Ezekiel 37:12 “Therefore prophesy, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “See, O My people, I am opening your graves, and shall bring you up from your graves, and shall bring you into the land of Yisra’el. 13 “And you shall know that I am YHWH, when I open your graves, O My people, and bring you up from your graves. 14 “And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall settle you in your own land. And you shall know that I YHWH have spoken, and I have done it,” declares YHWH.’ ” 15 And the word of YHWH came to me, saying, 16 “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Yehudah and for the children of Yisra’el, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yoseph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the house of Yisra’el, his companions.’ 17 “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand. 18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “See, I am taking the stick of Yoseph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’el, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yehudah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’ 20 “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes. 21 “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’el from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land. 22 “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’el. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns. 23 “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim, 24 while David My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do them." (emphases added)
I just returned from a conference in St. Louis, Missouri relating to the above verses. Those in attendance at the conference declared themselves as part of the family of Yisrael. We marched through the gateway arch in St. Louis known as the gateway to the West.
Hoshea 11: 10 “Let them follow YHWH. Like a lion He roars. When He roars, then sons shall tremble from the west." (emphases added)
We declared ourselves to be the scattered remnant of Yisrael and acknowledged our exile and our desire to return home. We have been a people long forgotten because of our sins and the sins of our forefathers. We walked in teshuvah (repentance) toward the arch. We have been obscure and hidden for such a time as this for all the world to know that there are Jewish and non-Jewish sides to the family. We await a second Exodus greater than the first to bring all the people of Yisrael home.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31: 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together: a great company shall they return here. 9 They shall come with weeping; and with petitions will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Yisra'el, and Ephraim is My firstborn. 10 Hear the word of YHWH, you nations, and declare it in the islands afar off, and say, He who scattered Yisra'el will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock. 11 For YHWH has ransomed Yaacov, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. (emphases added)
The impact of this event resonated strongly within the hearts of both my wife and myself. Tears streamed down our faces like a river. As we walked across the street up to the arch, we continued to weep for the transgressions of our people that caused our banishment from the land of Yisrael.
During the march, an incident occurred that profoundly impacted my wife and I that we are humbled to have experienced. We never know how our actions speak and minister to others. Before crossing the street, a woman had observed the impact this was having upon our being and our serious heart-felt response. This same lady while closely approaching the arch came over to us with a banner folded up. She placed the folded banner in our hands and said something like this in broken English, "I don't know why. I don't know why. He told me to give this to you. I prophesy. When you prophesy say what's upon your heart." Tears were streaming down her face and ours. I noticed on her name tag that she was from Mexico City. During that space of time and tears, she was no longer Mexican; we were no longer American, but we were one people; we were Yisrael! Still the message rang even more clear when we unfolded the banner and saw a representation of the restored and regathered nation. The banner was really a flag looking like the modern Israeli flag except in the center was a large golden seven branched menorah, a symbol of national Yisrael!
Several people came forward to make declarations. A descendant of Sitting Bull with arms open wide said something like this, "On behalf of the Lakota nation I welcome you. You are my brothers." An African American man stepped forward and declared with arms open, "On behalf of African Americans I welcome you. You are my brothers." A Messianic Jew came forward with arms open and said, "On behalf of the Jewish people, I welcome you. You are my brothers." And finally a native born Israeli woman said with arms open, "On behalf of the citizens of the modern nation of Yisrael, the land of Yisrael is your home. I welcome you."
The heavens even declared their approval of this event. Very gentle rains sprinkled down as Abba responded with tears Himself! Yes, the heavens were moved that day. We were immersed in Abba's tears.
Shavua Tov,
--
Tzefanyah Pappas
Chazak Chazak v’nitchazek
Let us be strong, let us be strong and let us
strengthen (encourage) one another!
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