We have learned in Part 2 that the people of the House of Israel, Northern Kingdom, are The Lost Sheep of Israel.  They were taken captive and exiled to Assyria and other nations in 722 BC, and have also been called The Lost Ten Tribes, because they are from Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim).  Another name YHVH uses to call them in the Bible is “Ephraim,” or “the House of Joseph,” as they were, or would be, the largest tribe among them.  They have been lost physically and spiritually, having forgotten their God for 2,700 years and lost their ethnic and spiritual identity as the people of YHVH. 

Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes, prophesied that Ephraim would become multitude of nations.  The account in Genesis 48 describes the event as the following:

After officially adopting Joseph’s two sons and making them part of the Twelve Tribes (Ge 48:5), Jacob attempts to bless them.  But, as Joseph brings his first-born, Manasseh, to Jacob’s right hand, and Ephraim to his left, Jacob switches his hands (Please remember that Jacob was blind by this time):

Genesis 48:17-19(17) Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ( 18) And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” ( 19) But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know.  He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 

So, Ephraim was scattered in 722 BC.  Then, how many could they be by now?  If my rough and non-scientific estimation of the current population of the Lost Sheep in the Footnote below[1] is remotely acceptable, their number can be estimated in hundreds of millions, as it is repeatedly prophesied in the Bible: “the sand of the sea” (Ge 32:12; 41:9: Is 10:20; Ho 1:10; Ro 9:27).  But, YHVH promised and mentioned many times in His Word that He would regather them and bring them home, and He meant it.  But, how?  There are hundreds of millions of the descendants of the House of Israel all over the world.  And many of them do not even know that they are sons and daughters of Jacob/Israel.  As I said in the last part, many do not know if God even exists.  They are as the Gentiles, living among the pagans and worshiping the pagan gods.  It is seemingly an impossible task . . . 

But, remember what we learned at the end of Part 1?  Yeshua said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel“ (Mt 15:24).  He came to find the Lost Sheep of Israel and to redeem them.  That is why Yeshua came. 

Yeshua is the plan! —  The Gospel. 

All Israel First

We have identified who The Lost Sheep of Israel are; now we need to understand the fact that Yeshua our Messiah came down to earth to find and redeem them, and also need to understand “how” He would accomplish it.  He was sent by His Father for this particular purpose.  YHVH did not, just one day, decide and say, “Hmm … I think I’m going to send my only Son and have Him killed to save some good people . . .”  No . . ,  not really.  That may be what some people think, such as the Universalists, or perhaps, they hope that is the case.  It is an undeniable fact that deception of universalism, where the belief that we humanity are little gods and will all have eternal life by our own power is propagated, has been pumped into the Church by the wolves in sheep’s clothing sent by Satan.  Again, I remind you to visit this blog site to learn some truth: Deception Free.  As I mentioned before, my research results agree with almost all the facts presented here. 

The truth is that Yeshua was sent by YHVH, the Father, to find the people that were already His and redeem them, because of the Covenant and the promises He repeatedly declared by the prophets.  He did not come for strangers.  There is no such promise that I could find in the Bible where it says YHVH will send His Son to save complete strangers, but I find passages, over and over, where He promises to “regather” His people, as you see in the scriptures listed here in this series.  When YHVH said His Son would be the light to the Gentiles and to the world (Is 42:6; 49:6), He mainly meant the Lost Sheep as we have learned in Part 2.  He came for His people who were “lost” in all possible ways: physically and spiritually.  And, this is the purpose of the Gospel. 

Yes, of course, He drove them away for their sin, exactly as He had predicted and declared from the beginning: Adam and Eve sinned and got “expelled” from the Garden of Eden, and Cain committed murder of his brother and got “expelled” from his land, becoming a “wanderer.”  This has been the pattern, and they were foreshows of things to come.  In the Torah He waned repeatedly that, if they disobey Him, He would scatter them (Lev 26:33; Dt 4:27; 28:64; et al.).  But, this time, Yeshua came to find, redeem, and bring the Lost Sheep back to Himself; and this is His top priority plan now as the end of this age approaches quickly. 

Here are some of the promises to bring them back:

Ezekiel 37:27(27) “My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

Zechariah 8:8 (8) I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.  They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’ 

Hebrews 8:10/Jeremiah 31:31-33(10) “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel* after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

* “I will make with the house of Israel”: Jeremiah 31:31 says, “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”  I have noticed that Paul does not clearly distinguish Judah and Israel by name in his writings, and often uses “Israel” representing the Whole House o Israel, which is Judah and Israel. 

Without the Lost Ten Tribes, the Nation of Israel is not whole.  The current “State” of Israel in the land is not whole, and hardly.  The pattern of the Bible predicts that YHVH only gives the land to His people and let them live in the land when they are obedient to Him.  I used the word “State,” because the “Nation of Israel” biblically means YHVH’s people, and ultimately is the nation that is made up with people who believe in the Messiah and regenerate (born again), and are completely obedient to Him.  The current Israel as a nation is neither regenerate nor obedient.  Among the current Israelis, the Messianic Jews and the returned lost sheep who are believers in Yeshua are the firstfruit of the Nation of Israel.  The process was started almost 2,000 years ago . . . . .  when Yeshua came in the flesh, “in the image of God” (Col 1:5), and “dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). 

At this point, I can hear your mind thinking . . . “ But I thought He came to take away the sin of ‘all’ those who believe, by dying on the Cross, not just for the Jewish people.  And that’s the Gospel.” . . .  You are correct, but again, not entirely.  It is because the conventional and misleading Gospel is missing some “essential steps” of explanation to get there.  That is because the wolves in sheep’s clothing did not want people to know it.  The enemy did not want YHVH’s people to know who they really were, and YHVH used this deception to test His people, and He still is.  For this reason, many Christians, especially those who consider themselves the Gentiles, do not understand the role of the Nation of Israel in the whole plan of salvation, and struggle with understanding verses such as the following:

This is part of the New Covenant promise by YHVH. 

Jeremiah 31:31(31) “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

Where are the Gentiles?  Are they not included in the New Covenant? —  A legitimate question. 

You will see later that the plan of YHVH has never forgotten the Gentiles . .  far from it.  But, first, we must learn to see His plan of salvation through the people of all Israel, as they are the “center” around which His plan revolves. 

That is what Paul meant when he said:

Romans 1:16(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

For the Jew first and also for the Greek, meaning the Gentiles.  This verse means that YHVH will save everyone who believes, but He will do that by first saving the Jews (meaning “all Israel”), and then the Gentiles.  And, that is exactly what is said throughout the Bible, and what is realizing in the world. 

Is there other evidence? 

Yes.  I will be going right into the discussion of the key point, which is the “evidence” that Yeshua came primarily to find and redeem The Lost Sheep of Israel; He brought the Good News to them first.  There are many accounts in the Gospels we can use, but I believe that the following is the most compelling one in my opinion. 

The Samaritan Woman

The capital of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria for the most part of the life of the kingdom, which was after the 7th king, Omri (885-874 BC), the father of King Ahab, moved it there from the original location, Shechem (1Ki 16:24).  Samaria remained the capital until the fall of the kingdom in 722 BC, and became synonymous with the Northern Kingdom.  Interestingly, Samaria frequently appears in the Gospels . . .  for a good reason, as you will see.  One of the famous accounts is the Samaritan Woman in the Gospel of John Chapter 4.  In this Gospel, Samaria was the first place He went and the first place where He revealed His Messianic identity, while He was hesitant to openly announce it in Judea.  I am sure you know the story of “the Woman at the Well.”  But, did you know that this entire story was a prophecy, telling us what His plan was for the next 2,000 years? 

The Account

First, let us recap the account (Jn 4:3-45):

After revealing His glory at a wedding in Cana by turning six pots of water into good wine, which is the first miracle recorded (Chapter 2), Yeshua went to and was in Judea.  There, He had the encounter with Nicodemus, and spoke about the need to be born anew to see the Kingdom of God (Chapter 3).  And, after that, He left there to go to Galilee

(4:3).  Then, the next verse says this:

John 4:4(4) But He needed* to go through Samaria. 

* The Scripture does not explain any reason why He “needed” to go through Samaria in the context of the entire story. 

And, He comes to a city in Samaria:

John 4:5(5) So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ( 6) Now Jacob’s well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour. 

The name “Sychar,” Συχάρ <G4965>, means “drunken,” and which is from a Hebrew word, שֵׁכָר, “shekar” < H7941 >, means “strong drink” “intoxicating drink,” thus implying the sinful and deceived state of the Samaritans and the Lost Tribes.  The sate of being astray and practicing idolatry is described as “drunken” in Deuteronomy 29:14-19 (actually, this passage is prophetically speaking of the future state of The Lost Sheep of Israel). 

The location being by the “Jacob’s well” is probably alluding to the fact that both many of the Samaritans and the Lost Sheep are also descendants of Jacob: Israelites.  Some evidence for this is also discussed briefly in the Footnote “1-(2)”.  And, even more specifically, verse 5 mentions Jacob giving the land to “his son Joseph.”  Remember, “the House of Joseph” was one of the titles of the Lost Sheep?  That is another hint. 

Let us move on . . . 

John 4:7-9(7) A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ( 8) For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ( 9) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 

It was the culture in the time of Yeshua that the Jews looked down upon the Samaritans, and they were considered “unclean.”  Especially, Jewish men were not even supposed to look at a Samaritan woman.[2] Even in modern days, if you visit Israel, some of the Orthodox Jewish men would not have any eye contact or conversation with the Gentile woman. 

And then, to this looked-down and outcast Samaritan woman, suddenly, Yeshua reveals His identity as the Messiah, offering the “living water,” which is one of the identifiers of the Messiah in the Old Testament. 

John 4:13-14(13) Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again*, (14) “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

* Referring to the water from the Jacob’s well. 

This is connected to the following Old Testament passage:

Jeremiah 2:13(13) “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns–broken cisterns that can hold no water. 

Yeshua, further confirms His identity by revealing the woman’s sinful life story, impressing her greatly, and tells her that the time is coming to worship YHVH in spirit and in truth, not in the traditional ways of the Jews at the Temple, or of the Samaritans’ way on the Mount Gerizim (Jn 4:22-24).  And He unequivocally tells her that He is the Messiah who was to come:

John 4:25-26(25) The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “ When He comes, He will tell us all things.” ( 26) Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am [He].” 

Here in this sentence, “I who speak to you am [He],” “He” is an added English word, by the translators, added to clarify the meaning of the sentence.  Therefore, the core of this sentence is “I AM,” the name of YHVH:

Exodus 3:14(14) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”  And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “ 

This one short sentence in John 4:25-26 “I who speak to you am [He],” tells us that He is the Messiah and YHVH.[3]

He revealed that He was the Messiah

and YHVH

to this Samaritan woman! 

Until I received this revelation of this prophecy, I had always wondered why in the world Yeshua would “need” to go to Samaria out of all places, while He was right there in Judea, and to reveal that He was the Messiah to an outcast Samaritan woman out of all people. 

Even more puzzling is that, in another account, He refuses to heal a Gentile woman.  When a Gentile Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon came to Yeshua asking for the healing of her daughter, He said this:

Matthew 15:26(26) But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s* bread and throw it to the little dogs.**” 

*“Children” means the Israelites, and **“dogs” is a way the Gentiles were called by the Jews contemptuously. 

And, it was in this context where He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  The Gentile woman and her daughter were obviously not the Los Sheep of Israel, were they?  There is a clear distinction between the Samaritan woman and this Gentile woman.  This account unmistakably testifies that He did not come for the Gentiles. 

On the Side Note: Though He first refused to help her daughter; Yeshua would eventually deliver the daughter from demons possession, because of her faith in Him.  This is also a prophetic allusion that He will also save the Gentiles, who are not the descendants of the Lost Sheep, by faith. 

Then, why did He reveal His Messianic identity to the Samaritan woman first?  Was she not just like the Gentiles? 

Here is the reason:

She prophetically represents The Lost Sheep of Israel! 

Hearing the Good News, the Samaritan woman believes and rejoices without any hesitance, and goes off to evangelize to her people; the first Gentile evangelist was a woman!  And, immediately after that Yeshua speaks of the “harvest” and “laborers” (4:35-38), prophesying a bountiful harvest of the souls to come; the souls of the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes the Samaritan woman represents. 

And, quickly, Yeshua gains much popularity among the Samaritans and stays there for “two days”:

John 4:26, 39-41, 43(39) And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” ( 40) So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ( 41) And many more believed because of His own word. … ( 43) Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 

And, this is roughly the account of the Samaritan woman with commentaries.  But, wasn’t it the way the Christianity has spread all over the world? —  By testimonies, prophecies, and people believing in Him without knowing too much about Torah . . .  and Christians enthusiastically love and worship Yeshua, whom they call Jesus, as the “Savior of the World.” 

So, what exactly is it that is prophesied in this story . . . . ? 

The Prophecy

Here it is:

In the Bible, “woman” is often used as a type or foreshadow, or you can call it a “code word,” for a group of people often related by a religion, such as Israel (Rev 12:1; et al.);  for example, a faithful woman as the faithful people of God (Jer 6:2; 2 Cor 11:2; et al.),  and adulterous woman as the rebellious people of God (Ho 2:5; 3:1; et al.).  And, in this account, the adulterous Samaritan woman in a drunken state, living in the City of Sychar , meaning “drunk” (Jn 4:5), symbolically represents the people of the former Northern Kingdom: Samaria.  She represents the Lost Sheep of Israel, who live in the Gentile world having forgotten their God worshiping pagan gods. 

And, the Samaritans, hearing the Good News, quickly and enthusiastically converted to the Church as we know now!  Here are the uncanny similarity between the Samaritans and the Church: (1) She receives the Messiah with no problem; (2) She calls Him “the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42), not as the Messiah to the Israelites; (3) She was easily impressed by the word of knowledge Yeshua revealed and called Him “a prophet” (Christians love prophets!),  but not “the” Prophet who Moses said was to come (Dt 18:15-18); (4) The Jews would ask for a sign (Jn 4:48; 1 Cor 1:22), but the Samaritans did not; (5) And, the number of believers quickly increased by the word of mouth . . .  to list a few. 

In fact, the number of Christians globally in 2010 was 2.18 billion throughout the world; which is about one third of the world population, estimated 6.9 billion, at that time (Global Chritianity).  I often wonder if the Israelite DNA has anything to do with this ability to receive the Gospel quickly; it may be because we know our God deep inside our DNA, or there may be a special DNA, which He can switch back on.  But, it is just my speculation. 

Now, the most interesting aspect of this prophecy is that the length of time is clearly indicated twice: for “two days.”  In biblical prophecies, “one day” often represents “a thousand years,” and vice versa (Ps 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8).  This “two days” means 2,000 years. 

To summarize the prophecy:

The Messiah “needed to” and would first reveal his identity as the Messiah to The Lost Sheep of Israel who have become the Gentiles.  And, although He was received as the “Savior of the World,” not as the true sense of Hebraic Messiah described in the Old Testament, He would stay with them for 2,000 years and harvest great many souls of the Lost Sheep.  He would bring the Good News to them first.  And this was the original plan. 

Good!  That is the prophecy encoded in the account of the Samaritan woman, and that is exactly what has happened. 

. . . .  And, immediately after this account, He continues to predicts that He would not be received by the Jews:

John 4:44(44) For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 

That is also what has happened. 

Old Testament Prophecy

It is also prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be sent to the Gentiles (Is 4:1-4).  Matthew refers to the passage, which was to be fulfilled. 

The passage follows the account of Yeshua healing a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath:

Matthew 12:14-21(14) Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. ( 15) But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ( 16) Yet He warned them not to make Him known, (17) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

(18) “Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. ( 19) He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. ( 20) A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; (21) And in His name Gentiles will trust.” ( Is 42:1-4)

Matthew is saying that Yeshua had to keep a low profile to the Jews (the House of Judah) so that this prophecy in Isaiah would be fulfilled, meaning, so that the Messiah could go and save the Gentiles first.  Also, in verse 21, it says the Gentiles will trust in His name.  Now, who are among the Gentiles, as many as “the sand of the sea?”  Yes, the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.  Therefore, when the Bible says “the Gentiles,” we must consider that it includes the multitude of the Lost Sheep.  The Messiah had to go to the Gentiles to find the Lost Sheep among them. 

Other Parables

This is vividly depicted in the parable of the Treasure in the Field:

Matthew 13:44(44) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 

Also, in the Parable of the Beautiful Pearls:

Matthew 13:45-46(45) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, (46) “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

In parables in the Bible, when a king, ruler, judge, father, etc.  appears, it usually the code word for God or the Father; and a man, son, etc.  often represents the Son, the Messiah.  Here, in these parables describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is like, the man is the Messiah Himself, the filed is the world, and the precious treasure that is hidden and the beautiful and expensive pearl are representing the Lost Sheep.  In bothe cases, He gives up or sells all He had to buy there treasure and the pearl.  He even bought the entire field in the first parable. 

These parables are telling us that He gave up everything He had, His divine status and life by coming down in the flesh, to buy His precious treasure: The Lost Sheep, who were among the Gentiles.  That is how precious we are to Him. 

The Messiah the Healer

He was indeed rejected by the Jews.  But, He has stayed with the Church, the Lost Sheep found, and continued to gather the souls among them for 2,000 years until today, having been called the “Savior of the World,“ called by a strange name “Jesus,” portrayed with a “sun-disk” above His head, in a Roman garments, and with blonde hair and blue eyes, sometimes . . . .  For some religion, He is still on the Cross.  No wonder the Jews still reject Him as their Messiah.  But, He brought a multitude much closer to home, to Himself, and through Him to the Father . . . .  healing the sick, binding up the broken hearts, as the Messiah was supposed to do. 

It is the sign o His Messiahship that He heals people:

Isaiah 35:4-5(4) Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear!  Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” ( 5) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

Isaiah 61:1(1) “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

The disobedient people are called the deaf and the blind:

Isaiah 42:18-19, 24(18) “Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. ( 19) Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?  Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the LORD’s servant? … ( 24) Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?  Was it not the LORD, He against whom we have sinned?  For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law. 

Also, the exiles are called the afflicted and the lame:

Jeremiah 31:8(8) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there. 

Zephaniah 3:19(19) Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame. 

And, He was wounded, bruised, and died specifically for the Lost Sheep:

Isaiah 53:5-6(5) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ( 6) All we likesheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 

Who has gone astray and turned to his own way away from YHVH?  Strangers?  No.  They are His sheep: the Lost Sheep. 

One day, about two year ago, I realized this in awe . . . . . : 

When He heals the blind, the deaf, the lame, the broken hearted when the Gospel is being preached, which I have witnessed many times, He is demonstrating and proving that He is the Messiah who was spoken of by the prophets from the beginning.  That is what He did when He was on earth, as we read in all the Gospels.  It is not only because of His mercy, or to show His divine power, but also because it is a clear and unmistakable message that He is the Messiah who was sent by the Almighty YHVH to save His Lost Sheep.  But, why have I not heard any evangelist preaching this? 

None Should Perish

And, this past 2,000-year period was the last 2,000 of 6,000 appointed to men by YHVH, before the return of the Messiah and the consummation of all things.  Genesis 6:3 records that YHVH gave 120 years to live.  This “120 years” means 120 jubilees, and 50 times 120 is 6,000.[4]He has given His Lost Sheep 2,000 years to multiply, and be found and gathered, because He was “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).  If Yeshua presented Himself as a Jewish Rabbi, as the Messiah to the Jews, and was accepted by the Jews first, very few completely gentilized lost sheep would have believed in Him as their Messiah.  Anti-Semitism throughout the history would have prevented many of them to come to trust Him.  Just as Joseph said to his brothers:

Genesis 50:20(20) “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” 

Just as Joseph was a savior to Egypt, Yeshua was disguised as the “Savior of the World” who looked like a Gentile God, being celebrated on December 25th, a pagan holiday, and has touched and saved many lives.  That was the purpose of the rejection by the Jews.  Just as Joseph’s older brothers persecuted and sold him to the Gentiles (Ge 37;12-36), the Jews had to reject Yeshua and sell Him to the Gentiles, so that He could “save many people alive.”  The Father-approved confusion and distortion by Emperor Constantine, and the paganized name ”Jesus,” were all because He needed to be disguised and accepted by the Gentile cultures to save as many souls as possible.  And, at the same time, it would serve as a test for the Lost Sheep so that the true disciples of Yeshua, understanding the Bible on their own, can come out of the pagan world.  All was planned from the beginning.  But it is almost over. 

And, just as Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers when the famine came to the land (Ge 45:1-15), it is time for us to know the true identity of our Messiah, and for the Jews to know their Messiah. 

The Prodigal Son

The father runs to his lost son, who squandered his inheritance in the pagan world, welcoming him with open arms.  This son represents the Lost Sheep of Israel, the Christians. 

We all know the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I copied the entire account below in the Footnote section for your convenience.[5] This parable tells us the whole story of Israel and Judah.  I will touch on the parts that are relevant to the current theme:

In this parable, the younger son who left his father’s house and “journeyed to a farcountry, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living” (Lk 15:13), and “joined himself to a citizen of that country” (Lk 15:15), is the House of Israel, which is those who are “far.”  He ate what the swine, the pagans, ate (Lk 15:16) because he did not have the food (Word of God) his father provides (Lk 15:17).  But, he “came to himself” by hearing the Gospel, and returns to his father’s house. 

The older son who remained with the father is the House of Judah, who remained in the Covenant and stayed “near,” saying, “Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time” (Lk 15:29). 

As you can see, the meaning of the “code words” of “far” and “near,” are clearly shown in this parable (Part 2 – Far and Near) and used in a consistent way as they are in the Old Testament: “Far” means the House of Israel, and “near” means the House of Judah. 

The rest of the story is a prophecy of what is going to happen to Israel and Judah in the Last Days, which is a topic for another writing project.  But, I would like to say that the way the father of these two sons rejoices and celebrates the return of the “lost” son always touches my heart in the deepest way.  It is beyond my ability to imagine and express in words how our Heavenly Father may feel about the return of His “Lost Sheep,” the new Israel, joining his brother Judah in the last days.  I recommend that you read the entire Luke Chapter 15 while we are on this topic, because it is all about the joy and preciousness of finding the lost treasure, the loved ones. 

The Book of Jubilees

I normally list references from literature other than the Bible in the Footnote section.  But, the passage I will quote below is worth mentioning in the main body of this writing, as you will see.  This passage sounds as if it is a summary of the essence of the Old Testament, echoing the heart of YHVH declaring His everlasting love for His people. 

The Book of Jubilees, also called, “Lesser Genesis,” was one of the findings among the Dead Sea Scrolls, indicating that it was written sometime before 100 BC.  There is evidence that the book was suppressed around 400 AD by early Christian authority, as evidenced by the fact that very few copies of the book from around that time have been found.  Prologue begins with “This is the history of the division of the days of the law and of the testimony, of the events of the years, . . .”  and YHVH commands Moses to “Go up to the top of the mountain” to receive the tables of the Commandments.  Its unique characteristic, which divides years by 7 (“schmitah”) and 49 (“yobel,” meaning jubilee), gives the book its name “Jubilees. ”[6]

Translation by Dr. A. Nyland (see Footnote 6 for information):

Jubilee 1 (Page 8-9) “I am giving a land flowing with milk and honey to your descendants.  They will eat and be full, and they will turn to strange gods which cannot rescue them from any of the troubles. ……  They will forget all my commandments.  They will forget everything that I commanded them.  They will live like pagans. …… 

They will make high places, Asherah poles, and carved images, and each of them will worship their own carved image and will wander off the true path.  They will sacrifice their children to demons, and to all the actions which are caused by their error.  I will send witnesses to them to bear witness against them.  However, they will not listen to them, and furthermore will kill the witness too.  They will persecute those who seek the law, and they will annul or change everything in order to do evil in my sight. 

I will turn my face from them, and I will hand them over as captives to the pagans, to be made victims, to be devoured.  I will remove them from the land.  I will scatter them among the pagans.  They will forget all my laws, commandments, and judgments, and will go off the right path with regard to ne moons, Sabbaths, festivals, jubilees, and decrees.  After this they will turn from the pagans to me with all their hearts, all their souls and all their strength, and I will collect them from the pagans. They will seek me, and they will find me when they seek me with their whole heart and their whole soul. 

I will reveal to them abundant peace along with justice, and I will make them just, with all my heart and all my soul.  They will be a blessing and not a curse.  They will be the head and not the tail.  I will build my sanctuary in their midst, and I will live with them.  I will be their God and they will be my people with truth and justice.  I will not abandon them or fail them.  I am the Lord their God! 

(Emphasis mine)

It is clear, the first half of this passage is about the House of Israel, not Judah.  I am not inserting any scriptural references because they have been discussed in detail already.  This is a summary of them.  When I read this passage, I was so touched and felt His love so deeply in my heart.  He was talking about “me,” and “you,” a lost sheep of Israel.  The sentences I marked with Bold print is where Yeshua comes in; that is what He did by coming to earth in the flesh, dying, and being resurrected.  Whenever this book was written, it was way before Yeshua’s time.  The author of the Book of Jubilees either understood this future event by reading the Tanakh, which is unlikely, or received the revelation from YHVH to have written this so accurately. 

I believe it is clear to you by now that Yeshua truly came for the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel, not for all mankind in general.  I have shown that, both in the Bible and outside the Bible, it was the plan of YHVH from the beginning.  I have also presented the true meanings of some of the parables.  All the interpretations of those parables I had heard of never rang the bell in my spirit like the interpretations I presented.  All parables are prophetic and encoded with rich and deep meanings and messages from YHVH, if we know the “code words.”  And, these parables I presented above tell us that Yeshua loved the Lost Sheep so much that he gave up everything and came, buying the whole earth in order to make sure He will retrieve every one of them, the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price in it: You. 

Now, brothers and sisters, let us find out why He had to “die” to redeem the Lost Sheep next in Part 4. 

(1) Population Estimate: This is just to give you some numbers to work with to form some idea of how large the population of the Lost Sheep could be.  This is not a scientific calculation.  When the House of Israel was exiled in 722 BC, it was about 700 years after the Children of Israel enter the land of Canaan being led by Joshua.  According to the second census by Joshua, there were a little over 601, 000 able adult men who were over 20 years old, plus 23,000 Levites male over one month old at that time (Nu 26:1-62).  If you include women, children, and elderlies, we can estimate the total population as approximately 2 million or more.  I am not familiar with the population growth curve or scientific estimation of it, but if I am allowed to do some “common sense” estimate and conservatively assume that the population might have doubled in 700 years, then the population of the entire Nation of Israel (Israel and Judah) could have been about close to 4 million at the time of the exile.  Then, ten out of twelve tribes were exiled.  That would be about 83% of them, which is 3.3 million.  Some might have fallen to swords and by famine, and some stayed or escaped to the adjacent area, but 1 million, or may be fewer, could have survived and/or been taken away.  My belief is that, considering the case of Judah when the Babylonians sieged them, the Assyrians probably took mainly the prominent, noble people, and priests away, leaving many of the “people of the land.”  So, it would cut the number down considerably.  Nevertheless, we could safely say that, by now, there must be hundreds of millions of their descendants are out there all over the world.  And, Some of those who have the knowledge of their heritage are coming back home to Israel.  The known Jewish population worldwide was estimated as 13.75 million in 2012 (Jewish Press Article).  But there are many times more of them who are not even aware of their Israelite DNA and YHVH’s spiritual DNA they are carrying in them. 

The following is a copy from a section of a Wikipedia article on the Samaritans:

The Samaritans have insisted that they are direct descendants of the Northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who survived the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.  The inscription of Sargon II records the deportation of a relatively small proportion of the Israelites from Samaria (27,290*, according to the annals),[16] so it is quite possible that a sizable population remained[17] that could identify themselves as Israelites, the term that the Samaritans prefer for themselves. 

Sg II Nimrud Prism IV:25-41

Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Ed.,  v. 24, p. 109 (London, 1910)

*The number is very small, but it is probably because the Assyrians kept the records of only the prominent persons, such as the royal family, high-ranked military officials, and priests. 

The Jews disdained Samaritans because they were “mixed” in terms of DNA and religion.  The details of how Samaritans was established as a people group is written in 2 Kings 17:24-41.  As the Gentiles settled in Samaria, YHVH sent lions that killed some inhabitants.  So the Assyrians sent back some priests from the former Northern Kingdom in attempt to entreat YHVH.  Then, they developed their own modified Torah, “Samaritan Penteutech (Torah),” set up a temple on the Mount Gerizim, where they still worship to this day.  They were idolaters to begin with, as you know, so their Torah was very corrupt.  When the Jews (the people of Judah) came back from their exile in Babylon to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, the Samaritans (“thepeople of the land”) interfered claiming that they were the true descendants of Israelites and tried to claim Jerusalem (Ezra 4:4, and entire Chapter 4 as a context).  Their Torah was absolutely unacceptable to the Jews who claimed to have faithfully kept the true Torah, and it is not even mentioned in Ezra or Nehemiah.  The Samaritans were basically the Gentiles to the Jews, but may be a little worse because they claimed to know the Law.  They mimicked worshiping YHVH, but actually worshiped many pagan gods and idols (2Ki 17:30-31); they are out of the Covenant, because they did not keep the pure Torah.  The tension between the Samaritans and the Jews continued after the time of Ezra, and the bitterness between them increased.  By the time of Yeshua, the Jews, especially men, were not to even look at Samaritan women.  If you would like to learn more about the Samaritans, the following academic article is an excellent source of the information: The Origin and History of The Samaritans.  <↩>

After this, there are seven “I am . . .”  statements describing who He is, such as “I am the bread of life,” in 6:35, throughout the Book of John.  Here is a great summary of them: The Seven I AM Statement in John.  <↩>

Without going into a lengthy discussion, I will simply present the following, and let the reader research and conclude: God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day.  2 Peter 3:8 says “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  Also, rabbinical tradition teaches the same based on Psalm 90:4, “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.”  Therefore, it is prophetically reasonable to think that the Millennium of Peace we are waiting for is the Sabbath, and the mankind was given 6,000 years for YHVH to deal with.  Then, 6,000 divided by 50-year jubilee cycles, interpreted as “a year,” equals 120 years.  <↩>

The Parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11-32 (11) Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ( 12) “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’  So he divided to them his livelihood. ( 13) “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ( 14) “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ( 15) “Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ( 16) “And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. ( 17) “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ( 18) ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, (19) “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants.” ‘ ( 20) “And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ( 21) “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ( 22) “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ( 23) ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) ‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’  And they began to be merry. ( 25) “Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ( 26) “So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ( 27) “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ ( 28) “But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ( 29) “So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ( 30) ‘But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ ( 31) “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ( 32) ‘It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ “  <↩>