The Lost Sheep of Israel Are Being Found

The Lost Sheep Found: The Second Exodus and the Great Harvest

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." — John 10:16
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off." — Acts 2:38-39
"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh... That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise... But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." — Ephesians 2:11-13

The Great Mission of the Apostles

When Jesus chose His 12 Apostles, He mirrored the 12 tribes of Israel. In Matthew 10:5–6, He gave them their primary commission:

"Go not into the way of the Gentiles... But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of the house of Israel."

At Pentecost (Acts 2), Israelites from every nation under heaven were gathered in Jerusalem. When Peter preached, he quoted the prophet Joel and declared that the promise of the Spirit was to them, their children, and **"to all that are afar off"**—a technical prophetic phrase referring to the scattered Northern Kingdom of Israel (Daniel 9:7; Ephesians 2:13)!

The Mystery of the Gentiles Revealed

Why did the Apostle Paul travel across Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome? Because that is precisely where the Northern 10 Tribes had been scattered and assimilated among the Gentiles!

• In Hosea 1:10, God prophesied of scattered Israel: "In the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God."
• In Romans 9:25–26, Paul quotes this exact prophecy of Hosea to explain why the Gentiles were receiving the Gospel!
• The Grafting In (Romans 11): Believers from the nations are wild olive branches grafted into the one cultivated Olive Tree of Israel, sharing in the root and fatness of the covenants.

The New Birth: Blood, Water, and Spirit

How is a lost sheep brought back into covenant? Just as ancient Israel passed through the Passover blood in Egypt, the waters of the Red Sea, and the presence of the Spirit at Sinai, every believer is born again through:

1. The Blood: Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua.
2. The Water: Full-immersion baptism in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins.
3. The Spirit: The supernatural baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues and power for holy living.

Discover in Foundation 8:

• The letters of James and Peter written explicitly "to the twelve tribes scattered abroad" (James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1).
• How your love for the God of Israel and His Word is the sign that you are being called as one of His sheep.
• The Second Exodus promised in Jeremiah 16:14–15 and 23:7–8.

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