Israel God's Miracle

Friend of Israel,

All roads lead to ______? Did you by any chance answer that question with Rome?

In the world of western history or military history perhaps, all roads lead to Rome. But -- in the bible and in Judeo-Christian history, all roads lead to Jerusalem.

Ever since David made Jerusalem his capital, and the glory of God descended upon Solomon's temple, Jerusalem has been the heart and soul of Israel. Though occupied by "foreigners" for most of modern history, even the sound of the word "Jerusalem" has turned Jewish eyes misty with love and longing.

The Psalmist wrote that well known blessing upon those who pray for the peace “Shalom" of Jerusalem; "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you." Psalm 122:6  

Devotion to Jerusalem is a part of every Jewish soul – "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy." Psalm 137:5 - 6

When Israel had been utterly destroyed as a nation, the redemption and renewal of Jerusalem became synonymous with salvation.

"But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight." Isaiah 65:18

Since the day Abraham set his steps toward a "Promised Land" -- and Moses led a group of slaves out of Egypt -- Jerusalem has represented the hopes and dreams of God's people.

To truly understand Jerusalem is to understand what it means to love

Perhaps some of you have had the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land and fall in love with Jerusalem. And if you ever have the opportunity to travel to Jerusalem – especially as believers in Yeshua with spiritual ties to this city… when you see the panorama of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, your heart will fill with love for this place!

Yet, this is a bittersweet love -- for God it is a love that breaks the heart. Jerusalem is like a wayward child -- constantly wandering away and then crying out in times of trial. Jerusalem occupied by a series of foreign nations over the course of biblical history has never been really, truly free from discord and violence.

You can see that broken heart of God in Luke who adds these words to the account of Yeshua' entrance into Jerusalem. "As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'If you, even you had recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" Luke 19:41- 42.

The Mystery of Yeshua' Journey to Jerusalem

Ever since Peter had identified Yeshua (Jesus) as "The Messiah, the Son of the Living God" Matthew 16:16, Yeshua (Jesus) had taught his disciples that his destiny included two seemingly contradictory things: (1) He had to go to Jerusalem and (2) He would endure suffering and death in Jerusalem.

This created a terrible conflict -- especially for Peter. When Yeshua told his disciples that he would have to suffer and even be killed in Jerusalem, Peter asked for a private conference and presumed to admonish Yeshua (Jesus). "No way - God forbid it! This must never happen to you!"  "How in the world," Peter is thinking, "Can the Messiah be killed in Jerusalem of all places? Jerusalem is the City of David! Messiah is the Son of David! Jerusalem is supposed to fling wide the Eastern Gate and welcome Messiah with tremendous rejoicing!"

The Messiah rejected in Jerusalem? Inconceivable! How could it be?

Yeshua (Jesus) gives Peter the answer, still in the privacy of this personal conversation. Listen carefully. Here is the key to the mystery of the Messiah --- "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" Matthew 16: 23.

And there you have it! There is a great divide between the way most of Jerusalem thinks about Messiah and the way Yeshua (Jesus) comes as Messiah. In fact there is a gap between Yeshua and his own disciples when it comes to understanding Messiah. And just before Yeshua (Jesus) ascends into heaven in the first chapter of Acts, the disciples ask if Jesus is now going to restore Israel to its former world class status!

The mystery of Yeshua' journey to Jerusalem is that he says in effect, "Yes, I came for Messiah's crown, but I must first bear Messiah's cross." He can not save before he suffers. He can not bring us back to God until he brings God back to us in the amazing mystery of the cross.

All of this plays out on the stage of Jerusalem -- the centre of the world's spiritual life and the symbol of the soul's centre. In one of the final visions of the book of Revelation the New Jerusalem descends and it is there that God's presence is fully restored to God's people! Revelations 21:2

“As the navel is set in the human body, so is the land of Israel the navel of the world --- Situated in the centre of the world, and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel, and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem, and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary, and the Ark in the centre of the holy place, and the foundation stone before the holy place, because from it the world was founded (The exposed rock over which the Dome of the Rock is built is called the “foundation stone”).” (Midrash Tanchuma Quedoshim)

Israel - God’s Miracle!

“And You have chosen Your people Israel for Yourself, for a people forever. And You, Jehovah, became their God.” 1 Chronicles 17:22

The people of Israel provide the true key to history

God’s purpose for the human race is centred in His chosen people. When conditions in the world approach those described in Scripture for the last days of Israel, the end of Gentile world government will be near.

The re-birth of national life among the Jews mean the dawn is in the sky for them after a long night of war, suffering, hunger, disease, and death extending over the many centuries of their dispersion. God has announced that He is going to intervene in the affairs of men someday. We can get some idea of when this will be by examining what the Bible says about the people of Israel. No one interested in world events can afford to be ignorant of what God has revealed about them.

Today the nation of Israel is constantly in the headlines of newspapers and media. But to believers who have studied the Word of God carefully, these headlines aren’t news at all!

Isaiah wrote the Word of the Lord --- “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My council shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” Isaiah 46: 9 – 10

The new born state of Israel is 62 years old this year.  To start with; the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 was a miracle of history (Ezek. 37: 1 – 11; Luke 21: 29 – 30).

Never before has a nation been destroyed, its people dispersed to the ends of the earth, and then nearly 2000 years later, re-gathered to their homeland and re-established as a nation.

When Israel was declared an independent state on May 14, 1948 – still another miracle occurred. The armies of seven Arab nations marched on the new born state, boasting that they would “push the Jews into the sea.” Outnumbered 100 to 1, Israel not only repelled the invaders but acquired more of Palestine, than was granted in the UN partition plan. Yigael Yadin, Israel’s commander of operations in that war had an amazing explanation of Israel’s victory. “It was a Miracle!”

The victory of the 1948 war a big miracle composed of a series of little miracles. Why? Over 2500 years ago the Prophet Isaiah made a remarkable prophecy regarding Israel re-gathering back in the land. Isaiah 41: 12 - 13

Some examples of Miracles during Israel’s war of independence

A Syrian column of 200 armoured vehicles – including 45 tanks attacked Degania, the oldest Kibbutz in Israel. Without artillery Jewish forces were helpless to block the Syrian advance. At that time there were only 4 heavy weapons (howitzers) the type used by the French army used in the Franco-Prussian war. Two were promptly dismantled, rushed to Degania and Lieutenant Colonel, Moshe Dayan - The local commander had them re-assembled at the precise moment that the first Syrian tanks entered the Kibbutz. With their first shot they scored a direct hit. The Syrians though that they were facing batteries of artilleries and fled!

Miracles continued…

Another miracle worth mentioning took place at Safed where a small unit of Israeli defenders were holding off a 1000 Arabs. When everything seemed hopeless a “sudden” tropical storm broke loose. The defenders in desperation took their remaining gasoline and poured it over empty drums, set them alight and rolled them down the hill. Together with the tropical storm the rumbling of the hollow barrels striking rocks created such an illusion that the bewildered attackers though some sort of secret weapon was released and so they fled.

And think about this… Mark Twain who visited Israel in 1867 described it like this “Innocents Abroad”:

"We traversed some miles of desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given wholly to weeds - a silent, mournful, expanse… a desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We reached Tabor safely... We never saw a human being on the whole route. We pressed on toward the goal of our crusade, renowned Jerusalem. The further we went the hotter the sun got and the more rocky, bare, repulsive, and dreary the landscape became... There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere… Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country. No landscape exists that is more tiresome to the eye than that which bounds the approaches to Jerusalem... Jerusalem is mournful, dreary and lifeless. I would not desire to live here. It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land... Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes."

From this text we can sense a sadness that just as the Jewish people was mourning the loss of their land so too the land was mourning their absence. Almost as though the land was cursed --- until the return of the Jews!

Reclaiming Wastelands…

“And the waste land shall be tilled, instead of being a ruin before all passing by. And they shall say this land that was wasted has become like the Garden of Eden. And the wasted, deserted and ruined cities now are fortified and inhabited. And the nations that are left all around you shall know that I Jehovah build the ruined places and plant that which was wasted. I Jehovah have spoken it, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36: 34 - 36

Barren land transformed to the fertility of ancient Israel is a miracle predicted in Scripture (Amos 9: 14 – 15).It was long assumed that Israel (Palestine) was wasteland and irreclaimable for agriculture. But the remains of seventy ancient settlement sites in one 65 mile stretch of the Jordan Valley alone bring back to mind what Lot show in Genesis 13:10. He saw all the plain of Jordon that it was well-watered even as the Garden of Eden.

One of the basic necessities in the arid country of Israel is re-forestation. The Bible helped them decide what kind of trees to plant and where to plant them! Knowing that trees grew more easily where they had flourished before. They found the answers in the Book of Joshua.

“The first tree that Abraham put in the soil of Beer Sheva was a tamarisk,” said Dr Joseph Weitz an outstanding authority on reforestation. “Following Abraham’s lead, we put out 2,000,000 in the same area. Abraham was right! The tamarisk is one of the few trees that we have found that thrives in the South where yearly rainfall is less than 6 inches.”

The Bible made Israel the agricultural giant it is today exporting its products world wide

In Bible times there were two important rainy seasons in Israel --- “the early and the latter rain.” But for many centuries the “early rain” has been minimal while the “latter rain” and dew have disappeared completely. Since 1978, the “latter rain” is falling again. The precipitation of both has spiralled over the decades, just as predicted in Joel 2: 23 – 24.

The Bible helped build Israel…

David Ben Gurion, Israel’s dynamic first Prime Minister, was an ardent student of the Bible as an accurate history of Israel and its land. He dispatched engineers, horticulturalists, botanists etc, with the Bible in one hand and research tools in the other, and miracles happened.

Following Bible clues, copper and iron mines were established. An engineer stated; “we came upon the slag and furnaces of ancient Israel. We often get the feeling that someone has just left.” Deuteronomy 8: 7 - 9 was often framed on the walls of mining offices.

Remains of copper mines in the Timna Valley located in the south-western Arava, some 30 km. north of the Gulf of Eilat. The existence of the remains of copper production at Timna was known from surveys conducted at the end of last century, but scientific attention and public interest was aroused when in the 1930s Nelson Glueck attributed the copper mining at Timna to King Solomon (10th century BCE) and named the site "King Solomon's Mines"; this theory has not been verified.

The miracle of technology

In Ezekiel 38: 10 – 13 we can see the prediction that Israel will become an envy of the nations. Israel has witnessed an explosion in both high-tech developments and the number of contracts of Israeli high-tech companies have signed with manufacturers world-wide.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “We now have the highest per capita of Scientists in the world, this has put Israel on the cutting edge of technology.” The New York Stock Exchange lists more high-tech companies from Israel than any other nation. Ezekiel 38: 16 – 23 also predicts the sanctification of God’s Name when Israel’s enemies would threaten His people.

The miracle of Immigration

Israel’s Declaration of Independence stated that Israel will be open for all Jews from all countries of their dispersion to come home Isaiah 43: 5 – 6. Jewish people kept pouring into Israel ever since independence and is still doing so up to today, increasing the population yearly. The small land of Israel has miraculously increased! On the eve of the 61st anniversary (2009) of its founding, the population of Israel stands at 7,411,000 - 75 percent of it Jewish - up from 7,282,000 since (2008). Central Bureau of Statistics

God’s Plan --- will ultimately come to pass!

The good news, however, is that the dream is God’s and not mans. It was the Almighty who envisioned the plan, not Abraham. Almost unnoticed at first, in the latter half of the 19^th century, the Jews began to trickle back and join a small minority that was already in their ancient homeland. Then on August 29, 1897 --- Dr Theodore Hertzl inaugurated the first world Zionist congress in Basel, in Switzerland. An extract from his diary; “If I were to sum up the congress in one word, it would be this: at Basel, I founded the Jewish State. If I were to say this today, I would be greeted with universal laughter. In 5 years perhaps, and certainly in 50, everyone will see it.”

And precisely 50 years later, on November 29, 1947, the UN voted to award the Jews with a minute, sliver of what once had been their never-to-be-forgotten homeland. The exiled half of Abrahams’ family was heading home at last!

What is the Lord’s perspective of Dividing the Land?

He is angry at the nations! Jerusalem --- indivisible --- belongs to Israel. Even before God’s Kingdom is set up in Jerusalem, God refers to Israel as “My People” and their land, as “My Land” Ezekiel 38:16 and Isaiah 11:11. So …whose land is it that the world’s powers are now once again pressuring Israel to give up to the Arabs? Let’s look at what the Koran says to whom the Holy Land belongs to; the fact is that the Koran agrees with the Bible that God made a covenant with the sons of Israel and assigned the Holy Land to the Jews. The Koran also describes the land given to the Jews as “blessed” and foresees a return of Israel to their land at the end of days (see Koran – Sura V, “The Table).”

Let’s consider Bible Scripture in a different way

“And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.

And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne."

But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours." The first said, "No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine." Thus they spoke before the king. Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; and the other says, 'No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'"

And the king said, "Bring me a sword." So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other." Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."

Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother." And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.”  1 Kings 3: 15 – 28 (ESV)

Let’s look at this story from the Word of God and compare it to Israel’s current situation today. Is there a special meaning today in these words? Could this story relate directly to the two state solutions being planned by the USA, UN and other powerful nations who seek to divide Israel into two states? Is it possible that this familiar Old Testament story actually contains a prophecy yet to be fulfilled?

Let’s assume for a moment; that King Solomon in this story represents the “King of all Creation,” The Lord of the universe. The first woman in the story represents the Jewish people. Her baby represents – Israel. Let’s further assume that the second mother represents the Palestinians and the Arab nations.

Notice that the second woman had her baby 3 days after the first woman. The Jewish state was first created about 3000 years ago. The Palestinians and Arab nations are trying, three thousand years later, to create an Arab Palestinian state where none has previously existed.

The Bible tells us in both Old and New Testament that one day is like a thousand years to God.  Psalm 90:4 “A thousand years to you are like one day; they are like yesterday, already gone, like a short hour in the night.” GNB  Another reference 2 Peter 3: 8 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” ESV

So, 3 days, or 3000 years ago, Abraham’s promised seed gave birth to the nation of Israel. Today, 3 days or 3000 years later, Palestinian Arabs who are mostly recent migrants to the land with no established history and prior national claim arrive and try to steal the baby. It’s also a fact worth noting that many terrorist suicide bombers are in the youth and they are used in the effort to “liberate” the land. Further, did they not, perhaps even unknowingly, kill their own baby when they rejected a state of their own with the 1947 partition plan?

Like the first mother, haven’t the Jewish people expressed a willingness to give up half the land in a division plan just to keep their precious baby (Israel) alive? And haven’t the Arab’s like the bitter second mother, agreed to the division plan – the splitting of the child in two, knowing it will result only in the death of the baby?

But, we believe that this is not going to happen. The baby (Israel) will not be killed! Because like King Solomon, God Almighty has already decided that the baby belongs to the Jewish people.

The God of Israel is a God of miracles --- and He has only begun His miracles in achieving Israel’s ultimate destiny. God will even work miracles to bring the nations into harmony with Israel. His intentions are revealed by the Prophet Jeremiah 31:10. God bless you as you continue to stand with Israel. Every year, every day, every minute and every second is a miracle of Israel’s existence!

Zionism

Zionism, simply a political movement at its inception, has today become more of an ideology than anything else. Zionism is an international movement for the return of the Jewish people to Zion, the land of Israel, while exercising the right to retain authority of government over the state of Israel, which was promised to them in the Hebrew Scriptures. The roots for Zionism lie in Genesis chapters 12 and 15, in which God makes a covenant with Abraham promising him that his descendants would inherit the land between Egypt and the Euphrates River.

Due to the fact that Zionism was begun as a politically motivated movement, there exists among secular Gentiles and non-religious Jews a line of thought stating that the religious background of the Jewish people had nothing to do with Zionism. It is argued that Zionism was instead a reaction of the Jewish people to worldwide persecution during World Wars I and II. No nation would take them in, so they were forced to create their own nation, the land of their ancestry being the most opportune place.

Regardless, the Zionist movement, begun in the late 1890s, found fulfillment in 1948 when Israel was officially recognized as a state and granted sovereignty as a nation by the United Nations. This is when, technically, the political Zionist movement ended and the ideology of Zionism began, and as such, has become a much-debated topic. Some would say that Zionism has become a motivation for racism, or a reaction against anti-Semitism. Others believe that Zionism as it currently exists is merely Jewish patriotism.

Associated with Jewish Zionism is Christian Zionism. Christian Zionism is simply Gentile support of Jewish Zionism as based on the promises to Israel found in the Bible, passages such as Jeremiah 32 and Ezekiel 34. Christian Zionists are primarily evangelical and give support in any way possible to the Jewish state of Israel. The return of the Jews to the Promised Land is the fulfillment of prophecy and is seen, especially by dispensationalists, as a sign that the world has entered the end times.

What is Messianic Judaism?

Messianic Judaism is the term given to Jewish people who believe and have accepted Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) of Nazareth as the promised Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures. These Jewish people do not stop being Jewish, but they continue to remain strong in their Jewish identity, lifestyle and culture, while following Yeshua as He is revealed in the Brit Chadashah, the New Covenant. Many Messianic Jews refer to themselves as “completed Jews,” since they believe that their faith in the God of Israel has been “completed” or fulfilled in Yeshua.

In reality, Messianic Judaism began 2,000 years ago. Yeshua Himself was an observant Jew, most of the Apostles and writers of the New Covenant were Jewish, and the vast majority of the early believers in Yeshua were also Jewish (see Acts chapter 2).

Traditional rabbinical Judaism today does not believe that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. Observant Jews are still waiting faithfully in accordance with the Rambam’s (Rabbi Moses Maimonides, 1134-1204) “Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith,” which states in Principle 12, “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. However long it takes, I will await His coming every day.” Most secular Jews do not believe in the physical coming of a personal Messiah, but some still look forward to a general Messianic concept or Messianic Age.

Today, it is estimated that there are over 350,000 Messianic Jews in the world, and the numbers are growing all the time. Messianic synagogues have also become very popular, and recent estimates number more than 200 congregations in this country. There are also many Messianic congregations in Israel and around the world.

Messianic Jews continue to celebrate the Jewish festivals and feast days as prescribed in the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., Passover, Day of Atonement, etc.) but they do it in a way that demonstrates how Yeshua has already fulfilled these Holy Days. Most Messianic Jews do not celebrate Christmas or Easter, since neither holiday is mentioned in the New Covenant. Jews who now follow Yeshua the Messiah understand that everything given in the Old Covenant was a “mere shadow” of the better things to come in the New.

Were Jacob’s prophecies about his sons fulfilled?

Just before Jacob died, he called his twelve sons and said, “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come” (Genesis 49:1). The chapter then shares Jacob’s prophecies regarding many of his sons. A brief look at each prediction reveals that they were fulfilled.

Reuben: He was the firstborn, but he gave up his birthright by his evil actions. The birthright then moved to Joseph, who received a double portion as the oldest son of Jacob’s wife Rachel.

Simeon and Levi: These two brothers were mentioned together as being violent (Genesis 49:3–4). Their land would be divided. This did occur later, as Simeon was given only a few cities in Israel, and the Levites were the priestly tribe that received no land inheritance.

Judah: Judah was like a lion and would be a leader of the other tribes (Genesis 49:8–12). His tribe would later produce a line of kings, beginning with King David and, much later, Jesus Christ.

Zebulun: This son would later be given the land between the Mediterranean Sea and Sea of Galilee (Genesis 49:13). Zebulun will also have land that extends to the sea in the future Millennial Kingdom (Ezekiel 48:1–8, 23–27).

Issachar: Verses 14–15 state Issachar’s land would be agricultural. True to the prophecy, his tribe later inherited the rich farmland of the Valley of Jezreel in Galilee.

Dan: Verses 16–18 note Dan would become a judge in Israel. Samson, one of the greatest judges, came from this tribe. Yet many of Dan’s leaders worshiped idols (as in Judges 18) and brought God’s judgment.

Gad: Verse 19 simply notes Gad would be effective in military struggles. It is difficult to link this to any direct fulfillment due to the brevity of the prophecy. Some have seen a fulfillment of this prediction in the great number of troops who served King David from the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 12).

Asher: Verse 20 states Asher would enjoy good soil. Asher’s tribe later inherited the very fertile land of Carmel along the seacoast.

Naphtali: Verse 21 mentions that the other tribes would admire him. The meaning of this prophecy is unclear, though it may indicate his tribe would have an easier life than the other tribes.

Joseph: Joseph received many blessings in verses 22–26, including a double portion. His two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, each became the founder of a tribe of Israel.

Benjamin: Jacob’s youngest son would be a warrior, producing many of Israel’s military leaders, such as Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan. His tribe would be known for its warring characteristics (Judges 5:14; 20:16; 1 Chronicles 8:40).

Jacob’s blessings and predictions provide further evidence of God’s supernatural power to foretell the future of His people and to reveal it to whom He desires

What are the twelve tribes of Israel?

The twelve tribes of Israel came from the twelve sons of Israel. “Israel” is the name that God gave Jacob (Genesis 32:28). His twelve sons are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Genesis 35:23-26; Exodus 1:1–4; 1 Chronicles 2:1–2). When the tribes inherited the Promised Land, Levi’s descendants did not receive a territory for themselves (Joshua 13:14). Instead, they became priests and had several cities scattered throughout all of Israel. Joseph’s tribe was divided in two—Jacob had adopted Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, essentially giving Joseph a double portion for his faithfulness in saving the family from famine (Genesis 47:11–12). This means the tribes who received territory in the Promised Land were Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. In some places in Scripture, the tribe of Ephraim is referred to as the tribe of Joseph (Numbers 1:32–33).

After King Solomon died, Israel split into two kingdoms. Judah, to the south, included Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The other tribes combined to make the kingdom of Israel in the north. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, and most of the Israelites were either killed or deported; the Israelites who remained most likely integrated with the kingdom of Judah.

Jesus was from Judah, Paul was from Benjamin, and John the Baptist was a Levite, but, since the diaspora in A.D. 70, identifying the tribe of a modern Jew is a little more difficult. That doesn't mean that the tribal divisions are irrelevant. During the tribulation, when most of the world has abandoned God and is following the Antichrist, 144,000 Jews will be sealed by God. This number comprises 12,000 from each tribe. So, even if we don’t know who is in what tribe, God has kept track. The tribes are listed again in Revelation 7:5-8, but they are not the same tribes that were given land in Joshua. Manasseh is there, and Ephraim (under Joseph’s name). But instead of Dan, Levi is included. No explanation is given as to why.