Who Is Israel? The two sticks of Ezekiel 37
Batya and Angus Wootten started the Messianic Israel Alliance to teach about The Two Stick of Ezekiel 37. That is the two authorities of Messiah in Judah and in Joseph. Their website is http://www.messianicIsrael.com
In Ezekiel 37 we have a prophecy of two becoming one. We have the prophecy of the two sticks uniting and becoming one stick. In this prophecy we see dual anointing and dual authority in Our wonderful Creator. They are the authorities of Judah and of Joseph. The meaning of the prophecy is abundantly clear. They are both destined to become united to and become one.
Ezekiel saw two sticks that became one. (Ezek 37)
There was the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph.
They appear to be the two authorities of Our Creator upon this earth.
Out of Judah comes the Lawgiver, ruling from the Throne of David. (Gen.49:8-12)
He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our coming Messiah.
Joseph’s coat of many colors is seen out in the nations. It is covered with blood, even the blood of God’s martyrs. But out of Joseph comes the ministry of grace in the Gospel. The Light of Israel goes out into the nations. Joseph brings salvation to his brothers, and the world. He feeds them the Bread of Life.
These people have not rightly divided scripture.
Genetic Israel, DNA descendants of Jacob, are not what defines a true Jew. Scripture could not be more clear in defining who a Jew (God’s Israel) is in Romans 2:28-29:
“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is on inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
The rabbinical, Talmud adherent Jews of today are the same ilk as the Pharisees concurrent with Jesus. Jesus blasted them with the truth that they were not Abraham’s seed, even though they were genetically related to Abraham, because they didn’t believe him, who the Father had sent:
“If you were Abraham’s children you would do the works of Abraham, but now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father … the devil. … He that is of God, hears God’s words, but you do not hear them because you are not of God.” John 8:39-47
Rabbinical Jews today STILL hate Jesus of Nazareth and STILL DO NOT BELIEVE. They are not God’s people/Israel.
The speaker in the video claims that these same rabbinical Jews who deny the gospel of Jesus Christ are the stick of Judah. As scripture aptly points out … because of their unbelief, they are not children of Abraham.
So who is the stick of Judah? Judah represents those who will rule with Christ in the millennium. They are that symbolic 144,000 of Revelation 7 that qualify for the first resurrection at the return of Christ by keeping the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus, Rev 12:17, 14:12. They are all, from Adam to the present (this age) who believed God through the Messiah, either looking forward to the once for all propitiation of the sins of the world, or looking back to the actual event, and practicing living by God’s instructions.
Judah also represents the smaller spring harvest. The way is narrow. Not many will qualify for the first resurrection, even those who attest to a faith in Jesus Christ because of their adherence to various forms of Babylonian sun worship (trinity, counterfeit holy days such as Christ Mass and Ashtar veneration, sun god day keeping in opposition to the fourth command, etc).
This is why Jesus gives stark warnings in Revelation 2-3. Many are doing some things right, but Jesus warns them of their error/s and gives the consequence of being disqualified from the first resurrection at his coming. That’s what that’s all about and no one seems to be paying attention! Rev 18:4:
“Come out of her my people, that you be not partakers of her sins (the practice of breaking God’s law, I John 3:4), and that you receive not of her plagues.” > (the vials of God’s wrath that falls on the rest of the world AFTER Christ returned for the saints/Judah/first resurrection.
Who is Ephraim? Emphraim represents the larger fall harvest (double fruit) that gets sullied in the world but returns at last to be redeemed. This is an entire study, but, it should be well noted that Ephraim is absent from the list of Rev 7, which also lets us know that the names are symbolic descriptions of Judah/first resurrection saints. Ephraim and Dan are omitted because of the significance of their waywardness.
We can know from studying the holy days that the harvests are very significant and teach the respective resurrections to eternal life, Jesus Christ, the first fruits of the harvest (first to be given permanent life by God), the smaller spring harvest signifying Judah/first resurrection saints at the return of Christ, and the larger fall harvest, Ephraim, signifying a great number that will believe during the millennial reign of Christ, and after the rest of the dead are raised to life (described by Ezekiel in Ez 37/valley of dry bones).
It is only AFTER all of the harvests are in (at the end of the Great White Throne Judgement) that the two sticks, Judah and Joseph/Ephraim, will be joined as one. This certainly will not happen in this age (from Adam to the return of Christ), but after the thousand years and a season (Rev 20).
God’s holy days teach that this is not the only age for salvation. But even those who outwardly are keeping God’s holy days are not understanding or teaching the total picture.
The way is narrow in this first age. We see a prototype of this when Joshua was leading the people into Canaan, the promised land. Out of 600 men over the age of 20, only TWO men (out of 600!) saw the land: Joshua and Caleb (a Kenizzite no less) Why? Because they were the only two that obeyed God with a whole heart. The others were disqualified from entering and died in the wilderness without having tasted of the promised land. All of this is significant to the teaching of the whole Bible:
“For the wages of sin (the practice of breaking God’s law) is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our lord (adoni, not ADONAI).” Rom 6:23
Again, the qualifiers for the first resurrection are the same as Joshua and Caleb had to enter the promised land (a type).
“Here is the patience of the saints: Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev 14:12, 12:17
So, who is Israel? Israel is all who have been circumsized of heart (not flesh) and who have repented (stopped the practice of breaking God’s law) and have believed the gospel about Jesus of Nazareth who was sent by God.
Stick of Judah/smaller spring harvest/first resurrection saints + the stick of Joseph-Ephraim/larger fall harvest/resurrection of rest of the dead believers = ALL ISRAEL.
And so, all Israel (Judah + Ephraim) shall be saved. Romans 11:26
Great comment David, I agree with you. Have you studied Universal Restoration through Jesus? that’s what I feel the study of the harvests is talking about.
I question why you have gone to such symbolic interpretation of the two houses of Israel when the Scripture clearly indicates that the “two sticks” were being united shortly after the Babylonian captivity? (6th cent. BC) I believe that the Torah on this subject will clear up any misconceptions.
The bible shows the two sticks are not shortly after the captivity