The Prophetic Significance of Israel’s Divided kingdom
In April 2018, I had a dream in which I heard the audible voice of God throughout the night speaking to me about two kingdoms that were divided and very different from one another.
This dream was unlike any dream I had ever experienced before. Usually, you dream one thing and then move on to the next, but this particular dream repeated itself throughout the entire night.
I remember it as if it were yesterday. I could hear the audible voice of God telling me to pay attention to the two kingdoms because they were very different and they were divided. The voice repeated the same thing over and over again. I remember waking up several times during the night and feeling the presence of God in my bedroom. Then I would fall back asleep, and throughout the night the voice of God continued repeating the same message again and again.
Immediately after waking up, Ezekiel 37:15–22 came to mind. I took my Bible and read it:
“The 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.” 17 Join 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?’ 19 say 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 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.’ 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and 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. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them, and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.’”
Ever since I had that dream, I have carried a burning desire to understand what each kingdom in Ezekiel 37:15–22 truly represents. I kept reading this passage over and over, discussing it with people, and asking others what kind of revelation they had concerning the stick of Ephraim and the stick of Judah.
I knew this passage was not merely speaking about the tribes of Israel in the traditional sense, but that it carried a deeper meaning. I sensed there was an end-time mystery hidden within that prophecy. I knew the Lord wanted to unlock understanding concerning a scripture that would mark my life forever.
Indeed, this passage has become one of the primary scriptures the Lord has used to give me understanding about the two remnants of the Lord. In this passage, we see one of the greatest prophecies concerning the end-time revival that will occur when the Jewish remnant and the Gentile remnant join together and become one new man in Christ.
This scripture reveals the magnificent plan of God for the full restoration of Jews and Gentiles as He brings them into unity to be used powerfully in the last days. In fact, this passage points to the fulfillment of Amos 9:11 and the restoration of the fallen tabernacle of David, when Jews and Gentiles will worship the Lord freely, in unity, and without walls of division between them.
This scripture also points to the full manifestation of the “one new man” spoken of in Ephesians 2:14–18:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
As my search into the mystery of God found in Ezekiel 37:15–22 began, the Lord started revealing many other wonders concerning His plan for Israel and the role of Gentile believers regarding Israel’s salvation in the end times.
Many scriptures began opening up to me, and I started seeing types, shadows, and patterns throughout the entire Bible that typify the Lord’s two flocks: the Gentiles and the Jews.
John 10:16 says:
“I have other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
John 11:52–54 says:
“He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the scattered children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but departed from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and He stayed there with His disciples.”
Little by little, through different events that started happening in my life, the Lord began whispering to me:
“I am about to break the wall of division between My two divided kingdoms—the Christians and the Jews—and I will make them one in My hand in the last days.”
Just as in John 10:16 Jesus says He has sheep from another pen that He desires to gather into one flock under one shepherd, we also see in Ezekiel 37:19–22 that the Lord tells Ezekiel He will gather all His scattered people and make them one, with one King ruling over them all. The Lord also declares that they will never again be divided into two kingdoms, but will become one in His hand.
“Tell them that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Ephraim, together with the tribes of Israel joined with him, and put them together with the stick of Judah and make them a single stick, so that they become one in My hand.’ The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch. Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King will be king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will never again be divided into two kingdoms.’”
We know this prophecy in Ezekiel 37:19–22 is a promise that the Lord will restore the kingdom of Israel that was once divided. As we know, after the succession of Solomon’s son Rehoboam around 930 BCE, the kingdom split into two nations: the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
In the Hebrew Bible, the northern Kingdom of Israel is often referred to as the “House of Joseph.” It is also frequently identified as Ephraim because the tribe of Ephraim housed the capital cities and royal families. The northern tribes were eventually scattered throughout the nations during the diaspora, and today they are commonly referred to as the lost tribes of Israel.
According to Ezekiel 37, these tribes will ultimately be regathered into the land of Israel and become one nation under one King. They will no longer be two houses or two kingdoms.
We certainly know God will fulfill this literally for the twelve tribes of Israel, just as He promised in His Word. But there is also a mystery we must understand: to the stick of Joseph, the Lord always intended to add more. He always intended to add the nations.
The name Joseph in Hebrew means “He will add.” The name comes from the Hebrew verb yasaf, meaning “to increase” or “to add.” Therefore, the ultimate fulfillment of the stick of Joseph becoming one with the stick of Judah will occur when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and all Israel is saved.
At that time, we will see the fullness of the wild olive branches—the Gentiles, represented by the stick of Joseph—grafted together with the natural olive branches—the Jews, represented by the stick of Judah—into one olive tree.
Romans 11:17–19 says:
“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. Remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
Romans 11:23–24 says:
“And even they, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”
Here we can see that one of the reasons Jesus did not restore the kingdom of Israel at His first coming was because He still needed to gather all His sheep—the nations and the Jews—into one flock under one Shepherd.
Geulah could not occur unless Ephraim and Judah were restored together. But along with Ephraim, many from the nations first had to be added. Redemption could not fully come until the Gentiles were grafted in.
In other words, once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and all the sheep from another pen have been added into the stick of Joseph, then all Israel shall be saved, and the Lord Jesus will return as King to establish and restore the physical kingdom of Israel.
Romans 11:25–26 says:
“I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers and sisters, lest you become wise in your own sight: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.’”
Who is Ephraim prophetically?
— Ephraim’s mother was a Gentile, and he was born in Egypt. Ephraim was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as his wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. Ephraim was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan.
— He receives the firstborn blessing even though he was the younger brother. As Gentiles, we came to be part of the family of Israel much later, so we could say that we are the younger sibling. But through Jesus, we can enjoy the firstborn blessings since we are the ones who first received Him as our Messiah.
Genesis 48:
Joseph placed Ephraim at Israel’s left side and Manasseh at his right, yet Israel crossed his hands and placed his right hand upon Ephraim, the younger son, giving him the greater blessing.
— The name Ephraim means “fruitful,” and as Gentiles we have borne much fruit for the Kingdom.
Matthew 21:43:
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
— Ephraim represents the ten lost tribes of the northern kingdom, and the number ten symbolizes the nations.
— Prophetically, when Jesus was rejected by Judah, He withdrew to Ephraim—the nations—and there He remained hidden. In the same way, today He has been hidden among the nations because He was rejected by many in Israel.
John 11:54:
“Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but departed to a region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there He stayed with His disciples.”
— Ephraim (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom) were two divided kingdoms, just as Christians and Jews have been divided for nearly 2,000 years.
But there is a promise: in the last days, God will unite these two kingdoms and use them mightily in His hand. Jesus will use Ephraim to provoke Judah to turn back to Him, and the two sticks will become one. Together they will be used powerfully by the Lord to bring in the greatest harvest.
Like Caleb from the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim, they will help bring the people of God into the Promised Land.
In the end, the mystery of Ephraim and Judah is not merely about ancient tribes or historical kingdoms. It is about the redemptive plan of God unfolding through history until its final fulfillment in Christ. What was once divided, God intends to restore. What was scattered, He intends to gather. And what was separated by hostility, misunderstanding, religion, and generations of division, He intends to make one in His hand.
The story of Ephraim and Judah reveals the heart of God for reconciliation, restoration, and covenant fulfillment. From the beginning, the Lord always intended to bring together both the natural branches and the wild branches into one olive tree, under one Shepherd and one King. His plan was never centered around separation, but around unity through Messiah.
Today we are witnessing the beginnings of this prophetic restoration. Around the world, Gentile believers are awakening to the Jewish roots of their faith, while many Jewish people are beginning to recognize Yeshua as Messiah. The wall of division that stood for centuries is beginning to crack, and the Lord is preparing a united remnant for the last days.
The joining of the two sticks in Ezekiel 37 is not only a prophecy of national restoration for Israel, but also a prophetic picture of spiritual restoration in the body of Christ. God is raising up one new man: Jews and Gentiles walking together in humility, honor, covenant, and love. Not one replacing the other, but both becoming one through Jesus.
As the fullness of the Gentiles comes in and all Israel is brought into God’s redemptive plan, the earth will witness one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s glory and faithfulness. The restoration of Ephraim and Judah points to the coming Kingdom of God, the return of the King, and the great harvest before the end of the age.
The Lord is gathering His people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He is restoring the fallen tabernacle of David. He is healing ancient divisions. And He is preparing a people who will worship Him together as one flock under one Shepherd.
The two sticks will become one in His hand, and the kingdoms that were once divided will never again be separated.