Ephraim and Simon the Zealot

As we continue our journey through the 12, we come to another dilemma. It would have been so much easier for us if Jacob had not have been so complicated. Let’s take a quick look at Ephraim.

I. Ephraim

Ephraim was Jacob’s grandson. Ephraim was Joseph’s youngest son born to Joseph and his Egyptian wife, Asenath.

Ephraim’s name means “doubly fruitful.” (Gen. 41:52)

Genesis 41:52 “The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.””

Jacob claimed Ephraim and Manasseh as sons even though they were his grandsons. (Gen. 48:3-5)

Genesis 48:3–5 “And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.”

Manasseh was the older and should have received the larger blessing, but Jacob blessed Ephraim with the larger blessing. You can read about it in Genesis 48, but the short version is this. Joseph positioned the two boys so that Manasseh would receive the larger blessing. He did this by putting Manasseh on Jacob’s right side and Ephraim on his left, but Jacob, when he started his blessing, crossed his hands and placed his right hand on Ephraim instead of Manasseh. (Genesis 48:17-19)

Joseph protested, but Jacob assured him that he knew what he was doing.

Genesis 48:17–19 “When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.””

Ephraim was given precedence over his older brother. It sounds eerily similar to what happened between Jacob and Esau.

Ephraim became a very large tribe. As a matter of fact, Ephraim was the leading tribe of the Northern Kingdom. Ephraim became so large that Scripture sometimes refers to Israel as simply Ephraim. (Jer. 31:6)

Jeremiah 31:6 “For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ””

Now, we come to our dilemma.

Ephraim received the larger blessing from Jacob and Manasseh received the smaller blessing, but if you go to Revelation 7, you will find that 12,000 of Manasseh is sealed but none of Ephraim is sealed. In Ephraim’s place, Joseph is sealed.

Why? Well, let me speculate if I may.

Ephraim did two things that God forbade.

(1) Idolatry. (Hosea 4:17)

Hosea 4:17 “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.”

(2) Alliances with ungodly nations. (Hosea 12:1)

Hosea 12:1 “Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; they multiply falsehood and violence; they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.”

God had warned Israel about idolatry and alliances, yet Israel ignored those warnings. As a result, in 722 BC, Ephraim was taken into captivity by the Assyrians. History refers to those taken into captivity as the Lost Tribes because they intermarried with the Assyrians and others becoming the Samaritans of the New Testament.

Despite their fall, God never gave up on Ephraim.

Jeremiah 31:20 “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord.”

Why is Ephraim not sealed in Revelation 7?

Now, this is pretty interesting.

According to Bible scholars, the blessings of the 12 tribes and the sealing of those tribes indicate the 12 pathways to Christ with each tribe representing a pathway.

Christ is still the Way, but these 12 Tribes symbolize the way these tribes will be drawn to Christ.

For example, when Manasseh is sealed during the Tribulation, he will draw those from the Tribe of Manasseh to Christ, but no one from Ephraim or Dan are sealed, but both tribes claim their inheritance during the Millennium.

Ezekiel 48:1 ““These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion.”

Ezekiel 48:5 “Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.”

Even though not sealed, there will those from Ephraim and Dan that claim their inheritance. Some Bible scholars speculate that all those of Ephraim and Dan that are saved during the Tribulation will be martyred, and those claiming their inheritance during the Millennium will be resurrected members of those two tribes.

I do know that there are at least 2 very Godly men in the Old Testament that were members of the Tribe of Ephraim, Joshua and Samuel.

There will be a remnant saved from Ephraim, but will all of that remnant be martyred by the Antichrist, or will there be a few that claim its inheritance? I do not know, but I do know like Dan, most, if not all of Ephraim, will die at the hands of the Antichrist.

Why are Ephraim and Dan not sealed?

Because Ephraim and Dan were both idolatrous, and idolatry is not a pathway that leads to Christ.

Study it for yourself and let me know what you think.

2. Simon the Zealot

We come to one of the most interesting disciples.

The only mention of Simon the Zealot is found in the New Testament with the listing of the disciples. No other Scripture references him, but I believe he serves today as a major example of what the answer is to America’s political problems.

A zealot is anyone who fervently supports a political cause.

In the United States of America, we have several examples of “zealots.”

PETA

Black Lives Matter

Ku Klux Klan

Proud Boys

Democrats/Republicans

Before you dismiss those last two as zealots, let me explain. In a Constitutional Repbulic, compromise is necessary in order to govern.

Today, neither political party is interested in governing. They are both interested in what they want. It is a quest for power instead of a quest to govern the people. It is absolutely ridiculous that the Repbulican Party cannot select a Speaker of the House when they are the party in power.

The Speaker of the House is the third in line to the presidency, and we have gone a month with the line of succession interrupted because each of those Republicans in the House are more interested in having his or her own way instead of governing in some incredibly difficult times.

We have gone a month, and nothing can be done in the House because we do not have a Speaker.

In the time of Christ, the Zealots were a political party longing for Jewish independence and throwing off Roman rule.

The Zealots hoped to incite the people to rebellion, to drive the Romans from Israel, and to establish a Moses-type theocracy. They were very aggressive and resorted to political assassination. The Talmud and the Jewish historian, Josephus, viewed the Zealots negatively. Most viewed them as fanatics.

It is from that background that Jesus called Simon. We can assume by his being called Simon the Zealot that he eagerly participated in the activities of the party. Dear friend, if you are a Christian, you do not need a worldly designation attached to your name. You need to be known by your attachment to Christ.

It is obvious that Simon’s priorities changed when he came to Jesus. Jesus had taught him some lessons that we need to hear today. Lessons like the ones found in these verses:

Matthew 22:21 “They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.””

John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.””

Dear friend, do you know what would help Christians just as much as anything today?

Christians need to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s, and that God’s kingdom is not of this world. Somehow, today, most American Christians link God’s kingdom with America and certain political ideas. Well, dear friend, Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world.

Today, our country is more divided than it has ever been, but I want to show you how Jesus bridged the political gap.

We have already discussed Matthew.

He and Simon were as far apart politically as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Matthew was a tax collector employed by Rome. He was a publican.

Simon was totally opposed to Rome and its tax structure and politically hated those associated with Rome.

They were as far apart politically as Democrats and Republicans today, but because of their greater allegiance to Jesus, they were brothers and co-workers for the Gospel.

Mark 6:7 “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

My speculation is that when Jesus sent the twelve out 2 by 2 that He sent Matthew and Simon the zealot together. How great a witness for the Gospel of Christ than to have two political opponents linked inseparably by Jesus. What a witness!!!!

Matthew and Simon were no longer divided by political ideology. They were united for and by Jesus, and dear friend, our politicians are only going to grow further apart until Jesus bridges that gap.

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

Man cannot solve its own problems. Man will always have a problem with God, but praise His holy name, there is a mediator that bridges the gaps caused by those problems.

I want you to know that Simon remained zealous. He preached the gospel into Persia where he was killed for refusing to sacrifice to the sun god. Simon could refuse to bow to the sun god because he had trusted and responded to God the Son.

The Jewish zealot partnered with the Roman tax collector. Jesus made a difference in Simon’s life. As a Jewish zealot, he would never gone to Persia. It would have been beneath a Jew to do so, but as Simon the Zealot for Christ, he eagerly went to Persia and gave his life for Jesus.