The Second and Greater Exodus of Israel

Posted by Navah on Apr 13, 2020

There will be a second and even a greater Exodus of Israel unseen and unheard before! Moreover, this second Exodus of Israel will be so great that the first one from Egypt will be remembered no more. The stage for the second Exodus is being set before our eyes for everyone to see.

The first month of Creator’s calendar is known as the month of our Redemption. In the first month of the year, we were redeemed from Egypt, and it will be in the first month in which we will be redeemed once again in the second Exodus from “Egypt”. The parallelism between the first and second exodus, as seen below, is not coincidental.

Everything will begin with the opening of the book

Then those who fear Elohim speak to one another, and He listens and hears, and a book of remembrance is written before Him, of those who fear Yehovah, and those who think upon His Name. And they shall be Mine, said Yehovah of hosts, on the day that I prepare a treasured possession. And I shall spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again see between the righteous and the wrong, between one who serves Elohim and one who does not serve Him.  (Mal 3:16-18)

YHVH listens and hears the righteous ones who have awe of Him and value His Name. He not only takes notice of this but has their names written in the book of remembrance to reward them in due time by having their good deeds written in the book before Him (Dan 7:10). The deeds of those who awe His Name are being written in the book, because on the day of His visitation He will make them His possession and show them mercy, as a father spares his sons who serve him. And where it is said above “then you shall see again” this presupposes judgment that was seen before, which YHVH had already made it manifest in former times in Egypt, where such a separation between righteous and unrighteous had already been made (Exo 11:7).

And indeed, a similar expression “again a second time” in Isaiah 11 leads the reader directly to the time of the Exodus from Egypt, as it is said: “as it was for Israel in the day when they came up from Egypt”. We read,

And it shall be in that day that YHVH again a second time shall recover the remnant of His people who are left … And He shall gather the outcasts of Israel and assemble the dispersed of Yehudah from the four corners of the earth. … And YHVH shall put under the ban the tongue of the Sea of Egypt and He shall wave His hand over Euphrates River with the might of His Wind, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and shall cause men to tread it in sandals. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, those left from Ashshur, as it was for Israel in the day when they came up from Egypt (Isa 11:11-16).

Here the prophecy speaks of the exile of Israel to the four corners of the earth. But we know that there was no such an exile at the time when the prophecy was given, nor even after the termination of the northern kingdom of Israel. Therefore, we may say that as the description of the diaspora in Isaiah 11 is not written as a historical fact, but it is written as a prophecy, so is the description of the gathering of Israel written, and they all refer to the Second and Greater Exodus of Israel.

The prophecy also foretells the termination of the hostility between the two kingdoms: Judah and Israel. The people, when thus brought in the Land again, will form one united nation, while all those who broke and keep breaking this unity will be exposed to the immediate judgment of Elohim. Thus, the redemption which the prophecy speaks of is a second Exodus, after the first one (in Egypt), to be followed by no third. This exodus is made known as the second Exodus, which will be also the final redemption of Israel.

And indeed, on that day YHVH will call the remnant of His people again a second time from the four corners of the earth, and gather them, as it was for Israel on the day when they came up from Egypt. And when Israel repents and says, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of YHVH”, the mercy of YHVH will begin with the blast of the great horn, as we read,

And in that day, it shall be that Yehovah will beat off from the River to the River of Egypt. And you shall be gathered one by one. And in that day, it shall be that a great horn is blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and the dispersed in the land of Egypt shall come and shall worship YHVH in the set-apart mountain in Jerusalem. (Isa 27:12-13)

The Euphrates and the River of Egypt were the north-eastern and south-western boundaries of the Land of Israel, according to the promise to Avraham in Gen 15:18. What is stated here is that the revived kingdom of Israel will be populated again in its greatest promised extent from river to river.

Note: Where it is said “the River of Egypt”, it is meant Nile River, not the Wadi el-Arish in 1Ki 8:65, as some translations put it. The confusion comes from the Greek LXX, which the translators have used, where the Hebrew word for “river” is translated to read “brook” or “wadi”. The same Hebrew word is used for great rivers like the Euphrates and Nile.

Within these borders, YHVH states He will beat off His fruits, as JPS correctly translates it, like olives are beaten down from the trees (Deu 24:20). But that vast territory of land must be first populated [with His fruits], according to the promise. Such fruits YHVH will first gather one by one and beat down carefully, as olives are beaten down and hand-picked, as a peculiar possession for Himself. And this is what is meant when said, “Yehovah will beat off His fruits … And you shall be gathered one by one … who were lost in the land of Assyria and the dispersed in the land of Egypt”. And there will be the sounding of the great and last [seven] trumpet which is further expounded in the second book of Ezra, as we read,

Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth, … And the trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid. At that time shall friends fight one against another like enemies, and the earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein, the springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in three hours they shall not run. Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world. (2Es 6:18-26 KJVA)

The judgment of Israel

And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. And I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples and shall enter into judgment with you face to face there, as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I shall enter into judgment with you, declares the Master Yehovah. And I shall make you pass under the rod, and shall bring you into the bond of the Covenant, and purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me. From the land where they sojourn, I bring them out, but they shall not come into the land of Israel. … For on My set-apart mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, declares the Master Yehovah, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There I shall accept them, … (Eze 20:34-44)

The gathering of Israel out of the nations is neither the restoration from the Roman exile, nor the final redemption, but a step to them. YHVH will take those who are brought out from the nations into “the wilderness of the peoples” to judge them there. The phrase “wilderness of the peoples” is not clearly identified in the prophecy, but in the context one thing is made certain though: “the wilderness of the peoples” is a land other than the land of Kana’an. Thus, the more precise explanation of the words must depend, however, upon the sense in which we are to understand the expression “the wilderness of the land of Egypt” above. Evidently, for some reason the time spent by Israel in “the wilderness of the land of Egypt” resembles the time for judgment in “the wilderness of the peoples”. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to say, “as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt”.

Consequently, the leading of Israel out of the nations is simply not just a deliverance, but a separation that they may not be allowed to assimilate in the heathen world. This act of prevention of any further assimilation can be accomplished by means of judgment, as the Lord formerly judged the fathers in Egypt before the first Exodus. As for why this association with Egypt is made here, the reader is encouraged to refer to the article “Israel’s whoring in Egypt” which will bring more understanding on the matter.

And where it is said “I shall make you pass under the rod”, it is to be understood as the “shepherd’s rod” in Lev 27:32. A shepherd lets his sheep pass through under his rod for the purpose of counting them, and also for the reason to see whether they are in acceptable condition or not (see Jer 33:13). Likewise, YHVH like a good shepherd will cause His flock to pass through under His rod for the purpose of chastisement and counting in order to bring them “into the bond of the Covenant”. Thus, His discipline will secure the cleansing of the people by the means of setting them apart from the heathen world in order to accept those who will be found worthy. We should recall that in the history of Israel there were nine censuses the nation has gone through, and the last one is hinted here in the prophecy of the Second and Greater Exodus of Israel. We should also note here that He will bring them out of the foreign lands of the Roman exile but will not bring them directly into the land of Israel, for the Promised Land will not accept the unrighteous people. And, if YHVH will not bring the exile in His Land but in “the wilderness of the peoples”, where is this land, because the prophecy does not tell much? This question deserves a study of its own.

Be hopeful and cast not away your hopes for you shall have great joy as the messengers of heaven. What shall you be obliged to do? You shall not have to hide on the day of the great judgment, and you shall not be found as sinners, and the eternal judgment shall be far from you for all the generations of the world. (Enoch 104:4)

The Second Exodus of Israel

YHVH says,

The days are coming when it is no longer said, ‘YHVH lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt’, but ‘YHVH lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them’. For I shall bring them back into their land I gave to their fathers. (Jer 16:14-15)

The prophecy of the second and greater Exodus of Israel opens to a view of ultimate redemption from the Roman exile, the exile where Israel has been dispersed. This ultimate redemption is more properly known as the final redemption. Here in Jeremiah, we are given a key phrase to understand the scale of this redemption, namely, that the people will no longer say YHVH who redeemed them out of Egypt, but YHVH who has brought them from all the land they were scattered. In this descriptive statement is implied that this second and final redemption will outshine the former one from Egypt. But this is also true that just as the final redemption will exceed the earlier one, so much greater will the affliction of Israel in the exile be than the Egyptian bondage. And indeed, if by comparison the Roman exile is the longest and the cruelest one Israel has ever been through, so much will it be the blessing of Israel after the final redemption.

The grandeur of the Second Exodus

And when YHVH will raise for David a Branch of righteousness and a king will reign and do righteousness in the earth (see Jer 23:5), then He will secure for His people and they will dwell safely, as the blessing will come into fulfilment of Deu 33:28.

In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel dwell safely. And this is His Name whereby He shall be called: Yehovah our Righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares Yehovah, when they shall say no more, ‘As Yehovah lives who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt’, but ‘As Yehovah lives who brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and from all the lands where I had driven them‘. And they shall dwell on their own soil. (Jer 23:6-8)

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that the name of the Messiah is “YHVH” [Lamentations Rabba 1:51]: What is the name of King Messiah? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: YHVH is his name, for it is written, I will raise for David a tzemach of righteousness … In his days Yehudah shall be saved… And this is the name whereby he shall be called: YHVH Tsidkenu (YHVH our Righteousness) (Jer 23:5-6). So here, the Messiah, the Branch from David, will manifest himself to the people as “Yehovah Tsidkenu”: “Yehovah our Righteousness”. This name is understood to mean that the Messiah is here called “Yehovah” and our righteousness, in such a manner as YHVH justifies His people by the Messiah’s merits. Therefore, under the scepter of the Messiah (see Gen 49:10, Num 24:17), all Israel (the House of Judah and the House of Israel) will reach the destiny promised to the fathers thus attaining the full dignity and glory.

The gathering of Israel out of the nations in the Second Exodus

And YHVH further said,

Although I have sent them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the lands, yet I was for them a set-apart place for a little while in the lands to which they came. Therefore say, ‘Thus said the Lord Yehovah. And I shall gather you from the peoples, and I shall assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel‘. (Eze 11:16-17).

The prophet is here commanded to declare to Israel that YHVH is their sanctuary even in their exile. The thought of the Sages is that when Israel went into the longest exile under Rome, the Messiah went with them too, to suffer as many times as they would suffer. How do we know that? This we studied in the articles “Did Israel reject the Messiah?” and “The name of Yeshua secretly guarded by the Rabbis“.

Today, the world denies Israel to have any possession of the Land and a place of worship. But because of that, YHVH told Ezekiel that He would gather them together again and give them the Land for everlasting possession. Unquestionably, He scattered them among the nations as a punishment, but He has not cast them off. Moreover, YHVH says above that He has become a sanctuary to them, like the Temple was a sanctuary to them while in the Land. And indeed, just because Israel had lost the Temple and Jerusalem, this by no means signifies that they have lost the Elohim of the fathers. On the contrary, YHVH affirms here that He Himself has become their Temple by His presence through the Covenant He has with the nation from Sinai forward. This assurance is given to the exile as a pledge that one day they will possess not only the Land but also the Temple the Messiah will built.

The prophecy further says that this substitution of the physical Temple with YHVH Himself is only probationary and is only to last for the time of the exile, because Israel will not remain scattered abroad forever but will inherit the Land even though among its enemies. Ultimately, the real possession will come at the full realization in the New Jerusalem, where YHVH and the Messenger of His Face will be the Dwelling Place for Israel (Rev 21:22).

The fulfilment of this promise has indeed begun with the return of the first wave of the exile in the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It continued after the Holocaust of WWII and is still an ongoing process for the fear of their enemies, as seen in the prophecy in Amos,

And I shall turn back the captivity of My people Israel and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them and shall make gardens and eat their fruit. And I shall plant them on their own soil, and not uproot them any more from their own soil I have given them, said YHVH your Elohim! (Amo 9:14-15)

This prophecy in Amos and in Isiah began its fulfilment with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Reunion of Israel as one nation under King David

Thus said YHVH,

Behold, I am taking the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land. And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns. … And they shall all have one shepherd and walk in My ordinances and guard My laws and shall do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Ya’akov My servant, where your fathers dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, they and their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant David be their prince forever. (Eze 37:21-25)

These words of YHVH directs to the reunion of the twelve tribes of Israel and its future sanctification under the reign of King David. What is new, however, is the reunion of the divided tribes of Israel into one single nation, known best as the prophecies of the “dry bones” and the “two sticks”. We should note that both prophecies are given here without any doubt intentionally, right before the prophecy of the War of Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38-39. Then the prophecy goes on with the promises of (1) the gathering of Israel out of their dispersion and their restoration to their own land, (2) their union as one nation under the rule of David and (3) their setting apart as the true people of YHVH.

The division of the nation into two kingdoms had its roots in the falling away of King Solomon, but it could only be completed and forever terminated through the righteous reign of King David. Israel, when thus renewed, will walk in the grace of YHVH and fulfil His Torah in the Messianic Kingdom (see Ezekiel 40-48), under the reign of its shepherd David, and under the reign of the Messiah as the world’s ruler. What is intriguing in the prophecy is expressed in one word, l’olam, “forever”, namely, that neither the dwelling of Israel in the Land, nor the governments of King David and King Messiah will ever end. Of course, “forever” is limited within the Messianic Kingdom in the last, seventh, millennium of the world, after whose end the New Jerusalem, the Throne of YHVH will come from heaven, and King Messiah will submit to the Creator. This we studied in the article “The Time When the Messiah will be Subject to the Father“.

These two points refer to the certain and full realization in the future reign of the Creator as the only Sovereign of the universe. But even before this time comes, the world must go through the last war: the War of Gog of Magog, to which Time of Reckoning Ministry (TORM) has dedicated a series of articles.

Torah in the hearts of the people

Behold, the days are coming, declares Yehovah, when I shall make a renewed Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the Covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I strengthened their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My Covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, declares Yehovah. For this is the Covenant I shall make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Yehovah: I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. (Jer 31:31-33)

The final redemption of all Israel will complete in the making of a new covenant, according to which the Torah of YHVH will be written in the consciousness of the people, by which ultimately Israel becomes in truth the people of YHVH. The covenant which YHVH will make with all Israel, and which will finalize the redemption, is thus called “a new Covenant”, but more properly “a renewed Covenant” as compared with that made with the fathers at Sinai. With that said, the present author wants to emphasize on “renewed”, because it is not that “a new covenant” with new laws and ordinances, as opposed to “old covenant”, will be made. But that the “new” is the place where the renewal will take place: in the inward parts and hearts, namely, the inner consciousness, where the Covenant was meant to be from the beginning.

The fault, therefore, is not found in the Covenant of YHVH, which is perfect because it is said that it turns the soul of man to the Creator (see Psa 19:7, Psa 119:80). But fault is found in the people who broke it, because it is also said, “not like the Covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I strengthened their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My Covenant which they broke”. The knowledge of YHVH, therefore, will be such revealed that there will be no further need of knowledge of Him, as we read in Jer 31:34. The Covenant of YHVH such renewed in the deep soul of the people will endure forever and will never change, unless the heavens, the sun, and stars could ever change (Jer 31:35-37). And the Covenant of YHVH thus renewed in the hearts of the people will be the last step of the final redemption of Israel.

Navah

May we merit seeing the coming of our Mashiach speedily in our days.