In the days of the prophets, the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) tells us that many of Adonai’s prophets prophesied of the day as well as anticipated the day, when all of scattered Israel would one day be supernaturally gathered by Adonai and return to the Land of Israel. According to the Scriptures this great regathering would begin to take place shortly before the return of the Messiah - and then culminate at His return. As it is written in the book of Isaiah, saying: “It will come about in that day, Adonai will thresh from the channel of the River to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, Bnei-Yisrael. It will also come about in that day, a great shofar will be blown. Those perishing in the land of Assyria and the exiles in the land of Egypt will come and worship Adonai on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” - Isaiah 27:12-13. Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) would go on to expound regarding this prophecy saying, “For the Lord Himself shall come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the blast of God’s shofar, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left behind, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air - and so we always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. 

 

The prophetic promise regarding this regathering of Israel will ultimately include both Jews and Gentiles who have put their faith in Messiah Yeshua. However, the Scriptures also reveal to us that among the nations there will be those who are of Israel, but may have remained hidden until the day of their regathering has begun. In other words, there will occur a time of reclamation of both identity and faith for those Jews who have been scattered among the nations who were either forced to renounce their identity or hide their identity as a means of survival. Which of course did in fact happen when Jews were forcefully converted to Catholicism during the Spanish Inquisition. For those Jews who didn’t convert, they were either expelled, persecuted, imprisoned and even put to death. Many Jews at the time were able to escape persecution through conversion, changing their names or leaving the Iberian Peninsula for other lands in Europe, Africa, South America, and Central America.

​

THE ABARBANEL

​

In the last two decades or so, more Sephardic Bnei Anusim have started to come forward to reclaim their heritage, identity and even their faith. While many had remained hidden within Christianity, a great number of Bnei Anusim came to faith in Messiah Yeshua and are now part of Messianic Judaism. Some remained with the Catholic Church yet, now identify as Sephardic Jews. Others left Catholicism and became part of  Protestant Christianity. Some however, after re-discovering their Sephardic Jewish heritage are now part of Orthodox, Conservative and even Reformed Judaism. Some have gone as far to renounce their faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in order to “fully” reclaim their Jewish identity. However, these other branches of Judaism require Bnei Anusim to “convert” to Judaism before they are accepted back into the community and considered to be Jewish. For those who have become part of Messianic Judaism, their reclamation of Jewish heritage, identity and faith has now been made complete in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua.

 

The return of Bnei Anusim is more than just a promise about returning to the land of Israel. It’s also about returning to the people of Israel. Israel is made up of both the land and the Jewish people. One does not exist without the other. Israel is the land as much as it is the people even those who are among the diaspora. This is the promise that goes all the way back to Abraham - as it is written, “My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you, to make your name great so that you may be a blessing” - Genesis 12:2. Yet, what drove or caused Bnei Anusim to become “hidden” in the first place? Was the scattering and the hiding of Bnei Anusim prophetic, only to be revealed before the return of the Messiah? There are some among both Messianic and Rabbinic scholars who believe this to be true. One such Jewish scholar was Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508).

 

Isaac Abarbanel, or “The Abarbanel,” as he is commonly called, was a Jewish rabbi, scholar and financier who was born in Portugal in 1437. He served Portuguese king Alfonso V as treasurer until the king’s death in 1483. Afterwards, he fled to Spain after attempts were made on his life. Once in Spain, he eventually came into the service of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and helped finance the Granada War, which resulted in the expulsion of the Muslim Moors from Iberia. However, in 1492 the Spanish Monarchy issued an edict called, “The Alhambra Decree,” which called for all “Jews and Jewesses” to depart the kingdoms to never return again. Shortly thereafter, Abarbanel wrote that “When the Jews heard this edict, they immediately cried and tore their clothing in grief, fearing for their lives. And 300,000 of them left.” He would go on to write, “Young men and old, women and children. All left on that fateful day, exhausted, from the king’s lands and with the Spirit of G-d before them they traveled in all directions.” Those Jews who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism were prevented from leaving Spain and Portugal. Derogatorily, these Jews were referred to as, “Conversos” (converts) or “Marranos” (swine). Many however, would go on to secretly retain their Jewish identity and faith, eventually, these Jews would become known as “Crypto-Jews.” These “Crypto-Jews,” would become part of the Catholic Church in name only, outwardly observing Catholicism, but secretly observing Shabbat, the Feasts and even Jewish customs. 

​

Prophetically, the Prophet Ezekiel prophesies of certain Jews who, while in exile seemingly “leave the faith,” and turn to idols. However, in the End of Days, they will abandon their idols and return to Adonai, saying: “As for you, house of Israel,” thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Go on serving your idols, all of you! Yet, afterward, you will surely listen to Me. My holy Name you will no longer profane with your gifts and idols” - Ezekiel 20:39. The Prophet Ezekiel doesn't reveal all of the circumstances that caused or led these Jews to "leave the faith." However, it appears that it is only for a time and won't be permanent. If we examine the circumstances and the events of the Spanish Inquisition, which caused many Jews to seemingly leave the faith (forcibly or otherwise), the Sephardic Bnei Anusim, appear to be the ones that Ezekiel is prophesying about. Abarbanel would go on to write concerning this prophecy, saying: “In the End of Days, the Prophet (Ezekiel) foresaw that Adonai would awaken in the hearts of the Anusim a desire to return to Him.” He would go on to write that, "All of Adonai's sheep shall return to the flock. Even thos who were compelled to leave the faith."  Those who were “compelled to leave the faith,” according to Abarbanel, are the Sephardic Bnei Anusim.

 

The return of the Sephardic Bnei Anusim is a prophetic event of Biblical proportion in the annals of not only Jewish history, but Gentile history as well. The Scriptures reveal this to us, saying that one day, “the fullness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25) will be complete and “…all of Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). Messiah Himself prophesied that shortly before His return, Jerusalem itself will be restored when all of Israel has been regathered, saying: “Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles has been fulfilled” - Luke 21:24b. No other nation in all of history has been regathered like the nation of Israel, just as it was prophesied: “Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in a day? Can a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children” - Isaiah 66:8. In addition, not only was it prophesied that Israel would once again become a nation, but it is also prophesied that Sephardic Jews will return to land of Israel and once again be a part of Israel. As it is written, “The exiles of this army of Bnei-Yisrael will possess what belonged to the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, while the exiles of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev. The victorious will go up on Mount Zion to judge the hill country of Esau. Then the kingdom shall be Adonai’s” - Obadiah 1:20-21.    

​