Short study notes

There is an analogy to be made between the two sticks of the re-united House of Israel (YawShorUl) and the tree of life present in the Garden of Eden. It has it roots in the Hebrew words used for "sticks" and "tree."
It can also be symbolized in the shape of the traditional "staff of Ezekiel" that resembles the two nucleotides of DNA, as they turn in their left handed twist.

If Yahudah and Yoseph were joined together in the DNA of Mashiyach, this would also raise the question, what part of the Messiah’s lineage could be from Joseph. Isn't  the Messiah supposed to come from the House of David? 
But does that mean a male descendant from the House of David, or could it have been a female descendant that fulfilled the role? Such as the female descendant of David named Miriam, the mother of HaMashiyach?

[I realize that the Hebrew scriptures only consider the Patriarchal side of a persons lineage. However, in this day and age, with our understanding of human physiology, we know there is more. The female ovum is a single cell organism with 23 chromosomes, just as the male sperm cell is a single cell organism with 23 chromosomes. When the two cells combine to form an embryo, isn't the new creature that is forming made made equally from the two parts? The practice of naming descendants from the line of the Father was for legal reasons, for the purpose of delineating the rights of inheritance. It would be unrealistic to say, in the light of modern biology, that the genetic properties of the ovum had no part or purpose in determining a person's pedigree.]

There is a lot to consider here, and sort through in the scriptures because the scriptures themselves contain contradictions that could be the result of tampering. Possible during the 4rth Century, when the Hebrew identity of the Messianic movement (or the Nazarene Sect) was being erased by the Roman Catholic Church who was redefining the movement into a Greco-Roman styled religion. The main proponent of this subterfuge was the translation of the Hebrew New Testament into the Greek language.

I know the prospect of the scriptures having been tampered with is repulsive to many, but let the facts speak for themselves and the truth be known. I will try to stay on point, namely the study of the two sticks of Ezekiel, and come back to a separate in depth study of the lineage of Messiah (Mashiyach ).

I will include the evidence I've found, and then you should study for yourself and test the Holy Spirit, and see if he will give you a confirmation in this matter, whether it is true or false.

Jacob's son Joseph had a dream....

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.  
And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.  

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. Gen 37:5-11 (KJV)

When did this happen in real life terms? When was this prophetic dream fulfilled?
If you say, during the famine in Egypt, I can see a partial fulfillment, but when did Jacob (Israel) bow down before Joseph? Even when Israel and Joseph finally met in person, after his Father believed him to be dead, he did not bow down to him......

And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. Gen 46:29 (KJV)

......he only wept on his neck.

Yet we know that every knee shall bow before Yahuahshua the Messiah, every knee,  including Israel's (Jacob). But why is Joseph used as a likeness of Messiah in this dream, rather than Judah? For this reason and many others, I became suspicious of certain scriptures verses, and I ask you to consider the prospect that the pre-eminence of Judah's position in prophecy may have been deliberately exaggerated simply to bolster the Pharisaical form of Judaism. I am fully aware that Judah has a role in Messianic prophecy, but so does the House of Israel (Joseph/Ephraim); maybe even the greater role; the one of keeping the bloodline pure for Mashiyach. This is a position that I could argue in favor of, since the Galilean bloodline was not corrupted like that of Judah's. 

It's recorded in John's gospel chapter 7, that after Yahuahshua had spoke in the temple:

Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? John 7:40-42 (KJV)

Here, some of the people believe that he is the Christ, but others doubt him because he is a Galilean. The doubters are of the opinion that the Christ must be born in Bethlehem Judah. Yet, there is another Bethlehem listed in the scriptures which existed at the same time in the land of Zebulun, which is the oldest recorded name for the region of Galilee. It is derived from the name of the tribe which inherited it, Zebulun.

And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid:
And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam;
And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chislothtabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,
And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittahhepher, to Ittahkazin, and goeth out to Remmonmethoar to Neah;
And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el:
And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages. Josh 19:10-16 (KJV)

This Bethlehem, located in Zebulun, is known as Bethlehem-Ephratah.

From Matthew Henry's Commentary:

This is the lot of Zebulun, who, though born of Leah after Issachar, yet was blessed by Jacob and Moses before him; and therefore it was so ordered that his lot was drawn before that of Issachar, north of which it lay and south of Asher.
1. The lot of this tribe was washed by the great sea on the west, and by the sea of Tiberias on the east, answering Jacob's prophecy <Gen. 49:13>, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, trading ships on the great sea and fishing ships on the sea of Galilee.

Joshua 19:15 accounts for the other Bethlehem, to the north of Judah in Galilee, and so does Genesis 35:19;

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

Here is the Old Testament prophecy of Micah regarding the birthplace of Messiah; 

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah (or Zebulon-Galilee) though thou be little (in number) among (in association to) the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2 (KJV)

Here is the translation recorded in Matthew's gospel:

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Matt 2:6 (KJV)

Someone has changed the location from Bethlehem Ephratah in Galilee, to Bethlehem in Judah. This is an obvious corruption of the scriptures, which continues in Matthew 2:6 until Matthew 2:15.

And being warned of Yahuah in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of Yahuah appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of Yahuah by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (KJV)

Below is shown the Old Testament prophecy being referred to above in Matthew's gospel:

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1 (KJV)

Now, what Yahuah is referring to here is, an estimated 70 souls went down into Egypt during the time of Joseph to find relief from the famine; Yahuah then proceeded to use the following 490 years to multiply the children of Jacob (later called Israel) to create the nation of Israel (YawShorUl) 
A 1st Century Hebrew writer would not apply this as a Messianic prophecy. He would know that when Israel was a young nation (a child) that Yahuah called the nation (his son) out of Egyptian slavery, as this verse indicates:

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Yahuah, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: Exod 4:22 (KJV)

Continuing in Matthew 2:16-18 another interesting question arises:

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. (KJV)

Now, did Herod slay the children in Bethlehem-Judah, which is 8 miles south of Jerusalem? Or did he slay the children in Bethlehem-Ephratah, in the coasts along the two seas, in the land of Galilee?
Why would he go to Galilee if the Messiah were to be born in Judah?
Why was Rachel weeping for her children instead of Leah? Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, Leah was the mother of Judah. If the Judean children in Bethlehem-Judah were slain by Herod, should it not be Leah weeping for her children?

There is much more going on here than meets the eye. That's why this topic deserves (and will receive) an entire in depth study of its own. I bring it up here, in order to show that the crown which was removed from Judah, ending with Zedekiah, at the Babylonian captivity, was given to Joseph (Ephraim) then both were re-united in the person and body of Yahuahshua the Messiah.

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel (Zedekiah), whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
Thus saith YHWH; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same (or, it will not be as it was): exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.
I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. Ezek 21:25-27 (KJV)

Consider Jacob's prophecy concerning "that which would befall" his son Judah during the last days (Gen:49):

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Gen 49:10 (KJV)

In light of Jacob's prophecy   how can this scripture verse hold true, unless a female descendant of David not only lives after the Babylonian captivity, but marries and carries on the Royal line in an active and evidentiary rule? 

The scepter departed with Zedekiah when his sons, the princes of Judah were slain by King Nebuchadnezzar, and then he dies in Babylon. The royal line must have continued through a Princess, or daughter of Zedekiah.
This topic, regarding the lineage, evolves into another topic which should be entitled, "Who are the lost 10 tribes of Israel." This will also have to be a separate study. Like so many other topics and subjects found in the scriptures, they are all inter-related in a continual string of truth. It is difficult to pull one topic out of the body  of the scriptures and explore it, without touching on any number of related issues.

I'll present this one last example from the scriptures, and then go on to my conclusion regarding the "Two Sticks."

Mark 12:29-37

29  And Yahuahshua answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; Yahuah  our Mighty One is one Ul :
30  And thou shalt love Yahuah Ul with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one Ul; and there is none other but he:
33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34  And when Yahuahshua saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom (reign) of Yahuah. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

(Even though it says no man dare ask him another question Christ  goes on in the next verse #35 to answer another question,  but the words of the question itself is not known.)

35  And Yahuahshua answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

Did someone ask him the question, are you the Christ, the Son of David? His reply would seem to indicate so because Yahuahshua asks rhetorically , "How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?"

Matthews gospel records it this way;

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Yahuahshua asked them,
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
Matt 22:41-42 (KJV)

So he was either asked the question outright by the scribes, or Yahuashua asked them a question which resulted in the answer, "(he is) the Son of David." Yahuahshua goes on to say:

36  For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, Yahuah said to my Adown (Master) Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
37  David therefore himself calleth him Adown (Master); and [whence] how is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. (KJV)

Here Yahuahshua reveals the one sided teaching of the scribes, who taught that Messiah would come from the House of Judah alone, which, to the common people meant that they would continue to be ruled over and oppressed by the scribes and Pharisees, through their multiplicity of rules, and regulations, and their false worship which was centered around paying homage to Yahuah while they devoured the widow's house.
 It seems to me that what the common people perceived, "and heard gladly," was that Messiah would rule over both the House of Judah and the House of Israel in the complete fulfillment of prophecy. The two houses would be re-united (according to Ezekiel's prophecy) into one house, the House of Israel. Rather than someone from the tribe of Judah alone, who would perpetrate the spiritual stranglehold the scribes and Pharisees had on everyone's life through their Mishpah (and Babylonian Talmud).

I believe this reunification was accomplished in the body of Messiah, which joined the DNA of Ephraim (Joseph) with Judah (Miriam).

Have you ever wondered why Yahuahshua picked 11 disciples from Galilee, and only one from Judah, the one who would betray him?

Why did he send his disciples to Galilee to preach the news that the "reign of Yahuah" was at hand?

These twelve Yahuahshua sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matt 10:5-6 (KJV)

Why did Yahuahshua say he was sent only, to the lost sheep of the House of Israel?

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matt 15:22-24 (KJV)

How is it that in Matthew's gospel, on Palm Sunday (as it is usually called) the people cried out;

"....Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of Yahuah; Hosanna in the highest. Matt 21:9 (KJV)

Yet in John's gospel, during the same event, the people cry out;

"...Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of Yahuah. John 12:13 (KJV)

During Yahuahshua's time, The "Son of David" would represent "The House of Judah," while the "King of Israel" would represent the 10 ten tribes of Galilee (and Samaria). In prophecy, the future "King of Israel" represents the complete house of all 12 tribes.

The Political State known as modern day Israel would have us believe that they represent all 12 tribes, but this is not the case, and the proof of which will have to be covered in a separate study.
But if the two Houses have been rejoined in the Messiah's body, is there any reason to wait for a future re-gathering of the "Lost" 10 tribes of Israel, into the modern day land of Israel, to fulfill an end times prophecy? That re-gathering will occur at the resurrection of the Saints, as prophesied in Ezekiel;:

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 Yahuah; 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 Yahuah, 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 Yahuah Ul have spoken it, and performed it, saith Yahuah. Ezek 37:10-14 (KJV)

I wrote that this prophecy was linked to the tree of life, present in the Book of Genesis. This opinion comes from an analytical word study of the Hebrew words for "sticks" and "tree."

The word translated as "sticks" from Ezekiel's prophecy is:

Strong's #6086 `ets (ates); from 6095; a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks): 

It is also the same word translated as "tree" in Genesis 2:16-17;

And the Yahuah commanded (enjoined) the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat (this also includes the tree of life):
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.Gen 2:16-17 (KJV)

In both of the scripture verses listed above, the word "ets" is spelt and pointed (by vowels) in the exact same way.
Why translate it in one place as the word "tree" and in another place as the word "sticks?"
Like all other translations, it's based on context and perception. In the case of Genesis 2:16, there are many other words that could have been used to describe a tree, even a specific type of tree, such as:

8384 te'en (teh-ane'); a fig tree

7574 rethem (reh'-them); a juniper tree

2132 zayith (zay'-yith); an olive tree

8558 tamar (taw-mawr'); a palm tree

8247 shaqed (shaw-kade'); almond tree

8598 tappuwach (tap-poo'-akh); an apple tree

424 'elah (ay-law'); an oak tree

7848 shittah (shit-taw'); the acacia (from its scourging thorns): 

1265 berowsh (ber-osh'); a cypress

8391 te'ashshuwr (teh-ash-shoor'); a cedar

1918 hadac (had-as'); the myrtle: 

6851 tsaphtsaphah (tsaf-tsaw-faw'); a willow

7416 rimmown (rim-mone'); a pomegranate, 

Since the interpreters applied the translation of "sticks" to the word "ets" as it appears in Ezekiel's prophecy,  and I take the word "ets" being applied here to mean the two nucleotides in a strand of DNA, what if we translate the word  "ets" as it appears in Genesis 2:16-17 to mean "sticks" or more precisely, DNA?

And Yahuah enjoined the man, saying, From all DNA of the garden thou mayest freely eat (this includes the DNA of the tree of eternal life):
But of the DNA of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [In other words, introduce this DNA into your body, and you will die.]

The two trees spoken of above, are not the same. There is one kind that was given to be food for Adam (and his wife). The other kind of trees spoken of are the fruit trees of the garden of Eden (in Gen 1:11) which were given to mankind as food. The fruit of which has its "seed in itself."

Is there a certain type of DNA, that can be found in a food substance, that can nourish and sustain a body, and even bring it to a permanent state of eternal life?

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give (the right) to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of Yahuah."' Rev 2:7 (NKJ)

The Hebrews during the Exodus ate manna from heaven, what was it? The Hebrew word used for "manna" actually means:

4478 man (mawn); from 4100; literally, a whatness (so to speak), i.e. manna (so called from the question about it).

They didn't know what it was!! They called it "whatness" because they couldn't describe it or explain it, yet it totally and completely sustained them while they were alive!
The word itself winds up being interpreted in its translation as "bread."

And Yahuahshua said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35
(KJV)

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14 (KJV)

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day John 6:54 (KJV)

So, whoever eats the DNA of Yahuahshua, the manna that came down from heaven........and drinks his blood, that is, the living waters of Yahuah; shall have eternal life.  

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. John 6:49-50 (KJV)

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of Yahuah and of the Lamb. Rev 22:1 (KJV)

From Genesis to Revelation, DNA is the common denominator in everything made by Yahuah. 
It is the "fence" designed to keep some things in and other things out. It is the power to preserve the integrity and design of all life forms. 
It is the Creator's building block.
Its perfection is represented in the eternal body of the resurrected Messiah.
Its perfect corruption will be seen in the desolate and devoid form of the Son of Perdition.

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