Article

# The Book of Daniel - Number Seventy-Two

The Prophetic Joining: From Ancient Israel’s Division to the United States’ End

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

February 5, 2024

Formats

PDF
Word

Key Takeaways

- The article explores the history of ancient Israel’s division into two nations, Israel (or Ephraim) in the north and Judah in the south.
- It suggests parallels between this division and events in the history of the United States.
- Ezekiel 37 is mentioned as a prophecy that identifies the reunification of the two kingdoms, symbolizing the coming together of two nations.
- The article asserts that this prophecy was fulfilled in the history of the United States, specifically during the time of the “earth beast” (often associated with the United States).
- The rebellion of Jeroboam, which coincided with Israel’s division, is likened to rebellions at the beginning and end of the United States.
- Revelation chapter eighteen is mentioned as representing two calls to the churches.
- The joining of two nations during the Sunday law crisis is identified as the 144,000 and those still in Babylon.

The testimony of Jeroboam’s rebellion is also the history of ancient Israel’s division into two nations. The northern kingdom made up of ten tribes was known as Israel, or sometimes Ephraim, and the southern kingdom was known as Judah. In the time of Ezekiel, the kingdom had already been two kingdoms for many years, and in chapter thirty-seven, Ezekiel was given a prophecy identifying that the two kingdoms would once again become one nation. That prophecy was fulfilled in the beginning history of the earth beast (the United States), and is fulfilled for the final time at the end of the United States, for Jesus always illustrates the end of a thing, with the beginning of a thing.

The rebellion of Jeroboam at the time that Israel was divided into two kingdoms, represents a rebellion at the beginning of the United States, and also at the end of the United States. The rebellion in the beginning and ending of the United States includes the joining of two kingdoms. Revelation chapter eighteen, as repeatedly cited from the writings of Sister White in these articles, represents two calls to the churches. The two nations that are joined during the hour of the Sunday law crisis is the one-hundred and forty-four thousand, and God’s other flock that are still in Babylon.

The two nations that were joined in the Millerite history were Judah and Ephraim. They were joined when the individual indignations against the two kingdoms respectively ended in 1798 and then in 1844. The word “moreover” in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven, allows us to be certain of this application. The word “moreover” means to place the message that follows “moreover,” over the message that preceded the word “moreover.”

> The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. Ezekiel 37:15–17.

Ezekiel is applying the prophetic principle of repeat and enlarge when he states, “moreover.” Ezekiel is to take two sticks, one for Judah and one for Ephraim, and take the prophecy illustrated with the two sticks and place it over the top of the previous prophecy. The previous prophetic illustration began in verse one when Ezekiel was carried to a valley of dead dry bones.

> The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. Ezekiel 37:1–14.

From the very beginning of these articles, we have shown that the valley of dead bones represents God’s people in the last days, and that the message of the four winds that causes them to stand upon their feet as a mighty army, is the Midnight Cry message identifying Islam of the third Woe. Sister White identifies the bones as God’s people.

> “I lay down my pen and lift up my soul in prayer, that the Lord would breathe upon his backslidden people, which are as dry bones, that they may live.” General Conference Bulletin, February 4, 1893.

We have shown in previous articles that the prophetic message identifying July 18, 2020, was erroneous, and that the false proclamation marked the arrival of the first disappointment and tarrying time in the parable of the ten virgins. Though the proclamation of time was legitimate in the Millerite period, after 1844, there was never to be another message hung upon time. When Future for America made the proclamation of July 18, 2020, they slid back to a history that the proclamation of time was acceptable and in so doing they sinned, and they were slain in the street of the great city of Revelation chapter eleven. Dead in the street, they then needed to be resurrected, as were the two witnesses after three and a half days.

> “The dry bones need to be breathed upon by the Holy Spirit of God, that they may come into action, as by a resurrection from the dead.” Bible Training School, December 1, 1903.

In previous articles we have shown that the message of the four winds that resurrects the two witnesses, is the message of Islam of the third Woe, and that the message is the Midnight Cry message of the last days. Ezekiel says, “moreover,” and in so doing identified that during the history that illustrates the proclamation of the Midnight Cry, two sticks, one represented as Ephraim and one as Judah, were to be joined together and become one nation. The parable of the ten virgins is fulfilled in the last days, “to the very letter,” as it was fulfilled in Millerite history. In the period when the Midnight Cry was fulfilled in the Millerite history, and again in the fulfillment of the last days, “two sticks” were and will be joined together.

The two sticks represented the northern (Ephraim) and southern kingdoms (Judah) of ancient Israel. We have also shown that William Miller was typified by Elijah, and that during the three-and-a-half years of drought Elijah had gone to the widow of Zarephath.

> And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 1 Kings 17:8–15.

The “many days” in the passage is the three-and-a-half years that Ahab searched for Elijah and represented the twelve-hundred-and-sixty years of papal persecution. Concerning the “many days” of papal persecution, Jesus said:

> And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:22.

Sister White directly identifies Jesus’ pronouncement of “those days” as the period of papal persecution.

> “The persecution of the church did not continue throughout the entire period of the 1260 years. God in mercy to His people cut short the time of their fiery trial. In foretelling the ‘great tribulation’ to befall the church, the Saviour said: ‘Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.’ Matthew 24:22. Through the influence of the Reformation the persecution was brought to an end prior to 1798.” The Great Controversy, 266, 267.

The “many days” that Elijah was sustained by the widow, were also the “many days” of papal persecution identified by Daniel.

> And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. Daniel 11:33–35.

The “time of the end,” which is also the “time appointed” in the verses, was 1798, and it marked the end of papal persecution, as had been typified by Elijah’s time with the widow of Zarephath. In that history the widow, representing an unmarried church, was identified as the church in the wilderness in chapter twelve of the book of Revelation. She was gathering two sticks, not one stick or ten sticks, but two sticks. Ezekiel was to take two sticks, one for the northern kingdom of Israel and one for the southern kingdom of Israel and join them together to make one stick. Those two kingdoms had both been scattered for twenty-five hundred and twenty years, but God’s promise was that He would gather them. The woman was gathering the two sticks that were to be joined together, and she was doing so “until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

The day when the Lord sent “rain” was identifying the Midnight Cry of Millerite history, that reached its conclusion on October 22, 1844, when the Messenger of the Covenant suddenly came to the temple He had erected from 1798 (the end of the first indignation), through until October 22, 1844 (the end of the last indignation). In that period of time, the Midnight Cry message, represented in Ezekiel’s illustration of the valley of bones was fulfilled, when the two sticks of the northern and southern kingdoms were joined to form one nation, with one king, for on October 22, 1844, Christ came before the Father and received a kingdom.

> “The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.” The Great Controversy, 426.

Christ received a kingdom on October 22, 1844, as identified in Daniel.

> I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13, 14.

When Ezekiel’s two sticks are joined together, they have one king over them.

> And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Ezekiel 37:24, 25.

All the prophets agree with one another, and king David is Christ who came before the Father on October 22, 1844, and received a kingdom that had been gathered together from the two sticks of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom). The scattering of the two kingdoms ended during the forty-six years from 1798 to 1844, as Christ raised a temple that had been desolated and trampled down. When He raised the temple, He then suddenly came unto His temple as the Messenger of the Covenant, in fulfillment of Malachi chapter three. Ezekiel agrees with that fact, for all the prophets agree with one another.

> And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezekiel 37:24–27.

It is Christ that erects the temple.

> And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. Zechariah 6:12–15.

Christ is the BRANCH, and He identified that if they destroyed His temple that He would raise it in three days, to which the Jews replied that it took forty-six years to build the temple.

> Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? John 2:18–20.

Christ was speaking of His body in the passage, but all the prophets are speaking more about the last days than the days in which they lived. The resurrection of Christ on the third day, represented the resurrection of the dead bones during the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Midnight Cry. The rain that is the subject of Elijah’s testimony, was manifested during the climax of his confrontation with the prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth. It was then demonstrated that the God of Elijah was the true God, and also that Elijah was the true prophet.

At the arrival of the first disappointment, it was manifested that the Protestants had become false prophets, as typified by the prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth. The tarrying time then began, and led to the message of the Midnight Cry, that led to Christ suddenly coming to His temple. The Midnight Cry is represented by Ezekiel’s message that brings the bones up as a mighty army. Moreover, during that period (forty-six years), the two sticks were to be joined together to produce one nation, with one king.

> The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 37:15–23.

The two sticks which the widow was gathering in advance of Elijah’s rain at the Midnight Cry, were the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel that had been scattered and were to be gathered into one nation on October 22, 1844, when the antitypical Day of Atonement began, for the promise was that at that time God “will cleanse them.” The cleansing, representing the Investigative Judgment, began at that time. That gathering of the two sticks must be understood correctly, for God always illustrates the end of a thing with the beginning of a thing.

1844, was the end of the two kingdoms of Israel, for they had then become one kingdom, spiritual Israel, and they were from that point on only to be one nation. That history was illustrated by the beginning history when they had become two nations, which is the history of the rebellion of Jeroboam.

The history of Jeroboam’s counterfeit system of worship must also be illustrated at the end of his kingdom. Aaron’s rebellion in the beginning of ancient Israel and Jeroboam’s rebellion at the beginning of the northern kingdom, represent the rebellion of 1863, and 1863 is only clearly understood when the end of Jeroboam’s kingdom, as represented by the joining of the two sticks, is also laid over the top of 1863. It is then that 1863 is clearly seen to be represented as a generation that erected an image of jealousy.

We will continue this study in the next article.

> “But not only does this simile of the dry bones apply to the world, but also to those who have been blessed with great light; for they also are like the skeletons of the valley. They have the form of men, the framework of the body; but they have not spiritual life. But the parable does not leave the dry bones merely knit together into the forms of men; for it is not enough that there is symmetry of limb and feature. The breath of life must vivify the bodies, that they may stand upright, and spring into activity. These bones represent the house of Israel, the church of God, and the hope of the church is the vivifying influence of the Holy Spirit. The Lord must breathe upon the dry bones, that they may live.

> “The Spirit of God, with its vivifying power, must be in every human agent, that every spiritual muscle and sinew may be in exercise. Without the Holy Spirit, without the breath of God, there is torpidity of conscience, loss of spiritual life. Many who are without spiritual life have their names on the church records, but they are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. They may be joined to the church, but they are not united to the Lord. They may be diligent in the performance of a certain set of duties, and may be regarded as living men; but many are among those who have ‘a name that thou livest, and art dead.’

> “Unless there is genuine conversion of the soul to God; unless the vital breath of God quickens the soul to spiritual life; unless the professors of truth are actuated by heaven-born principle, they are not born of the incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth forever. Unless they trust in the righteousness of Christ as their only security; unless they copy His character, labor in His spirit, they are naked, they have not on the robe of His righteousness. The dead are often made to pass for the living; for those who are working out what they term salvation after their own ideas, have not God working in them to will and to do of His good pleasure.

> “This class is well represented by the valley of dry bones Ezekiel saw in vision.” Review and Herald, January 17, 1893.

Back to Articles