Parable of the 153 Fish

“The Parable of the 153 Fish” by Pastor Ariel

Three very key points for you to understand before we begin today:

1-We are in NO WAY teaching BRITISH ISRAELISM

And in NO WAY do we believe in: 2—REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY

3--The "TORAH" is the Jewish way of saying the "Word of God" and was commonly used and read at the time of Jesus. It is often called the "Old Testament" today. In Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus, the "TORAH" primarily focuses on the first 5 books "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy." The New Testament we know today did not yet exist as it was being lived out and the "Torah" was the "Bible" used by Jesus and all his Disciples.


The Parable of the 153 Fish --BACKGROUND

A. Understanding the Biblical “House of Jacob”

1-Your Bible mentions the “House of Israel” which is made up of the 10 1/2 Northern Tribes of Israel aka "Ephraim" and is made up of the Tribes of Reuben, Half of the Tribe of Levi, the Tribes of Asher, the Tribes of Dan, the Tribes of Gad, the Tribes of Naphtali, the Tribes of Issachar, the Tribes of Joseph--which included the Tribes of Manasseh and the Tribes of Ephraim, the Tribes of Simeon, the Tribes of Zebulon

2-The “House of Judah” made up of the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin and the other half the Tribe of Levi--and this is who occupies the Commonwealth of Israel to this day. During the days of Jesus, the House of Judah reigned under Roman supervision.

TOGETHER these make up the Biblical “House of Jacob!” Or the Northern and Southern Tribes called the Commonwealth of Israel

B. Evangelical Dispensationalism –which is what most Pastors were taught in Seminary—did not see what God Is doing Prophetically in these days—In fact, the Apostle Paul calls it a “Mystery” that was before hand hidden but now is revealed in Messiah!

Romans 11:25 says “25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”

Come in to where? Well according to the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:25 --it's into the Commonwealth of Israel!

and

Romans 16:25 says “25Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past”

So this is a "Mystery" that was "Hidden" for long ages past.

1. Jews understand Scripture through 4 primary interpretations methods called the PaRDeS:

The “PaRDeS” are:

P= Pashat—Surface meaning of the Scripture
R= Remez—Looking back in the Word to look forward to a new principle
D= Drash—To Search Out A True Meaning
S= Sod—Divine Revelation from the Scripture


Genesis 35:22-26 says “22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons: 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher."

1. The 12 Sons of Jacobs went and settled in the land of Israel and they separated in two primary Area’s—with ISRAEL to the North and JUDAH to the South.

A. They all followed Torah during This time period

B. Please write down these two words:

EXILED and DISPERSED

C. The story of The Parable of the 153 Fish is not just the parable we have all grown to know—it is much more than that—it is a PROPHECY of the LAST DAYS Just before the RETURN OF JESUS

Each tribe formed according to the name of Jacobs 12 sons. Rather than using Josephs name over and over—Josephs land was referred to by his Children whom Jacob had blessed “EPHRAIM and MENASHE”

The 12 tribes are often referred to as the House of Jacob—as the 12 tribes all originated from Jacobs loins

As the twelve tribes settled the land of promise—they all had ancestral homeland except “Levi” who inheritance was the Lord!

Throughout the Bible we see animosity between the tribes arise. Judah was Ephraim’s main rival—and even under David that animosity was evident (2 Sam 18; 19:41 20:22.) Discontentment with Solomon's rule in (1 Kings 11:26-40) combined with a foolish decision by Rehoboam—Solomon’s Son—brought about the division of David’s unified Kingdom of Israel

Eventually the Twelve Tribes separated into TWO DISTINCT GROUPS. The two groups are commonly known as the “Northern Tribes” and the “Southern Tribes.” Based on the land division where the Tribes lived.

1. The SOUTHERN TRIBES consisted of:
Judah
Benjamin
½ of the Tribe of Levi

A. Since Judah was the most numerous—these three southern Tribes are known commonly as JUDAH today!

2. The NORTHERN TRIBES--which consisted of: Rueben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, ½ the Tribe of Levi, Joseph (also known as Ephraim & Manasseh) ARE KNOWN AS: “EPHRAIM”

So...why all the tension and hostility?? The tension began during the life of David following Absalom’s rebellion (see 2 Sam 20:1) and the rift became complete upon Solomon’s death (see 1 Kings 12:16) for 200 years until the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. There were 2 little Kingdoms side by side—a larger one in the Northeast called “Israel” (The 10 tribes of 1 Kings 11:35) and the smaller one in the South called “Judah.”

1. Eventually both Houses were EXILED into another land *The Southern Tribes eventually returned from exile “Even after the exile when Nehemiah led some of the Israelites to reclaim their old land and ways. It was the tiny province of Judah that emerged (Nehemiah 1:2-3) and Judea still remain as a District in the New Testament days (Luke 3:1) ”As prophesied in Scripture the Northern Tribes—after the exile—we DISPERSED AMONG THE NATIONS—having yet to return to their land or the Torah—Therefore the Northern Tribes are referred to as the “Nations” or the “10 Lost Tribes.”

After the Northern Tribes succeeded the capitals Of the North, Shechem, Tirzah and Samaria were situated in Ephraim. The establishment of Samaria by King Omri of Israel—gave the Ephraimites more direct access to the great North-South Trunk Road (called Via Maris) through the western plain. This contact with trade routes gave the Northern Kingdom a greater world consciousness and greater temptation to depart from God and His commands.

The Northern Tribes-- known as the Tribe of EPHRAIM or the House of ISRAEL were EXILED then DISPERSED to Africa, Spain, Europe and America--never to return to Israel again.

The Southern Tribes —consisting of the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin and ½ the Tribe of Levi which were also known as the House of JUDAH —was exiled to Assyria and Babylon for a season-then they returned to the Promised Land.

WHAT MAKES JESUS THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL? WHAT DID SCRIPTURE REQUIRE HE DO?

Make a way to restore the Covenant Promise God made to King David by unifying the Nation of Israel once more. God made an EVERLASTING covenant with the HOUSE OF DAVID for ALL GENERATIONS TO COME

2 Samuel 7:11a-17 says “" 'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.' "17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation."

To fully understand this parable it is important for you to remember the mission Yeshua came to accomplish while being the atoning sacrifice for all nations.

John 21:1-12 says “1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead."

Simon Peter is with a group of Disciples--there were 7 there in total--and He decides he is going out to fish. He fishes all night and catches nothing. (John 21:1-3)

Fishing is a Hebrew idiom for looking for the harvesting of the Holy Spirit into the Kingdom of God.

Going out "at night" is a Hebrew idiom meaning--going out WITHOUT the TORAH--which comes from the Hebrew root word “ORAH” which means “LIGHT.”

They were in a Boat on the Sea. The “7 Disciples in the Boat” stands for the religious system of the 7 laws of Noah-- ALL pious Jews believed that Gentiles were to keep the 7 laws God gave to Noah following the flood--but they believed that Gentiles were not chosen by God to be part of Israel--unless they became circumcised and became Jews.

Sea in Hebrew means “people grouping and grouping of people.”

Early in the morning Yeshua stood on the shore, but the Disciples did not realize it was Jesus! (John 21:4)

This represents the failure of the Disciples of the Lord today to recognize that Yeshua and the covenant of Moses are the SAME WORD OF GOD. Even as the Disciples of Jesus did not recognize him at first--so too--most Church folks today do not recognize the reunification of the ENTIRE House of Israel--both Ephraim (the Nations) and redeemed Judah!

Jesus tells them to throw their nets on the RIGHT SIDE of the boat --and they would find some (John 21:5-6)

THEY CAUGHT NOTHING during the DARKNESS--but WHEN THEY OBEYED the EXACT WORDS of the LIVING TORAH--Jesus Christ--They caught more fish than they could carry in.

This represents our lives following our Salvation experience. We try to walk in obedience, but we do not seem to walk in the ABUNDANT ABUNDANCE that we were promised at Salvation. But when we begin to OBEY the TORAH --Jesus IS the TORAH [John 1:1] --then we begin to move into gain and increase--instead of lack and decrease.

Then John the PRIEST recognizes JESUS. (John 21:7) A true Prophet, Priest and King of the last days according to Ezekiel 44:22-23 says “23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 " 'In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances.[Torah] They are to keep my laws [Torah] and my decrees [Torah] for all my appointed feasts, [Moedim--or Feast Days] and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.

John, the LEVITE PRIEST recognizes the Lord first and tells PETER! This is a type and Shadow of THE CHURCH [Ephraim] being reunified with Judah to make up the 2 witnesses of the book of Daniel and Revelation!

When Peter hears it is JESUS he wraps his OUTER GARMENT around him and dives into the Sea. The other Disciples come in the boat towing in all the fish for they were not far from shore. (John 21:7-8)

Peter had not been wearing his TALLIT- or "Jewish Prayer Shawl"-which represents the Holy Spirit to a Hebrew. He put it on immediately and jumped into the sea--this is a type and shadow of the outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT into all PEOPLE GROUPINGS and GROUPINGS OF PEOPLE (Which is meant by using the Hebrew idiom "The Sea.")

The other Disciples were not far from shore--which is a way of showing that the people of God as represented by the fish--were not far from Jesus--but they couldn’t get to ABUNDANCE without OBEDIENCE that comes from keeping the Torah by the Holy Spirit.

When they arrived they found a fire of BURNING COALS with fish ON IT. (John 21:9) This is a type and Shadow of the JEWISH REMNANT that God has kept by His Spirit prepared for the GREAT HARVEST OF SOULS during the time of JACOBS TROUBLE--or Tribulation--where God will purify all by fire!

Jesus tells them to bring some of the Fish they just caught--which represent the believers in Jesus who will return to obeying ALL of Gods Torah and the Testimony of Jesus called the New Testament. (John 21:10)

SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN??

Biblical Archeologists in Israel have found the remains of 153 species of Fish in the sediment of the Sea of Galilee at the time of Jesus. The Parable of the 153 Fish represent EVERY NATION and EVERY PEOPLE under heaven who HAVE BEEN GRAFTED INTO THE NATURAL OLIVE TREE that is the UNIFIED PEOPLE CALLED THE COMMONWEALTH OF “ISRAEL.”

When Jesus invites the Disciples to breakfast--this is a type and Shadow of the Feast of Tabernacles called "Sukkot"--or what the Church calls the “Wedding Supper of the Lamb.”

The Disciples who HAD NOT recognized the Lord at first-did not ask “WHO ARE YOU” for they all knew him in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:8-11 when the Scripture says "31 The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the “house of Israel” and with the “house of Judah.” 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, "declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with “the [UNIFIED] house of Israel” after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law [Torah] in their minds and write it on their hearts. [This is the great FISHING NET] I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."