Holland Identified with the Tribe of Zebulon
By Peter Salemi
The Dutch people have had wonderful blessings in this end time. They have had colonies around the world. Have made huge advancements in Cartography, and the printing press. Not to mention its oil stakes in its former colonies, and of course the riches it has in the South African colony. All these advances attributed by the Dutch, are these prophesied in the Bible? Can we identify the Dutch with one of the tribes of Israel?
The Tribe of Zebulon
In the days when the tribes settled in the promised land, one tribe, the tribe of Zebulon settled in the north of Palestine by the sea. Afterwards, this tribe, along with the other tribes of the Kingdom, or House of Israel went into captivity in Assyria. What happened to them? Where did they go? Did this tribe settle in the country we know as Holland? Bible prophecies, and tribal identities, along with secular histories, and tracking these tribes shows this to be true. And as we see, God is like a shepherd, moving his people along, guiding them into the places where he wants them to be in the end time.
Settled in Assyria
When Israel was taken into captivity, the areas in Assyria that they were taken to were, "And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:" (2 Kings 18;11).
When the tribe of Zebulon was taken, and settled in Assyria, we see there tribal names in many of the ancient maps. Afghanistan anciently in the Assyrian period "In early Scythian times the name Zebulon was recalled in ZABULISTAN which was to the south and south-east of Hara in the Iranian area...Eldad HaDani (ca. 800 c.e.) ..He mentioned the Tribe of Zebulon in the Paran Mountains, meaning the Paroutas by the Zagros to the east of Mesopotamia. Zebulon seems to have been also located (in part) further east where there once existed a kingdom called ZABULISTAN which was named after a people who evacuated the region sometime prior to the moslem period. Zabulistan was associated with the area south of Kabul (in Afghanistan) and also encompassed Sakastan. It had been colonised by the Scythian hero called 'ZOHAK', whose name is actually a variant of ISAAC. Zohak was considered responsible for having settled the inhabitants of Zabulistan in their places" (pp.321, 57 The Tribes, Davidy, emphasis his and mine). Here we find Zebulon known as Zabulistan in the very area that the Bible says they would be, in Hara, in Iran.
With the help of the Bible, we can see the tribal names of the Israelites in these areas of Assyria (now Iran) in these ancient maps and histories which makes it easier to trace many of our peoples today including Zebulon.
"And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel." (Gen 46:14).
"And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon." (Num 10:16). These are the sub tribal names of Zebulon. These main names especially "Elon" or "Helon." Helon is obviously the name of HOLLAND today! (see, Davidy, The Tribes, p.323).
Again, back in the Iranian area, the settlements of Israel in these areas we discover also that this name Zebulistan, "The name is also found in the Sabalingoi ...The name SABALINGOI means 'People (Goi) - of - ZEBULON' since in Northern dialects 'Sabalin' and Zebulon would have been alternate pronunciations of the same name: The 'Z' was replaced by 'S'; and 'goi' means people in Hebrew. The Sabalingoi were to the north of the Sigulones (whose name in Hebrew means "Chosen Ones") and of the Saxons and in turn, to the north of the Sabalingoi were the Chali sons of Jahleel (Yachlayl in Hebrew, and the Y - would have been dropped) (Genesis 46;14). Jahleel was a son of Zebulon as was Sered and also Elon." (Ibid, emphasis added). Again, the tribal names of Zebulon appear in the area of Zebulistan, conserving the names of the sons of Zebulun, and having the areas named after them.
After this settlement, the tribes of Israel began to migrate into Europe and Scandinavia. Again we see these same tribal names appear. "The name is also found in the Sabalingoi of south Jutland and Frissia recalled by Ptolemy...From Jutland and Scandinavia there were several waves of migration into the area of nearby Holland so the Sabalingoi and Chali [sons of Jahleel son of Zebulun] may have moved to the Netherlands' region" (ibid, p.321, emphasis added). These tribal names appear in Holland among the Dutch people.
Zebulon in the "Latter Days"
Now that we have discovered Zebulon to be the peoples of Holland. What does the Bible says about these people? Is the land of Holland identified? Is the national economy, the national characteristic of Holland prophesied in the Bible?
In Genesis 49, Jacob prophesied, what would "befall you in the last days." (v.1). These were prophecies for each specific tribe of Israel. Where they would be, what kind of power they would possess, and their national characteristics.
Of Zebulun he wrote, "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon." (v.13).
A dictionary definition of the word "haven" includes the alternate meanings "any sheltered, safe place; refuge," and "a port, harbor" (Webster's New World Dictionary, p.343). The Bible prophesied that the Zebulunites would inhabit an area that was a "haven" (i.e. a "shelter" or "refuge") from the sea. Since the Israelites migrated into Europe from Asia, we need to look for a European nation which is "sheltered from the sea." That nation is the Netherlands (Holland). Much of Holland's land is quite literally "sheltered from the sea" via its dike system, so the prophetic description of a "haven of the sea" is quite apt. The phrase "haven of ships" indicates that the land of Zebulon must also include a major harbor facility. Indeed, the Amplified Bible translates this phrase as "a landing place for ships."
The Dutch port of Rotterdam has become the busiest seaport in the world. The Encyclopedia Americana states concerning Rotterdam: "Its port, in volume of freight handled, is the largest in the world ... In addition to foreign trade, the port handles the huge barge traffic that is carried on the Rhine River and associated waterways ... The port now extends continuously from Rotterdam to the Sea. At the mouth of the New Waterway lies the great port complex of Europort ("Gateway of Europe')" (p.805).
Not only is Rotterdam the busiest ocean-going seaport, it is now a gateway to all of Europe via a system of interconnected canals on Europe's mainland.
"his border shall be unto Zidon." How is this fulfilled in this latter day? Stephen Collins explains, " The key may lie in the Hebrew word translated "border," which literally means "thighs." This Hebrew word is so translated in Daniel 2:32 in the phrase "its belly and thighs of brass." This phrase is part of a description of a body, and denotes the lower torso down through the uppermost portion of the legs of a statue seen in a dream since Daniel 2:33 refers to the statue's "legs" as being different from its "thighs". In other words, the ancient Hebrew word for "thighs" in Genesis 49:13 includes the pubic area. [On this specific translation, I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Charles Dorothy, a graduate of Claremont Graduate School, who checked the above analysis for accuracy.] How could a reference to the human pubic area point to the modern Dutch nation?
"The Dutch capital of Amsterdam is world famous for its 'red light district' offering all manner of erotic/sinful pleasures in its various 'sex shops.' The CBS television program '60 Minutes' featured (in its1990-91 season) a program about the Amsterdam 'sex district' which includes prostitutes openly peddling their bodies just behind windows at street level! In 1992, the Dutch Parliament effectively legalized the prostitution industry by repealing a law which previously had banned pimps. The ancient Sidonians were famous for officially tolerating sinful sex practices which were part of the fertility cult practices of Baal worship. Wicked Queen Jezebel, whose name is synonymous with brazen sexual temptation, was a Sidonian.
"Official Dutch tolerance of a major industry in sexual sin parallels the Sidonian tolerance of similar practices, and would give meaning to the Genesis 49 prophecy about modern Zebulon being comparable to the sexually-sinful Sidonians" (The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel Found...pp. 403-4-4, emphasis added). The latter day nation of Holland fulfills all of the specifics of this prophecy.
But there are more prophecies about Zebulon. "And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents....They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand" (Deut 33:18-19). Zebulon was to rejoice in its "going out."
"Zebulun possessed a commodious sea-shore and the fisheries of the Lake of Tiberias: and was therefore to thrive by commerce, and to rejoice in his “going out,” i. e., in his mercantile enterprises. .." (Barnes Notes, emphasis added). The agriculture and fishing industries of Holland are implied here.
The Dutch still claim that a Dutchman invented the method of curing herring (haringkaken) by a man called Willem Beukelsz from Biervliet in Zealand. The Swedish make the same claim. Anyhow it is a historical fact, that as early as 1320 A.D. the Dutch used a refined method of salting herring by putting them in their ancient natural saltpans (already desired by the Romans!) along the river Scheldt.
Anybody who knows something about the tremendous role the preservation of herring by salting has played during the middle ages.
|  CURING HERRING IN THE 18TH CENTURY | Up till recently, it was realise that it was indeed a blessing meant to save entire populations living in the Celtic fringe of North West Europe: One barrel of salted herrings saved a family of a sea-farers crew from starvation during long winters of sailing the seven seas. Even nowadays the herring is Holland's most popular sea food. Every spring when the new (green) herrings are caught, it is a mad international race between Scottish, Danish, Dutch, Russian and other fishermen as to who will get the first one. After that there is the traditional Dutch race for the first boat of the fleet to be home. The first herringtube back in Holland has the honor of presenting the green herring to the Queen, who of course eats it raw as every good Dutch man and woman does. Ever seen a Dutchman at a fishstand gulping a herring down his throat? An old left-over custom from Zebulun? Anyhow it is remarkable that the fishing port of Scheveningen (at the Hague coast) claims to be the largest herringfish harbor of all Europe. A fact is, that for 300 years the Dutch herring held a monopoly on the European market. In the 16th and 17th centuries there were two thousand herringtubes (boats) and one fifth of the entire Dutch population was occupied in the herring industry! (450,000 men in those centuries according to Seafish guide by Elsevier, 1966, the whole population then being just over two million). |
Think of that! One fifth! And think of all the other inhabitants of the Netherlands having such Zebulunitic occupations as ship building (very advanced for those days, even Czar Peter the Great from Russia came to learn ship building here!) draining, piling, making nets, building dykes, repairing harbors. It was Dutchmen who "sent to sea" - still a nostalgic dream of every Dutchman - who fought at sea, who traded at sea, who were pirates at sea, who were occupied with discovering foreign lands, like New Zealand. Think of the retired fishermen, the elderly men, who sit talking all day at the harbors! One may say that almost all the Dutch lived and worked, at least part of their days, at the seashore or natural harbors, fulfilling the blessing to Zebulun. The 16th - 19th centuries were the most blessed periods for Holland, being internationally the heyday of fishing and shipping, when the expression made sense: "Every Dutchman is a fisherman." (Quote From Strange Parallel, by Helene Koppejan, pp.43-45).
Also connected with the fisheries is the textile industry. The Tribe of Zebulon in the Land of Israel was occupied in the Purple-Dye industry, in the making of White-glass, and in Fishing (Numbers Rabah 13;16). The Purple-Dye was produced from a sea -mollusc by a complicated chemical process and the dye then applied to textiles in a manner which also required expertise. Modern Holland is prominent in both the Chemical and Textile Industries and also in Metallurgy. The production of white glass uses what could be considered metallurgical principles.
As for the agriculture, the cows in abundance making fresh milk to churn butter and produce the famous cheese, that has been exported and enjoyed around the world. This abundance of agriculture in Holland "yielded riches to the farmers in their golden days of free enterprise...its nature...gives the Netherlands its wealth" (ibid, p.64). So "Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out"
In the latter part of that prophecy it claims that Zebulon, "suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand."
The connection with Holland is obvious! The Dutch literally, "sucked out" the sea via their system of dikes and windmills. Not to mention in 1962 Holland "discovered a huge 'gas bell' under the northern Netherlands and North Sea, while boring for oil! Sucking gas in abundances from the Seas! What a treasure for the Celtic fringe this new gas belt has become" (ibid, p.64)
The phrase "treasures hidden in the sand" refer to the same thing, and its meaning which also identifies the Dutch. What "treasure," frequently "hidden in the sand," has become critically important in the modern world? The answer is petroleum, and one of the largest, worldwide oil companies is "Royal Dutch/Shell." The Dutch nation formerly had overseas colonies of its own, the largest of which was oil-rich Indonesia (known for centuries as the Dutch East Indies). Indonesia became independent of the Dutch after World War II, and is now a member of OPEC. However, the Royal Dutch/Shell Oil Company is still one of the premier oil-producing companies of the world. It is unique in that it bears the name of a modern European in its corporate title, unlike Exxon, Standard Oil, Mobil Oil, etc.
The other treasures of the sand of course is also Diamonds. No historian ever deny that South Africa is mainly a Dutch plantation. The interests of the Dutch East India Company with their speedy "flyboats" in the 17th century were mixed with the missionary activities of the young Protestant Republic in the 16th and 17th centuries with its many refugees, mainly Huguenots, who have formed the bulk of the Dutch settlers in South Africa. Undoubtedly their "going out" has become a blessing for that land. "Is it still strange that there are groups in South Africa today who see themselves as offshoots of Zebulun through their descendency from Holland?" (ibid, pp. 68-69). The Diamond Industry in South Africa is now the supplier of all the worlds diamonds.
South Africa, the former Dutch settlement, seen as an offshoot from Zebulun, is the land of diamond mining. Almost like a symbol the largest rough diamond has been discovered in South Africa: the Cullinan in Transvaal in 1905. This one was sent to Amsterdam to be cut and is now part of the crown jewels of England. (see Encyclopedia Britannica, nr. 7, page 317, 1960 edition)
Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, has since ages been famous for its diamond-cutting industry, its cleaving, dividing and setting. This hand process in which generations of mainly Jewish diamond workers of Amsterdam have excelled is still the best.
"South Africa produces most of the world's diamonds which, on the whole, are processed and traded with in Belgium. South Africa is dominated by the Boers who mainly descend from, Dutch settlers and in Belgium the people of Flanders are considered to be of Dutch affiliation " (The Tribes, p.323, emphasis added). Its Interesting how in the Jewish Encyclopedia, which is based on ancient Jewish tradition, the diamond is mentioned as the symbol for Zebulun. The Stone of Zebulon (on the Chief Priest's Breastplate) was a diamond (Exodus Rabah 38;5).
Deborah's Blessing on Zebulon
In the book of Judges when Deborah was the leader in Israel. After their victory against the Canaanites, she prophesied with the Spirit of God, that "out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer." (Judges 5:14).
"...Zebulon wielding the writers' pen" (Judges 5:14). This means skilled in writing. The word "pen" here in the Hebrew means "branched off stick or scion for punishing," see Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for writing or fighting, for ruling.
It was especially used in this sense to inscribe, to recount, to number. The word used here is "sepher," which is known in the Bible as the word for a book or a roll.
"It is therefore not out of place to associate it with the means with producing books and printing letters" (Strange Parallel, p.71, Helene Koppejan). History shows that Guttenberg "refined" the printing press, but a Dutch man named Coster of Haarlem (Holland) is considered "by some scholars [as] the first inventor of printing" (Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 2 and vol. 18, 1961, edition).
The printing press lead to the freedom of the printed word of God, and the availability of it for the average citizen.
From the Book Strange Parallel, here is a lengthy quote of the history of the printing press and its role the Dutch had to play in it: "...it is still generally accepted in the Anglo-Saxon world that it was a German, Gutenberg, who invented the printing press. The Dutch have always disputed this on good grounds, and recent discoveries in Germany give even more credit to the Dutch claim!"
"Here is the Dutch story behind it, which by the way, millions of Dutch have been taught at school to be the truth!
"In the city of Haarlem there is a statue in the market-place of a man with a letterblock in his hand. On the stone is inscribed: 1440 A.D. "Typographiae letteris mobilibus a metallo fusis inventor," or the inventor of the art of printing with movable letters, of cast metal.
"Coster having invented this primitive way of printing with lead types was robbed of his invention on Christmas night of 1440 A.D. by his servant Jan, who fled with it to Mainz in Germany, where it eventually came into the hands of Gutenberg, who seems to have refined the method and produced the famous Gutenberg-Bible in 1448. After a centuries old tug of war between the Dutch and Germans (there is a vast literature pro and contra) a conclusion seems to have been reached recently, since a 15th century Chronicle has been rediscovered in Cologne (Germany) mentioning that before Gutenberg, prints were already made in Holland. Moreover as a result of research there is evidence that astronomical calenders in Mainz exist, printed in a more primitive style than Gutenberg's. Are these examples servant Jan brought with him? Anyhow Coster printed such astronomical calenders in Haarlem in Gutenberg's time.
"See in Dutch (Modern Encyclopedia of World Literature, Seven Volumes in Dutch) under Coster. In English the Encyclopaedia Britannica (vol. II and vol. 18, 1961 edition) under the heading "printing" still names Gutenberg "the strongest claimant to the honor of the invention of printing" and "because Laurens Coster of Haarlem (Holland) is the only man whose name can be connected with these prints, (whose work is much more primitive than that of Gutenburg and therefore assumedly preceded this) he is considered by some scholars the first inventor of printing. "
DUTCH PRINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY OUTSTANDING
"Whatever is the historical truth about this invention, it remains a fact that the Dutch were and still are world-famous for "handling the pen of the writer" as calligraphers, often drawing in one line.
"The illustrations show two examples by Jan van de Velde Sr., a 17th century Dutch painter, famous for his painting of ships. Two of his best calligraphed drawings are by chance (!) showing us the strange Parallel between Zebulun and the Dutch:
"A hand, wielding the writers pen, Deborah's blessing; and the symbol of the ship, which is Zebulun's banner. The present Dutch calligraphers still enjoy international fame for their drawing of charters.
"In the international printers-language many words and names of letters are of Dutch origin Many a printer outside the Netherlands will hardly know nowadays that he is daily using a Lowlanders name i'hristoffel Plantin, (letter type) the great industrial printer of the Netherlands (Leyden and Antwerp) in the 16th century, the printer to Royalty, politicians and scientists of those days.
| 
| "Dutch printing and bookbinding is a most interesting and important subject, but as it is too vast in itself, I have to suffice here with mentioning a few examples to demonstrate that especially the Netherlands have always been advanced and blessed in the arts of writing and printing. If anywhere in the western world, the "epitheton ornans, " given by the prophetess to Zebulun, became true, it would be in the Lowlands: They deserve the honored title of "recruiters by means of the pen." HOLLAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HAVEN FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE PRINTED WORD. "Where refugees in the 16th-17th century could freely print their religious ideas? Don't we have a remarkable combination here of Jacob's blessing to Zebulun, of being a haven, and Moses' words of "being blessed in thy going out with joy" (think of all the Dutch books having gone the world over!) and Deborah's prophecy that Zebulun's talent for the "sepher ," the book, will be blessed? |
"The Dutch have been and still are greatly blessed in finding new methods of printing. From the 15th-18th centuries they were the leading nation. From the Encyclopaedia Britannica I quote, (vol 18, 1960 Edition) "Even England was completely dependant for type on the Dutch. "
"Recently Dutch color-printing and the latest methods of phototype have been developed in the Netherlands. Orders for the highest quality of art-printing from all over the world are being placed by the United States and Great Britain as well. This again is drawing a far-sighted parallel with the light-prophecy for Zebulun mentioned in Chapter twelve.
DUTCH EXCELL IN CARTOGRAPHY, A REMINISCENCE OF ZEBULUN?
"The Dutch have always excelled in cartography and making maps for navigation-purposes. "In the following (17th) century in the production of high-grade maps the Dutch were supreme, as isillustrated by classic atlases of Mercator, W.J. and J. Blaeu, H. Hondius, J. Janssen and N. Visscher," writes Encyclopaedia Britannica, (vol. 2, 1960 Edition under atlas) and, by 1600 Amsterdam had succeeded Antwerp as the center of cartographic industryin the Netherlands, and the 17th century was the great age of Dutch map production. "(idem mr. 14, under map) Flemish cartographers gave the first impetus to the art of map engraving in England.
"The very first sea atlas, Spieghel der Zeevaerdt (Mirror of Navigation) was both made and printed in the Netherlands in 1584, followed by many more by means of which the sailors of those days could beat the Spaniards and were better equipped to sail the seven seas.
THE DUTCH EXCELL IN CARTOGRAPHY EVEN IN THE HEAVENS (MIDDLEBURG 17TH CENTURY)
"Do you now realise that Dutch history is plainly showing us our strange parallel with Zebulun? It is so simple that I greatly wonder why nobody saw it before. Do we have to be blind?!
"Here again three words by Zebulun have been combined:
"The old dying man said to his sons "observe the waters and know when they flow together." What else is cartography of the sea than doing it by "handling the pen of the writer," this being Zebulun's future? Combine this again with Moses' words of "rejoicing in thy going out." Isn't it strange that especially the Dutch have been greatly blessed by printing navigation maps for those who rejoice going out to sea?
"Not only maps, but also the sea laws concerning the boundaries of the seas apportioned to the nations have been "invented" by Hugo Grotius in the beginning of the 17th century. This Dutch lawyer and his books printed three centuries ago are still the basis of the rules of international territorial waters." (pp.72-79).
A Ship, Zebulon & Holland's Symbol
In the days of Israel, each tribe had standards. It was an ancient type of Heraldry that has been preserved right down to the end time, see Numbers 2:17, 31, 34; Psalm 60:4.
In the case of Zebulon, ancient Hebrew traditions show that the symbol for Zebulon, their tribal standard was a "ship." This can be found in the The Bible, Talmud, Midrash, Zohar and related traditions, (see Davidy, p.340).
Holland of course has the same symbol. "The symbol of Holland was a ship in popular tradition and a ship was the symbol of the former Dutch Republic. Many of the Boer (Afrikans) population of the Republic of South Africa are of Dutch descent...The traditional symbol of Holland is a ship and a ship was also considered the SYMBOL OF ZEBULON" (ibid, pp.319, 331).
"The Dutch people however made the ship with sails their national folk-symbol. They made it the symbol of their national culture. Look at the ancient Delft blue tiles. The ship is predominant on it. Look at Dutch paintings, Dutch embroidery with decorated ships, Dutch silversmiths who engraved and modelled ships, the museums full of ship's models, the ship-weather vanes on towers, ships in churches." (Strange Parallel, p.37).
 | HOLLAND'S SHIP OF STATE The Arms of the Seven provinces arc on the side of the ship, which has the Bible on its prow. The words (by William the Taciturn) in the circle are: `Quiet in the midst of the roaring waves'. Poem at the bottom: `In all pressure and mourning Offer each other the hand. Be faithful in everything God's Church and the Fatherland' |  |
The Windmills and the Name Zebulun
Of course Holland is famous for its windmills which virtually fill the whole landscape of the country. But what people do not realize is, these windmills is virtually telling the world who Holland is.
When we look into the meaning of the name of Zebulun and break it down we find,
"God has endued me with a good dowry, now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons, and she called him ZEBULUN." (Gen 30:20). This Hebrew word means: to inclose, to reside, to dwell. It is composed of three Hebrew letters:
Zain meaning fish-hook, hook
Beith meaning house, home, dwelling
Lamed meaning movement, streaming, impulse to action.
|   | The name of Zebulun when broken down, actually describes the functions of a windmill. Its a dwelling, which hooks up water, using the movement of wind for it to operate. "...those who have studied the history of the windmills, have traced them back to Medo-Persia-you remember Zebulun as one of the ten tribes which was deported to that area-the Dutch have refined the buildings and engineering of windmilling at least from as far back as 1200 A.D. The invention of the waterwindmill for drainage purposes, with the screw action lifting or "hooking" the water from a lower to a higher level is exclusively Dutch." (Strange Parallel, p.64-65, emphasis added). Holland is basically telling the world that it is Zebulun! |
What's Next for Zebulon (Holland)?
The Bible shows that a time is coming called the "Great Tribulation." It coming upon the peoples of "Jacob" (Jer 30:7). Since Holland is part of the tribes of Israel, this prophecy pertains to them as well as the rest of the House of Israel.
In the book of Isaiah, it shows that the Dutch nation if it does not repent and turn to Almighty God, an invasion will happen, and invasion by the German led-European Beast.
In Isaiah the 9th chapter, we read of Assyria (Germany, Read our book Germany in Prophecy), is going to mount an invasion, and it's going to start with Holland and Sweden. "Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations." (v.1). This prophecy in type was fulfilled in the days of Isaiah, but then found its fulfillment in Christ, his first coming, but not its full fulfillment, because the prophecy has to do with the second coming of Christ as the text clearly shows.
"The people [of Zebulun and Napthali] that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. [Jesus Matthew 4:11]
"Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
" For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian [This is the Assyrian see, Isaiah 10:26-27].
" For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
" For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
" Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. [the Kingdom of God]" (vv.2-7). Notice this prophecy leads into the second coming of Jesus. The prophecy is dual. Holland and Sweden will be put "under the yoke" and be "oppressed" by the Assyrian. This is slavery and captivity Unless they repent!
When Isaiah made this prophecy, the "people" in verse 2 of the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali were in the land. The "people" of Zebulon and Naphtali however did not see Christ when the prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 4:11, simply because, they were not dwelling in Palestine at the time, but fled to other nations. This shows that it was only fulfilled in type, in Jesus day.
The Great "Light" that Israel will see in its full fulfillment will be at the second coming when "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:27). What great light shines from the east to the west? The Sun. Jesus is called the "Sun of Righteousness," and his face shines like the "sun" in its full strength, see Malachi 4:2; Rev1:16.
In this captivity however, there is Good news. Jesus says that, "...I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:...But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them." (Jer 30:8-9). At his second coming Jesus will lead his people out of slavery, and will save them once again. Then Israel will re-colonize the promise land, see Isaiah 11, and serve God. They will enter into the Covenant with God, and God will pour his Holy Spirit on them, see Ezekiel 36. And they shall serve God, and become the top nation on earth, and reclaim the colonies that they have already lost. Thank God for his mercy and concern for Israel which includes Zebulun-Holland!
