TWO STICKS IN GOD's HAND - JUDAH and EPHRAIM

Judah and Ephraim’s (multitude of nations) come together in the end times

Re ‘Operation Rising Lion’ Israel’s 12-day bombing of Iran’s scientists, military leaders; and U.S.A. bombing of Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure etc., June 13–24, 2025:

Numbers 23:24: Look, a people rises ‘like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; it shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.’

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown… (Daniel 11:40–41a)

At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people (Israel); and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book…

Note: Correspondingly, Revelation 12:13–17 depicts a period of intense trouble for the woman (Spiritual Israel, or Israel of God, Galatians 4:21–31) during an end time persecution by the great red dragon, where the word ‘flood’ is mentioned 3 times in relation to the expressed hatred toward God and His people, by the great red dragon (Devil or Satan) who was cast to the earth and filled with rage and enmity against spiritual Israel. This passage of scripture is easily associated with Hamas’ invasion of Southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which was called Operation ‘Al Aqsa Flood!’

It was this surprise operation, or flood of armed attackers and thugs, which restarted the relatively dormant Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah conflicts afresh the following day; causing the Houthis in Yemen to align themselves with the Palestinians in Gaza, along with Iran’s associated proxy Islamist militia groups in Syria and Iraq ― who supported Hamas’ terrorist attacks ― by also retaliating against Israel. This dire end time period has been described in Daniel 9:27b as the consummation (i.e., ‘the full end’ of the matter), and it will involve the ‘settling of old scores’ between Israel and her enemies (Dan. 9:27b) prior to the kingdom of God.

Rev. 12:14 But the woman (Israel) was given two wings of a great eagle (plane?) that she might fly into the wilderness to her place (Negev or Petra?), where she is nourished (in the desert) for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (N.B. Israel’s P.M’s. plane is called ‘Wing of Zion;’ while US presidential plane called Air Force One is operated by the 89^th Airlift Wing.) [1]

Zechariah 9:13‒17 NIV (End time prophecy; re. the 2^nd coming of the Messiah) [2]

I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, (God’s instruments of war) against your sons, Greece, (i.e., the historic Seleucid Empire, king of the North; covering Southern Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan today), and make you like a warrior’s sword. (To subjugate the invading power.)

Then the Lord will appear over them; his ‘arrow’ (Israel’s surface to air missile) will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; (alarm) he will march in the storms of the south,[3] and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. (David’s sling missile defence?) (Cf. Matt. 24:29–31)
They will drink and roar as with wine; (happy) they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling at the corners of the altar. The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. (Cf. Zech. Chapters 12–14)

They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. (Cf. Dan. 12:3, …shine like the brightness of the firmament… like the stars forever.)
How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. (Cf. Ezekiel 36:8–15, 25–38)

I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph (i.e., Ephraim, a multitude of nations).[4]

I will restore them because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.
Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive, and they will return.
I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.

They will pass through the sea of trouble; the surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be brought down and Egypt’s sceptre will pass away.
I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will live securely,” declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 – Dry bones – receive the ‘breath’ x 8 – exceedingly great army – rise from ‘graves’ x 4 –

… ‘I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,’ says the LORD. (Ezek. 37:14)

One Nation under One King

Ezekiel 37:15-23 – Two sticks in God’s hand: One for Judah and one for Ephraim/Joseph – joined…

¹⁵The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶“Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ ¹⁷Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

¹⁸“When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ ¹⁹say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ ²⁰Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on ²¹and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. ²²I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. [5] There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,^[a] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 37:24-28 – David will be king (resurrection??) – God will make a Covenant of Peace – and the millennial sanctuary will be in the midst.

Interestingly, there is a parallel description of a suitably attired and majestic Hebrew warrior-King in the Old Testament in Psalm 45:1–9 [esp. vs. 4–5], showing the King receiving His foreign bride (vs. 10–17).

This passage has been described as a Royal wedding song, where the writer is bubbling over with enthusiasm as he skilfully describes the Royal Court.

Notably in Psalm 45:5, His (Hebrew warrior-King) arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; whereby the people fall under Him. In this picturesque Psalm there is no mention of a bow being the instrument that fires the arrows… instead it is taken as read that a bow is the firing device. Alternatively, in Rev. 6:2 the word bow is mentioned, but not arrows?

Note: I see in this song, particular references or omissions that could be relevant to the scenario in Revelation 6:2: He (Christ) who sat on (the white horse) had a bow (i.e., the bow of Judah, cf. Zech. 9:13, above); and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

However, many other scriptures depict a bow as an offensive weapon used in ancient warfare (cf. Gen. 27:3; 49:24; Josh. 24:12; 2 Sam. 1:18, 22; 1 Kings 22:34; 2 Kings 9:24; 13:15; 1 Chron. 5:18; Hos.7:16; Zech. 9:13).

Note: in all of the bolded references, arrows are not mentioned; so I cannot see any reason why the arrows of Ephraim are not deduced to also exist in Rev. 6:2!

[1] The 89th Airlift Wing of the United States Air Force is based at Joint Base Andrews and has an operational force of over 1,000 personnel. The 89th provides global Special Air Mission (SAM) airlift, logistics, aerial transport and communications for the president, vice president, combatant commanders, senior leaders and the global mobility system as tasked by the White House, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Air Mobility Command. (Wikipedia)

[2] Zechariah 9:14-17 meaning | TheBibleSays.com

[3] Teman or Edom (Saudi Arabia) from where the most violent storms come from. (Job 37:9; Isaiah 21:1)

[4] Genesis 42 – 46 The story of Joseph taken to Egypt. Joseph’s wife was Egyptian, (Asenath) daughter of Potiphera. They had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Ephraim became chief of the northern 10 tribes when settled in the Promised Land.

Genesis 48:8-20 – Ephraim is set above Manasseh when Jacob crossed his arms onto their heads to bless them. Ephraim shall be greater than his older brother… and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.

But which ones:

1. Many of the 10 Northern tribespeople joined themselves to the southern kingdom of Judah after Solomon’s kingdom was divided. (Cf. 2 Chron. 15:9; 30:11, 25)

2. Some people believe that after the 10 Northern tribes were taken into Assyrian territory they were afterward incorporated into the Babylonian Empire and then into Media-Persian Empire and absorbed into other Middle Eastern nations.

3. Others believe they migrated to Europe and Britain and became members in The Commonwealth of Nations derived from the British Empire’s allies that constitute Ephraim (predominantly USA, Canada, Australia, N.Z. etc.,) the Christian countries in the end times. Today, the overwhelming majority of Jews live in Israel or USA. See ⁵ below.

Who are the modern descendants of Ephraim? | Hoshana Rabbah BlogHoshana Rabbah Blog

Scripture obviously regards Judah and Ephraim as being ‘two separate entities’ acting together in the interests of Israel in the end time, which come together in Israel when Messiah returns. Hence, after the millennium we find that the beloved city Jerusalem is enclosed by the Camp of the Saints, when Gog, Magog and their armies try to attack the city and are destroyed. (Rev. 20:7–10)

[5] Re: the two nations: Judah’s descendants = 7 million Jews who live in Israel, and Ephraim’s ‘multitude of nations’ = 6.3 million Jewish descendants living in USA; while the balance of Jews living in other nations make a total of 15.8 million Jews world-wide. They will be brought together as one nation in Israel―living in safety―after the battle of Armageddon when their Messiah returns to defeat the Beast and hostile armies (Rev. 16:15). They represent only 0.2% of the world’s population! Yet, the other nations seem to hate them, and they are the subject of increasing world-wide anti-Semitism in these end times.