word of Jehovah kept coming to me, saying: “And as for you, O son of man, take a rod for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the sons of Israel his
companions'. And take another wand and write on it: 'By Joseph, Ephraim's wand, and all the house of Israel his companions.' And bring them near to each other as one
wand to yourself, and they'll really become just one in your hand. And when the sons of your people begin to say to you: 'Will you not tell us what these things mean to you?' speak to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Here I am taking the rod
of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will certainly put them upon it, that is, the rod of Judah , and I will actually make them one wand, and they shall become one in my hand”'. And the wands on which you write must be
in your hand in front of their eyes.
“And he speaks to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Here I am taking the sons of Israel from among the nations to which they have gone, and I shall certainly gather them from all around and bring them to their soil. And I will actually make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king is what they shall all have as kings, and they shall no longer continue to be two nations, neither shall they be divided any more into two kingdoms. And they shall defile themselves no more with their dung idols and with their disgusting things and with all their transgressions; and I will certainly deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I will certainly cleanse them, and they shall become my people, and I myself will become their God – Ezekiel 37:15-23 These words perhaps came true at some
date passed?
Obviously not, on the contrary, faced with the difficulty of interpreting this prophecy for those who have canceled Israel from God's purpose, some have hastened to give symbolic meanings to these simple words.
The time would come when Judah and his companions and Ephraim and his companions would once again be one.
Now the question is… if Ephraim and several other tribes were scattered among the nations long ago, where are they now?
How can we recognize Ephraim after millennia of intermarriage and constant dispersal?
Before answering this question, let's look at another thrilling prophecy that many thought they knew well, and it concerns the day of the Lord - Revelation 1:10

God knows who belongs to him - Isaiah 43:5-7

Where is Ephraim?
As the war approaches which will be seen in Revelation chapter 8 (Revelation 8:13-15), we read of an angel ascending from the rising sun, with the seal of the living God, crying out to the four angels saying ““ Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads” – Revelation 7:3
Next, as we well know, follows the list of 12,000 people taken from every single tribe of Israel .
In the list that goes from verse 5 to verse 8 we find Judas, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph and Baniamino.
Various interpretations have been wasted on this strange list (different from the original subdivision), some to insinuate that they are not really 144,000 but "all Christians", others to insinuate that they are not really Israelites.
Obviously none of these interpretations is reasonable and we have seen this in several articles ³ .
However, the significant fact remains that both the tribes of Ephraim and that of Dan are missing from this list.
As far as Dan is concerned, see a future article ⁴ but if what we said about Ephraim is correct… why is it not present in this list?
Where did it go?
Is there really no trace of this tribe?
Let us continue reading… “After these things I saw, and behold, a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of every nation and kindred and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in robes white; and in their hands
were palm branches. And they continue to cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation we owe to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" - Revelation 7:9. 10
Behold, the multitude of nations!
Here is the blessing that Jacob, through the Holy Spirit, spoke in the distant past.
Behold the will of God being fulfilled!
Of course, the great crowd is not just Ephraim because we know they will contain both a portion of natural Jews (who will not be part of the 144,000) as well as people from the nations.
Also during the exodus of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt a certain “mixed company” of Egyptians and people of other nations joined them – Exodus 12:37, 38 So
the great crowd will evidently not consist only of the descendants of Ephraim but surely, in fulfillment of the prophecy, they will form an important part and perhaps the majority.
By then the two wands mentioned by Ezekiel will have become one – John 10:16
What will happen as the day of the Lord draws near?
It's no problem for God to know who has Ephraimite ancestry and who doesn't and you don't need to do genetic research to find out - Matthew 10:30
Firstly because, as we have said, among the great crowd there will also be a certain mixed company (this means that even if we did not have this offspring, we could still be part of this great crowd - Acts 10:34, 35) but then because it will be He, through His Son, who will bring these people out and also gather them from the ends of the earth - Isaiah 41:8-10
And obviously it is not enough to have such an offspring if in the end it will not conform to His will - John 4:23 , 24
How will all this happen?
As we have seen in previous articles, the 144,000 will be busy restoring true worship and will do this particularly through the preaching work – Daniel 11:34; 12:3
They will train the components that will form the Woman, or the leadership of the people of God, the one who will take the place of the abusive prostitute – Revelation 12:1, 2 However Ella, by then, will already have her
seed well formed, or those who “they keep the commandments of God and are commissioned to bear witness to Jesus” – Revelation 12:17
Isaiah 54:1-3 says “Cry out joyfully, barren woman who did not give birth! Rejoice with joyful shouts and howl, you that were not in labor pains, for the sons of the desolate one outnumber the sons of the woman with a husbandly owner,” Jehovah has said. “Make your tent site more spacious. And spread out the tent cloths of your great tabernacle.
Don't hold back. Lengthen your tent ropes, and strengthen those tent pegs of yours. For to the right and to the left you will expand, and your own offspring will take possession even of the nations, and they will inhabit even the desolate cities.”
This Woman is "sterile" yet she will have many children!
“She Roll her eyes all around and see! They have all been rounded up; they have come to you. From afar your own sons keep coming, and your daughters who will be carried on your side” – Isaiah 60:4 It
seems that She is amazed at having these children in fact she says ““Who are these that come flying just like a cloud, and like doves to their dovecotes?” - Isaiah 60:8
So it is evident that if the Woman is amazed at these children, it is not she who has begotten them, even if they become hers.
How will this happen?
The 144,000, in addition to training the individual members of this Woman, will also preach to those who will compose her seed and Ella evidently will not realize, until almost the last moment, the extent of this preaching among the nations.
Indeed, the large number of these celestial elect must reach a good part of the inhabited earth. They will not only preach in Israel.
Exactly as happened to Cornelius in the first century and as we had already seen, one day one of these celestial elect will come to our house and give us complete testimony.
The outpouring of the Holy Ghost will seal that experience – Acts 10:44, 45
However Cornelius, prior to this wonderful experience, was already a God fearing man and had already been visited by an angel - Acts 10:22
Should we think that an angel would visit an idol worshiper?
Obviously not.
Cornelius had already put his life in order, at least within the limits of what he could do, in fact the Jews themselves bore good testimony of him.
So regardless of when the Holy Spirit seals this great crowd, to become a rightful part of the Woman's seed they will already have had to come out of false religion. However, a parenthesis opens here which we will deal with in the next article.
It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, that as the day of the Lord draws near there will be a great many mass dissociations, from all over the world, from different apostate religions.
It is conceivable that this occurs in large numbers and overnight to help several other folks reflect on the current time period.
Perhaps even some non-Ephraimites will reflect that such a thing must have a deep meaning - Isaiah 60:22
Obviously we can expect that the different religious ministers will try to downplay or give other meanings to this event by further tightening the stitches - compare Matthew 24 :4, 10, 11
The second part of this article will expand on an understanding related to false religion because it is evident that if Ephraim is scattered among all the nations today, “the drunkards of Ephraim” take on a deeper and more specific meaning – Isaiah 28:1-4 Also
opens an interesting parenthesis concerning the one or those who will organize the seed of the Woman up to the entrance of the promised land.
In fact, it was a famous Ephraimite named Oshea, better known as Joshua, who had this wonderful privilege - Deuteronomy 1:35-40
May each of us be alert to recognize this extraordinary event, which is the moment when many sensitive people will feel impelled to leave their religious organization and they will begin to seek God wholeheartedly – ​​Jeremiah 31:7-9

Footnotes
1 Aseneth, in fact, means "belonging to Neth" (Neth is associated with the god Amon) while Potiphera means "the one whom Ra gave".

2 Later the term Ephraim began to indicate all the tribes of the northern kingdom.

3 See the articles “144,000 and beyond”
https://Attentionallaprofezia.blogspot.com/2018/02/144000-e-oltre.html
The Restoration of true adoration 1st and 2nd part
https://Attentionallaprofezia.blogspot. com/2019/03/il-ripristino-della-vera-adorazione.html
https://Attentionallaprofezia.blogspot.com/2019/03/il-ripristino-della-vera-adorazione_21.html

3a Some interpretations assert that since the antichrist will be Jewish, he must be of the tribe of Dan. God would have condemned an entire tribe on account of one.
Of course, this interpretation is simply ridiculous.

4 Since the tribe of Joseph also appears in the list of 144,000, some argue that it actually represents Ephraim and therefore "the great crowd" would be something else. In reality, this objection makes little sense for a number of reasons.
Meanwhile, Joseph is mentioned, in the Bible, always in relation to Ephraim and Manasseh - see Numbers 1:33, 34
So this observation could be correct if in the list there was not even Manasseh but he is present - Revelation 7:6
Furthermore, it must be considered that, even if Joseph replaces Ephraim in this list, the large crowd would still include the dispersed tribes of the northern kingdom (because all of them were promised possession of the land of Israel) yet these tribes are already mentioned in the list, 12,000 for each of them.
This means that the great crowd must include Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Asher, and all the rest, plus some mixed company.
This can mean, at the limit, that Joseph is distinguished from Ephraim simply to indicate that a part of them (12,000) are chosen as celestial elect while another part (large, without number) will compose the great part of this great crowd, or a
multitude of nations.
Finally, since Jacob under the Holy Spirit said "your offspring which you bear after them shall become yours. Together with the name of their brothers, they shall be called in their inheritance" it is presumable that Joseph had other sons - Genesis 48:6
In
a either way the great crowd cannot be distinguished from the tribes of Israel and it cannot be accidental that they are mentioned in succession to the 144,000, taken from every tribe of Israel - Revelation 7:4, 9

Originally Posted June 2, 2020 by Beware of Prophecy