by Todd Elder at Exploring Creation
The Kingdom of Israel was split into two groups known as the Northern House and the Southern House of Israel after the reign of King Solomon. After several centuries in the Promised Land, both Houses fell into idolatry. The Northern House was then taken into captivity by Assyria and has disappeared into the world. The Southern House was taken into captivity by Babylon, but was later allowed to return to their own land at a later time. The prophetic books speak of a time when the Northern and Southern Houses will come together again in the Land of Israel as one Kingdom.
Since the start of the modern State of Israel in 1948, many questions about Israel's existence and the possible return of all 12 tribes to that land have grown in magnitude and scope. Many different ideas have been proposed. Some of these ideas seem to have a strong basis in Scripture while others seem far off and have even been called heresy. The Two House Concept is one such idea that is receiving some attention around the world, but because of numerous versions of the concept being passed around, much confusion exists as to whether it is real or fake and whether it is good or heresy. Within this paper, it is hoped that what is historical and what is prophetical can be distinguished so that what is Scriptural and what is man-made theory can also be distinguished.
A serious question must be asked as to whether this idea is a reality or just a theory. As this entire report deals with that isseue in detail, I hope it will suffice to state here that much is stated in the Scriptures about the two houses and therefore it seems reasonable to assume that it is indeed a factual idea to follow. This should especially be so for those aspects of the idea that are historical in nature and have already occurred. There must be much room for doubt given for anything that deals with the prophetic future because manknd has seldom been able to foresee the great plns of the Almighty. In fact, since this deals with an eschatological time frame (end-time events), we should be highly critical of any exact layouts for future events. Thus we hint at the historical aspects as being real and the future aspects as being theory and we will do well if we remember that difference.
In the writings of the prophets, we often see language used in a descriptive or poetic way. When the prophets speak of the Kingdoms, they may refer to them with other phrases and words. The most commonly used phrases for the north are the Northern Kingdom, Northern House, and the House of Ephraim (named after the largest tribe in the Northern group from which the leaders came). The most commonly used phrases for the south are Southern Kingdom, Southern House, and the House of Judah (named after the primary tribe in the south from whom the leaders came). It is the phrase Northern House and Southern House that have been picked up most from the prophets and thus we have the Two-House idea.
In recent decades, it has had the alternate names of Restoration of Israel, the Church as Ephraim, and Messianic Israel. Some groups have many similarities to what was known as British Israelism a few decades ago. These are each different viewpoints with somewhat different doctrines on the idea and having different leaders that teach the idea.
Most of the doctrine and ideas that come out of the Two- House Idea seem to try and figure out who is who in today's world. If a person or group or nation is decided to be descended from Israel, then that means they are heirs to certain promises given to Abraham. Once that information is known, may people try to act on that information today ... not necessarily waiting on the Almighty's time scale for when events are supposed to happen. Different groups today believe they are the physical descendants of Israel and most of these want to claim the land of Israel as being theirs. The groups that use a concept of a new spiritual Israel can go so far as to have the anti-semitic idea built in that the Jews have been rejected by the Almighty (which completely disregards what is spoken of them in prophecy) and that the Jews should be pushed out of Israel to make room for the New Israel. This has also gained the name of Ephraimite Heresy. Whatever it is called, the extreme forms of this concept do seem to cross boundaries that should not be crossed.
British Israelism is the idea that the ancient British people and/or royal lineages are direct descendants of the lost tribes. There are a number of similarites to British Israelism found in some of the two-house groups. One similarity is that both groups tend to look at how oftern an english word has an etymological root in the Hebrew language. Second, many people have a hostility towards both Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Judaism. Third, they both claim the first-born status as heirs of Ephraim. Fourth, they look at the possible general migration of the Northern Tribes to where they would become known as Saxons. This line of thought eventually leads to proof being in the nobility of the Anglo-Saxon lines. Once again, all of these reasons and statements make assumptions and cannot be proven.
There are several groups out there that pick up on this theme. Some are by religions and others are small groups like a city or village in various countries China. Some of these small groups carry ancient traditions with them that do match the teachings of the Old Testament.
The most notable group is the Mormons (Latter Day Saints). In their writings they claim Joseph as a patriarch. They also refer to themselves as Joseph and as having close kinship with Judah and a sacred mutual covenant.
Other groups claiming descendancy are: Children of Ephraim in Southern India, Children of Manasseh in Northern India, Falashas from Ethiopia (most claim to be Jews but some claim to be from Dan), the Bukharan from Persia (some of which claim to be from Ephraim), and the Igbo Jews of Nigeria (some of whom claim to be from Ephraim, Menassah, Levi, Zebulun, and Gad).
Rabbinic / Orthodox Judaism believes that the coming together of the Two-Houses has already occurred. It is believed that After the Babylonian exile, those of the Southern Kingdom returned to the Land and those who remained of the Northern Kingdom also came, though in smaller numbers. This combined group of people from both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms then collectively became known as the Jews and are what we think of as the Jewish people today. Through this perspective, the prophetic writings in Scripture use the phrases of 'Ephraim' and 'Judah' poetically to show equality and not to show the seperation that other interpretations give.
The idea of Israel becoming re-unified comes up every so often through the centuries. The occurrance of such groups now is just the most recent. It may well have been a result of the Messianic Jewish Movement. One of the main reasons seems to be the need for gentiles to feel included within the Messianic Jewish Movement. The formal movement teaches that the Jews are to keep the Torah (Old Testament laws) and that the gentiles do not need to. This creates a sort of 1st and 2nd class citizenship in Messiah. [This is incorrect because we are called to be one body within Messiah]. This 2nd class feeling has prompted people to find a way to be included in keeping the Torah and certainly be learning that one is descnded from Israel through a northern tribe has great appeal for this reason.
We must be careful when we decide how the Scriptures apply to our individual lives today because it has such a weighty impact on our life and our lifestyle. Some of those who follow the Two-House idea do say that because they are descended from Israel that they should keep the Torah. However, this line of thinking has problems. We should instead be following Torah because of who we are in Messiah. In other words, to make being a part of Israel more important than being a part of the body of Messiah is wrong. In this regard, the topic of the Two-Houses is almost irrelevent. As part of the Almighty's people in Messiah, we will observe the covenant whether we are literal Israel or not.
The question asked by those who support this idea is generally something about if they are a literal or legitimate descendant of one fo the Northern Tribes of Israel that is now considered lost among the gentiles. Answering this question is far from easy and in fact may not be answerable by any prvable means. Speaking geneologically, do a family tree will not work because the paper trail of names and dates only goes so far. Some people will follow not just a family line, but entire cultures of people andsuggest the tribes migrated to certain locations and descendants whose family can be traced to that region are "likely" to be of Israel.
For example, I am able to trace my own family tree person by person back to Ireland. There, the trail seems to end. However, it seems that by general history, everyone with the surname of "Elder" has dscended out of the Clan of MacIntosh in Scotland almost 500 years ealier than the oldest direct ancestor I can trace. Some would say that the Northern tribes migrated into what would now be called Europe and thus there is a good chance I am of Israel. This type of logic has many flaws in it and is ultimately unprovable in the physical. [just for the record, I have prayed about this issue and I believe that I am not descended from Israel.]
With the modern work in genetics, scientists are trying to make connections within family lines by genetic sequences that can be tagged and recorded. This practice may or maynot be useful to individuals at this time. The prime example here is that scientists believe they have isolated a gene that shows if a man is descended specifically from the tribe of Levi. How reliable is this type of information? I am not sure, it is a relatively new science, but it seems somewhat credible. As of yet, I have not heard if they have a gene for Israel in general.
Other people will follow a strictly spiritual route in determining their status in Israel. Such statements range from the general belief that if one feels called to keep the Torah (the Old Testament laws), then one must be descended from Israel. Others will pray about the matter in other ways. As I state that I am a believer of revelation in prayer, I cannot say anything against this method direcly, but we must always be wary of those who want something to be true so much that they finally decide it is true or who have been lied to by others to think it is true. Ultimately, these forms of declaring one's part in or out of Israel is based on faith and is not provable in the physical.
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