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Brit-Am Now no. 1508
The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel Movement
11 May 2010, 27 Iyar Nissan 5770
Contents:
1. Question on the Bow of Judah and the Arrows of Ephraim.
Parallels in Prophecy between the
Maccabees and Ephraim in the Future.
2. New Article:
The
Khazars, Manasseh, and the USA
3. Ecclesiastes 8.


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1. Question on the Bow of Judah and the Arrows of Ephraim. Parallels in Prophecy between the Maccabees and Ephraim in the Future.
Pastor James PS Templeton wrote:
Re Brit-Am Now no. 1497
# 2. Lorraine Harvey:
Were Australians and New Zealanders the Arrows of Ephraim (Zechariah 9:13) in the Bow of Judah?
http://www.britam.org/now2/1497Now.html#Lorraine

Dear Yair, Do you have an exposition of these verses in Zechariah Chapter 9:13-15 as they are difficult to understand. If you would explain them we would be very grateful. They were in one of your messages, in Brit-Am Now no. 1497  I have sent this message to another brother who queried them, Yours Very Sincerely, James Templeton
13  When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15  The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. {with': or, the stones of the sling} {be': or, fill both the bowls, etc}
16  And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
  
Pastor James PS Templeton,
Northern Ireland.

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Brit-Am Reply:

Our Brit-Am Commentary to the Book of Zechariah
http://britam.org/zechariah.html was somewhat brief and is in need of upgrading.

THE BOW OF JUDAH AND THE ARROWS OF EPHRAIM

Parallels in Prophecy between the Maccabees and Ephraim in the Future.
Relatively Recent Rabbinical Commentators seem to have taken these verses in Zechariah as referring to both the Hasmonean Maccabees of Judah (though actually from the Tribe of Levi)  in Second Temple times as well as to the Messiah Son of Joseph and future leader of the Ten Tribes. It was as if in some way the Maccabees served as prototypes for the Ten Tribes when in the future they will return. The Festival of Chanukah (Feast of Lights) is sometimes taken (cf. the book "Bnei Yissachar") as in a way reflecting the personality of Joseph.

This is the NKJV version of the passage:
Zechariah 9:
12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope.  Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.

13 For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.'

14 Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet,  And go with whirlwinds from the south.


This whole section is referring to BOTH Judah and Ephraim.
The expression, "That I will restore double to you" (Zechariah 9:14) in Hebrew can be understood literally as saying,

"I AM DECLARING A TWO-FOLD MESSAGE FOR YOU TO TAKE TO HEART".

In other words the massage may be understood to apply to both Judah and Ephraim in parallel format.

Anyway, for the time being, let us quote the Commentary of the Malbim (1809-1879) on this subject:

[Zechariah 9:12] TURN YOU TO THE STRONG HOLD, YE PRISONERS OF HOPE: EVEN TO DAY DO I DECLARE THAT I WILL RENDER DOUBLE UNTO THEE;
Return from the Imprisonment of Exile to THE STRONG HOLD meaning Zion which will be fortified. You have been PRISONERS OF HOPE. You have waited long for Redemption. EVEN TO DAY DO I DECLARE THAT I WILL RENDER DOUBLE UNTO THEE: The Miracles will be doubled and take place at two different times. In the past we had the Wars of the [
Maccabee-]Hasmoneans  against Antiochus [Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Hellenist Ruler over Syria who oppressed the Jews, reigned ca. 175-164 BCE]. In the future there will take place the War of the Children of Ephraim against Gog and Magog.  Both events at the time they were prophesied were yet to take place. This is what Zechariah intended in saying  EVEN TO DAY DO I DECLARE it...

Zechariah 9:13] WHEN I HAVE BENT JUDAH FOR ME, FILLED THE BOW WITH EPHRAIM, AND RAISED UP THY SONS, O ZION, AGAINST THY SONS, O GREECE, AND MADE THEE AS THE SWORD OF A MIGHTY MAN.            

Malbim on [Zechariah 9:13]: WHEN I HAVE BENT JUDAH FOR ME: This is one announcement [of the double message] referring to the what will happen in Second Temple Times when the Children of Judah will defeat the Children of Yavan [i.e. the Macedonian-Greeks]. This will take place through Divine Salvation in a manner above that attributable to natural causes. Judah will be like a drawn bow in the hand of the Almighty to fight against the Yavanites. The Second [part of the double Prophetic] announcement ["FILLED THE BOW WITH EPHRAIM"] is that the bow will be filled with [the arrows] of EPHRAIM. In the future Gog and Magog will be aroused. The Children of Ephraim meaning descendants of the Ten Tribes (who were not present in the Second Temple Period) will then be the bow of the Almighty ready to war against Gog and Magog. The messages are parallel to each other:
WHEN I HAVE BENT JUDAH FOR ME.....AND RAISED UP THY SONS, O ZION, AGAINST THY SONS, O GREECE:  This refers to Second Temple Times concerning the inhabitants of Zion and of the Tribe of Judah.

FILLED THE BOW WITH EPHRAIM....AND MADE THEE AS THE SWORD OF A MIGHTY MAN: At that time the Children of Ephraim shall kill with their bow and sword  the hosts of
Gog and Magog who will have come in armies against them.   

[Zechariah 9:14] AND THE LORD SHALL BE SEEN OVER THEM, AND HIS ARROW SHALL GO FORTH AS THE LIGHTNING: AND THE LORD GOD SHALL BLOW THE TRUMPET [Hebrew: "shofar"], AND SHALL GO WITH WHIRLWINDS OF THE SOUTH. 

Malbim on [Zechariah 9:14]: These messages are also parallel to each other. IN the time of the Maccabees the Almighty made HIS presence felt amongst them to save them... HIS ARROW SHALL GO FORTH AS THE LIGHTNING...in the Last War against Gog and Magog, He SHALL BLOW THE TRUMPET [Hebrew: "shofar"] to gather in the outcasts from the four corners of the earth, as it says,
http://www.britam.org/isaiah/Isaiah26to30.html
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY, THAT THE GREAT TRUMPET [
Shofar] SHALL BE BLOWN, AND THEY SHALL COME who were lost IN THE LAND OF ASSYRIA [Isaiah 27:13]. 




2. New Article:
The
Khazars, Manasseh, and the USA
http://britam.org/khazariamanaseh.html
The Khazars were descended from Israelite Tribes. Jewish Tradition linked the Khazars to a group from the Tribe of Simeon led by Princes from Manasseh. A leading element amongst the population of the United states is also from Manasseh.
The article  finds parallels between the Khazars and America.

Extracts:

The Khazars gave protection to the oppressed and needy and Jews in need were helped by them. Jews fled from Moslem and Christian oppressors to the Khazars. The Khazars were blessed by their presence. The Khazars influenced other peoples who also adopted some Judaic customs but did not last the course. ...The Angles, Saxons, and some of the other peoples who eventually wound up in Western Europe came from these same areas and were kinfolk to the Khazars. They too are of Israelite descent. The Khazars were in Scandinavian and in Scotland. They became part of the Picts. What applies to the Khazars also pertains to their kith and kin. We have Khazar records, Jewish accounts, and the records of Arabs, Armenians, and Russian Christians that on the whole testify to the Khazars being Israelites. Accepting that the Khazars were of Israelite origin fits all the known facts better than any other scenario. It is the easiest explanation for all that we know and it is the most convincing. This is the truth. The one permanent characteristic of the Khazars was their Judaism.

Jacob placed Ephraim before Manasseh. He did not however change the position of the boys...From now on Ephraim was to receive his blessing BEFORE Manasseh.

Said the  "Bnei Yissachar" (Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov 1784-1840):

## ... for in truth Manasseh is the firstborn and the most important but he put Ephraim before Manasseh concerning the chronological precedence ##.

Fishel Mael ("Hashevetim") ...:

## ...Jacob however guided his hands wittingly to indicate that the greatness of Manasseh would not be revealed so soon...##.

The USA is Manasseh. Britain is Ephraim. The USA became great AFTER Britain.



3. Ecclesiastes 8

 1 Who is like a wise man?
      And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
      A man's wisdom makes his face shine,
      And the sternness of his face is changed.

 2 I say, 'Keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God.

3 Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.'

       4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;
      And who may say to him, 'What are you doing?'

       5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
      And a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment,

       6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment,
      Though the misery of man increases greatly.

       7 For he does not know what will happen;
      So who can tell him when it will occur?

       8 No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
      And no one has power in the day of death.
      There is no release from that war,
      And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

 9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

 10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity.

11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

 14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

 15 So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night,

17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.




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