I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them, and they will no longer be two nations; nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms. (Ezekiel 37:22)
Since, the year 1935 the Watchtower society has taught that there are two classes of Christians. One with a heavenly hope of reigning with Jesus as kings and priests and the other having the hope of living on the earth as beneficiaries of that divine arrangement. For more information see the articles Who Are the Other Sheep? and When Does the Calling of the Children of God Cease? Part 1
It is claimed that the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that these two groups would unitedly serve as one nation of true Christians in our modern day. This was explained in a talk given by Mark Sanderson during the 2015 annual meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
It was later presented in a new study publication released in 2018 entitled: “Pure Worship of Jehovah Restored At Last”. This article will make a close examination of chapter 12 of this book which explains their interpretation to see if it is truly scripturally based:
3 Jehovah instructed Ezekiel to take two sticks and to write on one “for Judah” and on the other “for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim.” (Read Ezekiel 37:15, 16.) What did these two sticks picture? The stick that was “for Judah” represented the two-tribe kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. Kings in the line of Judah had ruled the two tribes; also, the priesthood had been associated with them, for the priests served at the temple in Jerusalem. (2 Chron. 11:13, 14; 34:30) Hence, the kingdom of Judah held the Davidic line of kings as well as the Levitical priesthood. “The stick of Ephraim” represented the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. In what way was that stick associated with Ephraim? The first king of the ten-tribe kingdom was Jeroboam, from the tribe of Ephraim. In time, Ephraim became the dominant tribe in Israel. (Deut. 33:17; 1 Ki. 11:26) Note that the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel did not include Davidic kings or Levitical priests.
4 Ezekiel was further instructed to bring the two sticks together “so that they become just one stick.” As the exiles anxiously watched Ezekiel, they asked him: “Will you not tell us what these things mean?” He answered that the enactment illustrated what Jehovah himself would do. Regarding the two sticks, Jehovah stated: “I will make them one stick, and they will become one in my hand.”—Ezek. 37:17-19.
5 Next, Jehovah explained the meaning of the joining together of the two sticks. (Read Ezekiel 37:21, 22.) Exiles from the two-tribe kingdom of Judah and exiles from the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) would be brought to the land of Israel, where they would become “one nation.”—Jer. 30:1-3; 31:2-9; 33:7.
How Did Jehovah “Collect Them Together”?
The Babylonian captivity ended in 537 B.C.E., and thereafter, individuals of both kingdoms arrived in Jerusalem to help restore true worship. The inspired record confirms this: “Some of the descendants of Judah, of Benjamin, of Ephraim, and of Manasseh settled in Jerusalem.” (1 Chron. 9:2, 3; Ezra 6:17) Indeed, just as Jehovah had foretold, members of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel were joined, or united, with members of the two-tribe kingdom of Judah.
8 Some 200 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah had prophesied about what would happen to Israel and Judah after their captivity. He foretold that Jehovah would begin to gather “the dispersed ones of Israel” and “the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth,” including “out of Assyria.” (Isa. 11:12, 13, 16) And indeed, as Jehovah had foretold, he took “the Israelites from among the nations.” (Ezek. 37:21) Note two significant aspects: At this point, Jehovah no longer referred to the exiles as “Judah” and “Ephraim” but as “the Israelites”—one group. Further, the Israelites were described as coming, not from one nation, Babylon, but from several nations—in fact, “from every direction.”
9 After the exiles’ return to Israel, how did Jehovah help them to become united? He provided Israel with spiritual shepherds, such as Zerubbabel, High Priest Joshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah. God also raised up the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. All these faithful men exerted themselves in encouraging the nation to follow God’s instructions. (Neh. 8:2, 3) In addition, Jehovah protected the nation of Israel by defeating conspiracies plotted by the enemies of God’s people.—Esther 9:24, 25; Zech. 4:6.
The Watchtower is right that people from the northern tribes returned and joined Judah after 537 B.C.E. But the evidence from the Second Temple period, and from the New Testament itself, shows that Jews in Jesus’ day did not think Ezekiel 37 had been fulfilled. Most of Israel was still scattered, the Samaritan split was deep, and the conditions Ezekiel attaches to the reunion had not been met.
“‘“My servant David will be their king, and they will all have one shepherd. They will walk in my judicial decisions and carefully observe my statutes. (Ezekiel 37:24)
1 Chronicles 9:3 says: “Some of the descendants of Judah, of Benjamin, of Ephraim, and of Manasseh settled in Jerusalem.” So it’s fair to call the return a partial, early fulfillment.
Why “all Israel united” doesn’t hold
- Most of Israel stayed in exile. Josephus, writing in the first century, says that only two tribes are “subject to the Romans,” while “the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude”. Scholars debate whether distinct northern tribes really still existed. What matters here is that Josephus believed they did, and he still expected the restoration (Antiquities of the Jews Book XI ch 5 sec 2)
- Jews were still praying for the gathering. Tobit, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and 4 Ezra 13 all treat the ten tribes as still scattered. Other texts pray for the gathering in the future tense: Sirach 36 asks God to “gather all the tribes of Jacob,” and Psalms of Solomon 17 looks to the Messiah to do it.encyclopedia
- The Samaritan split had deepened. The returnees refused help from the people of the north (Ezra 4:1–3). The Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim, which John Hyrcanus later destroyed. By Jesus’ day, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9).
- Ezekiel’s conditions were unmet. Ezekiel 37:22–28 promises “one king,” “my servant David” ruling forever, no more division, and God’s sanctuary among them forever. After the exile, Judea was ruled by Persia, then the Greek kingdoms, then the Hasmonean priest-kings (who were not of David’s line), then Herod (an Idumean), then Rome. Zerubbabel was descended from David, but he was a governor, not a king. Even among Jews, the period was marked by factions: Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Qumran community, which rejected the Jerusalem priesthood. In 63 B.C.E., a civil war between two Hasmonean brothers brought Pompey in.
The New Testament agrees
- John says Jesus will die “to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (John 11:52).
This would not make sense if Israel had already been fully restored.
When was Jesus enthroned as king? There is much scriptural evidence to show that this happened shortly after his resurrection in 33 CE. See the article When Does Jesus Become King?
At that time, Jesus told his disciples that all authority had been given him in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)
However, the Watchtower society teaches that Jesus was not enthroned as king until 1914, a date for which they have no scriptural support.
The Pure Worship book states:
Jehovah revealed that his unification prophecy would see its complete fulfillment among his people only after his “servant David,” Jesus, would begin to rule as King, which happened in 1914. (2 Sam. 7:16; Luke 1:32) By that time, natural Israel had been replaced by spiritual Israel, the anointed. (Jer. 31:33; Gal. 3:29) Satan, especially after his ouster from heaven, again set out to destroy the unity of God’s people. (Rev. 12:7-10) For instance, after Brother Russell’s death in 1916, Satan saw an opportunity to cause division among the anointed by means of the actions of apostates. Before long, however, those apostates left the organization. Satan also succeeded in having the brothers who were taking the lead at the time thrown into prison, but even that did not bring an end to Jehovah’s people. The anointed brothers who remained faithful to Jehovah maintained their unity.
12 Hence, contrary to what had happened to natural Israel, spiritual Israel withstood Satan’s divisive schemes. Why have Satan’s efforts failed? Because the anointed have done their best to adhere to Jehovah’s standards. As a result, they have had the protection of their King, Jesus Christ, who is continuing his conquest against Satan.—Rev. 6:2.
Jehovah Will Cause His Worshippers to “Become One”
13 What significance does the prophecy of the unification of the two sticks have in our time? Keep in mind that the point of the prophecy was to illustrate how two groups would become united. Above all, the prophecy highlights that this unity is brought about by Jehovah. So, what important truth about pure worship does this prophetic illustration of the joining of the two sticks highlight? Put simply, this: Jehovah himself will cause his worshippers to “become one.”—Ezek. 37:19. (Pure Worship of Jehovah Restored At Last! chap. 12 pp. 129-136)
The rest of the chapter goes on to describe their fanciful explanation. But, since none of it is supported by scripture, or bears any semblance to Ezekiel’s prophecy, there is really no need to go any further.
In response to the above, the Bible does not provide a date for when Satan was ousted from heaven. So to say that this occurred in 1914 is highly speculative. Furthermore, it is only assumed, never proven, that C.T. Russell and the Bible Students in the early 1900’s were exclusively God’s people and that the trouble that arose among them at the time was a result of Satan’s attempts to cause division. Why is this even mentioned since according to their narrative, his efforts were successfully resisted anyway and true Christians remained united?
The book then highlights the fact that the two tribe kingdom of Judah contained the line of descent of the Davidic kings and was joined later by the Levites in Jerusalem, while the ten-tribe kingdom of Ephraim did not. I believe this is by design, which then enables them to make a comparison between that ancient situation and their modern day concept of anointed Christians having the hope of being kings and priests today, versus another group comprised of neither kings nor priests. But in Ezekiel’s prophecy they were still all to be considered part of Israel, which is not the way the great crowd of other sheep are viewed by witnesses today.
“You are to apportion this land among yourselves, among the 12 tribes of Israel. You should distribute it for inheritance among yourselves and to the foreigners residing with you who have had children while living among you; and they will be like native-born Israelites to you. They will receive an inheritance among the tribes of Israel along with you. You should give the foreign resident an inheritance in the territory of the tribe where he has taken up residence,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. (Ezekiel 47:21-23)
What I find really bizarre is the fact that the society also uses another prophecy in Zechariah 8:23 about Jews and Gentiles becoming one as well, to make this point about the unity of its two class system despite any indication it has any fulfillment beyond Jews and Gentiles becoming one Christian flock in the first century. (Gal. 3:26-29; Eph. 2:11-14)
The resulting belief is in a class of persons that are neither part of the Israel of God as spiritual Jews nor sons of God but nonetheless Christians, which is never taught in scripture. (Rom. 2:28,29; Gal. 3:26)
Thus it appears that, for no other reason than that their desire to teach this concept, their interpretive process involves searching the scriptures for whatever they can use to support their current agenda regardless of the context and despite the absence of any hint of a future antitypical fulfillment. In other words, reading into the text their modern ideas.
But they have to make sure their stories match.
In the first century, all Christians had only one hope. (Eph. 4:5,6) There is absolutely nothing in scripture that says the gathering of God’s chosen ones would cease until Jesus returned with his angels to make the final determination and separation of them. (Matt. 13:30; 24:31; 25:31-33) The organization however, seeks to establish itself as the one true religion on earth. Hence, it is desperate to find anything in scripture that can be used to bolster its claim, even if this results in going beyond the things that have been written. (1 Cor. 4:6)
So, in answer to the question presented in paragraph 13 of the Pure Worship book: “What significance does the prophecy of the unification of the two sticks have in our time?” my response would be none whatsoever!